Abstract
I have researched the history and development of the major tools – axes，adzes，saws，chisels，and planes – that were used for building wooden structures in ancient times and the Middle Ages (from the 7th to the 16th centuries). My findings are summarized as follows:
(1) In the Middle Ages，the axes used for cutting down trees changed from the type with the end of the handle attached to the socket of the non – shoulder blade，to the type with the end of the handle going through the eye of the non – shoulder blade. Throughout ancient times and the Middle Ages，the adzes used for hewing construction material had the end of the handle attached to the socket of the non – shoulder blade.
(2) In ancient times and the Middle Ages，the saws used for cutting construction material had the tang of the blade attached to the handle. In ancient times，the saw teeth were changed from concave – shaped to convex – shaped，and the cutting style involved pulling the saw backwards by hand.
(3) In ancient times，chisels had either the end of the handle attached to the socket of the blade，or the tang of the blade attached to the handle. Blades with both single – beveled and double – beveled edges were used，and，in the Middle Ages，chisels with the tang of the single – beveled blade attached to the handle were widely used.
(4) In ancient times and the Middle Ages，spearhead planes were used to shave construction material，and that the type planes used currently with a stock of wood also started to be used in Middle Ages.
(5) In ancient times and the Middle Ages，axes were mainly used for felling trees，and adzes， saws，chisels and planes were used for hewing，cutting and shaving construction materials. But in the Middle Ages，the tools used for lumbering were changed from ripping chisels to ripping saws.
