Even when the only possible "consumer goods" was a rock, there were luxury rocks.
"What were they used for?" is asked like there's only one answer. They were probably used for anything else a rock is useful for, but being nicely sized for a hand, pretty, etc made them easier to use, more effective, or just flashier.
AFAIK the class of objects referred to here don't share a lot of qualities that would make them a class in other contexts; there's no single shape, some have wear that may indicate original uses, etc etc. It just appears to be some of the early personal artifacts that people valued that are durable enough to see today.
"What were they used for?" is asked like there's only one answer. They were probably used for anything else a rock is useful for, but being nicely sized for a hand, pretty, etc made them easier to use, more effective, or just flashier.
AFAIK the class of objects referred to here don't share a lot of qualities that would make them a class in other contexts; there's no single shape, some have wear that may indicate original uses, etc etc. It just appears to be some of the early personal artifacts that people valued that are durable enough to see today.