"Drive carefully," she said. "I just flaked that thing, and it could decapitate us if we were in a crash."
Thus, I entered the crazy world of stone tool making. As part of her classes at GW, she's engaging in a little experimental archaeology and is learning more about how early human ancestors made tools.
Some fun facts: a freshly flaked stone -- that is, a stone hit with a harder stone that removes a "flake" of material -- is sharper than a scalpel edge. In fact, obsidian tools are the sharpest tools available.
When I came home today, Claire was out on the shared balcony with the dog. After setting down some groceries and getting out of my work clothes I walked out to meet her.
"Are you barefoot? Go put on some shoes and bring the broom." The ground was covered with razor-sharp shards, the fruits of her labors.
What follows is a recording I made while she worked. Unfortunately, the iPhone didn't capture the bright, ringing sound the rocks made when struck. Having worked on this achulean handaxe for several hours, Claire tells me that the sound is key to knowing were to strike the stone.
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