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AABN:  5197
Title: a book titled 'Primitive Stone Tools'

Primitive Stone Tools

Before early tribes of humanoids learned how to smelt ore to produce
metals, they made tools from whatever natural materials were available.
Leather was very common, and the use of leather for armor, clothing, belts,
etc. continues to this day. Wood was used for poles, staves, spears, fences
and firewood. Somewhat less common was the use of bone, which was more
suitable for making edged tools.

The most common material for making edged tools by far was stone. While
nearly any stone will serve to make a blunt instrument for hammering or
grinding, only certain types of stone will take an edge that is both sharp
and durable. The technique of striking stones together to produce sharp
flakes and edges is called knapping.

The most basic knapping knocks off large pieces of a stone, resulting in
several sharp flakes that can be used as knives, and a heavier "hand axe"
that can be wielded as a chopping instrument. Over time, knapping developed
into a fine art. Finer flakes were produced, and techinques such as
pressure flaking could produce much less bulky tools. Objects as fine as
arrowheads and fishing hooks could be produced by expert knappers.

Stone tools can have edges that are sharper than modern steel, but they
dull easily and are prone to chipping and fracture. The art of knapping
fell into decline with the rise of copper and bronzework, which produce
less sharp but far more durable tools. Stone knapping has fallen into
obscurity, and teachers of knapping can be difficult to find.

The stones used for knapping have a conchodial fracture. In other words,
they do not follow a plane of separation. This means they chip into pieces
directly related to the method and force with which they are struck.

Quartz in all its myriad types is the most commonly employed stone for the
manufacture of stone tools. These include flint, chert, agate, jasper,
chalcedony, sard, onyx, sardonyx, carnelian, aventurine, citrine, amethyst,
and vermarine. Other stones used for knapping are jade, obsidian,
"greenstone" such as olivine or serpentine and sandstone deriviatives such
as quartzite and silcrete.
 

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