Making stone tools sounds like an unusual pursuit, even for an archaeologist. How did you get into it?
As a kid growing up in Michigan I was fascinated by Indians and Indian artefacts, including all those beautiful arrowheads. I tried to make some but I didn’t have much luck. Then one summer we went west for vacation and I bought a big chunk of obsidian, volcanic glass, in a rock shop and just pounded the heck out of it with a geological hammer. Within a year I began to have some success.
What can flint-knapping teach you about the past?…
