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Primitive Technology: Stone Axe (celt)
About this video
The Primitive Technology channel shows the making of a stone axe (celt) using only primitive tools and materials, from shaping and polishing a basalt head to making the wooden handle and hafting it.
Why it appears in the archive
HN people value its authenticity: no cuts, no cheating, and real tool use done entirely with materials found on site.
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From the Hacker News discussion
If this fascinates you, be sure to check out this video on making a Celtic axe using low tech methods. [VIDEO] This entire channel is fascinating and strives to be very “authentic” about doing everything without turning off the camera and cheating.
Read original comment ↗The state space here looks pretty small, it seems to me that with so much training it's just a case of brute-force search. When I think of "tool use" in regards to the intelligence of early humans, I imagine something more like [0] where the state space is enormous and it takes a good deal of reasoning and planning to get to a desired result. [0] [VIDEO]
Read original comment ↗I haven't read Postrel, but the idea of twine being necessary to secure a stone tool to a wooden shaft seems wrong to me. Jon Plant secures a stone tool head to a shaft by building a stone axe called a "celt" with more primitive methods [0]. The friction fit he achieves is likely more robust than a twine lashing because it helps deliver a higher impulse to the work-piece than a mount made of cordage. [0]: [VIDEO]
Read original comment ↗