Make Your Own Stone Tools for the Zombiepocalypse

In this “how to” workshop I will guide you through the story of stone tools in human evolution culminating in you learning to make your own stone tools. By the end of this tutorial you will have a survival skill that has been tried and tested for over 3 million years. To coincide with the season finale of Walking Dead we’ll also be discussing the future role of stone tool technology and how this skill might just be the factor that decides who survives the Zombiepocalypse.

Imagine yourself alone on an African savanna inhabited by some of the meanest and most dangerous animals we know of (giant hyenas, colossal lions, and ill-tempered buffalo), with only a stone tool for protection. Pretty scary right? Well, for over 3 million years this is how our ancestors survived; making and using stone tools for protection, and in the process outcompeting nearly all other animals. Yet, in the most recent 1% of our evolutionary history, humans have replaced stone tools with metals, ceramics, and plastics. In the process we’ve all but lost the ability to make stone tools. Rocks are the most common raw material on earth and they would be an obvious choice from which to make weapons during a Zombie attack. Stone tools have many other uses in a disaster situation such as chopping wood for fuel and structures, skinning animals, and helping to starting a fire.

Safety equipment: Stone tool making can be dangerous. For this reason you’ll need some kind of eye protection (glasses, lab goggles, etc.) and some form of hand protection (gloves) when you first start making stone tools. We'll provide the equipment if you sign up by March 22nd. After that, you'll need to bring your own.