Overland Journal – August 01, 2019

OVERLAND JOURNAL FALL 2019

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quicklytakesonthewell-knownworkingformofa pointed

teardrop.

Herejoinsthegroup,freshstoneaxeinhand.Below,a

large predatorycattakesouta juvenileruminantatwater’s

edge.Thefelinefeasts,thenretreatstotallergrass.Thehunter

skulksdowntothecarcassaheadoftherest.Heintendsto

claimthechoicesecondsleftbythecat.Unfortunately,hun-

gercloudshissenses.Theattackfrombehindis swift.Ashe’s

bowledtotheground,sharpcaninespenetrateandcrushthe

baseofhisskull.Theothersfleeonlytoregroupelsewhere,

butnobodyattemptstorecoverhishandaxe.Thereis norea-

sonfortherisk;anyskilledhunter with the right materials

couldfabricatea similartool.

THEOUTCROP:PART 2

Andthen,750,000 yearslater,fivemodernhumansde-

scendent from Homoerectus arriveon the scene.Overland

JournalPublisherScottBrady,myself,andtherestof ourteam

area littlewornaftera roguebordercrossingfromUganda,

whichfunneledusdirectlyintomembersofanarmedmilitia

inKenya.DrivingthreeMercedes

Entedecker Geländewagens, we

deviate about one kilometer into

thebushofftheA1(ahighlyun-

improved roadin thatsection) to

makeneededrepairsandovernight.

Readers may recall the Lake

Turkana Basinfrom historyclass,

or more likely, via copious early

human and evolution articles in National Geographic.Re-

searchers oftenrefertothis regionasthecradleofhuman

civilization,solelybecauseearlyhumansevolvedandlearned

tousestonetoolsandfireherebeforespreadingoutandin-

habitingtherestoftheplanet.Tectonics,climate,wind,rain,

volcanism,grazinganimals,humans,war,colonialism(among

otherfactors)havealteredthislandscapeovermanyhundreds

ofthousandsofyears.Buttheevidenceofearlyman,albeit

elusive,is stillhere.

Enginesoff,oneofourcrewopensa colddrinkwiththe

appropriatemulti-toolutensil.Intheshadowofaneroding

volcanicoutcrop,anEntdeckernomadusesa foldingpock-

etknifetocuta cabletie,whileanotherusesa screwdriverto

tightena radiatorhosebandclamp.Stillonemoreattempts

to slice snacks witha fixedblade.And there it is,waiting

throughtheagestomeetitsmaker’sdescendants.I spotit

rightnearthefronttireofa truck—theAcheuleanhandaxe.

Theindomitablestalwarttranscendstimelikethemonolith

inKubrick’s2001:A Space Odyssey, and imparts a humbling

senseofperspective.

EPILOGUE:ORIGINALCLASSICKIT

Goodkit hasalways mattered,and form also followed

function750,000yearsago.Backthen,if onlyonepieceof

gear was present in the camp or at the kill site, it was probably

TAKEONLYMEMORIES

Archaeology(the scientificstudyof remainsfromprehistoricand

historichumanculture)is oftenconfusedwith paleontology(the

scientificstudyof past life forms,oftenvia fossils,attributedto

priorgeologicalperiods).The linesbetweendisciplinesdo blur,

especiallyat earlyhumansiteswhereextinctspecies,fossils,and

prehistorichumancultureare all present.Professionalsin thesedis-

ciplines,and otherssuchas geologists and paleoanthropologists,

oftencollaborateon the research.

Internationaltreatiessafeguardcommonculturalheritageworld-

wide,focusingon activitiessuchas unlawfulcross-borderantiqui-

ties traffickingand purchasingstolenartifacts.Nearlyeverycountry

has lawsthat protectarchaeological,cultural,paleontological,

and historicalresourceswithintheirborders.Violationof theseat

mostlevelscan result in various penalties, including fines and/or

imprisonment.

For enthusiastic,law-abidinginquisitors,followthis advice:If you

do not havelegitimatepermitsor authorizationsto conductvalid

scientificresearch,thenleavethe materialsexactlywhereyou

find them.Takeonly memoriesand photos.Thereare numerous

volunteerprogramsin archaeologyor paleontologywhereone can

learnfrom,and workalongside,field professionals.Somelocales

are in exoticor remote locations, while others might include your

local town square.

theAcheuleanhandaxe.Withintheoverlandandexpedition

community,nearlyeveryonehascoreparaphernalia,andin-

variablya sub-componentofthatwillbea knifeanda basic

multi-tool.Somenowrefertothisas “everydaycarry”gear.

Therationaleforcarryingthesemainstaytrappings dis-

tillsto a fewuniversalprimitiveconcepts.Theyusuallyin-

volvecutting,digging,scraping,crushing,slicing,puncturing,

andchoppingtoaccomplishthetaskathand.Andwiththat

notion,modernhumansareconnectedtoanalmostincom-

prehensiblelineageoffellowhominids,spanningmanytens

ofthousandsofgenerationsif notmore,whohadthesame

motivationwiththeirstonehandaxe.

Wecoulddiscussa myriadofintriguingtopicsaboutthis

specificstonehandaxe’strajectorythroughtime,asit leftone

hominid’shandsonlytoarriveinanother’seonslater.Wasit

possiblyhaftedasa spearpoint?Wasthesignatureteardrop

shaperesultantfrominherenthumangenetics,orlearnedbe-

havior?Aretheredeeperpsychologicalmeaningsofthetool?

Theseareallgoodpointsthatmakeforgreatcampfirediscus-

sionsorgraduateschooldissertations.

Onethingis certain.Humansdidnotuseanyothertool

forthis lengthoftime,oversuch a broadgeographicarea.

Nothing compares.The stone handaxe is theoriginal and

ultimate piece of Classic Kit, from which modern knives,

axes,andmulti-tools,andtheimpetusbehindcarryingthem,

evolved.Thisis worthponderingthenext time you pull out

your favorite pocketknife or hatchet.

Thestonehandaxeis

theoriginalandultimate

pieceof ClassicKit, from

whichmodernknives,

axes,andmulti-tools,

and the impetusbehind

carrying them, evolved.