Quakers and Shakers

me and my obsidian handaxe in Rosengarten

Any flintknapper will tell you that transforming a hunk of stone into something that looks like one of the bifaces, blades or points found in the archaeological record is a time consuming and challenging process. Why is it then that the hominins of the Acheulian and Mousterian industries were interested in devoting so much time and energy to crafting highly-symmetrical, homogeneous handaxes when it was much easier to produce flakes or notches/denticulates, which were often acceptable substitutes for handaxes?

Archaeologists Kohn and Mithen (1999) propose that handaxes were so common at Middle Paleolithic sites because they “were products of sexual selection: they were used as reliable indicators of a potential mate’s quality by those of the opposite sex” (Kohn and Mithen 1999: 524).

Though this paper is a prime example of post-processualism gone terribly, gut-wrenchingly wrong, Kohn and Mithen have hit on percussed a rather important point about human sexual selection: we are totally into people who make cool shit. It may seem fairly obvious, but I suspect that explicitly identifying and harnessing the power of craftiness may be a real boon for those attempting to attract mates.

Artists and musicians have been heavy-handidly using their crafts to get tail for centuries, why shouldn’t those of us who recreationally bake, weld, decoupage or cartograph do the same?

Slightly-tangential-real-life-example that shows this may actually work in some situations: in high school an interested male photoshopped me an image of the two of us as cuddling elephant seals. Though the gift was a little unusual, I was seriously into the idea of having a partner with such madd photoshop skillz—that thing looked like a LEGIT Amber/elephant seal hybrid— and agreed to go out with him.

Conceptualizing all of one’s skill sets as potential tools for mate acquisition makes it easier for one to distinguish oneself. If rail transport modeling is your thing, own it: mini trains might not appeal to everyone, but if you’re good at it, eventually you’ll find someone who thinks your to-scale Lionel dioramas are so damn fly that he/she wants to get all up in your caboose.

Amber Weekes Relationships flintknapping, handaxes, Mousterian Industry, sexual selection