Re: opening oysters with stone tools?

From: Marc Verhaegen (fa204466_at_skynet.be)
Date: 02/20/05 

Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2005 23:51:47 +0100

"Rick Wagler" <taxidea3@shaw.ca> wrote in message
news:qjQRd.437100$8l.295255@pd7tw1no...

>> Has anybody ever tried to open oysters & other sehllfish with stone
>> tools? What would be the best stone tool for removing oysters from the
>> bottom or the trees & for opening them? material? Any ideas?

> I,ve never opened an oyster in my life but a thin blade that can cut the
> hinge should do the trick, would it not? Or simply pulverize the shell
> with a large rock. No great feat of technology seems to be needed. Rick
> Wagler

Yes, a very thin, sharp & strong blade works best: most stone tools (eg,
handaxes) would be too thick, I guess, and I wonder whether they would
break: you need a lot of force to open them. Capuchin monkeys use oyster
shells to remove oysters from mangrove trees, but I don't know whether they
use oysters to open oysters. I also don't know whether hammering the oyster
with a heavy stone would do: I guess you need a hard underground for that.

Marc Verhaegen
http://allserv.rug.ac.be/~mvaneech/Verhaegen.html
http://www.onelist.com/community/AAT
AAT = Homo diaspora