Re: opening oysters with stone tools?

From: Marc Verhaegen (fa204466_at_skynet.be)
Date: 03/03/05 

Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2005 00:07:06 +0100

<richardparker01@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1109839625.889431.131270@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...

> Curious wrote:
>> well it would depend on the stone but flint, obsidian, chert, anything
>> which will flake to render a sharp enough edge to cut and use as a wedge
>> (of those type of silicate-quartz based rocks) surely would be brittle on
>> a fine edge. Flint less brittle, obsidian very brittle edge but very
>> sharp, etc. I suppose the natural act would be to bash the shell
>> protected morsel onto a rock, then bash the flat hinge side on a rock to
>> break the back open, then to pry with a wedge or bash the flat side on a
>> wedge ........ thast what attracted me so to the antler awl. It worked
>> perfectly, almost like a dull screwdriver and it didnt chip or seemed
>> harmed at all. I would suppose one could open a lot of shells with such
>> an implement before it would need sharpening or break. Tribes Im think
>> of would include the Kwakiutl, Inglit, Nootka, Haida, etc ... all along
>> the upper northwest coast. I could be all wrong but it seems to me
>> evidence of similar technologies were found as far south as Tierra del
>> Fuego ? My grandmother used to use a similar method, frankly. She had
>> a wooden V-block grandpa had made for her. She put the oyster or clam
>> shell on the V block which acted as a kind of open vise, then took a dull
>> heavy kitchen knie and placed the tip on the hidge (flat) side, and hit
>> the top of the knife handle with the*** of her palm or a hammer - whaap!
>> Just like that. It didnt always pop the shells off or apart completely -
>> often she had to tear the shells apart after the initial separation, but
>> the technique worked .... and its very close to the awl method. Steel
>> would leave a mark. Antler might not? (its soft comapred to stone or
>> steel) jw

> Last Sunday, I took a party of locals out to the reef on Siargao Island -
> (details, pictures, etc to be published soon at www.coconutstudio.com)
> with the specific object of finding what was available to eat there.
> Tipay - local rock oysters - break off the hinge end with a rock
> (carefully) push in your finger or a thin bamboo stick to release the
> attachment muscle from the shell, and enjoy - but not the same as having a
> professional shuck your oyster for you, and enjoyment could have been much
> enhanced with a glass of chilled chablis or a pint of Guinness and some
> buttered brown bread. I had to make do with a bottle of lukewarm San
> Miguel beer. The same applies to another form of rock oyster (actually a
> chama species) Larger univalves - ganga (Lambis lambis) - hit the top
> side (like cracking a boiled egg) - push the tough operculum through from
> the other side with a stick - same with buyayo (Tiger Cowries) - the only
> ones big enough to eat - but sadly absent from this reef - those don't
> have an operculum so you just sort of hook out the meat with your finger
> And there are lots of other good things to be found in just a Sunday lunch
> hour at the reef - see 'Reef Foraging' or 'Haute Cuisine' - at
> www.coconutstudio.com Sea Cucumbers - slit, squeeze out the messy bits
> and chew - hard Sea slugs - too tough to eat raw and enjoy - parboil first

Thanks, jw & Richard. My starting point was: ergaster-erectus apparently
spread along the coasts, where they must have eaten oysters etc. I wondered
whether their stone tools (Oldowan & Acheulian) could have been used for
removing or opening oysters etc. The answer seems to be: no (although nobody
ever tried AFAIK). Could these tools be used for processing other littoral
foods? Were the stone tools used for making the right bamboo sticks? Thanks
for your website, Richard. Next time I eat oysters, I'll try to open
oysters with oyster shells.

--Marc