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How does one tell the difference between an artifact and an ordinary stone? The hand knife shown above is a good example of an artifact because it looks and feels like a knife. In fifty years of collecting, I have found that if the stone feels good in the hand when held as a stone tool, then it probably is a tool. Close your hand into a fist. Now lift your thumb and extended your index finger. The remaining three closed fingers form a platform upon which, a stone tool rests. A master tool maker also uses the recess formed by the three fingers to keep the tool from slipping. The thumb then presses downward holding the tool in place, while the index finger keeps the tool aligned properly. Other clues that the object is an artifact are obvious places for the thumb and index finger, secondary fractures or fluting to sharpen a cutting edge, signs of use, and art work decorating the object.
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