Larp Couture

The Paleolithic Revolution is the period in human history when we stopped being humanlike people that occasionally used tools, and started, well:

• turning caves into cathedrals of artwork
• hunting so efficiently we drove species to extinction
• making and wearing jewelry
• burying our dead with things that were important to us
• spreading out into new continents
• dramatically increasing the variety and effectiveness of our tools

And these are just the things we know directly from the archaeological record; it is possible that many other changes took place regarding things like family units, governance, language, and even, maybe, song. (see here and here for sources.) It was still before formal written language, so with the tools we have at the moment, we’re limited to speculation. Luckily, those of us in the game of making up imaginary places and times have no trouble speculating!

Which brings us to the image above, of the modern stone and flint tools by Ami Drach and Dov Ganchrow. These designers were participating in the 2012 Budapest Design Week, and their submission involved taking various stone projectile points, hand axes, and scrapers, and using a high-accuracy 3D printer to construct custom grips- fusing an ancient design with very modern technology.

Many larps use a material-based system to describe the relative power of weapons, steel being better than iron, for example, and I’ve often wondered when the games leave stone tools out of the equation. There are even stone swords in existence (though I can’t find a confirmation as to whether these were sculptural or weaponry). Given the pseudo or historically medieval settings common to larps, stone tools may simply be ignored as a lost technology.

Wait a minute.

An ancient technology, whose methods of construction are lost to the modern day, whose manufacturers are a mystery, but that can easily be adapted to modern use in a pinch…

Why yes, I am suggesting there is a lot of storytelling potential! Either as mcguffin-like pieces, or specifically as part of a system of magical artifacts. There is something powerful about holding a tool carefully crafted tens of thousands of years ago. There is something even more powerful about discovering that it’s still sharp. The proliferation of stone tools heralded the first time in history that humans began to truly master their environment, and that is magic indeed.

PS Have some tongue-in-cheek fiction set in the period!