Chapter 3: The Alpha Lithos Theory by the Modern-Day Mountain Man
- Modern-Day Mountain Man
- Jan 26
- 19 min read
Alpha Lithos Theory: Chapter 3 Rock of Ages.
After a short hiatus for the holidays, I am back bigger, better, and crazier with a new viewpoint for my theory. If you think monetary inflation is bad, wait until you read this, I say a lot less while using way more words. In this chapter, I am going to focus on the idea once again that mankind, as we know it, has never really changed and hasn’t needed eons of time to “evolve”.
The academic consensus is that modern humans (Homo Sapiens - Thinking Man) came to fruition somewhere around 200,000 years ago. I take issue with this timeline. When I look at how fast mankind has developed in my own short lifetime (getting closer to 50 years than I would like to admit) I cannot grasp how mankind could make so little so-called progress over 194,000 years, and then explode on the scene with incredible art, mathematics, and engineering accomplishments in the last 6,000 years. I can hear the academics now saying, “But we have proof; haven’t you seen the cave paintings or the stone tools?” I actually have, which is where my argument and the basis for this chapter’s theory come from. I think the tools (specifically the rock ones) give evidence of a much more recent existence (creation?) for mankind.
When we find stone tools in layers of dirt, the common practice is to assign a timeline to those tools based on the perceived age of that particular layer, not too dissimilar from how fossils are dated and given an age range on a timeline, with each of the branches of science stroking each others’ backs and egos. The shape and design of the tool (especially points) also help to place the tool on an academically agreed-upon timeline. I cannot argue with this process at all, as on the surface (see what I did there?) of it, it makes sense. The argument for my theory is not going to challenge that process at all; as the saying goes “the present is the key to the past,” especially when looking at deposition layers and timelines. My argument for the Rock of Ages Chapter is going to come from some observations about humanity in general and who might have actually deposited some of these so-called tools and made some of these so-called cave art paintings. I do not take umbrage with the process, but rather the timeline. The so-called science behind layers and timelines is sound logic, but giving the definitive date to the bottom layer and working up depends on the date being correct to begin with. If the bottom date is not correct, it would essentially be fruit of the poison tree from that point upwards. To some extent carbon dating has been used to tune this clock using blood and tissue samples found on these tools, but remember, carbon dating really starts to falter back further than two thousand years. Not to mention the dendrochronology (literally tree clock) that is used to fine-tune these carbon levels can only go back definitively about thirteen thousand years. Really, all it takes for these timelines to be “verified” is for a consensus from several different sources, but remember dear reader, where that got us with Piltdown Man (more details on this in a later chapter).
As a student of history (and the other humanities), one of the conclusions I have come to is that human nature and human beings have not changed since day one, or if you want call it, the origin point. The priorities of humans have certainly changed, and not necessarily for the better. I believe there is beautiful simplicity in acquiring the necessary items for humans to live in the most basic way possible. Some might refer to this as primitive, but I strongly disagree. These ancient civilizations were incredibly advanced in one area where we sorely lack today, education.
Yes, this will be the theme of this chapter. I am going to rant and rave about the state of our modern education system compared to our ancestors’ system.
If we were to go to a human civilization (encampment) ten thousand years ago and ask the people there to show us everything they know, I believe it would reveal an education system that was much more thorough and pure than what we have today in our “advanced” civilization. This is, of course, just a thought experiment as I am not sure we could overcome the language barrier or our own arrogance. You see, to me, education in its purest form addresses issues that directly deal with immediate life-or-death scenarios. This is the reason why I have always been such a proponent of experiential education, especially high-adventure experiential education. You want people to really learn something, help them to understand what happens if they don’t learn it: they perish quickly. Do you want to survive a night sleeping outside at -30 Fahrenheit? You better understand clothing and shelter systems. Do you want to climb a vertical rock face and not perish if you lose your grip? You better have a cursory understanding of how to tie knots and use protection devices. So, what does this have to do with ancient mankind? If you had a tool or the knowledge of how to build a tool, and it didn’t work at the moment, you would quickly discard it and find something that does work, for the simple fact that your life is dependent on your tools. I believe this is the reason why we see very little change in the overall design of stone tools. They work. It had nothing to do with extraordinary timelines or lack of intellectual development. These tools and processes worked ten thousand years ago, and they still work today. It wasn’t as if mankind chipped off a little piece of a quartzite rock and accidentally cut himself and then said to himself, “I think I could use this to kill a delicious deer if only I could take the next five thousand years to figure out how to sharpen the other side of it, or possibly launch it an animal using some kind of clever device to launch this tool”. This notion is so unbelievably arrogant, that I would almost put these anthropologists and archeologists who spew this drivel into the atheist bundle without even asking them their beliefs. It is as though we think we are so clever because we “might” have figured out how our ancestors’ thought processes or design processes worked. Mankind ten, twenty, or even a hundred thousand years ago (maybe?) was just as clever as we are today, even as clever as I am sitting here today typing on my modern computer using electricity in a climate-controlled building. They had fewer tools, but I bet they knew how to use them better than I know how to use this tool (computer), and I bet their batteries never died on their stone tools, or that their tools ever needed an update to do their stinking job (I really hate computers sometimes). Real clever huh? My existence is dependent on my ability to adapt to modern technology, their existence depended on their ability to simply live. Pretty clear to me which of us leads a more fulfilled life.
So how do we get all of the different sizes, styles, and layers of points (tools) if this didn’t happen gradually over the past fifty to one hundred thousand years? Right now I have a drawer that is full of at least thirty knives in all sizes, materials, and configurations. The Swiss Army Knife is certainly my favorite, but I am not a knife snob; I own Gerber, Leatherman (Leathermen?) Kershaw, Buck, ESEE, CRKT, FOX, and many others. At the core of it, they all do exactly the same things. Why do I have so many then? And in so many sizes? The answer my friend is that they are tools. I use the one that best fits the need. Some of them do everything a little bit well and some of them do one thing really well. They all have roughly the same blade design in regards to the sharpened edge being utilized as an extension of the hand, or in the case of my throwing knives having the point being able to pierce and be well-balanced while flying through the air. Is one better than another? It depends on what you require the tool for. If you asked me to pick only one and that my very life and existence depended upon it for the remainder of my indeterminate life, I have a clear choice that I would use. The really interesting thing is that the knife’s design hasn’t changed, going all of the way back to the very first sharpened edge tools we have found in the deepest of dirt layers (This specific knife is included in the picture with the ancient knife blade). Sure, the material has changed, but if I had to make a tool using only things I could find in their natural state, I would make this design. If I dropped it, it would be on the top layer but would match the designs of tools found much lower. Why? Because it works. How do I know it works? Because that design has brought mankind to today. Think about the story of David and Goliath. That story involved a stone tool that required no refinement. Doesn’t matter if the story is factual or not, the story works because it is plausible that a simple rock could alter history as we know it. Getting hit in the head by a rock on any timeline can and will cause great physical harm. Simple? Yes. But it worked!
I sometimes like to sit and daydream about how I would fare in different time periods in the past. In other words, would my ability to live outdoors based on my knowledge play in any time period? Is my knowledge and education timeless? I also play this game the other direction and ask what would happen if someone was brought from far past time periods, like looking at the Encino Man movie as a possible documentary, into today’s world. Who would fare better? Without any possible way to prove it, I am convinced that an ancient person brought into today's world would adapt much faster. Because again, they have a much closer ground-level attachment with education at its purest, which is constant life-or-death scenarios. I also wonder if I was completely void of the knowledge that I currently possess about modern technology, if need be, could I figure out, in the moment it was needed, how to make the tools that I would need to stay alive? I don’t have to do that in today’s world.
I firmly believe there are no good tools left to design. How can I make this assumption? If there were still tools left to design, there would be money to be made and the clever people amongst us would design them. Instead, we are moving the continuum the other way and actually designing and building tools to fail so we can make more of them and conceivably make more money. Take a look at Otzi (the Iceman), the real-life version of Encino Man, the clothes and tools he was found with would still work in today’s world, but the flip side is I can’t buy my own children a pair of modern shoes that aren’t cheaply made Chinese junk that absolutely disintegrate in a few short months. In fact, you can buy a pair of shoes/boots today made to be just like Otzi’s footwear, but I guarantee you they won’t last almost five thousand years like his did. Clothing designers have studied the way Otzi’s people attached the sole to the upper and describe it as sheer brilliance. Primitive man lived thousands of years ago; maybe I can market something as my own that ancient people came up with. Everything we have today as a modern convenience can be tied directly back to the simple sharpened rocks our ancestors used. Some surgeons are still using this technology today, as an obsidian blade is still the sharpest tool available, technology notwithstanding.
Where does that leave us? I want to do another thought experiment where we put ourselves today in the ancient world and vice versa, specifically focused on the role and level of education in a given time period. Remember, dear reader, that in this entire writing project (A.L.T.) I am trying to show that the age of the earth, or at least the emergence and development of man doesn’t take grand time scales. People of the past were created (or arrived on earth) fully formed, fully intelligent, and with the exact same abilities (and shortcomings) that we have today. For many years I have been around education in both a formal and informal setting. Everything from doing programs with kindergarteners to leading programs with Ph.D. candidates. I have even had the title of Professor (Natural History) for a while in the not-too-distant past. I know what I am talking about when it comes to education. Think about it, as smart as I am, wouldn't I know if I was wrong? I have observed and experienced both good and bad representations of what education can and should be. I don’t think it is an underestimate to state that I have worked with around two hundred schools across the United States in some educational capacity over the past three decades. I have also worked with many international students over the years, so I have a pretty good depth gauge of where they stand in regards to preparation and education too. We have real problems with our modern-day education system. We have become overly reliant on technology to do the teaching instead of the elders who have mastered the materials.
This is not a condemnation in any way of any student or staff member, but I would like to spend some time discussing the approach of Special Education (hereafter referred to as SPED) today. Some of the most professional, dedicated, and hard-working staff I have met over the years have been part of a SPED program. My issue doesn’t lie with them, the students, or the sentiment that students of a lesser ability or station shouldn’t be given equal chances. I am also not referring to students with physical disabilities who need help or accommodations. I have had many encounters over the years with students with physical disabilities that brought so much value to my, and their world. Rather, my focus with this argument is in the possible distraction it causes to make an attempt to treat all students equally from an academic and intellectual perspective. Treating every student the same in a general classroom setting might be inhibiting students who could otherwise excel to even greater potential if they were given even more opportunities and resources. A conservative average for the United States suggests that the cost to educate a SPED student is twice the cost of a non-SPED student. All the while, programs for what used to be labeled as gifted and talented students are almost non-existent, especially in the area where I currently reside. I do have some inclination to believe that we reject the exceptional to teach to the average (or even below average?). I can almost hear the more liberal-minded amongst my readers saying, you wouldn’t feel that way if it was your child that needed these SPED services, but that is where you would be wrong. I would actually demand that reasonable expectations should be given to my child to help them realize their highest potential and live their best life. I can also hear these same voices saying, “Studies show that having all students in general education settings is best for everyone.” Remember though, the experts saying this have a vested interest in making this so. My own children are average students at best, and I firmly believe that one-third of the things they learn in our “modern” education system are completely pointless and have no long-term educational value whatsoever. I have been in multiple school districts where the largest contingent of staff members are SPED staff. Again, these are wonderful staff that have all children’s best interest in mind, but I am not always sure of the practicality or the economics of decisions like this across our great nation. What if we had a system of IEP's (Individualized Education Plan) for the advanced or exceptional students in this country? It might take us to a level we have not experienced in this country in a long time. To be clear, the United States has never been a world leader in mathematics or science, but what we were world leaders in at one time was applied math and science, in other words making a better arrowhead. The world still looks to the United States as a world leader in these areas, but the truth of the matter is that most of the people who are now staffing and fulfilling these advanced roles are not home-grown talent. The United States spends the fifth most money in the world on our education system, but we are not in the top twenty-five or even thirty-five in the all-important areas of math and science. I think the only areas our education system in the United States are world leaders are in safe spaces and excuses. Seriously, if I had a dollar for every time I have heard our educational failures blamed on COVID-19, I would not be writing this right now, as I would be retired on a beach somewhere in my ten million dollars house. We started to suck as a nation educationally long before that mind-control experiment. We just weren’t smart enough (or well-educated enough) to figure out what the end game was with that debacle.
Most of the schools I have worked in no longer have mechanics, building trades, drafting, fabrication, etc as classes because they just do not have the funding or staff available. Where did that money go? I think we all know, but don’t want to admit it for fear of hurting someone’s feelings. Isn't that what the safe spaces were supposed to be for? This nonsensical rant is not intended to tear anything down in this regard, but rather to show that SPED students have always existed and needed special assistance. As I sit and stew over these ranting and ravings, I try my best to come up with an argument or point, then do my best to tear it down from an academic standpoint to see whether or not it can stand up to any level of scrutiny. Of course, in the academic world the next step would be for the piece of information to be processed on to peer review, but remember, I don’t necessarily intend these to be full-fledged scholarly articles, but just an attempt to get people to think, laugh, and possibly learn a thing or two. I am not sure any part of this chapter stands up to even my own scrutiny, but I do know I am tired of being part of the problem. So here is my attempt to tie all of this together. I have seen many rock drawings (paintings), rock chips (lithic flakes), and other relics that lend support to humans making things in the distant past. My argument is that we don’t know exactly who made them or even exactly when they made them. I read a scholarly paper a few years back that said that the handprints on the really old cave paintings might have served as a signature of sorts since they didn’t have writing. Remember, we don’t think writing as we now know it showed up on the scene until roughly six-thousand years ago. We also may look at small lithic flakes and say they hadn’t learned to fully form points yet, this was them learning over many generations how to do that. I say poppycock, I am fully convinced that most of those cave drawings and poorly formed tools were all done by ancient man’s version of their SPED program. Seriously, look at those drawings, most of them are just plain awful. Certainly not refrigerator material by any timeline standard. What if that was how they kept the ancient version of SPED students busy while the exceptional students and adults were out doing the serious work, hunting and exploring. What if the pieces that academics found and told us were the first tools mankind ever used is why they are so crude- they were actually made by their version of Skippy, you know the student that has zero attention span and can't follow even the simplest of directions. I have an analog to this idea which might lend some credence to what I am trying to say. I have seen many high school SPED students’ writing over the past ten years that is so poor that a casual observer would swear it was done by a Pre-K student. I am not making fun of those students, as I believe they were all giving me their best, but I am trying to make a point that if somehow, some way, a future archeologist or anthropologist were to find that writing piece they would say that the people of this time were primitive and simple. Also, to add to the point I am trying to make is that the likelihood of a future explorer finding the example of the poor work versus finding an example of exceptional work would be much higher for the simple fact that there is much more of the poor work represented today. This is of course a thought experiment, with computers and other modern media around there would probably be more examples, but what if the ancient version of me had the exact same thought twelve thousand years ago? What if all of the ancient civilizations collapsed because they were spending too much time and resources trying to teach someone who was incapable of making a top-quality tool or piece of pottery, all the while telling them that their work was just as good and valid as the greatest tool makers or pottery designers of their generation. Absurd and nonsensical you may say? The fact is, this has been happening on our current timeline for about thirty years.
I have a large collection of random points and other assorted stone tools that are genuinely old. How old? Conventional wisdom would say tens of thousands of years, but I am not convinced. Over the years I have gotten really good at making points and other stone tools. I would not describe myself as a craftsman by any stretch of the imagination, but I can make a darn good point. It’s not that hard (yes, that is a rock joke). In fact, I am including a picture of three points at the beginning of this ridiculous chapter. I made one of them and the other two are genuine ancient artifacts. See if you can tell which one is only a few years old. My point is, you can’t tell. If I were to put mine right next to a genuine ancient point, there would be no difference. This is of course except for where they may have been found in the soil layers. Amazing how we keep digging that topic up. However, I have personally found points out of their respective layers and my grandpa and dad collected points over the years from a very small portion of Southern Illinois that represent points across tens of thousands of years according to the experts, but were all found after plowing at roughly the same depth year after year. How did so many different examples of points, tools, and pottery end up in a nondescript field in no-wheres-ville Illinois? I don’t know. It is almost inexplicable, so I am not even going to try.
When I hold these ancient items I try to visualize what the man or woman that made them must have been thinking or experiencing as they were building and designing this piece of usable art. You see, I am a lover of usable art from any time period. It doesn’t matter if it is a seemingly simple stone tool, a Swiss-made watch, or even a beautiful nineteen-fifties Ferrari. To me, they all took an exceptionally intelligent mind to assess the problem and come up with an intricate and beautiful solution. Humanity doesn’t need billions, millions, or even tens of thousands of years to reach a zenith where something well thought out and designed can come to fruition. Big edges for big animals, small edges for small animals. Sounds so simple when you say it or read it. Why do we try to make things that should be so simple so darn complicated? Mankind didn’t need to design any of it, but we did, and we will, because we have never changed and will never change.
I know what you must be thinking, “I have no idea what the heck you are going on about.” I am not sure I always do either, but I sometimes sit and think that the education process is being led by the people who would tell us that a really awful cave painting is a master’s work of art. All the while, their modern stone tools would be discarded for not being good enough for our ancestors.
In conclusion, I want to include a poem that I wrote a few years back when our education system was under continual lockdowns and making a concerted effort to tell us that learning on computers was somehow as effective as learning to make tools from a master toolmaker face-to-face. It was during this time that the governor of my state was telling me what was best for me, my family, and my students in regard to health, all the while that fat bastard (everything got in his belly) couldn’t even walk across a room without being out of breath. Am I bitter? Hell yes, I am bitter. Just because someone has money or a position of power, or possibly even a very high level of education, this doesn’t mean that their skills would ever play in another time and place.
The Folly of a Broken “System”
What can be wrong? they all must say,
it must be right, for I learned this way.
Something is broken, for man cannot learn,
the next up will say, “watch me, it’s my turn.”
We fail to grasp, time and time again,
when a machine is broken, it cannot be fixed from within.
Try as we might, we will continue to fail,
It is enough to make a calm man, scream and yell.
Promises are made, and continually broken,
the words are empty, as soon as they’re spoken.
The “system” was once proud, tried and true,
but was all discarded, for a promise of something new.
We can no longer read, write, multiply or divide,
while the people out front say, “what a heck of a ride!”
If I put in my time, and check all the boxes,
a confidence game, with a house full of foxes.
Virtue is lost, with nothing to show,
if you are outside the “system”, then nothing you’ll know.
So where do we go? and how will we learn?
Nero will dance, as he watches Rome burn.
Now the dictates come, from the masters above,
The “system” was once built, on compassion and love.
Will it ever return, to the glory of old?
my friend it will take someone, from outside who’s bold.
The parts that broke it, say “let me fix it,”
“throw us more money, yeah that’s the ticket.”
Chapter 4: The Gold Standard - Coming Soon!
Post Script: I have never made a mass appeal to the internet or to people I don’t know before, but that is exactly what I am going to do. The process of starting Raven Adventures & Training began as a dream for me and my family many years ago. In 2019 we (my family) made the leap to go out on our own to share our love of education and the outdoors with this amazing world. My timing couldn’t have been worse, which does always seem to be the case with me. However, as Ol' Blue Eyes once sang, “That’s Life”. My dream came crashing down in 2020. Raven Adventures & Training is still alive in some regards, but it is on life support at this point. I would love nothing more than to once again be in control of my own destiny and share what I have to offer with the world, but financially speaking Raven Adventures & Training might be fully dead. I started writing these blogs as a last-ditch effort to keep a small piece of my dream alive, but even that has grown difficult. The fees to even keep my website operational, so that someone could possibly contact me for services or so I can post these brilliant (very arrogant remember?) musings have tripled in just the past few years. I need help to keep the proverbial lights on. I am the sole proprietor of RA&T, which means it either sinks or swims with my ability to meet basic financial requirements (business license, insurance, certifications, logistics, etc.). Raven Adventures & Training is not set up as a not-for-profit entity, so I have nothing to offer (tax deduction) to people who simply want to make a donation to help the cause. Enough with the foreplay. If you would like to help keep the dream alive, you can donate using the donate button on the homepage. Again, I cannot offer anything in return at this point except for the rantings and ravings of a deranged mind. Whichever way this goes, thank you for your support over the past five years.
The Modern-Day Mountain Man
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