The Abstract outlines the goal of puncturing a myth:
The ethnographic account of an Inuit man manufacturing a knife from his own frozen feces to butcher and disarticulate a dog has permeated both the academic literature and popular culture.
To evaluate the validity of this claim, we tested the basis of that account via experimental archaeology. Our experiments assessed the functionality of knives made from human feces in controlled conditions that provided optimal conditions for success.
However, they were not functional.
While much research has shown foragers to be technologically resourceful, innovative, and savvy, we suggest that this ethnographic account should no longer be used to support that narrative.
I'm reminded of our undergrad in-campus physics journal article on the results of several students shaving with razors some of which where kept under pyramids against a control group which were not.
"The use of saliva to sharpen a frozen fecal blade, as the original account describes (Davis, 1998), might also be examined. "
It seems to me that some Inuit tried to troll the researchers :)
Nitrate, NO−3 which is later used to preserve the chicken along with Carbon monoxide.
It was unclear from the video how much the preservatives contributed to the structural properties of the knife, or if they were just used to preserve it during the 2 weeks at 90F, which I assume dessicated the meat.
- OK, the poop knife claim in the story sounds incredibly weird, but what about using a dog's rib cage as a sled? It would not only be too small, but there's no way it could support a grown man's weight. It amazes me that anybody could ever take this story as anything other than a troll.
- I'm fascinated by the fact that, in the discussion section, the authors spend paragraphs justifying this work on the basis of how it affects narratives about the ingenuity of indigenous and prehistoric peoples. Says so much about the state of science.
31 comments
[ 5.2 ms ] story [ 67.5 ms ] threadJournal of Archaeological Science: Reports Volume 27, October 2019, 102002
with a hosted web version at
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X1...
The Abstract outlines the goal of puncturing a myth:
I'm reminded of our undergrad in-campus physics journal article on the results of several students shaving with razors some of which where kept under pyramids against a control group which were not.https://blog.invisiblethings.org/2013/02/21/converting-untru...
It seems there it a lot of variability there, as a natural product.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X1...
It was unclear from the video how much the preservatives contributed to the structural properties of the knife, or if they were just used to preserve it during the 2 weeks at 90F, which I assume dessicated the meat.
- OK, the poop knife claim in the story sounds incredibly weird, but what about using a dog's rib cage as a sled? It would not only be too small, but there's no way it could support a grown man's weight. It amazes me that anybody could ever take this story as anything other than a troll.
- I'm fascinated by the fact that, in the discussion section, the authors spend paragraphs justifying this work on the basis of how it affects narratives about the ingenuity of indigenous and prehistoric peoples. Says so much about the state of science.
2019: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20958786 (17 comments)
2020: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22686036 (4 comments)
2020: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24531654 (11 comments)
The picture is pretty funny.