Levallois technique

Okay kiddo, have you ever tried to make a really cool sandcastle with just your hands and a bucket? You scoop up sand with your little bucket, turn it over, and then tap it gently to make a castle shape. Now imagine if you didn't have a bucket, but just had your hands and a piece of rock instead.

The levallois technique is a way people used to make tools long, long, long ago so they could hunt and survive. They picked up a piece of rock and very carefully (like playing a game of Operation) hit it in the exact right spot with another rock to "flake" off a perfectly shaped tool. They did this over and over until they had the exact tool they needed.

So instead of just banging rocks together and hoping for the best, the levallois technique is like doing a puzzle to create the exact tool you need. It was a really important discovery for people a long time ago because it allowed them to make tools that were safer, more efficient, and easier to handle.