Of
Jacob Wetzel
Either way, it’s pretty to look at. The Arnhofen chert shines, is blue-grey to golden-brown and banded in parallel, it has something like a naturally occurring pinstripe pattern. It’s almost surprising that people in the Stone Age didn’t make any jewelry out of it. But the stone is not only beautiful, but also extremely practical. It is “one of the ten best types of flint in the world,” says geoarchaeologist Alexander Binsteiner. If you work it properly, you can knock razor-sharp blades out of it to make knives or sickles. But was it worth its weight in gold?