The Hoko knife is made from a piece of green, flexible wood and a sharp rock. Have students select a piece of flexible wood about 12 inches long, 1 to 2 inches thick. With a blunt rock as a hammer, use a sharp rock to notch the ends of the stick. Then, split the stick in half. Gather some strong grass or green vines to use for tying. Now, open the two halves of the stick and place the sharp rock inside. Secure the rock by tying the stick pieces together on either end of the rock.
The bow drill is used with a spindle to create fire and can be made with a few basic materials. First, locate a small sturdy stick that's about 10 inches long and an inch or two wide. Next, tie sturdy string or twine to the stick on each end, leaving some slack in the line so it can wrap around the spindle. For a spindle, find a small stick around 6 to 8 inches long. This is what the bow will wrap around and spin to create friction against the hearthboard. The hearthboard should be a piece of rectangular wood that is just wider than the spindle's diameter and about 6 to 8 inches long. Wrap the string from the bow around the spindle. Then, have a student hold the hearthboard with his foot while holding the spindle with one hand and pressing it against the hearthboard .The other hand will be used to push the bow back and forth, causing the spindle to spin and eventually creating a piece of char which can be transferred to tinder to create fire.
A mortar and pestle was a tool for cooking in ancient times. Have students look for hollowed-out rocks that could be used for mortars. Explain that these were often made from sandstone, allowing them to be hollowed out further because of the stone's softness. Pestles, however, were hardstone and typically cylindrical in shape, long enough to hold onto and with a fat base that, when pressed against the bowl, caused pressure to crush whatever was inside. Have them look for a pestle to accompany their mortar and let them see how good a tool they made by giving them rice or wheat to grind. Explain that pharmacists still use mortar and pestles to crush drugs into a powder.
Ancient peoples used many different types of fishing spears depending on the waters where they fished. It's easy to create a fishing spear and students can pick from different designs. For any of the designs, it's necessary to have a long, green stick that is sturdy, but slightly flexible and green, so it doesn't absorb water when being used. Find a stick 4 to 6 feet in length and between 2 and 3 inches wide, depending on the size of fish being sought. Tell children that the end can have one or two prongs. Explain that ancient people sharpened their spears using rocks. Let them experiment doing this and see how difficult it is to work with stones for sharpening.