PatternsNo. 06 · Hardness
Stone harder than the tools that shaped it.
Granite, diorite, basalt and andesite, 6 to 7 on Mohs, worked to a finish by cultures whose surviving tools are copper and stone. Softer does not cut harder.
31 sites · 9 countriesEquirectangular · every dot is a site in the Atlas
Watch the comparison · 6 studies
The most precisely made granite object of ancient EgyptUnchartedXEgypt · measured, not admired
Is it possible to carve a temple in basalt? A real-life experimentProto CivilizationIndia · the test, not the theory
A complete exploration of megalithic Puma Punku and TiwanakuBrien FoersterBolivia · andesite, cut to interlocking modules
The enormous megaliths of Osaka CastleAncient ArchitectsJapan · granite at scale
Sillustani — acoustic towers of PeruHugh Newman / MegalithomaniaPeru · andesite blocks, curved to a circle
Ethiopia's ancient megaliths, part 1 — the Aksum obelisksSecrets in StoneEthiopia · granite steles with carved false doorsIncludes one experiment: someone actually trying to carve basalt the orthodox way.
What the pattern is, and what it is not: the argument in full
This is the criterion where the arithmetic is hardest to wave away. Copper is about 3 on Mohs; granite is 6 to 7. Softer does not cut harder. The orthodox answer is abrasion, meaning sand, dolerite pounders and time, and for rough shaping it plainly works. The argument is about the finish, and about how long the numbers say it should have taken.
Only 31 sites in the Atlas carry this tag, which is under-tagging rather than scarcity. Treat the count as a floor.
Every site in the Atlas that carries it · 31 across 9 countries
Egypt
Ethiopia
India
Portugal
United Kingdom
The other patterns
Dimmed patterns are tagged across the Atlas but have no comparative study written yet.