“Even the concept of this kind of precision does not occur to an artisan unless there is no other means of accomplishing what the artifact is intended to do. The only other reason that such precision would be created in an object would be that the tools that are used to create it are so precise that they are incapable of producing anything less than precision.”
It strikes me that neither of those statements makes any sense.
A lathe cannot produce anything of a n indeterminate lumpy texture. Even the turnings are precise. Apply this thinkibg to other devices like a wood saw or metal saw, or a hand drill, ir a die for cutting threads on a rod.
High pressure water jets can cut hard metal, let alone stone MOH 6-7 or ceramics with MOH index of 8 or 9. Maybe they were able to create such water jets. That would seem to be a real possibility.
I have used ultrasonic tools to precisely machine silicon carbide with diamond grit slurry and a metal tool delivering the vibrations. I would think that given the ingenuity to design a rotary disk and/or vibrating tool tip that a water slurry of granite dust or sand (which is grains of quartz or zircon with a higher MOH) could be used to cut a thin slot into the massive stone. Such a slot would by its own action create a very precise planar surface on each side of the cut
These archaeologists simply have no practical imagination, not even as much as the cultures they are digging out. Even their nimbleness in the spiritual dimension is far less than that of the prophets who believed God and wrote the self-consistent Holy Bible. Dame Kenyon, who dug at Jericho, couldn't comprehend that the Bible tale of the fallen walls was true, (which later diggers proved to be so) not believing at all in a real Creator.
Using a slurry of granite dust as the grinding medium would, after a washing down and cleanup, not leave a smidgin of evidence as to how the cutting was achieved, would it?
Bunch of unimaginative dummies. That's probably the reason they can't find work anywhere else.
But I am a person {66 yr's old} with 25 plus year's as a body & fender guy, Painted Aircraft for Boeing, for 5 yr's, and 19 yr's and still counting welding (5 yr's ship yard's, working on small boat's of 400 foot length's) & metal fabrication. I also just in the last 4 yr's have invested heavily into machinist equipment metal lathe, milling machine, machinist tooling (would have been cheaper to do drugs.)
The statement: “Even the concept of this kind of precision does not occur to an artisan unless there is no other means of accomplishing what the artifact is intended to do. The only other reason that such precision would be created in an object would be that the tools that are used to create it are so precise that they are incapable of producing anything less than precision.”
Makes a LOT OF SENSE to me.
With dripping sarcasm let me use a saying I like, when wanting to put a person in their place: if I put a scalpel in your hand it doesn't make you a F-ing neurosurgeon.
But that scalpel could & would improve even a modest say wood caver, for example, I could go on, put I'm hoping you can at least smell the coffee, by now. FACE to PALM, rolling my eye's now. Shaking my head in disbelief.
A bit of a wordy statement to be sure but ...
in other words the guy has an idea that cannot be made with the tools at hand, so he thinks outside the box and makes new tools to create his idea - happens all the time in labs all over the world, not to mention engineers.