Stone and Bone
Bushcraft Survival Australia presents
A Bushcraft Survival Australia hosted event
Bushcraft Survival Australia is excited to announce that we will be hosting Tom Foley to run “Stone and Bone”– a 2 day workshop on flint knapping and bone tools.
About the Stone and Bone course
Learn about the oldest survival skills human history has to offer, taking a deep dive into a skill that predates our species by millions of years. This course is designed to teach you how to make and use the stone and bone tools that allowed our ancestors to survive and thrive in the wilderness long before we had mora knives and silky saws. Learn the skills necessary to step out into the field without your bushcraft knife safe in the knowledge you can create every tool you need from the natural materials around you.
Course Syllabus
The curriculum of the Stone & Bone course is packed with both broad-spectrum skills and niche prehistoric technology, giving students the fundamental knowledge necessary to construct the tools they need to affect their survival from only what the landscape provides. This course will impart on students an array of tool manufacturing techniques as well as the context from which each technique and technology is derived. Whether you wish to know how to supplement your modern bushcraft kit or go completely prehistoric, this course is for you. You will learn:
- Basic Flintknapping Theory – Learn to identify knappable stone, the basics of knapping theory and the history behind the art
- Flintknapping Techniques – How to use hard and soft hammer percussion, bipolar percussion, pressure flaking, and indirect percussion to manipulate knappable stone into useful tools
- Flintknapping Toolkit – Gather stone, bone, and antler to construct your very own knapping toolkit
- Stone Tool Construction – Construct and use an array of stone tool types from discoidal knives, handaxes, blade cores, drills, scrapers, arrowheads and more
- Bone Tool Construction – Craft useful tools from bones such as awls, needles, containers, flintknapping tools, fishhooks, knives and more
- Hafting – Harvest animal sinew and make pitch glue to connect your stone/bone tools to handles or weapon shafts
- Archaeological History – Gain an understanding of the context behind these tools, where they come from and when best use them
Tom Foley (BA, MA)
Tom Foley is a published experimental archaeologist, anthropologist and accomplished Australian wilderness living skills instructor, having worked for, and trained with, multiple survival schools over the course of nine years. Specialising in Indigenous Australian lithic technology and subsistence strategies, Tom holds a Master’s degree in Material Culture & Experimental Archaeology.
Tom now works in the field conducting archaeological investigations in collaboration with Indigenous Australian communities, whilst also operating as a survival instructor. Many of Tom’s lessons draw from his global anthropological adventures learning subsistence skills from Indigenous hunter-gatherers such as coastal survival from the Yolngu of Arnhem Land, arid survival from the Hadza of Tanzania and jungle bushcraft from the Matis of Brazil. Tom has dedicated large quantities of time travelling around the world to learn from the top instructors in their respective fields, having had the privilege of learning coastal survival in England, jungle island survival in El Salvador, and desert survival in the canyons of Utah, USA.
Specialising in tropical, sub-tropical and arid Indigenous survival techniques and a minimalist approach to outdoor living, Tom draws on both his academic background and dirt time as an outdoorsman to communicate to students how to do more with less. Toms’ true passion lies in a range of topics including flint knapping, spear thrower hunting and construction, friction fire, hide tanning, sandal making, woodwork, trapping, bone tools, primitive fishing, travelling light and eating wild.
Tom has given award winning university lectures on his ethnoarchaelogical research as well as being interviewed for the ‘Move Wild’ podcast and Triple J ‘Hack’ radio show. It is Toms mission to teach students how to construct everything they need to survive and thrive in nature using only what the natural world provides.
There are no pre-requisites for this course
Accommodation
This course is run entirely outdoors from an expedition style base camp, and you will be sleeping in your own camping equipment that you will bring. Students who have previously completed our Fundamental Module 1 are encouraged to sleep under a hootchie (we can loan them) and practice their hootchie setup skills .
Amenities
This course is run entirely outdoors from an expedition style base camp. A screened trench latrine in a secluded private spot, along with strict camp hygiene measures will give a natural wilderness expedition feel to your experience as well as teaching you essential outdoor toilet etiquette and how to leave no trace. You will be taught how to wash with limited water and stay clean in the bush. Our measures are low-impact and environmentally friendly.
Food
All food will be provided on the course. Tea, coffee, biscuits and fresh water, as well as a fruit bowl will also be provided at the base camp.
Whilst we try to cater for most dietary needs (vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, lactose intolerant etc.), we cannot cater for lifestyle choices or fussy eaters due to the remote nature of our courses. You can supplement the provided food with your own snacks/food, but unless you are allergic/intolerant, you will be expected to eat the food supplied.
Refer to the BSA Kit List page for a list of standard items to bring to a BSA course.
You are welcome to bring a small tent or tarp to sleep in overnight, however students who have previously completed our Fundamental Module 1 are encouraged to sleep under a hootchie or tarp (we can loan them) so as to re-acquaint you with your Mod 1 skills.
This course is run from an expedition style camp, entirely outdoors. You will need a reasonable level of health and fitness to maximise your participation and enjoyment of the course.
View frequently asked questions on our dedicated FAQ page.
If your question is not answered on the FAQ page, please contact us.
Maximum participants: 12
Age: 18 years and over
Price: $785
Location: Camden, Sydney (NSW)
Start time: 9am on Day 1
Finish time: 4pm on Day 2
BSA PRESENTS: STONE AND BONE
| Date | Course | Venue Subject to change | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14/11/26 - 15/11/26 | 2 Day Stone & Bone | Camden, NSW | Book Now |
Cancellation policy
- Cancellations made within 6 weeks of a course start date will be refunded less 20%
- Cancellations made within 4 weeks of a course start date will be refunded less 50%
- Cancellations made within 2 weeks of a course start date - no refund
