The activities of the ethnographers and three Alyawara men during the course of a trip to a stone quarry in Central Australia are described. The excavation, shaping, and reduction of cores for the production of standardized flakes and blades was observed on the trip. These observations are then used as the basis for a short discussion regarding the current literature treating lithic techniques. Some contemporary approaches or interpretations may be in need of modification as we become increasingly aware of the variability in technique that may well stand behind the manufactured products we regularly analyze and study.