Harvesting of Marine Stones: The Past and Today The sea, like the land, has been a source of sustenance for humans since the stone ages. In the Old Stone Age humans wandered from place to place, foraging for food, eating, resting and moving on. Eventually humans learnt to settle and do things by using the land and sea. One of the things learnt was making and use of lime powder from corals. Initially wood ash was used but gradually humans found out that coral stone from the sea was of the best quality. That was a long time ago and today there is far more interest in harvesting from the sea, including the continuation of search and collection of precious stones. Coral stone from the coral reefs are harvested and processed into lime powder. It is practiced by the Tolai of Rabaul as well as other coastal villages in PNG, including the Kiriwina coastals in Trobriands. The practice had been around since our ancestors discovered coral as a mineral for processing into lime po...