Maka tau. Throwing stone. This maka tau is made from maka uli (black stone or basalt) and would have been used in war as a throwing weapon. When used during combat, it would be thrown at the enemy from as far away a distance as four meters. This maka tau is ovoid or egg-shaped but uneven in form with one side that has been flattened. It is of a dark grey/black colour with a few specks of white and brown. Its exterior surface is smooth and partly polished but pecked with small pore-like cavities that are a result of the stone being worked and shaped with hammer dressing. The maka tau was often used as a defending weapon in combat and if thrown correctly, could do real damage and even cause death.