"to leave behind faint" ?

Question

In a sentence:"Not every one can detect such actions, as the cutting edge of the flint stone leaves behind faint parallel incisions that a trained eye is meant to see". What does the phrase mean?

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Actually, the sentence does not make sense contextually, but that's neither here nor there.

Almost all cutting instruments or machines leave marks on the object being cut. These marks may sometimes be used to identify the implement.

Teeth marks have been used to identify assailants.

If you've ever been to a lumber store, I'm sure you've had no trouble distinguishing the rough sawn boards from the planed lumber. The surface of a tree stump felled by a chain saw has a different appearance from one which has been cut by a two-man saw, or chopped with an axe.

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"Not every one can detect such actions, as the cutting edge of the flint stone leaves behind faint parallel incisions that a trained eye is meant to see".>>

I'd say, " - - - leaves behind only faint parallel incisions that are meant to be invisible to / unseen by the untrained eye."

As the sentence stands, the "as" makes no sense. And the rest of the sentence implies that the "faint parallel incisions" are put there deliberately, for the use of trained personnel.

Edit. Only the eye of a trained archeologist (would) detect the faint parallel incisions left behind by the cutting edge of the flint stone.

SeroMack · Answer

Thanks for the answer, Avangi!

Silly me. I thought of "to leave behind faint" as an idiomatic phrase or sth. like that. The obvious is that what we have there is a verb to leave behind and an adjective faint.

Sorry for wreaking havoc

The context is:

When analyzing one of the skulls, the regional head of archaeology (Andrea Zeeb-Lanz) points out the grooves that run from the base of the nose to the back of the neck. The evidence shows that the flesh was torn off from the skull. Not every one can detect such actions, as the cutting edge of the flint stone leaves behind faint parallel incisions that a trained eye is meant to see.

Avangi · Answer

seroMackSorry for wreaking havoc

No worries, mate. (That's like apologizing to the plumber!)

"to leave behind faint" ?

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