Mineralogy
"Hardness" is determined by comparison with other minerals. In the Mohs scale, a standard set of minerals are numbered in order of increasing hardness from 1 (talc) to 10 (diamond). A harder mineral will scratch a softer, so an unknown mineral can be placed in this scale by which minerals it scratches and which scratch it. A few minerals such as calcite and kyanite have a hardness that depends significantly on direction. Hardness can also be measured on an absolute scale using a sclerometer; compared to the absolute scale, the Mohs scale is nonlinear.
Cupules
Typically cupules were created by direct percussion, i.e. using hand-held hammer-stones. Replication studies have shown that the time required for their production varies greatly, depending on the rock type. It can take one minute to create a 12 mm deep cupule on weathered sandstone, but 45,000 and 60,000 hammer-stone strokes on unweathered quartzite. The resistance of a rock to kinetic impact is determined by its hardness, toughness and strength. Hardness, in this context, is a complex articulation of several factors, essentially a measure of how resistant rock is to various kinds of permanent shape change when a compressive force is applied to it. These factors include scratch or abrasion resistance (Rosiwal scale), toughness, strength, ductility, indentation hardness (measured by the Brinell scale and expressed in BHN, or measured by the Vickers test and expressed in kg/mm²) and brittleness factor. Abrasion hardness, indentation hardness and brittleness factor (ratio of the uniaxial compressive strength and the uniaxial tensile strength) combine to determine the “composite hardness index” "θ", which governs the production coefficient "ρ":