Onyx was traditionally hand-mined by skilled artisans. They would use chisels and hammers to extract the onyx from the underground and cut it into small pieces. The extracted stones were then transported to the surface and polished to a smooth finish. The mining process was labor-intensive and slow, requiring patience and expertise to ensure the onyx was extracted with minimal damage. As technology progressed, mechanized methods of mining were developed, reducing the need for manual labor and increasing the efficiency and speed of the process. However, onyx is still often mined by hand in some parts of the world, particularly in remote or small-scale operations.