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XtrmAudioCncpts
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and just think if he would have waited the 2 weeks until he was supposed to be born. this kid is going to be HUGE both his parents are 6 foot+
How to Flint Knap- Past and Present
Arrowheads fascinate both of John and I. John has been finding them all of the time on his farm an other places he has walked. I have never found one, but have always looked for them, without any luck. We decided to make an arrow head, specifically a Clovis point, one because they were supposedly rare in Iowa, and because choosing this objective would fulfill curiosity for both of us. The subject of flint knapping was particularly interesting because we both had seen the points, but it was a mystery to both of us how that point came to be. We decided that it would be pretty cool to go ahead and try to make an arrowhead; In this, we figured we could gain some insight into ancient processes and life-ways by attempting to imitate some of their tasks, and relaying this to the class would help them to learn more about this forgone process as well. The archaeological problem, case in point would then be “How does a person today make arrowheads (flaked stone tools etc) and how did the ancients make arrowheads?”
We began the project by searching for flint to actually knap, after briefly reviewing the process as explained in the textbook. Most of this was done to discover how difficult the process would be for Native Americans to carry this out, or to discover as a new technology. I (ryan) drove to several different quarrys in my area, some 15 miles away from my home, to try to find flint or chert or any stone suitable to knap. While doing this, it was interesting to see how actually difficult it was to find a certain kind of stone, to do this on foot in ancient times would be nonetheless very frustrating, possibly deadly- if the native or natives needed blades for hunting and processing their food. Finally, after searching several shallow quarrys without luck, I stopped by a quarry near Galena, where there was stone of suitable type. It was a deep dynamited quarry, the face inside of the hill was at least 70 feet or more high. At the bottom was a few shattered veins of stone that could be used to knap. Of course, the natives would have had to dig for it, or go along a bluff, canyon or a streambed to obtain their chert. One advantage the ancients had over me was that the chert they found had not been subject to dynamite- it was a tedious process
Once the stone was located, I spread it out and decided to start to begin as it was. The stones were anywhere from an inch to three inches across, of varying diameters- all of them flint/chert. Some were different colors, the darker gray and almost agate stones were the hardest, and likewise the best to knap. The white almost powdery stone, which was often part of the hard gray stone. Essentially, I found the stone to be hard, dangerously sharp when it actually did flake, and completely unpredictable. It would pressure flake easily in one place, then not at all in another. Then going back to the same place where it flaked before, the whole piece of stone would break in half! Overall, the knapping experience with this material could be described bluntly as thus; bleeding on sharp, obstinate gravel.
From then it was on to heat treating, to make the stone more workable; or as those watching from a distance around the homestead called it “smoking rocks.” I subjected the flint, in a coffee can, to an oak charcoal fire. This proved ineffective the first time, so I put it in the fire again, this time made it hotter. The results were at first exciting, then frustrating- the flint knapped- shockingly, but as soon as the surface was flaked off it became as obstinate as before.
Fortunately, this experiment was done well in advance of the project. Knowing the problems that we faced, the question “how do they REALLY do that,” arose. This is where John came in. It was Johns duty to find out how knappers knap. The textbook, as technical as it was, proved ineffectual for my purposes, so John decided to go beyond and get some “layman terms” of knapping laid out. Upon a simple Google search to get his feet wet, John came across Dan. Dan’s extensive detailed website was enough to prompt an email. The man behind the website, and some beautiful replica points was eager to help.
Having taught classes in flint knapping before, Dan knew the learning curve of newbies to the flint knapping world quite well.
Arrowheads fascinate both of John and I. John has been finding them all of the time on his farm an other places he has walked. I have never found one, but have always looked for them, without any luck. We decided to make an arrow head, specifically a Clovis point, one because they were supposedly rare in Iowa, and because choosing this objective would fulfill curiosity for both of us. The subject of flint knapping was particularly interesting because we both had seen the points, but it was a mystery to both of us how that point came to be. We decided that it would be pretty cool to go ahead and try to make an arrowhead; In this, we figured we could gain some insight into ancient processes and life-ways by attempting to imitate some of their tasks, and relaying this to the class would help them to learn more about this forgone process as well. The archaeological problem, case in point would then be “How does a person today make arrowheads (flaked stone tools etc) and how did the ancients make arrowheads?”
We began the project by searching for flint to actually knap, after briefly reviewing the process as explained in the textbook. Most of this was done to discover how difficult the process would be for Native Americans to carry this out, or to discover as a new technology. I (ryan) drove to several different quarrys in my area, some 15 miles away from my home, to try to find flint or chert or any stone suitable to knap. While doing this, it was interesting to see how actually difficult it was to find a certain kind of stone, to do this on foot in ancient times would be nonetheless very frustrating, possibly deadly- if the native or natives needed blades for hunting and processing their food. Finally, after searching several shallow quarrys without luck, I stopped by a quarry near Galena, where there was stone of suitable type. It was a deep dynamited quarry, the face inside of the hill was at least 70 feet or more high. At the bottom was a few shattered veins of stone that could be used to knap. Of course, the natives would have had to dig for it, or go along a bluff, canyon or a streambed to obtain their chert. One advantage the ancients had over me was that the chert they found had not been subject to dynamite- it was a tedious process
Once the stone was located, I spread it out and decided to start to begin as it was. The stones were anywhere from an inch to three inches across, of varying diameters- all of them flint/chert. Some were different colors, the darker gray and almost agate stones were the hardest, and likewise the best to knap. The white almost powdery stone, which was often part of the hard gray stone. Essentially, I found the stone to be hard, dangerously sharp when it actually did flake, and completely unpredictable. It would pressure flake easily in one place, then not at all in another. Then going back to the same place where it flaked before, the whole piece of stone would break in half! Overall, the knapping experience with this material could be described bluntly as thus; bleeding on sharp, obstinate gravel.
From then it was on to heat treating, to make the stone more workable; or as those watching from a distance around the homestead called it “smoking rocks.” I subjected the flint, in a coffee can, to an oak charcoal fire. This proved ineffective the first time, so I put it in the fire again, this time made it hotter. The results were at first exciting, then frustrating- the flint knapped- shockingly, but as soon as the surface was flaked off it became as obstinate as before.
Fortunately, this experiment was done well in advance of the project. Knowing the problems that we faced, the question “how do they REALLY do that,” arose. This is where John came in. It was Johns duty to find out how knappers knap. The textbook, as technical as it was, proved ineffectual for my purposes, so John decided to go beyond and get some “layman terms” of knapping laid out. Upon a simple Google search to get his feet wet, John came across Dan. Dan’s extensive detailed website was enough to prompt an email. The man behind the website, and some beautiful replica points was eager to help.
Having taught classes in flint knapping before, Dan knew the learning curve of newbies to the flint knapping world quite well.
mmm, text.
XtrmAudioCncpts
10+ year member
CarAudio.com Veteran
thats too long to read and im too lazy
Meh. Posting my homework/final essay makes me feel special. Especailly b/c it's not done/:yumyum:
post ho?
Yes. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/uhoh.gif.c07307dd22ee7e63e22fc8e9c614d1fd.gif
PhatTonyDeMarco
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C0CK,its whats for dinner
I...
PhatTonyDeMarco
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C0CK,its whats for dinner
plan
PhatTonyDeMarco
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C0CK,its whats for dinner
to
PhatTonyDeMarco
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C0CK,its whats for dinner
hit
PhatTonyDeMarco
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C0CK,its whats for dinner
4,000
PhatTonyDeMarco
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C0CK,its whats for dinner
Tonight....
PhatTonyDeMarco
5,000+ posts
C0CK,its whats for dinner
Whooooo
puppie_chow
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The American Nightmare
No more party?
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