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A flintknapper is an individual who shapes flint or other stone through the process of knapping or lithic reduction no shit sherlock, to manufacture stone tools, strikers for flintlock firearms, or to produce flat-faced stones for building or facing walls. This article is about the sedimentary rock. ...
Lithic reduction involves the use of a hard hammer percussor, such as a hammerstone, a soft hammer fabricator made of wood, bone or antler, or a wood or antler punch to detach lithic flakes from a lump of tool stone called a lithic core. ...
Ancient stone tools A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made of stone. ...
Flintlock of an 18th Century hunting rifle, with piece of flint missing. ...
Knapping is done in a variety of ways depending on the purpose of the final product. For stone tools and flintlock strikers flint is worked using a fabricator, such as a hammerstone, to remove lithic flakes from a nucleus or core of tool stone. Stone tools can then be further refined using wood, bone, and antler tools to perform pressure flaking. In archaeology, a hammerstone is a hard cobble used to strike lithic flakes off a lump of tool stone during the process of lithic reduction. ...
In archaeology, a lithic flake is a thin, sharp fragment of stone that results from the process of lithic reduction. ...
In archaeology, a lithic core is a distinctive artifact that results from the practice of lithic reduction. ...
In archaeology, a tool stone is a type of stone that is used to manufacture stone tools. ...
In lithic reduction, pressure flaking is a method of trimming the edge of a stone tool by removing small lithic flakes by pressing on the stone with a sharp instrument rather than striking it with a percussor. ...
For building work a hammer or pick is used to split flint nodules supported on the lap. Often the flint nodule will be split in half to create two flints with a flat circular face for use in walls constructed of lime. More sophisticated knapping is employed to produce almost perfect cubes which are used as bricks.
In cultures that have not adopted metalworking technologies, the production of stone tools by flintknappers is common, but in modern cultures the making of such tools is the domain of experimental archaeologists and hobbyists. Archaeologists usually undertake the task so that they can better understand how prehistoric stone tools were made. Experimental archaeology employs a number of different methods, techniques, analyses, and approaches in order to generate and test hypotheses or an interpretation, based upon archaeological source material, like ancient structures or artifacts. ...
Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ...
Ancient stone tools A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made of stone. ...
Flint knapping for the supply of strikers for flintlock firearms was a major industry in flint bearing locations, such as Brandon in Suffolk, England, where flintknappers made strikers for export to the Congo as late as 1947.
Flintknapping for building purposes is still a skill that is practised in the flint bearing regions of Southern England, such as Sussex, Suffolk and Norfolk, and in Northern France, especially Brittany and Normandy where there is a resurgence of the craft due to government funding.
For more information on archaeological use, see lithic reduction. Lithic reduction involves the use of a hard hammer percussor, such as a hammerstone, a soft hammer fabricator made of wood, bone or antler, or a wood or antler punch to detach lithic flakes from a lump of tool stone called a lithic core. ...
Flintknapping as a hobby Modern interest in flintknapping can be traced back to the study of a California Native American named Ishi who lived in the early 20th century. Ishi taught scholars and academics traditional methods of making stone tools and how to use them for survival in the wild, additionally A few pioneering 19th century European experimental flint knappers are also known and in the late 1960s and early 1970s experimental archaeologist Donald Crabtree published texts such as "Experiments in Flintworking". Francois Bordes was an early writer on Old World flintknapping; he experimented with ways to replicate stone tools found across Western Europe. These authors helped to ignite a small craze in flintknapping among archaeologists and prehistorians. Many groups, with members from all walks of life, can now be found across the United States and Europe. These organizations continue to demonstrate and teach various ways of shaping stone tools. Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area Ranked 3rd - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²) - Width 250 miles (400 km) - Length 770 miles (1,240 km) - % water 4. ...
Ishi in 1914 Ishi (c. ...
Ishi in 1914 Ishi (c. ...
The borders of Western Europe were largely defined by the Cold War. ...
For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...
Examples of flintknapping tools There are many different methods of shaping stone into useful tools. The three most simple techniques are mentioned below.
A brief description of the tools and methods used in flintknapping can be found in the lithic reduction page. Lithic reduction involves the use of a hard hammer percussor, such as a hammerstone, a soft hammer fabricator made of wood, bone or antler, or a wood or antler punch to detach lithic flakes from a lump of tool stone called a lithic core. ...
Hard Hammer Precussion
An example of hard hammer precussion. Hard hammer techniques are used to remove large flakes of stone. Early flintknappers and hobbyists replicating their methods often use cobbles of very hard stone, such as quartzite. This technique can be used by flintknappers to remove broad flakes that can be made into smaller tools. This method of manufacture is believed to have been used to make some of the earliest stone tools ever found, some of which date from over 2 million years ago. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (3072x2304, 1012 KB) Example of hard hammer precussion used in flintknapping ZenTrowel I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (3072x2304, 1012 KB) Example of hard hammer precussion used in flintknapping ZenTrowel I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ...
See: Olduwan tools Chopper with a Simple edge. ...
Soft Hammer Precussion
An example of soft hammer precussion Early flintknappers could have used simple hammers made of wood or antler to shape stone tools. Soft hammer techniques are more precise than hard hammer methods of shaping stone. Soft hammer techniques allow a flintknapper to shape a stone into many different kinds of cutting, scraping, and projectile tools. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3072 × 2304 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3072 × 2304 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Pressure Flaking
An example of pressure flaking Pressure flaking involves removing narrow flakes along the edge of a stone tool. This technique is often used to do detailed thinning and shaping of a stone tool. Pressure flaking involves putting a large amount of force across a region on the edge of the tool and (hopefully) causing a narrow flake to come off of the stone. Modern hobbyists often use pressure flaking tools with a copper or brass tip, but early flintknappers could have used antler tines or a pointed wooden punch. Traditionalist flintknappers still use antler tines and copper tipped tools. The major advantage of using soft metals is that the metal punches wear down less and are less likely to break under pressure. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3072 × 2304 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3072 × 2304 pixel, file size: 1. ...
External links
Further reading - Crabtree, Donald (January 1971). Experiments in Flintworking. Idaho State University Museum, 102. ASIN B0006XPAQU.
- Whittaker, John C. (1994). Flintknapping : Making and Understanding Stone Tools (Paperback), University of Texas Press, 351. ISBN 0-292-79083-X.
- Kuhn, T.C. (2007). The Stone Breakers : A Novel of the First Americans (Trade Paperback/Hardback), Xlibris Corp, 325. ISBN 978-1-4257-8248-1.
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