1	"Man’s Mastery of Stone" Man’s Mastery of Stone in Prehistory Presented by Jim Fisher, B.A. Anthropology-Archaeology, M.Ed. and
2	About the Presenter From Grand Island, New York Artifact Collector for 26 years Began experimenting with stone tool technology in 1986 as part of undergraduate studies Earned B.A. in Anthropology with an Archaeology Concentration in 1988, University of Buffalo; M.Ed. 1993
3	About the Presenter (cont.) Member of the AACA, GIRS, ASAA, NYS Archaeological Association Northeast Regional Support Contact for the AACA membership Member of the AACA Board of Directors
4	Purpose of This Presentation: Introduce the art & skill of stone tool manufacture Illustrate the degree to which a basic understanding of the properties of various types of rocks & minerals was critical to ancient man’s survival Provide an interdisciplinary understanding of prehistoric man’s subsistence strategies (Archaeology & Geology)
5	Introduction What are these objects? What do you think they were being used for? How long ago do you think they were made and being used? What similarities do you notice? Differences? From what material are these artifacts made? How do you think these artifacts were made?
6	Objectives Define what is meant by the term flintknapping. Identify the properties of lithic materials that are suitable for flintknapping. Identify the name of the lithic material that was widely used in New York, the formation from which it comes, and its general location. Identify some of the tools that are needed to knap and define their uses. Define what is meant by pecking & grinding Describe the degree to which the skills of ancient flintknappers and knowledge of the properties of rocks & minerals were critical to survival in pre-history.
7	"FLINT" FLINT and KNAP a type of rock & “to nibble” (knabbern, German) Definition: controlled process of chipping or flaking stone to make tools
8	How Long Have Humans Been Flintknapping? Global occurrence beginning in Africa with Homo Habilis about 2.2 million years ago!
9	Prehistoric North America
10	Prehistoric Subsistence Strategies
11	Why Does Flintknapping Work? What happens when a BB hits a pane of glass (a)? The 100 degree Hertzian Cone (b & c-top view) Fracturing in certain materials is predictable and controllable
12	Using the Hertzian Cone Only a portion of the cone is used to remove flakes from the parent material
13	Properties of Suitable Lithic Materials Must allow for conchoidal fracture…seen as a “shell-like” pattern on removed flakes Homogeneous or amorphous structure (no crystals – glass, igneous obsidian) Cryptocrystalline structure (microscopic crystals- sedimentary flints, cherts)
14	Onondaga Chert Utilized by all prehistoric cultures in New York Part of the Onondaga Limestone formation The Onondaga Escarpment follows the path of the NYS Thruway
15	The Onondaga Escarpment
16	Flintknapping Tools Hammerstone or billet (rock or antler base) Abrader (sandstone or quartzite) Pressure flaker (antler tine) Notching tool (antler tine, bone) Hand protection (animal hide) Modern knappers often use copper billets, copper tipped flakers, and notchers
17	Hard Percussion Flaking
18	Soft Percussion Flaking
19	Pressure Flaking
20	Stages of Lithic Reduction Stage 1 – quarry blank Stage 2 – edging Stage 3 – primary thinning Stage 4 – secondary thinning Stage 5 – shaping Stage 6 – finishing (notching, grinding) Stage 7 – re-working, resharpening
21	Stage 1 – quarry blank
22	Stage 2 - edging
23	Stage 3 – primary thinning
24	Stage 4 – secondary thinning
25	Stage 5 - shaping
26	Stage 5 – shaping (cont.)
27	Stage 5 – shaping (cont.)
28	Stage 6 - finishing
29	Stage 6 – finishing (cont.)
30	Stage 7 – re-working
31	A Completed Stone Tool
32	"Woodworking tools:" Woodworking tools: axes, adzes, celts, gouges Hunting tools: birdstones, bannerstones, boatstones, atlatl weights, plummets, ground stone points/knives Ornaments: gorgets, pendants
33	Pecking & Grinding Pecking: use of a baseball sized chunk of hard material (chert or quartz) to batter/pulverize the material being shaped. Grinding: after tool has been roughed out via pecking, it is ground using a paste of grit (sand or pulverized chert) and water. A large, flat slab of sandstone or other abrasive material makes a good work surface for rough grinding.
34	P & G Raw Material / Blank Cobble of hardstone (i.e. graywacke, granite, porphyry, schist)
35	P & G Stage 1 - Primary Pecking At left, chunk of Onondaga Chert used to peck, multiple passes along 4 (dorsal & lateral) facets of adze
36	P & G Stage 1- Primary Pecking The dorsal edge of the bit is pecked and shaped
37	P & G Stage 1- Primary Pecking Ventral surface of the adze blank is pecked to flatten, ventral edge of bit is pecked to shape
38	P & G Stage 2 - Primary Grinding Angles on the dorsal and lateral facets of the beveled adze are established
39	P & G Stage 2 - Primary Grinding Ventral surface of the adze has been flattened by rough grinding
40	P & G Stage 3 - Secondary Pecking Additional material removed via pecking at the ventral bit edge
41	P & G Stage 3 - Secondary Pecking View of the results of secondary pecking at the ventral bit edge, adze in profile
42	P & G Stage 4 - Finish Grinding Paste of sand and water on flat stone surface, as grit turns to “polish”, more must be added
43	P & G Stage 4 - Finish Grinding The ventral surface of the bit is pushed through the fine grit in one direction only
44	P & G Stage 4 - Finish Grinding The bit is patiently ground to a sharp edge, working from the ventral side
45	P & G Stage 5 - Polishing A paste of very fine “polish” is used to further refine the bit, from both the ventral and dorsal surfaces
46	P & G Stage 5 - Polishing Finish polishing on the lateral and ventral facets of the adze
47	A Completed Stone Tool The finished beveled adze, after MANY hours of work!
48	QUESTIONS? Demonstration Time!