Fluting

[HoBow]

This may be a silly question, but what is the purpose of fluting....if you wanted to thin your point, why wouldn't you just pressure flake?  Are Clovis's the only (or main) point that is fluted?   

[Hillbilly]

I think a lot of the fluted points were designed to be as thick and strong as possible, but still have a thin hafting area. You can't get a base on a thick point that thin that far up by pressure flaking.  There were a lot of fluted point types, including Clovis, Folsom, Crowfield, Cumberland, Redstone, and a few others that were almost always fluted. Also, many Daltons, Hardaways, Simpsons, and other transitional Paleo points were sometimes fluted but not always.

[AncientArcher76]

Nope it isnt the only point in fact there are many types and perhaps some one else will know better.  I get that spear heads and the early "CLOVIS" people,  but then I talked to a man an Archeologist in Letchworth who claims the cumberland came first ...who knows, there are folsoms too Northumberlands, and variations of all of them.  I do believe that the flute allowed mass amounts or better blood flow.  Also fluting is a form of percussion or pressure flaking depending on which way u perform the task.  Again Im not an expert but I can tell u this..I love fluted points they arent easy to do even with a jig.  Its kinda neat to ponder how time changed the way fluted points became extinct.  Maybe when the dinosaurs died off they didnt need such heavy artillery.  Any one else have ideas or better knowledge I would like to know more about it myself!  Thanx guys!

Russ

[JackCrafty]

If you become good at fluting, it saves a lot of time when making a point.  If you know how to get long flakes, the principle can be applied to the entire point, not just the flutes that originate at the base.  There are several good books out there on fluted projectile points and how they might have been made.  I'm just now trying my hand at fluting and I can tell you it's not easy.  Most people use a jig for good reason.

Fluting thins down a point fast.  That's why I think it was done. JMO