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Something for you primitive guys to ponder on

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nclonghunter:
The Native Americans traveled all over the place, trading beads, flint, hides and who knows what else. They gathered pitch where they found it. They would travel long distance to get maple sugar and to hunt. They were not isolated to an area for sure. I'm sure other glues were also available including hide or animal glues.

Hillbilly:
Shannon, there are five different species of pine native to Kentucky. I've been in areas just northeast of you where there are loads of white pines, pitch pines, and Virginia pines. Anywhere you get into the more mountainy areas, they're there. Looks like you live in the least piny-est part of the state, though. The tree mix may be a bit different than it was hundreds of years ago before much of the land was cleared. And I'm sure that if people traveled from here down into Tennessee, KY, and central NC to get flint (I find points here made from TN chert, Ky chert, and NC rhyolite,) that they would have went a couple counties over to get pine pitch and other things they needed. They could have used hide glue or something else, too. I remember Scott Jones (I think) talking at the Schiele Museum knap-in a couple years ago about persimmon pitch, birch tar, and stuff like that used as hafting mastics. I have an old book that has a bunch of descriptions from early explorers and traders about how the Indians made bows and arrows. Several times, they described arrow heads being hafted with sinew and a glue made from the velvet from deer antlers. Fish glue is also mentioned. Interestingly, pine pitch is never mentioned for hafting points.

beetlebailey1977:
Cant you use sweetgum pitch also?

George Tsoukalas:
All trees have pitch or sap. My brother lived in KY near Lexingtion. I was amazed at the lack of trees in general. Come to find out that a good part of the state was cleared for farming, etc. I can't imagine living without pines. Jawge

AncientArcher76:
LOL JAWGE do u think that there were ever any Pines growing there ever??? Perhaps they were all cut down for farming or perhaps for lumber.  I feel bad for the guy who used to live in the North and making maple syrup... its all over here where I live.  Im with Jawge I cant imagine not having pine trees.  Pat I never thought of using fruit tree sap...

Russ

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