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Stone hunting in Utah

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TRACY:
Looks like you got some workable rock! Sounds like freeze fractured rock on the stuff that broke into blocks. Just need pieces big enough to make points from and not necessarily huge perfect rocks.

Tracy

JoJoDapyro:
Do any of you heat treat jasper? How long, what temp?

AncientTech:
If I were to hunt where you are at, I would take a multi-pronged approach to locating materials.

I would look for mineral records via Mindat, archaeological records, historical records, the materials of other flintknappers, etc.

Here is an impressive crescent from Tooele County, Utah, which may or may not reflect local materials:

http://www.lithiccastinglab.com/cast-page/crescentdugwaybutterflyhnd.jpg

Mindat Chalcedony sources, in Utah:

http://www.mindat.org/locentry-514657.html

Utah state projectile point guide:

http://www.projectilepoints.net/Search/Utah_Search.html

Here is a 1980's report on fluted points from Utah, which sources a number of lithic materials:

http://content.lib.utah.edu/utils/getfile/collection/USHSArchPub/id/5464/filename/5499.pdf

Utah rockhounding sites:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zroxMVbXghvU.kVgdVPVcdTvo

Utah obsidian beds:

http://www.utahoutdooractivities.com/obsidiancollecting.html

Utah is probably comparable to Arizona, where I grew up, in that there are probably rocks and minerals galore, of all shades, types, and colors.  I bet if you do enough research you will end up finding locations for chert, jasper, chalcedony, agate, crystals, obsidian, petrified wood, and the like. 

You will probably be able to heat treat some of the materials.  But, other materials may not be given to heat treatment.  If not, you will probably have to change methodologies, in order to work some of the other materials, in Utah.

Also, some of the materials may be weather cracked.  My understanding is that some of the historic tribes dealt with this by burying the stone in the ground, and building a fire over it.  The heat caused the moisture in the seams to expand.  And, this - at least in theory - causes the rock to split along the lines of the seam, or the cracks.  Since the stone is underground, there is much less danger of a stone exploding, and sending shrapnel everywhere.  Also, this process may work better if the material is first soaked in water, for some time.

JoJoDapyro:
Thanks for the info. I like more reading on knapping.

JoJoDapyro:
Went back to Broad Canyon today. We were supposed to have a knap-in today, but for some reason the museum was closed. So two of my old coworkers and I drove out to see what we could see. We found some good white chert on the hillsides. Its good to k ow its there. We took our finds back to the truck and had a visitor. He cruised through. Lucky for him he is protected in Utah. A couple showed up on their ATV. We talked about wood and stone. I gave them an arrow head. Good feeling to give them away.

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