Main Discussion Area > Flintknapping
Stop Settling (pic heavy)
Tower:
I have found in areas of TX where good material is extremely hard to come by the points were thick & heavily reworked.
East Tx & low grade gravel & petrified wood points. Very little heat treated stone points with a lot of meat on them. I think they wanted the point to survive through any abuse.
Durability seems to be the goal where stone is scares.
To me a contributing factor is material availability
AncientTech:
While I can make a case for durability, I can also make a case for aesthetics. Where aesthetics may have come into play is with regard to trade.
There was a saying that the Indians would trade all of their land for a few red feathers, to wear in their hair. Europeans who had early contact with the New Worlders recognized this intense sense of vanity, and soon tapped into it.
When one looks at how lithics were traded out from certain areas, what can be seen is that they were bartered as a sort of currency. And, with this in mind, it is not hard to see how views that pertained to aesthetics could have come into play.
In other words, if I were to make ten of my own heads to shoot, I might do just fine with ugly clunkers. But, if I make ten heads to trade, and ten other guys make ten heads to trade, then I may be able to do better, and get more bang for my heads, if they look better than the other ten guy's heads, given the buyers (traders) sense of vanity.
If this theory is correct, then it would probably be more noticeable in items that were likely vanity items. For example, if the Fulton Turkey Tail knife was worn on a cord, strung about the neck, it would have been a highly visible item, that everyone would have marveled at. So, in appealing to the buyers sense of vanity the maker could have used the best stone, the best flaking, the best of everything. And, once people starting obtaining such an item, there would have been some sense of vanity that would have compelled people to want to wear the best looking knife "on the block". And, everyone would have wanted one.
So, I can see lithic design being driven by both vanity, and by utilitarian purpose, depending on the context.
iowabow:
I have spoken to tower at length about this subject and totally agree in fact I agree with most all points. I will just add a couple more myself:
Great conversation.
For the past couple of years my hunting points have preformed amazingly. They were 145 gr, thick, and about 7/8 by 2.5 inches if memory serves me right. They have been very robust and reused/ resharpened multiple times. BUT...
I can now make thinner points and shafts and have made an adjustment to my gear so that I can have faster arrow flight. I have made this change because of the follow reasons.
1. these smaller point types are easier/faster to make
2. Faster arrow flight and lighter arrows thinner diameter and shorter length
3. So that I can see the differences in point types as they take deer.
4. I have a great supply of flint and do not need to worry about breaking a point during production.
5. I have the skill to do it (only took 5 years)
Everyone here is making very good points and I think there as so many factors at play. Your compass for point use during hunting is personal and should be a conversation you have with nature.
Just remember point size, shape, wt, designs are all factors as we set up our gear. My move to a lighter wt point could require completely changing arrow length and spine and the feather design. Happy hunting and follow the Spirit Guide :::.
Knapper:
," remember, it's just a rock.
My thoughts on the subject." Don Tower
Words to live by. In our quest to replicate artifacts we look at the piece to be replicated, in our quest to better our skills we look at what our peers make. To get the most for our investment we slab and spall so we get more points. To get the most of our time we knapp modern style vs abbo. Im sure our ancestors where the same. Depending on their need and circumstance dictated the desired point.
Knapper
AncientTech:
--- Quote from: iowabow on May 09, 2016, 10:05:29 am ---I have spoken to tower at length about this subject and totally agree in fact I agree with most all points. I will just add a couple more myself:
Great conversation.
For the past couple of years my hunting points have preformed amazingly. They were 145 gr, thick, and about 7/8 by 2.5 inches if memory serves me right. They have been very robust and reused/ resharpened multiple times. BUT...
I can now make thinner points and shafts and have made an adjustment to my gear so that I can have faster arrow flight. I have made this change because of the follow reasons.
1. these smaller point types are easier/faster to make
2. Faster arrow flight and lighter arrows thinner diameter and shorter length
3. So that I can see the differences in point types as they take deer.
4. I have a great supply of flint and do not need to worry about breaking a point during production.
5. I have the skill to do it (only took 5 years)
Everyone here is making very good points and I think there as so many factors at play. Your compass for point use during hunting is personal and should be a conversation you have with nature.
Just remember point size, shape, wt, designs are all factors as we set up our gear. My move to a lighter wt point could require completely changing arrow length and spine and the feather design. Happy hunting and follow the Spirit Guide :::.
--- End quote ---
These are very good observations. I started trying to haft points, around 1985. They were all glass points, attached to "arrow weed", which is a woody plant that grows along canals, in Arizona. In hafting glass knives, it was not too difficult, with regard to splitting a wooden handle, and tying in a knife, with cordage. But, trying to tie points to shafts sometimes was odius, depending on the thickness of the point. Thin glass points were easy to tie in. But, thicker points were hard to deal with.
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