Flintknapping : making and understanding stone tools
Flintknapping, the making of stone tools, is an ancient craft enjoying a resurgence of interest among both amateur and professional students of prehistoric cultures. In this new guide, John C. Whittaker offers the most detailed handbook on flintknapping currently available and the only one written from the archaeological perspective of interpreting stone tools as well as making them. Flintknapping contains detailed, practical information on making stone tools. Whittaker starts at the beginner level and progresses to discussion of a wide range of techniques. He includes information on necessary tools and materials, as well as step-by-step instructions for making several basic stone tool types. Numerous diagrams allow the reader to visualize the flintknapping process, and drawings of many stone tools illustrate the discussions and serve as models for beginning knappers
Print Book, English, 1994
University of Texas Press, Austin, 1994
341 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
9780292790827, 9780292790834, 0292790821, 029279083X
28336458
1. Introduction. Using This Book. Learning to Knap
2. Flintknapping: Basic Principles. Flintknapping. Conchoidal Fracture. Properties of Material. Flakes and Cores
3. A Brief History of Flintknapping. Prehistory of Stone Tools. Recent "Stone-Age" People. Modern Knapping. Further Readings. Other Resources: Finding Other Knappers
4. Raw Materials. Stone Quality. Stone Materials. Heat-Treating. Collecting Material: Ethical and Practical Considerations
5. Safety. Proper Technique. Eyes. Hands. Other Body Parts. Lungs. Waste Disposal. Benefits
6. Hard-Hammer Percussion. Material and Equipment. Percussion-Flaking Principles: An Experiment. Percussion Flaking. Platforms. The Face of the Core. Terminations. Curvature. Starting a Core. Summary: Nine Essentials
7. Pressure Flaking. Tools. Raw Material. First Principles. Working Position. Beginning. Platform Preparation. Thinning. Notching. Other Pressure-Flaking Techniques. Summary: Six Essentials