Knapping flint from Italy.

  Being a flintknapper often is more than just creating stone tools. There is a large community of flintknappers who support each other through the exchange of knowledge, support, and materials. This is most visibly demonstrated at flintknapper gatherings, called knap-ins. With the advent of the internet, flintknappers from across the country and the globe can participate in this community from the leisure of their homes. This allows knappers who may never meet face-to-face to form bonds over this hobby and ancient craft. Recently, I got to experience the benefits of practicing stone age technology in the computer age. Through the social media app Instagram, I was able to befriend a flintknapper who currently resides in Italy. Normally, it is difficult to obtain flint from Europe, and for European flintknappers to procure American Stone because of prohibitive shipping costs. This knapper, Fabian, and myself were able to trade a few pounds of flint from our perspective countries. This allowed for both of us to work materials we may not have had access to otherwise.

Here is a shot of the ~5 pounds of flint he sent. At the top is Lesini flint from Italy. At the lower left is Marcemingo Jasper, and at the bottom right is Danish flint.

I was interested in getting this type of material to replicate the arrowheads and tools in the style used by Otzi the Iceman. Otzi was an individual whose remains (including soft tissue) were preserved by a mountain glacier in the Italian Alps. He lived during the Chalcolithic, or Copper Age, and is thought to have been part of the Remedello culture. 

Here is my first attempt at reproducing a Remedello culture arrowhead, from the Lessini flint.

And my second attempt from the same type of material. This replica is a little closer to the dimensions of the original artifacts that I saw. The first point, while being a little wide, still seems to have dimensions in an acceptable range. If you would like to see me knap this flint and produce the point pictured above, check out my latest three-part YouTube video series at: https://youtu.be/n9CtUIKOmGo 

Flint Ridge Knap-in 2016

 As usual, the Fall Flint Ridge knap-in was a blast this year! I had a great time seeing all my friends, making new ones, flintknapping, and buying rocks. The weather was great this year, and there wasn;t the usual heavy rainstorm that we have had every previous year. I participated in the 10-speed knapping competition too, where flintknappers compete against one another to make the best point they can within ten minutes. Here are some pictures I took.

Steve and I holding the 10-speed points that we knapped.

My finished piece. As you can see, it is difficult to try to make a nice point in ten minutes. Many of the more skilled competitors made points that were still nice though.

Myself and Greg Benneck

Some more of us Michigan folks

The first point I made at the knap-in, a Dickson style point from KY hornstone. This is a Hopewell style from the Illinois region.

Jake Webster's table

Brian LaRochelle's setup.

The table that Michael Brown and James Shipley from Wyoming shared.

Some obsidian they mined from Glass Buttes, Oregon.

An Ohio style Hopewell point I made from Flint Ridge flint.

Some of Steve's work from the weekend. The rock smell's fear!

Eric Morris's rocks for sale.

A table with some tools, preforms, and points.

A Snyders point I made from a glossy piece of Keokuk chert.

Eric Morris and Craig Ferrell.

Some of Craig's fine knapping.

The point on left is made from Hartville Uplift chert from WY. The point on the right is Kaolin chert.

Two oblique style points patterned after types found in Europe and North Africa. The materials are heated WY oil chert and Cobden flint.

Summer 2016, Archaeological Field School and a Flint Trip Adventure!

   This past summer, I took an archaeological field school in order to get experience in excavation methods. I registered for a six-week course through the Center for American Archeology located in Kampsville, Illinois. I had a great experience there and I learned a lot about excavation, archaeology in general, and the people who inhabited that region of Illinois for thousands of years. I got to see sites like Cahokia and Dickson Mounds too. They did put my flintknapping skills to good use by having me teach a couple of groups of highschoolers that were part of a program there.

Here is the group of the excavation field school students on top of Monks Mound at Cahokia. A lot more students were in the bioarchaeology field school that was running at the same time.

This is Monk's Mound from the ground.

 I would highly recommend this field school to anyone who is an archaeology student. However, anyone can take a field school program there. Take a look at the Center for American Archeology's website for more information: http://www.caa-archeology.org/

 Although I was really busy there, I did find a little time to knap on the weekends. Here is what I made.

 Before I left for Illinois, I planned a trip for hunting flint in southern Illinois, Kentucky, and Indiana. My parents and my knapping buddy Steve would pick me and we would spend a few days hunting flint. And that is exactly what we did! We first stopped to pick up some of the nice Burlington chert found around Kampsville and the Lower Illinois River valley in general. We picked up several buckets of nice material. Next, thanks to my buddy Mike, we went to the southern portion of the state and hunted Kaolin and Cobden chert. We hit the motherload!

The gravel bar where we hunted.

Displaying a nice, big piece of Kaolin flint!

And another!

In all, we spent two days at the this amazing site. Thanks again Mike! Next we headed to Kentucky, to a spot where I have collected hornstone a few times. You can find nice material there, but it needs to be carefully examined first. We then headed north to meet our buddy Brian Bailey, who hooked us up with a couple knappers we hadn't met before, Joel Robbinson and David Chandler. We had a great time meeting them and having a mini knap in!

Knappers... knapping

Here I'm posing with a large Snyders point that I made from a large piece of Sonora chert that Joel gave me.

Our combined haul after we got back to Michigan and sorted it all out.

A Lamellar bladecore and blades from heated Kaolin.

Heated Kaolin pieces, and Gypsy the cat.

Marshall Primitive Archery Rendezvous 2016

  Every year, in my town of Marshall, Michigan, occurs the spectacular even called the Marshall Primitive Archery Rendezvous. It takes place at Wilder Creek Conservation Club, where people come to shoot the 3D archery course, make bows, and flintknap. The event is mostly themed around primitive wooden bows, but other longbows are permitted at the event. I have been going for about four years, mainly because I like to be with the flintknappers that attend but also because I enjoy shooting my bow.

 While the event is Memorial Day weekend, people start rolling in as early as Tuesday to camp. I drove over Wednesday afternoon to flintknap with Daniel Wakolbinger, a knapper from Illinois. I also got to sit and converse with my friends Don Gilson and Tom Talley. Pictured below is an abo Snyders I made that night from a piece of Carter Cave flint.

I came to the event Friday through Sunday, did a lot of knapping and I did shoot the 3D course once. Here are some pictures of the event.
                           

Here is my setup.

Display case number 1.

Me, knapping.

Scott, another knapper from IL, knapping.

Some of his work.

Some of Daniel's points for sale.

Handmade pottery by Daniel.

Frank's setup.

Doug's amazing work!

Some of my friend Steve's display.

Here is a group shot of some of the Michigan flintknappers in attendance.

from left to right: Steve Laut, Frank Stevens, myself, Don Gilson, Dan Belknap, unknown (sorry).

My brother looking dangerous shooting his bow.

ps, I will be updating the gallery page of my blog soon, stay tuned!