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