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Myth Busting and Flint Knapping
Myth Busting and Flint Knapping
Posted by [orari]:
Moderator Note: this thread was first posted in 2015 but failed to transfer across to the new forum when the software was updated, and so has been re-created manually.
Hi y'all. I have not been around here much lately because of dealing with medical problems---got surgery for skin cancer on Thursday and tests to see what is causing the venous stasis in my lower legs where I get sores. Your prayers for alleviation of suffering and healing would be much appreciated. Now, on to the archaeology question.
The Tennessee Council for Professional Archaeology (TCPA) is trying to devote more of its time this year and in future years to public archaeology outreach. I am not a member of that organization, but I had already separately and independently decided to devote a large number of the year 2015 posts on my blog (Archaeology in Tennessee) to public education about archaeology, artifacts, and ancient Native Americans.
Last night, I wrote a little article on archaeological myth busting in Tennessee. Specifically, I was busting the myth---well---rather than wearing out my typing fingers restating it here again---you can read the article here:
I think everyone in the United States, and probably even our friend Painshill on his side of the pond, has heard this old myth about knapping hot flint with cold water droplets. I remember hearing it as a kid and even in my later years. Does anyone here have any knowledge on the origin of this tall folk tale? It had to start somewhere. Was it in some sort of old book from long ago that was just eaten up by kids? Was some famous Boy Scout Master passing out really bad archaeological information to his scouts? Any insights you guys might have will be greatly appreciated and treasured. Thanks in advance for your help, and please have a good evening.
Posted by [JoshinMO]:
Prayer sent!
About that question though, not sure but its probably impossible and someone should have a suit of armor on if attempting that.
Posted by [painshill]:
You're in my thoughts Orari. Hope it all gets sorted for you soon.
Yeah, I've certainly seen that myth regurgitated, but usually on websites and with no attribution. I don't believe I've ever seen it in any kind of publication/book. My guess would be that it's based on casual observation (perhaps of rocks around a camp fire) about what does happen when water hits hot flint and a subsequent mistaken conjecture about how controllable such a process might be.
There's also a possibility of confusion with its use as a quarrying technique in ancient times (including in North America). Building a brushwood fire against a rock face which has a desirable lithic and then hurling cold water at it after a while is a rather efficient way of breaking off useable chunks of material for conventional knapping.
Posted by [Hoss]:
I have heard that since I was very young but I have no clue as to the origin of that. It could be as Painshill has suggested it may have been a way of quarrying. In my opinion using that method would damage good lithics.
Posted by [sneakygroundbuzzard]:
orari, good luck with the upcoming procedure and your in my thoughts
i have heard that myth before and had heard it was started back in the day when tradeing was going on with the NA's and the whites.by NA's that didnt want the white folks knowing how it was done . :dunno: :dunno:
Posted by [painshill]:
Lightbulb moment!!!
Maybe this goes back to the 1870’s and we have observations by the ethnographer and historian Stephen Powers during his travels among the Wiyot tribe of northwestern California to blame. Powers reported as follows in a publication by the USGS:
“Taking a piece of jasper, chert, obsidian, or common flint, which breaks sharp-cornered and with a conchoidal fracture, they heat it in the fire and then cool it slowly, which splits it in flakes. The arrow-maker then takes the flake and gives it an approximate rough shape by striking it with a kind of hammer. He then slips over his left hand a piece of buckskin, with a hole to fit over the thumb (this buckskin is to prevent the hand from being wounded), and in his right hand he takes a pair of buck-horn pincers, tied together at the point with a thong. Holding the piece of flint in his left hand he breaks off from the edge of it a tiny fragment with the pincers by a twisting or wrenching motion. The piece is often reversed in the hand, so that it may be worked away symmetrically. Arrowhead manufacture is a specialty, just as arrow-making, medicine, and other arts.”
It’s easy to see how what Powers described as a technique for splitting a piece of lithic material into useable flakes for further knapping could be misinterpreted as the principal technique for shaping the arrowhead.
Paul Shumacher (a collector for the Smithsonian and the Peabody Museum) noted a similar technique in use by the Yurok in 1877 and he specifically mentions “rapid cooling” (although he doesn’t say whether water was used to achieve this):
“The rock is first exposed to fire, and, after a thorough heating, rapidly cooled off, when it flakes readily into sherds of different sizes under well directed blows at its cleavage. The fragments are assorted according to shape and size best corresponding to the weapons desired; the small ones best fit in shape and thickness, are used for arrowheads; similar sherds, but larger in size, for spear points; the long narrow pieces for borers, and so on.”
The archaeologist Richard Gould also observed in 1972 that the rounded water-polished agate and jasper beach cobbles used by Native Americans in the Point St. George region of California were so unyielding to direct percussion that shattering by controlled heating was the only practical way to create any kind of striking platform.
Ref: “Survival Skills of Native California” (ISBN 0-87905-921-4), by Paul Douglas Campbell.
Posted by [Kyflintguy]:
I Have you in my thoughts and prayers buddy. PLEASE let me know if there's ANYTHING we can do to help y'all through this hard time.
That's a crazy one for sure, but I definitely see how real facts can be misconstrued by our natural human desire to explain things that we don't understand. I've enjoyed your series of debunking misconceptions in the world of prehistoric relics and Archaeology, looking forward to the next installment. Thanks!
Posted by [Hoss ]:
prayers to ease your healing Orari. I am not that far away from you.just a ways to the east. If there is anything I can do pm me .
best wishes
hoss
Posted by [cgode]:
Prayers sent Orari, hope your recovery is quick!
As for the myth, I've heard of it but like some of the others, have no idea where it originated. Roger came up with a pretty good suspect for you though. I would only add, some folks might have made the jump from pot-lid fractures to using cool water on hot lithics to fracture them intentionally. Two completely different subjects unrelated but you know how the human mind can work! :laugh:
Posted by [rmartin]:
My thoughts are with you orari as I have enjoyed your contributions here and hope for your speedy recovery. Can't help with this myth but it is interesting.
Posted by [clambellies]:
Wish you luck and health. Great article.
Posted by [orari ]:
Thanks to everyone. The surgery went better than expected and was finished quicker than expected. The got all the cancer. And speaking of artifacts, I have a 3-4 inch, high-rise gash on my head right now that looks like a huge caterpillar. They may have trephinated me with a chert knife. It sure does look like it.
Posted by [Ron Kelley]:
Heal fast and well friend.
Posted by [2ndoldman]:
I hope the recovery goes well orari, I see that your sense of humor is intact. :laugh:
Remember "Chicks dig scars".
Posted by [waterglass]:
You will be in my Prayers.
My father told me the same story, so it is a common belief here as well.
as a farmer, I too have to worry about exposure. I know a few who have skin cancer lesions on their hands and faces. I usually keep long hair and a beard, wear long sleeves and pants, a hat and gloves when working for any time at all in direct sun light.
Posted by [SDhunter]:
I will keep you in my prayers. Hope you have a speedy recovery
Posted by [orari]:
Moderator Note: this thread was first posted in 2015 but failed to transfer across to the new forum when the software was updated, and so has been re-created manually.
Hi y'all. I have not been around here much lately because of dealing with medical problems---got surgery for skin cancer on Thursday and tests to see what is causing the venous stasis in my lower legs where I get sores. Your prayers for alleviation of suffering and healing would be much appreciated. Now, on to the archaeology question.
The Tennessee Council for Professional Archaeology (TCPA) is trying to devote more of its time this year and in future years to public archaeology outreach. I am not a member of that organization, but I had already separately and independently decided to devote a large number of the year 2015 posts on my blog (Archaeology in Tennessee) to public education about archaeology, artifacts, and ancient Native Americans.
Last night, I wrote a little article on archaeological myth busting in Tennessee. Specifically, I was busting the myth---well---rather than wearing out my typing fingers restating it here again---you can read the article here:
I think everyone in the United States, and probably even our friend Painshill on his side of the pond, has heard this old myth about knapping hot flint with cold water droplets. I remember hearing it as a kid and even in my later years. Does anyone here have any knowledge on the origin of this tall folk tale? It had to start somewhere. Was it in some sort of old book from long ago that was just eaten up by kids? Was some famous Boy Scout Master passing out really bad archaeological information to his scouts? Any insights you guys might have will be greatly appreciated and treasured. Thanks in advance for your help, and please have a good evening.
Posted by [JoshinMO]:
Prayer sent!
About that question though, not sure but its probably impossible and someone should have a suit of armor on if attempting that.
Posted by [painshill]:
You're in my thoughts Orari. Hope it all gets sorted for you soon.
Yeah, I've certainly seen that myth regurgitated, but usually on websites and with no attribution. I don't believe I've ever seen it in any kind of publication/book. My guess would be that it's based on casual observation (perhaps of rocks around a camp fire) about what does happen when water hits hot flint and a subsequent mistaken conjecture about how controllable such a process might be.
There's also a possibility of confusion with its use as a quarrying technique in ancient times (including in North America). Building a brushwood fire against a rock face which has a desirable lithic and then hurling cold water at it after a while is a rather efficient way of breaking off useable chunks of material for conventional knapping.
Posted by [Hoss]:
I have heard that since I was very young but I have no clue as to the origin of that. It could be as Painshill has suggested it may have been a way of quarrying. In my opinion using that method would damage good lithics.
Posted by [sneakygroundbuzzard]:
orari, good luck with the upcoming procedure and your in my thoughts
i have heard that myth before and had heard it was started back in the day when tradeing was going on with the NA's and the whites.by NA's that didnt want the white folks knowing how it was done . :dunno: :dunno:
Posted by [painshill]:
Lightbulb moment!!!
Maybe this goes back to the 1870’s and we have observations by the ethnographer and historian Stephen Powers during his travels among the Wiyot tribe of northwestern California to blame. Powers reported as follows in a publication by the USGS:
“Taking a piece of jasper, chert, obsidian, or common flint, which breaks sharp-cornered and with a conchoidal fracture, they heat it in the fire and then cool it slowly, which splits it in flakes. The arrow-maker then takes the flake and gives it an approximate rough shape by striking it with a kind of hammer. He then slips over his left hand a piece of buckskin, with a hole to fit over the thumb (this buckskin is to prevent the hand from being wounded), and in his right hand he takes a pair of buck-horn pincers, tied together at the point with a thong. Holding the piece of flint in his left hand he breaks off from the edge of it a tiny fragment with the pincers by a twisting or wrenching motion. The piece is often reversed in the hand, so that it may be worked away symmetrically. Arrowhead manufacture is a specialty, just as arrow-making, medicine, and other arts.”
It’s easy to see how what Powers described as a technique for splitting a piece of lithic material into useable flakes for further knapping could be misinterpreted as the principal technique for shaping the arrowhead.
Paul Shumacher (a collector for the Smithsonian and the Peabody Museum) noted a similar technique in use by the Yurok in 1877 and he specifically mentions “rapid cooling” (although he doesn’t say whether water was used to achieve this):
“The rock is first exposed to fire, and, after a thorough heating, rapidly cooled off, when it flakes readily into sherds of different sizes under well directed blows at its cleavage. The fragments are assorted according to shape and size best corresponding to the weapons desired; the small ones best fit in shape and thickness, are used for arrowheads; similar sherds, but larger in size, for spear points; the long narrow pieces for borers, and so on.”
The archaeologist Richard Gould also observed in 1972 that the rounded water-polished agate and jasper beach cobbles used by Native Americans in the Point St. George region of California were so unyielding to direct percussion that shattering by controlled heating was the only practical way to create any kind of striking platform.
Ref: “Survival Skills of Native California” (ISBN 0-87905-921-4), by Paul Douglas Campbell.
Posted by [Kyflintguy]:
I Have you in my thoughts and prayers buddy. PLEASE let me know if there's ANYTHING we can do to help y'all through this hard time.
That's a crazy one for sure, but I definitely see how real facts can be misconstrued by our natural human desire to explain things that we don't understand. I've enjoyed your series of debunking misconceptions in the world of prehistoric relics and Archaeology, looking forward to the next installment. Thanks!
Posted by [Hoss ]:
prayers to ease your healing Orari. I am not that far away from you.just a ways to the east. If there is anything I can do pm me .
best wishes
hoss
Posted by [cgode]:
Prayers sent Orari, hope your recovery is quick!
As for the myth, I've heard of it but like some of the others, have no idea where it originated. Roger came up with a pretty good suspect for you though. I would only add, some folks might have made the jump from pot-lid fractures to using cool water on hot lithics to fracture them intentionally. Two completely different subjects unrelated but you know how the human mind can work! :laugh:
Posted by [rmartin]:
My thoughts are with you orari as I have enjoyed your contributions here and hope for your speedy recovery. Can't help with this myth but it is interesting.
Posted by [clambellies]:
Wish you luck and health. Great article.
Posted by [orari ]:
Thanks to everyone. The surgery went better than expected and was finished quicker than expected. The got all the cancer. And speaking of artifacts, I have a 3-4 inch, high-rise gash on my head right now that looks like a huge caterpillar. They may have trephinated me with a chert knife. It sure does look like it.
Posted by [Ron Kelley]:
Heal fast and well friend.
Posted by [2ndoldman]:
I hope the recovery goes well orari, I see that your sense of humor is intact. :laugh:
Remember "Chicks dig scars".
Posted by [waterglass]:
You will be in my Prayers.
My father told me the same story, so it is a common belief here as well.
as a farmer, I too have to worry about exposure. I know a few who have skin cancer lesions on their hands and faces. I usually keep long hair and a beard, wear long sleeves and pants, a hat and gloves when working for any time at all in direct sun light.
Posted by [SDhunter]:
I will keep you in my prayers. Hope you have a speedy recovery