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I have been threatening to go to Pickett Park for a number of years but just kept putting it off. This year, Ken, the guy I work with, told me that today was Archaeology Day at the park and that Dr. Jay Franklin, Anthropologist and Curator of Archaeology with Eastern Tennessee State University Natural History Museum. So the wife and I took our granddaughter, Lilly and headed for Pickett Park, which is a very beautiful drive and really quite the park. I also took along two display frames of my collection for Dr. Jay to see. Ken had already sent him a pic of Lilly's Dovetail and he had wanted to see it in person, so Lilly took it along. I found out that the also have an Archaeological dig going on in the park which is producing artifacts. So - We arrived and Dr. Jay went over my artifacts and was impressed with what I had been able to collect in my area I also learned some of the cherts that predominant in my area of Fentress and Pickett county's. But - This is what really caught my eye.
This is Ronnie, a local Knapper, who was working a piece of chert with a Moose antler billet. I heard him whacking away with the billet when Jay told me what was going on. So I slipped around the side of the shed and here he was knapping away only when I got around there he was working the edge with that copper tipped tool.
This is Tommy, another local Knapper, who was putting the finishing touches to the edge of his blade. He was grinding it a bit. Then I looked behind them and was wowed away by their display cases.
This was some of Ronnie's work. I was really caught up by his Sea Horse rendition in Obsidian and that multi colored chert blade at the bottom. Ronnie told me that the cbert used in that big blade was from Australia. It figures but then have the Aussie's ever seen River Horse Chert???
The two pics immediately above were Tommy's displays. It was kinda hard taking pics around these guys cause they kept working and I didn't want to get in their way but Tommy opened his display cases for me. I was really impressed with the material color of the point in the 2nd pic, top case - 2nd point from bottom left. Tommy said that was made from bottle glass. I was blown away because I was ready to hear about some Ethiopian Chert that he had bought. I thought most of Tommy's work was pretty thin but he didn't seem to think so. These guys are here quite often and I learned quite a bit from them about Knapping. I intend to go back and spend more time with them as they really don't live all that far from me. They don't collect, they just make em. I did pass through the museum and talked with Dr. Jay and his student assistant, who is completing her degree in archaeology and works at their dig sites. I offered Dr. Jay his choice of my artifacts for their Fentress Museum is he was so inclined. I would rather have them in a public display, with their description and history, than tucked away in my display case where I'm the only one that sees them. Anyway - He wanted to take pics of them and study them before he decided. So I asked the Student Assistant to keep reminding him about deciding. While I was inside yakking - I saw Lilly outside undergoing atlatl instruction. She hit the target on the third try. Then she went over to the knappers and asked if she could have some of the larger flakes - to which they replied - take em all just don't get cut. Lilly was after the most colorful flakes and there were quite a few. Also while I was sitting with the knappers, Lilly was inside the museum taking pics with my wife's Iphone. If I can figure out how to download them, I'll post them for y'all. And thar she be...
This is Ronnie, a local Knapper, who was working a piece of chert with a Moose antler billet. I heard him whacking away with the billet when Jay told me what was going on. So I slipped around the side of the shed and here he was knapping away only when I got around there he was working the edge with that copper tipped tool.
This is Tommy, another local Knapper, who was putting the finishing touches to the edge of his blade. He was grinding it a bit. Then I looked behind them and was wowed away by their display cases.
This was some of Ronnie's work. I was really caught up by his Sea Horse rendition in Obsidian and that multi colored chert blade at the bottom. Ronnie told me that the cbert used in that big blade was from Australia. It figures but then have the Aussie's ever seen River Horse Chert???
The two pics immediately above were Tommy's displays. It was kinda hard taking pics around these guys cause they kept working and I didn't want to get in their way but Tommy opened his display cases for me. I was really impressed with the material color of the point in the 2nd pic, top case - 2nd point from bottom left. Tommy said that was made from bottle glass. I was blown away because I was ready to hear about some Ethiopian Chert that he had bought. I thought most of Tommy's work was pretty thin but he didn't seem to think so. These guys are here quite often and I learned quite a bit from them about Knapping. I intend to go back and spend more time with them as they really don't live all that far from me. They don't collect, they just make em. I did pass through the museum and talked with Dr. Jay and his student assistant, who is completing her degree in archaeology and works at their dig sites. I offered Dr. Jay his choice of my artifacts for their Fentress Museum is he was so inclined. I would rather have them in a public display, with their description and history, than tucked away in my display case where I'm the only one that sees them. Anyway - He wanted to take pics of them and study them before he decided. So I asked the Student Assistant to keep reminding him about deciding. While I was inside yakking - I saw Lilly outside undergoing atlatl instruction. She hit the target on the third try. Then she went over to the knappers and asked if she could have some of the larger flakes - to which they replied - take em all just don't get cut. Lilly was after the most colorful flakes and there were quite a few. Also while I was sitting with the knappers, Lilly was inside the museum taking pics with my wife's Iphone. If I can figure out how to download them, I'll post them for y'all. And thar she be...
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