Stones and Bones, a day of experimental archeology (Warning Graphic content)

[OnewiththewilD]

Ben ( Pointhunter) harvested a nice young button buck this season and generously offered to bring it down here so we could take the opportunity to put some of my stone tools to work and to learn the pros and cons of using them. Ben and I are both avid outdoorsmen and hunters and have both cleaned our share of game, but this was a special day to try and truly attempt to process a deer using only primitive tools. My buddy Luke and his wife Julie offered to let us use their backyard to do it at and Luke recorded and made this awesome video for us. And what a great day it was! Out in the nice crisp autumn air , the wind blowing, the campfire burning and the smell of the smoke, the trees swaying and birds talking, great comradery, a chance to teach and learn and show the kids, everything was awesome, I couldn’t have asked for a better day. Normally when processing a deer it’s hung upside down but for more of a primitive feel I figured it’d be best to lay it on the ground and clean it on its hide, which is what I believe primitive hunters did most times and simply boned or quartered out the meat to be carried back to camp tied in its own hide bundle. So that was my idea for going about this experiment, as 2 guys taking apart their game out on the trail to be taken back to camp. The whole job really would have only required one knife a scraper and a chopper, but we played around and used a few tools. The 3 main tools of the day where 2 knifes made for me by Mr.Kelley and a knife made for me by Tim (SneakyGB), Huge Thank You’s to the both of them for their incredible work, guys your stone knifes worked way better than any steel blade I’ve ever used to do the job. It was a lot of fun making the handles for them and hafting them up back when I did it. Enough talk, on with the show...

[OnewiththewilD]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jM50SxClxeg !!!Warning!!! This video contains graphic content of a whitetail deer that’s been legally and ethically harvested, being processed using primitive methods and stone tools. Everyone involved with the process has the utmost respect for these animals and every piece we can we will use.

[OnewiththewilD]

The successful hunter with his game! Tools of the day

[OnewiththewilD]

Tools of the trade...left to right,Mr.Kelley, Tim (SneakyGB) and another of Mr.Kelleys. All are scary sharp and cut hide and flesh in a way totally different than steel does. They never gunked up and got slippery like metal knifes do and have more of a pulling grabbing feel to the cut that truly was very easy to use. Very minimal use wear resulted from using them, they didn’t have to be touched up once. And unless your dragging them across bone I can easily see using them over and over with little maintinence needed.

[OnewiththewilD]

Here’s the sinews all dried and ready to be processed into usable cordage

[OnewiththewilD]

Here’s the skull plate and the (2nd) chopper I used with a patch of leather for a grip

[sneakygroundbuzzard]

very cool video,thanks for making it and sharing it with all of us

got to say its the first time i have ever seen one of my blades in use

[OnewiththewilD]

And thank you again for the blade! It was an honor to use it.

[sneakygroundbuzzard]

watching you guys use them stone blades and tools makes me want to continue deer hunting this year in hopes of getting a deer just so i can try one of my stone blades out.but i really need to focus on getting my business up and running in my free time away from driving truck. but it was truly my pleasure to watch you guys clean that deer with those tools

[OnewiththewilD]

Any time you wanna see your stuff put to work I’d be more than happy to use and experiment with them and record it to show ya!

[Pointhead]

Those stone tools were a pleasure to use.. I need to haft one up! Lol

[OnewiththewilD]

We totally got to do this again, and yeah man I think we need to plan a knapping session ahead of it too! I can’t thank you enough for donating me the meat, I’m poor and can totally use it! Lol. But I still gave away most of it to friends, the young buck has now been shared with 9 other happy people. Making memories beyond the meals my friend...

[Ron Kelley]

Hey Ben and Jay, Good on you guys for sharing the harvest. Can you imagine how many people were fed from just one Bison a thousand years ago?

[Ron Kelley]

Many Thanks to Jay, Ben, and Luke. This is an outstanding video showing how useful the stone tools are. I feel that it is great that you will use the sinew and brain tan the hide to be used. The stone cooker is one of the most interesting tools. That stone kept the meat hot even after it was removed from the fire. Good job guys.

[OnewiththewilD]

I was at the brook gathering steatite the day before, the area is covered in mostly chlorite schist, which is a poorer grade of the more solid structured chlorite, the chlorite schist tend to be flakey and breaks in sheets like slate does, but I figured as a one off attempt it’d work just fine, and it did, even manageing to cook a second round of meat without having to be put back on the fire. It was awesome,lol

[Kentucky point]

That video was awesome! Those blades worked just as good as a modern knife! I definitely need to try this next time/whenever I get a deer. Good job on the trades. Like Ben said, now you have to do it with local materials. Not to sure how argillite would work! ;-)

[JoshinMO]

What about The Face? Good Topic Jay.
Oh I see, no Deer Mask, ha.

[gregszybala]

Excellent presentation! Thanks Jay.

[redrocks]

What an educational video Jay .It gives me an added appreciation of the points and stone tools I've been picking up for twenty yrs man. That is litterally from "field to table" with Ben bagging it in the morning and you guys dressing it out later...awesome Ben and Jay... And Ron and Buzzard's blades are super quality ...congrats to you and Ben for making this informative video

[Kentucky point]

It's funny how we as collectors know what the tools were used for. It's a whole new thing to see them work on a real example.

[redrocks]

Yeah I hear that this demo was awesome

[Kentucky point]

Did you save any bones for making bone stuff?

[Kentucky point]

Sorry to hear that. Colds are miserable.

[Ron Kelley]

It's handy to have land that others don't mess with. Sometimes I like to put the bones on a big ant hill and let the ants clean them up. I have also tied them up and hung them in a tree so the critters won't carry them off.

[OnewiththewilD]

I can usually stash them up on my mother’s property but because I was sick I didn’t manage to make it up there, which is a bummer

[Hunting_Dad]

Jay, I am interested in your thoughts on harvesting the sinew 'wet' vs 'dry'. I have attempted to remove sinew (for bushcraft-y experimentation) in the way that it appears you have here and I have never been overly thrilled with the results. I wonder if peeling sinew off a dried hide isnt the way to go but I have never gotten around to attempting it. I know from trapping in my youth and having put up a couple coyotes more recently that during the final prep of the dried hides i have pulled off strips of dry sinew even after a fairly thorough fleshing. Do you suppose that the NAs might have employed a method where the hides were quickly fleshed to remove the meat and fat, set aside to dry, then peeled away the sinew before tanning?

Ok, so I had a chance to watch the video.... the sinew I was going after appears to be different that what you pointed out in your video..... I was attempting to utilize what is sometimes called the 'saddle' and the thin membrane between the hide and the muscle...... explains my issues. I had no idea those smaller tendons could be separated so easily

Great video and job well done!!!

[OnewiththewilD]

I understand what your referring to, usually that layer is taken off using a scraper, and it’s a pain either wet or dry,lol.