Flint+Tools

Man has used Flint and rock tools since the Paleolithic era. Applications of flint and other rock tools where not only tools to the earliest of peoples but they helped shape the way their entire lives where lived. Rocks made the tips of spears and arrowheads that hunted the animals. Rocks ground the wheat that made flour, sharpened rocks carved meat, the list is almost endless for what simple rocks did for the original people to walk this Earth. Brief Over View of Flint: Flint is a Sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of mineral quartz. Flint is categorized by chert. Flint doesn’t form as a cohesive whole. Flint is found in limestone and chalky rocks. It forms from a chemical change in the rocks. These cropping of flint form in what is know as nodules. Making the Flint Ready for Work: The making of flint tools is known as knapping. Knapping is taking the nodule and striking or scraping at it with a hammer stone. Before the flint can be knapped it needs to undergo a heat treatment to make it stronger. In return tools and weapons wouldn’t break as frequently and would keep their edges for longer. The treatment involves slowly heating the flint from 300 to 500 degrees F over the course of twenty-four hours. The heated rock must then slowly cool back down to room temperature. If the rock is cooled to fast it will result in a more brittle rock then was first put into the fire. Applications: Natives found countless uses for rock and especially flint. Flint was used in everything that was needed to cut, hack, and slash. Animal hides could be preserved better because flints sharp edges were able to take off all the extra animal fat from the hid, making it stronger and last longer. Flint knives were used to cut meat, fish, and were a common weapon amongst the natives. Natives used the stone to start fires by striking it with steel to make sparks. One of flints greatest accomplishments was that it is light enough to put on the end of an arrow. Natives could make very sharp and narrow arrowheads that were perfect for hunting buffalo. Or the arrowhead could be much larger and more broad and thrown on the end of a spear. The earliest tomahawks were made out of large nodules of flint. Flint, while light, was also just heavy enough that the natives found the balance to make the tomahawk to spin in just the right way. How to Make an Arrowhead: As stated earlier first the flint needs to undergo the heat treatment. This is unnecessary though for making an arrowhead, but it was often utilized so that natives wouldn’t have to replace the arrowheads as often. The next step is to find a appropriate size for the arrow head, approximately 2” by 4”. Depending on the stone there is usually other material that needs to be removed from the flint. This is usually done with a deer antler or copper flaking tool. Now that the rough shape has been formed the stone needs to be placed in a leather pouch to protect you hand when knapping. Holding the flint flat in the pouch take the point of the antler or chipping tool and apply pressure to where the tip of the arrow head will be. Make sure that the antler is on a slight angle when applying the pressure to make a angled chip, this gives it the sharpness. Continue this process until the base is reached then repeat the process of flaking on the opposite side of the arrowhead. After both sides have been flaked flip the arrowhead over and repeat on the other side. Depending on how the arrowhead will fit onto the shaft of the arrow the stone will need to be knapped SLOWLY to make indentations for which to tie the string around. If the process goes to fast the arrowhead will break and then will not be usable. Modern Uses for Flint: Today many gun companies hire knappers to make the flint for the reproductions. Flint and steel manufactures still use flint in their products instead of synthetic flint. Flint and other rocks like it are used in architecture for display.

 Works Cited  "Arrowhead." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia//. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. . Details the history, how it is desinged and the variations of arrowheads.  Contributor, An EHow. "How to Make an Arrowhead | EHow.com." //EHow | How to Videos, Articles & More - Trusted Advice for the Curious Life | EHow.com//. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. . Gives step by step on how to knapp an arrow head.  "DISCOVERING FOSSILS | Flint Formation, Uses and Fossils." //DISCOVERING FOSSILS | Introducing the Palaeontology of Great Britain//. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. . How flint is formed. Also where in the world flint can be found.  "Flint Axe." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia//. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. . The flint ax heads and how they were made and used.  "Flint Tool." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia//. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. . Gives information about the polished stone ax heads and the modern uses.  "Flint." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia//. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. . Talks about the rock and how it's formed. Gives a history of fragmantation. How it is used in modern buildings as decoration.  "How to Make Arrowheads (with Pictures) - WikiHow." //WikiHow - The How-to Manual That You Can Edit//. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. . Details on how to make your own. Different styles of arrowheads. They also give details on different ways to do flaking.  "Knapping." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia//. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knapping>. Step by step details of how to knapp an arrowhead. <span style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.5in;"> "Making Arrowheads Camp Arrow Head Price What They Are Made Of." //Lake Arrowhead California San Bernardino National Forest Southern California Vacation Location//. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. <http://www.lake-arrowhead-ca.com/making_arrowheads.shtml>. Picture of a old native American arrowhead. <span style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.5in;"> "Practical Primitive | Flintknapping & Stone Tools Workshops." //Welcome to Practical Primitive//. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. <http://www.practicalprimitive.com/knapping.html>. Picture of obsidian arrowheads. <span style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.5in;"> "To Make Stone Arrowheads--Study The Originals." //ARROWHEADS -- How To Make Your Own Flint & Obsidian Arrowheads//. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. <http://www.arrowhead-makeyourown.com/learn_from_originals.html>. Step by step details of how to do pressure knapping. "Utah Rockhounding - Data Sheets - Chalcedony Basics." //XMission Internet//. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. <http://www.xmission.com/~jbdaniel/chalcedony.htm>. Picture of flint before the knapping process.