The Mysteries of Stone Tools
The story of making and using stone as hunting points is covered in many displays. Here
we will look to stone as it was put to use as man's tools.
The heritage of blades.. 
I will try, and admittedly poorly, attempt to express the difficultly of clarifying tools
from the Zueberbueler shelter. True the very quantity of the samples recovered, makes it
a major task, over 5,000, to which we add the recovered distal ends, a mere 1,000 or so.
But the volume is not the obstacle the Pecos faces, it the basic shape the majority started
from, a blade shape.
The variance a blade may have, as in it's overall form, from the distal end to the base,
seems endless. Naturally the division of uniface or biface is of some aid, but not a great
deal.
To our problem is the realization that the blade form was just as commonly made into a
hunting point. Of the more than 1,000 complete points recovered, a great many were
either blade shaped or gained their final style by altering blades.
The story of stone hunting points prior to the start of the archaic period of man, 10,000
BP to shortly after the start of the christian era 2,000 BP, had been a story of lances. Used
not so unlike the historic horseman and their lances. A charge and thrust, a withdrawal
and again a thrust. This method of hunting required a point that could be driven into the
great beast, the mastodon or mammoth.
A blade, in the form of a lance, lacking barbs or restrictions offered easy withdrawal,
from a wound. Early
specimens are frequently similar to samples recovered in the
southwest, from a time
before 10,000 BP. Type named the Clovis, it would in time, be found the full reaches of
the Americas. With slight alterations and new names, they have a common history.
View a Clovis and similar points.
The Zueberbueler shelter would offer the story of man in need of new points, even a new
way of hunting. The large and barb-less Clovis was of little value in hunting the small
game that became man's prey. The deer did not stand and face man, the thrust and
re-thrust was no longer effective. In fact the site suggests man was now dependant on what
he could gather to feed himself.
We will never know for certain the time that would elapse before the introduction of the
Atlatl. A generation, a century or more? The work at the shelter offered evidence that the
making of hunting points all but ended for a time. Tools were produced by early man,
crude, large, and often difficult to comprehend their use.
One shape continued to be made. The blade was continued on in man's every day need of
tools. No longer the quality of the prior Clovis, or other points of the big game hunter,
but still made in the same graceful shape it had been given milleniums prior.
It will be the blade that often confounds this archaeologist when working with the tools
and future points.
Below we offer the skill of making blades, the Pecos hopes to help you gain
an insight into the making of stone tools. It is hoped you will find time to read
this long paper. Here
you will learn how the basic shape of a blade would under go many alterations and the tools
this offered.
Additionally there is the text offered in the display of the Langtry
point. There we attempt to
demonstrate how a blade would evolve over several thousand years to become one of the
flowers of stone art, the Langtry points.
Here we are only trying to express the difficulty the common blade
form offered in the
original sorting. With each, "is it point, tool, or just what"?
The basic forms for a blade.
Before I get ahead of myself there are a few terms I best bring up. Uniface and biface
are two, and the long winded asymmetrical. The two, bi and uni face are most important
in our sorting tools or typing points. It simply points out that the work we are studying
was accomplished by chipping the material from only one direction or from from both faces.
Remember I said the work we are lookling at.
If its the original flaking to form the point
or blade, and all blows were made on one side, it's then a uniface. But we may be referring
to the secondary chiping to give the finish edge. If this was done pressing
flalkes off from both faces, we call the work biface. A point or tool may have both uniface
and biface used in it's production. The sort by this feature is normally the first we will make.
Asymmetrical, is an easy one, a common term used in point identification. When both sides
of a point or tool are shaped the same, as in our blades below, it is called symmetrical.
The artifacts that do not have this balance are refered to as "asymmetrical". As we see below.
The blade form first became prominent in the history of man when research suggested it's
use in the Americas as a Paleo hunting tool. With a suggested date of prior to 13,000 BP,
it would be the basis of future identification of all points of that era, both in North
America and South America.
Given minor changes, it would become known under many names. This did not alter the
fact, they were all made from blade outlines. It is here a note of caution should be
offered. There are two common uses of the term blade. The one we are using to describe
the outline of points and tools, and the form given to material as it is prepared by the
craftsmen for making of points and tools.
The making of a blade, as it is termed when prepared as a blank to receive additional
work, is a skill used by many of early man history. Not always related, this is one of the
parallels we find in new world pre history.
It would be the skill of having prefromed blades that permitted the eventual development
of the Langtry point, and many of the points of early man. This will make us use the term
a "worked blade" to express we are speaking of a blade blank, and the statement "blade
form" to refer to a general outline of a point or outline. A worked blade will most likely
end up with a blade form. Now that was a tongue full.
The problem with the "blade form" is that there are so many forms. In point
identification, being similar gains you nada. A small difference can, and often does, place
you in a totally different era and or location.
At the Zueberbueler shelter, this was a major problem. So many forms of the blade shaped
tools or points, was a task that sorting never was able to be completed. Attempts were made
to sort by the
many basic shapes encountered, but to suggest a date or use, a difference an alteration of
the blade made, could not be done.
When a form, or at least a suggested form, of a tool was sorted out,
the fact it was made
with the basic blade needed to be noted. But it's intended
use or final form was
to be more important, as there was the possibility of there being
more than one blade
form used, to build a tool.
Let's look a some of the forms, our blade was encountered in.
If we use the Clovis as a start, we can see that it has an outline similar to a rocket, with
the center of balance placed just a bit forward of the mid point of the stone. Additionally
the base line across the bottom is incurvate.
Here are a few blade forms encountered at the Zueberbueler site. As we stated we shall
start with the common form used with the Paleo point Clovis.
Working down the blade the wide part of the blade is placed in the center, and we
referred to it as a waisted blade.
Moving the expanded zone down now gives the blade a baggy form,
common with many
tools.
When a blade lacks the obvious expanded form, and is worked with a symmetrical or
parallel sided shape, it will be referred as a Parallel Edged Blade. This was a popular
form with early points.
With many other basic forms of points when being made the base is
described by how it
is altered. This referring to the stem used for hafting. With blades this can also be a major
area of identification, and the range is as vast as the sides.
Most obvious is the base that is flat or straight across. This is the form normally referred
to as being triangulator.
The Mysteries of Stone Tools
The story of making and using stone as hunting points is covered in many displays. Here we will look to stone as it was put to use as man's tools.
The heritage of blades.. I will try, and admittedly poorly, attempt to express the difficultly of clarifying tools from the Zueberbueler shelter. True the very quantity of the samples recovered, makes it a major task, over 5,000, to which we add the recovered distal ends, a mere 1,000 or so. But the volume is not the obstacle the Pecos faces, it the basic shape the majority started from, a blade shape. The variance a blade may have, as in it's overall form, from the distal end to the base, seems endless. Naturally the division of uniface or biface is of some aid, but not a great deal. To our problem is the realization that the blade form was just as commonly made into a hunting point. Of the more than 1,000 complete points recovered, a great many were either blade shaped or gained their final style by altering blades. The story of stone hunting points prior to the start of the archaic period of man, 10,000 BP to shortly after the start of the christian era 2,000 BP, had been a story of lances. Used not so unlike the historic horseman and their lances. A charge and thrust, a withdrawal and again a thrust. This method of hunting required a point that could be driven into the great beast, the mastodon or mammoth. A blade, in the form of a lance, lacking barbs or restrictions offered easy withdrawal, from a wound. Early specimens are frequently similar to samples recovered in the southwest, from a time before 10,000 BP. Type named the Clovis, it would in time, be found the full reaches of the Americas. With slight alterations and new names, they have a common history. View a Clovis and similar points. The Zueberbueler shelter would offer the story of man in need of new points, even a new way of hunting. The large and barb-less Clovis was of little value in hunting the small game that became man's prey. The deer did not stand and face man, the thrust and re-thrust was no longer effective. In fact the site suggests man was now dependant on what he could gather to feed himself. We will never know for certain the time that would elapse before the introduction of the Atlatl. A generation, a century or more? The work at the shelter offered evidence that the making of hunting points all but ended for a time. Tools were produced by early man, crude, large, and often difficult to comprehend their use. One shape continued to be made. The blade was continued on in man's every day need of tools. No longer the quality of the prior Clovis, or other points of the big game hunter, but still made in the same graceful shape it had been given milleniums prior. It will be the blade that often confounds this archaeologist when working with the tools and future points. Below we offer the skill of making blades, the Pecos hopes to help you gain an insight into the making of stone tools. It is hoped you will find time to read this long paper. Here you will learn how the basic shape of a blade would under go many alterations and the tools this offered. Additionally there is the text offered in the display of the Langtry point. There we attempt to demonstrate how a blade would evolve over several thousand years to become one of the flowers of stone art, the Langtry points. Here we are only trying to express the difficulty the common blade form offered in the original sorting. With each, "is it point, tool, or just what"?
The basic forms for a blade. Before I get ahead of myself there are a few terms I best bring up. Uniface and biface are two, and the long winded asymmetrical. The two, bi and uni face are most important in our sorting tools or typing points. It simply points out that the work we are studying was accomplished by chipping the material from only one direction or from from both faces. Remember I said the work we are lookling at. If its the original flaking to form the point or blade, and all blows were made on one side, it's then a uniface. But we may be referring to the secondary chiping to give the finish edge. If this was done pressing flalkes off from both faces, we call the work biface. A point or tool may have both uniface and biface used in it's production. The sort by this feature is normally the first we will make. Asymmetrical, is an easy one, a common term used in point identification. When both sides of a point or tool are shaped the same, as in our blades below, it is called symmetrical. The artifacts that do not have this balance are refered to as "asymmetrical". As we see below. |
The blade form first became prominent in the history of man when research suggested it's use in the Americas as a Paleo hunting tool. With a suggested date of prior to 13,000 BP, it would be the basis of future identification of all points of that era, both in North America and South America.Given minor changes, it would become known under many names. This did not alter the fact, they were all made from blade outlines. It is here a note of caution should be offered. There are two common uses of the term blade. The one we are using to describe the outline of points and tools, and the form given to material as it is prepared by the craftsmen for making of points and tools. The making of a blade, as it is termed when prepared as a blank to receive additional work, is a skill used by many of early man history. Not always related, this is one of the parallels we find in new world pre history. |
It would be the skill of having prefromed blades that permitted the eventual development of the Langtry point, and many of the points of early man. This will make us use the term a "worked blade" to express we are speaking of a blade blank, and the statement "blade form" to refer to a general outline of a point or outline. A worked blade will most likely end up with a blade form. Now that was a tongue full.The problem with the "blade form" is that there are so many forms. In point identification, being similar gains you nada. A small difference can, and often does, place you in a totally different era and or location. At the Zueberbueler shelter, this was a major problem. So many forms of the blade shaped tools or points, was a task that sorting never was able to be completed. Attempts were made to sort by the many basic shapes encountered, but to suggest a date or use, a difference an alteration of the blade made, could not be done. When a form, or at least a suggested form, of a tool was sorted out, the fact it was made with the basic blade needed to be noted. But it's intended use or final form was to be more important, as there was the possibility of there being more than one blade form used, to build a tool. Let's look a some of the forms, our blade was encountered in. If we use the Clovis as a start, we can see that it has an outline similar to a rocket, with the center of balance placed just a bit forward of the mid point of the stone. Additionally the base line across the bottom is incurvate. Here are a few blade forms encountered at the Zueberbueler site. As we stated we shall start with the common form used with the Paleo point Clovis.
|
Working down the blade the wide part of the blade is placed in the center, and we referred to it as a waisted blade.
|
Moving the expanded zone down now gives the blade a baggy form, common with many tools. When a blade lacks the obvious expanded form, and is worked with a symmetrical or parallel sided shape, it will be referred as a Parallel Edged Blade. This was a popular form with early points.
|
With many other basic forms of points when being made the base is described by how it is altered. This referring to the stem used for hafting. With blades this can also be a major area of identification, and the range is as vast as the sides. Most obvious is the base that is flat or straight across. This is the form normally referred to as being triangulator.
|