Flintknapping

Basic Tool Production Techniques

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Here is an example of how to make a small replica of a Neolithic axe (Neolithic 6000-4000 years ago). For this I am using flint obtained from a quarry in Sussex.

The images on either side show the sequence of basic knapping. Starting in the top left (image 1), using the large hammer stone to break off larger flakes. Thin down, using the smaller hammer stone to start shaping the flint.

Next using the smallest hammer stone to break off small flakes and prepare the rough out (rough out– axe blank) for soft hammer work (soft hammer - antler hammer). The soft hammer is the pedicle (or crown) part of a deer's antler; this can be red deer; fallow deer or even moose (deer are part of the Cervidae family). I use different size soft hammers (below) depending on how fine the work needs to be.

Starting to use the largest soft hammer to break off long thin flakes to start and shape the rough out and thin it down into a lens cross section as that will make the axe a more efficient tool.

Once the rough out begins to take on the shape and size of the axe its time switch to a small soft hammer to take off the last flakes from the whole way round the axe. This will make it sharper, more symmetrical and would fit in a handle better. The final flakes will be at the cutting end of the axe, this end should be wide so that it can cut more, these last flakes simply straighten the blade and make it sharp so its ready for use.

Now the axe is finished (as shown in image 6 bottom right). It is a copy of a type of axe than can be found all over Britain as they were common tools in the stone age.

Some of these axes were polished so they appears like metal and had a much smoother surface, it takes about 150 hours to polish an average sized axe on a slab of sandstone.

To see more Flint tools I have made, Click Here

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I perform only authentic and primitive flintknapping, using tools and techniques that stone age man would have had ready access to, such as antler hammers. This excludes the use of modern tools, such as copper billets, stainless steel fluting machines and sawn slabs, as they have no prehistoric equivalent. Pressure flaking is done only with antler or other natural tips, although copper tips are used for Neolithic and Post-Neolithic tools. The use of leather gloves and safety glasses is for my protection only and generally makes the knapping process harder!!

Flintknappers

The Flintknappers that I most admire are:

John Lord

I have worked with John Lord a few times, including recently on US film production for National Geographic, with his wife Val and their son Will.

Professor Bruce Bradley

I met Professor Bradley in 2007 on a visit to Exeter University and watched him demonstrate his knapping techniques. He presented me with a Levalloisian tool.

Karl Lee

Karl Lee was one of the first knappers to help me get started. On our first occasion he gave me some soft hammers. I also had a 2 day workshop at his home in 2007.

Phil Harding

Although I have never yet had an opportunity to Flintknapp with Phil, his appearance on Channel 4's "Time Team" has inspired me to learn more about archaeology.

Eyes

Flint flakes can be ultrasharp (in excess of razor-sharp) and as they fly-off in various directions, therefore it is essential that knappers use eye-protection. Any demonstrations should warn the audience to remain at a safe position from the knapper (2-3m or more away) or if they are closer, it is advisable for them to wear eye-protection as well.

Hands

Not only are flint flakes can be extremely sharp, the mere exercise of crashing one stone against another with force can result in painful injury. For every knapping session it is advisable to wear strong leather gloves to provide some protection against flint flakes. Also knapping (using the ancient techniques) should be restricted to a few hours per day to avoid repetitive strains.

During demonstrations the audience should be warned not to pick-up flint flakes.

Ears

Repetitive knapping of flint, effectively bashing two rocks together, can be very loud (approximately ? decibels) and annoying for those not participating. However researchers have also investigated the musical quality or Lithoacoustics of flint - the distinctive ring of good flint is unmistakeable.

Lungs

Ingestion of flint dust is lethal - in fact many 19th century gunflint knappers died of "consumption" - lungs diseases such as cancer, silicosis or pneumonia. Silicosis is a form of occupational lung disease through inhalation of crystalline particles of silica dust that causes shortness of breath, fever and, in some cases, cyanosis (bluish skin) that is irreversible with no cure. Silicosis ("Knapper's Rot" or the "Killer Dust") is progressive and signs of it, such as scarring in forms of nodular lesionsin the upper lobes of the lungs, may not appear until years after exposure.

As the flint particles enter the lungs, they begin cutting the tissue, resulting in the body forming scar tissue over the sharp and unremoveable flint; this flint then cuts the scar tissue and forms even more scar tissue so large areas of the lung can be destroyed. Scar tissue is not the same as lung tissue and so the capacity of the lung to gather oxygen for the body is decreases over time.

According to Dr Edgar Collins (a former medical inspector of factories) in his Milroy lectures for 1915, Silicosis is mans oldest occupational disease. He suggested that Neolithic miners and Egyptian slave workers suffered from the disease. No evidence of Silicosis has been found in Neolithic miners and it is more probable that any dust inhaled during the mining process would be chalk dust which is not Siliceous dust; more likely the act of knapping would have caused this disease. It was first recognised by the UK Government in 1894, when regulations were introduced to protect quarry workers who worked on stone that contained more than 80% silica.

In Brandon (during the gunflint era) in one workshop of the eight men who worked there, seven died before they reached fifty, while in another a father and his three sons all died within four years of each other - all through Silicosis. In fact Dr Collis showed that over three quarters of the flintknappers at Brandon died of this problem and that workers with silicosis were more prone to contracting tuberculosis and more susceptible to infections.

Therefore it is advisable to perform any flintknapping in a well ventilated area or ideally outdoors.

Working with antler (and bone) is also hazardous, as they are porous and could contain all kinds of bacteria and other micro-organisms. Dust created when cutting antler will produce a strong odour and have a similar silicosis effect on the lungs as flint dust. Researchers are now finding some health benefits from antlers particularly for those who suffer from joint pain or people that need bone marrow and blood nourishment. Chinese medicine has used velvet deer antlers for generations to treat conditions such as arthritis and other related ailments.

Silicosis showing as nodular mass on a chest x-ray

General

It is a good idea to ensure that your tetanus jab is up-to-date and hands should be washed throughly after flintknapping. Have a basic first-aid kit handy (including plenty of plasters) and know where the closest emergency medical centre is.

Waste/Environment

The replication of stone tools obviously results in some waste that could be easily interpreted as genuine artefacts. It is vital that Flintknappers dispose of their debitage so that it cannot be found in the future and thought of as ancient. The best to dispose of waste is to have it crushed and mixed with quarry hardcore, which is used as gravel for building material etc. Most of the Flintknappers asked dispose their waste in a similar and responsible way. This may seem sensible as it would be mixed with waste from our modern day, but if it was a period of several thousands of years before found, the stone may be all that remained. Others ways to avoid confusion with ancient lithics is to sign the replication with indelible ink or to take digital photos of it. However the tool could be retouched to remove the ink or reshaped to render the photograph meaningless.

Glossary of Flintknapping Terms

Abrasion	When a course stone is used to rub away a very thin edge of the stone so that when it is struck it will flake in a better way
Adze	A tool, typically made from stone, that was presumed to be used like a modern woodworker's chisel to work wood
Assemblage	An archaeological term meaning a group of different artefacts found in the same context
Bevel	A slanted edge, created by pressure flaking with the purpose of re-sharpening
Biface	A tool that has been flaked on both sides
Bifurcated	When the base of a tool is split or has a notch
Bi-Polar Core	A blade core that has two opposing striking platforms
Bird Point	Very small arrow heads possibly for killing birds
Billet	A small club made of antler, wood or copper with the purpose of being used in the form of a hammer and chisel
Blade	A flake of the stone that has parallel sides and has a length that is more than its width
Bulb of Percussion	Usually found in a stuck flake, a rounded bulb just beneath the place of impact on the flake
Bulbar Scar	A small mark on the Bulb of Percussion where a thin piece of the material has come off when it was struck
Cobble	A piece of mainly flint that was found by the sea
Conchoidal fracture	When a material scatters in a cone shape so the energy fans out form the point of impact
Cone of Percussion	Something that occurs in the material which is resulted from a short and sharp blow that was aimed at the materials surface
Core	A prepared part of the stone which can have flakes removed from the edges which can be used as tools
Core Tools	Bifacial tools.
Cortex	The outer chalky layer of flint
Crested Blade	The first flakes from a blade core that has been created using alternate flaking
Cresting	The creation of a facet caused by different flaking which usually means a predictable flake. Usually used in blade core technology.
Debitage	Term used by archaeologists to refer to the waste material left over when someone creates a stone tool
Direct Percussion	Blows made directly at the stone using hammers
Distal End	The end of a flake that has part of the striking platform
Dorsal Surface	A side of a flake that has marks from earlier flakes from the same place
End Snap	When one end is struck and a flake comes off the other end
Fissures	Stress marks that radiate from the point of percussion.
Flake	Pieces of stone that were removed from the main piece during knapping
Flute	When a flake is removed that creates a channel on one or both sides of the tool making it easier to attach to a handle
Facets	Marks left on the core or tool when flakes were struck off it, this can show how a tool was made
Ground polished	An edge or surface that was smoothed by abrasion
Heat Treating	When some cherts are heated to make knapping easier
Hinge Fracture	When a strike goes wrong and a fracture appears that if not removed will result in a step fracture
Indirect Percussion	When pressure is put on a striking platform followed by a sudden blow, this is used in the style of a hammer and chisel
Isolated Platform	A platform that has been carefully isolated from the rest of the tool or nodule
Knap or Knapping	To break or strike stone to produce flakes and tools
Nodule	A natural block of the material you are knapping
Outrepasse	When a platform was perfect and angles and conditions were optimal
Overshot flake	A flake that was removed, but has run from one side of the tool to the other
Pecking	Battering a stone with a hammerstone to form an intended shape by removal of very small chips
Preform	Any stage before the completion of a tool
Profile	The view of the flake or tool’s length, from the implements edge
Proximal End	The end of the flake that has the striking platform and/or bulb of percussion
Plan	The broadest view of the flake or tool
Platform Preparation	Adjustments made to the striking platforms
Rejuvenation	The redressing and correcting of controlled cores
Section	A cross section through the width of the flake or tool
Shock Ripples	Rings and bands that radiate from the point of percussion.
Silicious Rocks	Stone other than flint which can fracture in the same way as flint (conchoidally)
Spalling	Breaking up a nodule of the material into smaller workable pieces
Step fracture	A staircase of fracture that was the result of a hinge fracture, this can be difficult to remove; depending on the circumstances
Striking platform	A flat point that is to be struck and have flakes removed
Taphonomy	The study of a decaying organism over time
Uniface	A tool that has only had one side worked on
Ventral Surface	The side of the flake that has a bulb of percussion

Click here to learn more about Flint and how it was used by early man

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