Author Topic: Video: Hammerstone Spalling inspired by Ishi's Method - Aboriginally linked  (Read 16041 times)

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AncientTech

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This is an interpretation of American aboriginal spalling based on a photo of Ishi spalling with a hammerstone.  The interpretation is also based on some other records, some which date back to the 19th century.  Such records involve the use of the thigh, as the "anvil".  In reality, the thigh is an elastic surface that plays a role in the creation of the flake.  The video also does not cover bifacial reduction, via hammerstone - only spalling.  Also, the video is only intended as an interpretation of aboriginal technology, based on known records.

https://youtu.be/VODmEGc30io



 

Offline le0n

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nice :)

AncientTech

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Thanks,

You probably noticed that it is also a form of edge to edge technology.  You can see cortex on both sides of the flake.

Ancient Tech

Offline le0n

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yep, and super flat.

when i attempted to spall a few months ago i had the stone suspended (no support) and was using a hard hammerstone. it resulted in spalls with large bulbs of percussion.

i need to go back to that rock and attempt it with the base supported. i still have a few of them left.

Offline caveman2533

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Try it with a softer hammer stone also. Large enough but softer.

AncientTech

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yep, and super flat.

when i attempted to spall a few months ago i had the stone suspended (no support) and was using a hard hammerstone. it resulted in spalls with large bulbs of percussion.

i need to go back to that rock and attempt it with the base supported. i still have a few of them left.

Regarding the flatness, the nodule is resting on a pad, on my thigh.  The pad acts as a bit of a fulcrum.  In other words, the blow causes the broken portion to pull away from the nodule.  And, the fulcrum pad, plus hand manipulation, cause the nodule to pull away from the broken flake. 

Since the pad is soft, and yielding, it causes the break to act differently than if I had used a stone anvil.  If I had used a stone anvil, the break probably would have reached the center, and hinged.  The soft pad, used as an anvil, allows the break to continue under the surface, while not stopping, or hinging.  The give of the anvil may lengthen contact time, which may lead to a larger flake. 

This is similar to the idea that Catlin outlined, after encountering "Apaches" in the far west, between the 1830's and the 1840's, I believe in a remote mission settlement.  The details that Catlin explained, about their flintknapping, are not even understood by many modern flintknappers.   

Here is the entire account, published in 1867, but probably witnessed between 1830 and 1840>

"Every tribe has its factory, in which these arrow-heads are made, and in those, only certain adepts are able or allowed to make them, for the use of the tribe. Erratic boulders of flint are collected (and sometimes brought an immense distance), and broken with a sort of sledge-hammer, made of a rounded pebble of horn-stone, set in a twisted withe, holding the stone, and forming a handle."

 "The flint, at the indiscriminate blows of the sledge, is broken into a hundred pieces, and such flakes selected as, from the angles of their fracture and thickness, will answer as the basis of an arrow-head."
   
 "The master workman, seated on the ground, lays one of these flakes on the palm of his left hand, holding it firmly down with two or more fingers of the same hand, and with his right hand, between the thumb and two fore-fingers, places his chisel (or punch) on the point that is to be broken off; and a cooperator (a striker) sitting in front of him, with a mallet of very hard wood, strikes the chisel (or punch) on the upper end, flaking the flint off on the under side, below each projecting point that is struck. The flint is then turned and chipped in the same manner from the opposite side, and so turned and chipped until the required shape and dimensions are obtained, all the fractures being made on the palm of the hand."
   
 "In selecting a flake for the arrowhead, a nice judgment must be used, or the attempt will fail: a flake with two opposite parallel, or nearly parallel, planes is found, and of the thickness required for the centre of the arrow-point. The first chipping reaches near to the centre of these planes, but without quite breaking it away, and each chipping is shorter and shorter, until the shape and the edge of the arrow-head are formed."
   
 "The yielding elasticity of the palm of the hand enables the chip to come off without breaking the body of the flint, which would be the case if they were broken on a hard substance.  These people have no metallic instruments to work with, and the instrument (punch) which they use, I was told, was a piece of bone ; but on examining it, I found it to be a substance much harder, made of the tooth (incisor) of the sperm-whale, which cetaceans are often stranded on the coast of the Pacific.  This punch is about six or seven inches in length, and one inch in diameter, with one rounded side and two plane sides ; therefore presenting one acute and two obtuse angles, to suit the points to be broken.
   
 This operation is very curious, both the holder and the striker singing, and the strokes of the mallet given exactly in time with the music, and with a sharp and rebounding blow, in which, the Indians tell us, is the great medicine (or mystery) of the operation."  (Last Rambles among the Indians, Catlin).


Catlin recognizes that certain skilled people were specialists, in arrowhead manufacture.  He recognizes that stone was first broken up with mauls.  He accurately describes the design of the stone maul.  He describes the selection and shape of spalls, as opposed to waste materials.  He describes the use of isolated platforms, which he calls "protuberances".  He describes the length of the flakes being removed - falling short of the mid-line.  He describes the size, and shape, of the flaker.  He describes the effects of using the palm of the hand, as a rest, and how the elasticity of the palm prevents the stone from shattering.       

Given that Catlin probably witnessed this, between the 1830's and 1840's, this should be one of the earliest, and most detailed accounts of Native American flintknapping, ever recorded.  Also, this description predates the modern invention of the flintknapping baton, by almost one hundred years, since the flintknapping baton was invented by Barnes, during the 1930's, after long decades of hammerstone experimentation.

So, why isn't this account hailed as one of the best ABORIGINAL AMERICAN fintknapping accounts on record?  First, Catlin died just after this account was published, during the late 1860's.  Then, people could not fully understand the account. 

The confusion probably hangs on these words, "strikes the chisel on the upper end".  If we interpret this to mean on the upper butt end, then the chisel would have been held vertically, and struck from above.  And, this was actually depicted in illustrations, that were drafted up long after Catlin was dead.

But, Catlin subsequently wrote, "flaking the flint off on the under side, below each projecting point that is struck."

So, Catlin speaks of an "upper", and an "under".  What if Catlin was referring to the upper end of the flaker, and the under side of the side of the stone, with regard to the flaking process being carried out?  If so, then the process would have been analogous to a pressure flaking process, only the upper end of the flaker would have been struck downwards, and the underside of the stone, would have been detached.  If this is the case, then it would match other descriptions of flaking, given by other observers.  But, since this was not well understood in Europe, the entire account was pretty much laid aside by the end of the 19th century. 
« Last Edit: November 07, 2015, 08:44:51 am by AncientTech »

Offline nclonghunter

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What do you think is Horn Stone?

Sitting on the ground with flint in the palm and grasped with two or more fingers I would think your assistant sitting in front would strike the butt end of the punch that you hold on the edge of the flake.

Thanks for sharing, very interesting.
There are no bad knappers, only bad flakes

Offline le0n

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Regarding the flatness, the nodule is resting on a pad, on my thigh.  The pad acts as a bit of a fulcrum.  In other words, the blow causes the broken portion to pull away from the nodule.  And, the fulcrum pad, plus hand manipulation, cause the nodule to pull away from the broken flake. 

Since the pad is soft, and yielding, it causes the break to act differently than if I had used a stone anvil.  If I had used a stone anvil, the break probably would have reached the center, and hinged.  The soft pad, used as an anvil, allows the break to continue under the surface, while not stopping, or hinging.  The give of the anvil may lengthen contact time, which may lead to a larger flake. 

i've worked smaller pieces on my thigh (nothing like what you have) and even having the thin leather pad as a full contact surface doesn't give me the greatest results.

regarding your fulcrum comment, i went back and looked at what you're talking about and see how it is balanced on that pad; not necessarily laying flat against your thigh pad. i thought it was laying flat at first.

"The master workman, seated on the ground, lays one of these flakes on the palm of his left hand, holding it firmly down with two or more fingers of the same hand, and with his right hand, between the thumb and two fore-fingers, places his chisel (or punch) on the point that is to be broken off; and a cooperator (a striker) sitting in front of him, with a mallet of very hard wood, strikes the chisel (or punch) on the upper end, flaking the flint off on the under side, below each projecting point that is struck. The flint is then turned and chipped in the same manner from the opposite side, and so turned and chipped until the required shape and dimensions are obtained, all the fractures being made on the palm of the hand."

even though we've switched from talking about spalling, this is still rather interesting because it may be employing the same methods as the spalling process.

i can only interpret that the workman's right hand is being use to position the chisel while applying a certain amount of pressure onto the point (on the face vs. inward into the edge?). the way it is written you'd think that it would result in a snapped piece (because of the downward pressure). the only possible saving grace would be the position/pressure of the other two fingers against the piece being worked.

AncientTech

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What do you think is Horn Stone?

Sitting on the ground with flint in the palm and grasped with two or more fingers I would think your assistant sitting in front would strike the butt end of the punch that you hold on the edge of the flake.

Thanks for sharing, very interesting.

Hornstone is a term that used to be used for flint, during the 19th century.

So, do you think that the punch was held vertically, at a right angle, or horizontally, in line with the edge?

Offline nclonghunter

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Good question...I would think at a 90 degree BUT some of the old photos of the knappers holding the punches look like they are holding them along the edge when striking the punch or drifts...I really cant answer that one with certainty.

I would also auspect if held at a 90 to the stone it was also held at differt angles to give longer and shorter edge flakes...just based on what little I know.
There are no bad knappers, only bad flakes

Offline nclonghunter

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Re: Video: Hammerstone Spalling inspired by Ishi's Method - Aboriginally linked
« Reply #10 on: November 07, 2015, 10:48:15 pm »
Do you think that the cobbles were being broken with another piece of flint (horn stone) fashioned into a sort of sledge hammer?

Could he have mistaken a piece of granite as a hammer stone made in to a sledge hammer?
There are no bad knappers, only bad flakes

AncientTech

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Re: Video: Hammerstone Spalling inspired by Ishi's Method - Aboriginally linked
« Reply #11 on: November 08, 2015, 05:47:53 am »
Regarding the flatness, the nodule is resting on a pad, on my thigh.  The pad acts as a bit of a fulcrum.  In other words, the blow causes the broken portion to pull away from the nodule.  And, the fulcrum pad, plus hand manipulation, cause the nodule to pull away from the broken flake. 

Since the pad is soft, and yielding, it causes the break to act differently than if I had used a stone anvil.  If I had used a stone anvil, the break probably would have reached the center, and hinged.  The soft pad, used as an anvil, allows the break to continue under the surface, while not stopping, or hinging.  The give of the anvil may lengthen contact time, which may lead to a larger flake. 

i've worked smaller pieces on my thigh (nothing like what you have) and even having the thin leather pad as a full contact surface doesn't give me the greatest results.

regarding your fulcrum comment, i went back and looked at what you're talking about and see how it is balanced on that pad; not necessarily laying flat against your thigh pad. i thought it was laying flat at first.

"The master workman, seated on the ground, lays one of these flakes on the palm of his left hand, holding it firmly down with two or more fingers of the same hand, and with his right hand, between the thumb and two fore-fingers, places his chisel (or punch) on the point that is to be broken off; and a cooperator (a striker) sitting in front of him, with a mallet of very hard wood, strikes the chisel (or punch) on the upper end, flaking the flint off on the under side, below each projecting point that is struck. The flint is then turned and chipped in the same manner from the opposite side, and so turned and chipped until the required shape and dimensions are obtained, all the fractures being made on the palm of the hand."

even though we've switched from talking about spalling, this is still rather interesting because it may be employing the same methods as the spalling process.

i can only interpret that the workman's right hand is being use to position the chisel while applying a certain amount of pressure onto the point (on the face vs. inward into the edge?). the way it is written you'd think that it would result in a snapped piece (because of the downward pressure). the only possible saving grace would be the position/pressure of the other two fingers against the piece being worked.

About two years ago, I met someone who knows a fourth generation Apache knapper, living in a remote part of Chihuahua, Mexico.  This individual knaps with punches, and a very peculiar hammer strike.  The strike looks like a doctor yanking off bandages.  I asked the fellow why the odd strike is used.  He pointed to some concrete trim, under a window sill, that had a gouge in the bottom of it.  He said that if the knapper does not use the odd strike, it will gouge the edge of the stone, similar to the gouge in the concrete window sill.  I am pretty sure that it is the same strike that Catlin witnessed being used.  Also, the fellow uses five different punches, with one small curved punch being struck on the broadside.   

AncientTech

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Re: Video: Hammerstone Spalling inspired by Ishi's Method - Aboriginally linked
« Reply #12 on: November 08, 2015, 06:08:59 am »
Do you think that the cobbles were being broken with another piece of flint (horn stone) fashioned into a sort of sledge hammer?

Could he have mistaken a piece of granite as a hammer stone made in to a sledge hammer?

He may have mistaken horn-stone for some other stone, because he refers to the stone broken up by the maul as "flint". 

It does look like he was inquiring as to how the flintknapping process was carried out, because he writes, "These people have no metallic instruments to work with, and the instrument (punch) which they use, I was told, was a piece of bone ; but on examining it..."

He was first told about the flaking implement, which was followed by a direct examination of the tool.  The reference to "no metallic objects" is really important.  There was intense speculation for many decades regarding how stone tools were flaked, when the people who made the tools did not possess steel.  It was understood that flint is quite hard.  And, it was believed that one would need something harder than flint, in order to flake the flint.  And, the only thing believed to be harder than flint was steel.  So, given the era, the question about the tool used to the flake flint was probably more important to Catlin than how the stone was flaked. 

Still, this should be regarded as one of the most detailed, and earliest known accounts, of Native American flintknapping, from North America.  In fact, some of the tribes, west of the Rockies still had active flintknappers, who were making such products, into the early twentieth century.  And, even the tools appear to be similar.

AncientTech

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Re: Video: Hammerstone Spalling inspired by Ishi's Method - Aboriginally linked
« Reply #13 on: November 08, 2015, 06:10:28 am »
Good question...I would think at a 90 degree BUT some of the old photos of the knappers holding the punches look like they are holding them along the edge when striking the punch or drifts...I really cant answer that one with certainty.

I would also auspect if held at a 90 to the stone it was also held at differt angles to give longer and shorter edge flakes...just based on what little I know.

Are you aware of any photos of old knappers holding punches?  I only have found one old photo, so far.  And, it appears to be a reenactment.

AncientTech

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Re: Video: Hammerstone Spalling inspired by Ishi's Method - Aboriginally linked
« Reply #14 on: November 08, 2015, 06:26:43 am »
Good question...I would think at a 90 degree BUT some of the old photos of the knappers holding the punches look like they are holding them along the edge when striking the punch or drifts...I really cant answer that one with certainty.

I would also auspect if held at a 90 to the stone it was also held at differt angles to give longer and shorter edge flakes...just based on what little I know.

Basically, the Hertzian cone principle applies to indirect percussion, as well as to direct percussion.  A direct blow to a plane produces a conchoidal fracture.  The conchoidal fracture is shaped like a cone.  So, if the punch is held vertical to the edge, the break is going to have a tendency to follow the shape of the cone.  And, that would produce to a short flake, although the flake could be lengthened with some careful manipulation.

On the other hand, if the flaker was held as a pressure flaker, and struck on the upper end nearest the edge of the stone, then maybe longer flakes were produced.  That is my thought, anyway.  If so, then Catlin's account would show a very early use of what many modern knappers call "horizontal punching".

Also, the fact that the stone is held in the hand suggests that it is already fairly brittle, or thin, or both.  Harder cherts that require hard blows to thin frequently have to be rested on something fairly sturdy, such as a padded stone.