Welcome, Guest. Please Login
SLINGING.ORG
 
Home Help Search Login


Pages: 1 2 
Send Topic Print
What were the tools and weapons of Paleoindians??? (Read 5624 times)
Jabames
Interfector Viris Spurii
*****
Offline


:3

Posts: 1871
Alaska
Gender: male
What were the tools and weapons of Paleoindians???
Dec 16th, 2010 at 8:18am
 
When the first peoples eventually arrived here in North America,  what basic tools and weapons would they have used for hunting and other chores??? Huh
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
Mauro Fiorentini
Forum Moderation
*****
Offline


Forge your future with
the hammer of your mind!

Posts: 3442
Ancona, Italy.
Gender: male
Re: What were the tools and weapons of Paleoindian
Reply #1 - Dec 16th, 2010 at 9:02am
 
Hallo little!
I've never studied that context, but I imagine people arrived in North America during the last Ice Age, when it was "easier" to cross the Atlantic Ocean by boarding the mass of ice (or walking on it).
I imagine that they could have used the same tools you find in Europe in that period: let's say 18'000 b.p, when the ice mass had its maximum extension - this date is just a supposition, howewer.

18'000 b.p., people in Europe used small, refined flint blades, known as "gravettes" and "micro-gravettes", to make a particular type of arrow, similar to a harpoon.
They even used bone and antler for needles, and had flint engravers and scrapers - using these tools to work leather and fur and make clothes, bags and blankets.
They had flint blades of a certain length, some with a peduncle for a better grip inside the handle, and all of them were retouched for a better cut. They used them as knives, and some bigger ones as spear points.

I hope to have helped you, you could try to google "Solutrean" and "Magdalenian", periods between 21'000 and 10'000 b.p., for further information!
Greetings,
Mauro.
Back to top
 

Like! Smiley https://www.facebook.com/Arte-Picena-238289793027749/timeline/
Greetings,
Mauro.

Mauro Fiorentini - 339-525
 
IP Logged
 
Jabames
Interfector Viris Spurii
*****
Offline


:3

Posts: 1871
Alaska
Gender: male
Re: What were the tools and weapons of Paleoindian
Reply #2 - Dec 16th, 2010 at 9:12am
 
 Yes,  it seems that Solutrean points were near identical to Clovis points,  and Clovis points do look similar to ones found in some places in Europe,  there are many possibilities as to how people arrived in North America.  But,  strangely tools here in Alaska of earlier dates than the Clovis points are wayy different,  more like tools and artifacts found in Siberia with a completely different mind set it seems.  Soo idk a whole lot of this stuff,  but there is a possibility that migrations came through of course Siberia,  but also from the Atlantic side too from Western Europe.  
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
Mauro Fiorentini
Forum Moderation
*****
Offline


Forge your future with
the hammer of your mind!

Posts: 3442
Ancona, Italy.
Gender: male
Re: What were the tools and weapons of Paleoindian
Reply #3 - Dec 16th, 2010 at 9:28am
 
Oh yes, it is sure! I forgot to say this, but, as far as I remember, the migration through the Bering Sea is certain, while that across the Atlantic was uncertain until recent times. There have been 2 migrations, in fact, and this is the reason why most Native Americans had Mongolian's eyes  Smiley
But I know nothing about the Bering migration, so I'm talking only for the Atlantic one.
It seems to me that somewhere near Terranova, or Nova Scotia, a depot has been found containing a lot of flint blades and point, an offer to some Gods like the ones found in France and Northern Spain.
But I believe that the Bering migration was more ancient, because the Bering Sea is smaller than the Atlantic and thus the ice should covert it more quickly - making the crossing easier and in a most ancient time.
Greetings,
Mauro.
Back to top
 

Like! Smiley https://www.facebook.com/Arte-Picena-238289793027749/timeline/
Greetings,
Mauro.

Mauro Fiorentini - 339-525
 
IP Logged
 
Paleoarts
Interfector Viris Spurii
*****
Offline


it don't mean a thing
if you aint got that
sling!

Posts: 1993
oceanside, CA
Gender: male
Re: What were the tools and weapons of Paleoindian
Reply #4 - Dec 16th, 2010 at 9:37am
 
well, first you have to decide on what entry theories you believe and what time lines they follow, but a few things are certain. by 13,500 b.p. humans were hunting the biggest game on the continent. their tool kits included my favorite weapon, the atlatl, as well as a host of other innovations. bone needles for stitched clothing, stone drills, heat treatment of knapping rock, woven footgear, pigments.....the list goes on. the first colonizers of the Americas were some of the most intrepid and technologically advanced people of their age. unfortunately, much of the evidence of their daily lives is lost due to a 500'+ rise in sea level since then that has likely covered the majority of their occupation sites. if you'd like to find out more i suggest two very good books, 'the first Americans' by J. M. Adovasio and 'Lost World' by Tom Koppel. both give detailed descriptions of the latest migration theories and extensively cover the material culture of ancient Americans.

Chris
Back to top
 

visit me at www.paleoarts.net and my new gallery at www.flintknappers.com
 
IP Logged
 
Jabames
Interfector Viris Spurii
*****
Offline


:3

Posts: 1871
Alaska
Gender: male
Re: What were the tools and weapons of Paleoindian
Reply #5 - Dec 16th, 2010 at 9:50am
 
Soon I plan on starting to learn how to knap flint and other stone materials,  I have always been interested in them form an early age,  and I think its best to start out young right now soo i can possibly become somewhat of an expert,  I think I already know the basics of it,  just need the proper tools and right stone materials,  then its stone breakin time  Cool
vid of a guy makin a clovis style point
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRax_a8t4C4&feature=related
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
Mauro Fiorentini
Forum Moderation
*****
Offline


Forge your future with
the hammer of your mind!

Posts: 3442
Ancona, Italy.
Gender: male
Re: What were the tools and weapons of Paleoindian
Reply #6 - Dec 16th, 2010 at 10:49am
 
Knapping is awesome; using your self-knapped tools is much more!
The best is when you walk in the wild and find a big core of flint and then you begin looking for the proper stone to break it, and then you begin knapping and every hit you hope that there's no limestone inside the flint... and probably you will knap out a very bad piece and your hands and fingers will be full of small cuts and there's blood everywhere... but when you use what you've knapped, it's amazing!
Mauro.

PS. Chris, I have the impression that the good flint has a particular smell, that bad flint with limestone inside has not. Have you ever noticed this, or it's just my imagination?

Mauro.
Back to top
 

Like! Smiley https://www.facebook.com/Arte-Picena-238289793027749/timeline/
Greetings,
Mauro.

Mauro Fiorentini - 339-525
 
IP Logged
 
Paleoarts
Interfector Viris Spurii
*****
Offline


it don't mean a thing
if you aint got that
sling!

Posts: 1993
oceanside, CA
Gender: male
Re: What were the tools and weapons of Paleoindian
Reply #7 - Dec 16th, 2010 at 10:58am
 
i've noticed it to, Mauro. it depends on where it is from, of course, but i've found that flint has a 'fishy' smell and this is stronger in the less chalkier pieces. i don't know if this is a product of the mineral content or the fact that flint forms in ancient sea beds. it think you get the smell with the better quality because it is more homogenous and therefor generates more heat when struck, releasing more smell. just a theory.

Chris
Back to top
 

visit me at www.paleoarts.net and my new gallery at www.flintknappers.com
 
IP Logged
 
Mauro Fiorentini
Forum Moderation
*****
Offline


Forge your future with
the hammer of your mind!

Posts: 3442
Ancona, Italy.
Gender: male
Re: What were the tools and weapons of Paleoindian
Reply #8 - Dec 16th, 2010 at 2:55pm
 
In fact, it smells like something burnt!
I began thinking about this when I was studying archaeology and I found that some restorers uses to sniff sculptures to estabilish which stone has been used in making them!
Ehehehehe, mysteries of nature  Wink
Mauro.
Back to top
 

Like! Smiley https://www.facebook.com/Arte-Picena-238289793027749/timeline/
Greetings,
Mauro.

Mauro Fiorentini - 339-525
 
IP Logged
 
Bill Skinner
Forum Moderation
*****
Offline


Slinging Rocks!

Posts: 3292
Re: What were the tools and weapons of Paleoindian
Reply #9 - Dec 16th, 2010 at 7:55pm
 
I notice a burnt hair smell when using antler, I don't notice a smell when using copper.  Then again, I knap mostly chert.  The guy making the clovis point could have used an antler or bone pressure flaker and make his point all abo. 

Little, have you checked out pecking and grinding?  If you can't find knappable stone, there has got to be some fine grained stone around you that will work.  Bill
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
Jabames
Interfector Viris Spurii
*****
Offline


:3

Posts: 1871
Alaska
Gender: male
Re: What were the tools and weapons of Paleoindian
Reply #10 - Dec 16th, 2010 at 8:02pm
 
I dont know of any source of knappable material around here,  maybe I can look near a volcano one of these days,  there's got to be at least some flint or obsidian near volcanoes,  in fact I live right across some that are active though I suppose a river stream may be a good place to look,  we used mostly slate knives back then not too much of flintknapping,  though if I can't find any here I can look for large spalls of stone specially prepared for such work as flintknapping online.
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
Mauro Fiorentini
Forum Moderation
*****
Offline


Forge your future with
the hammer of your mind!

Posts: 3442
Ancona, Italy.
Gender: male
Re: What were the tools and weapons of Paleoindian
Reply #11 - Dec 16th, 2010 at 8:19pm
 
Little, if you live near a volcano, take the chanche and begin selling knappable stone on the net  Cheesy
You have a very unlimited resource nearby, you're very lucky!
There should be a large amount of obsidian near the volcano, which is, in some aspects, better than flint for a novice knapper. The most important of these aspects is that obsidian has not limestone inside, and so you can practice a lot and knap with confidence.
Flint is more easily found along the shores, be them sea or river's, and I've found it a bit more hard to knap than obsidian, especially when it is time to retouch the blade.
Have a look around, and good hunting!
For a better amusement, I suggest to use the net as your least resource! Try the wild way first  Wink

Bill: when your antler smells of burnt hair, it happens while you use it for indirect percussion? Because I notice that smell every time I work bone and antler, regardless the tool I'm using (stone or iron). What do you mean with "using copper"? Melting it? Or using to knap flint?
Because, when I forge, I can sniff another very distinctive smell, a mix between burning wood coal and a metallic one, which is, I think, the iron when it turn white for the heat.
But I did not sniff nothing when I used to melt bronze; neither when copper melted, nor when tin did. Instead, I noticed a changement in the flame's colour when the two metals mixed toghether.

Greetings,
Mauro.
Back to top
 

Like! Smiley https://www.facebook.com/Arte-Picena-238289793027749/timeline/
Greetings,
Mauro.

Mauro Fiorentini - 339-525
 
IP Logged
 
Mauro Fiorentini
Forum Moderation
*****
Offline


Forge your future with
the hammer of your mind!

Posts: 3442
Ancona, Italy.
Gender: male
Re: What were the tools and weapons of Paleoindian
Reply #12 - Dec 16th, 2010 at 8:21pm
 
Oh, Bill, I forgot: your theory about the use of antler/bone chisel is exact, there're foundings confirming that.
I want to make a flint core like those showed in my town's Archaeological Museum, when I'll get the right technique, to confirm the theory further.
Greetings,
Mauro.
Back to top
 

Like! Smiley https://www.facebook.com/Arte-Picena-238289793027749/timeline/
Greetings,
Mauro.

Mauro Fiorentini - 339-525
 
IP Logged
 
Paleoarts
Interfector Viris Spurii
*****
Offline


it don't mean a thing
if you aint got that
sling!

Posts: 1993
oceanside, CA
Gender: male
Re: What were the tools and weapons of Paleoindian
Reply #13 - Dec 16th, 2010 at 11:42pm
 
Bill Skinner wrote on Dec 16th, 2010 at 7:55pm:
I notice a burnt hair smell when using antler, I don't notice a smell when using copper.



Bill, you're getting that smell when using antler because it and hair are same thing on a molecular level. all antler is is super concentrated hair on steroids! and the reason it smells like it's burning is the heat friction you generate when you strike it against super tough flint. Shocked

oh, and little, just because you live near a volcano doesn't mean there is knappable stone around. obsidian, dacite, and others are volcanic glasses, but they form deep under ground between shifting tectonic plates and are usually pushed up in and around moutain ranges. actual volcanos generally release little more than pumice and ash.
Back to top
 

visit me at www.paleoarts.net and my new gallery at www.flintknappers.com
 
IP Logged
 
Mauro Fiorentini
Forum Moderation
*****
Offline


Forge your future with
the hammer of your mind!

Posts: 3442
Ancona, Italy.
Gender: male
Re: What were the tools and weapons of Paleoindian
Reply #14 - Dec 17th, 2010 at 7:18am
 
Paleoarts wrote on Dec 16th, 2010 at 11:42pm:
Bill, you're getting that smell when using antler because it and hair are same thing on a molecular level.

how interesting! Didn't know that!!

Paleoarts wrote on Dec 16th, 2010 at 11:42pm:
oh, and little, just because you live near a volcano doesn't mean there is knappable stone around. obsidian, dacite, and others are volcanic glasses, but they form deep under ground between shifting tectonic plates and are usually pushed up in and around moutain ranges. actual volcanos generally release little more than pumice and ash.

he said there's a river stream nearby, probably he can find obsidian in the surface there  Wink
Greetings,
Mauro.
Back to top
 

Like! Smiley https://www.facebook.com/Arte-Picena-238289793027749/timeline/
Greetings,
Mauro.

Mauro Fiorentini - 339-525
 
IP Logged
 
Pages: 1 2 
Send Topic Print
(Moderators: Bill Skinner, Masiakasaurus, Curious Aardvark, David Morningstar, Mauro Fiorentini, Rat Man, Chris)