The basis of most simple technologies is the process of reduction. Each material must be able to undergo the process of removing excess mass until the desired tool is acquired, yet still exhibit the quality of the original material. Tools can also be worked into a new state created by preparing/processing the material. This reduction process follows a number of stages that can be predetermined and followed in sequence. The regular use of a selected sequence may be cultural (imposed by the worker) or natural (dictated by the material itself). Regardless of the source of the sequence, once it is discovered, followed, and taught, predictable results can be expected from similar materials, under similar conditions, by others with comparable skills.
The originator of this idea, Errett Callahan, was seeking a predictable pattern for working stone. His Lithic Reduction Sequence has been adapted by Steve Watts and expanded by the author for this book , following a number of staging sequences for each material group - stone, wood, bone, antler, fiber and shell - where possible to help pass on a better understanding of the basics of material use and predictable processes that can be incorporated into toolmaking skills.
* * *
Each material source used in this book has a regular pattern as to how it is worked. The stages may be combined (field expedient digger from a broken limb is only one step), steps can be skipped (harvested saplings twisted and wrapped to form a finished handle), but seldom are they rearranged. Thought and action should be learned together for best results.
In addition to these staging sequences for materials, there are also stages of manufacture for specific tools. These are suggested step-by-step sequences for completing certain projects from selected materials or combinations of materials.
——————————————
STAGING SEQUENCE FOR STONE TOOLS
STAGE 1 - Obtain Raw Materials - quarry, gather, grade
STAGE 2 - Creating The Blank - core or flake created by hammer
STAGE 3 - Creating The Preform - shaping to center plane and margin with hammer
STAGE 4 - Secondary Thinning - creating generalized shape and thickness
STAGE 5 - Shaping - pressure and percussion to specific shape
STAGING SEQUENCE FOR BONE/ANTLER/TOOTH TOOLS
STAGE 1 - Obtain Raw Materials - hunt, scavenge, gather
STAGE 2 - Creating The Blank - break, score, flake, crack, bash to generalized shape
STAGE 3 - Shaping - grind, carve, saw to specific shape
STAGE 4 - Finishing - polish, notch, drill, sharpen, grease/oil
STAGING SEQUENCE FOR WOOD TOOLS
STAGE 1 - Obtain Raw Materials - select from category 1-5
STAGE 2 - Creating The Blank - break, throw, bash, split, pound, strip, burn
STAGE 3 - Creating The Preform - strip, bend/straighten, hack, adze burn, season, scrape, season
STAGE 4 - Shaping - carve, fine scrape, thin, bevel, sand to specific shape
STAGE 5 - Finishing - burnish, grease/oil, fire harden
STAGING SEQUENCE FOR FIBER TOOLS
STAGE 1 - Obtain Raw Materials - gather, scavenge, hunt
STAGE 2 - Creating The Fiber - pound, bend, ret, render, split to remove fiber
STAGE 3 - Twisting/Weaving - creating cordage, containers, fabric, mats or bundles
STAGE 4 - Finishing - sealing with pitch, wax, hide glue
STAGING SEQUENCE FOR SHELL TOOLS
STAGE 1 - Obtain Raw Materials - gather, scavenge
STAGE 2 - Creating The Blank - core or flake created by hammer
STAGE 3 - Shaping - notch, grind, pressure or percussion to shape
STAGE 4 - Finishing - abrade holes, etch, inlay, etc.
STAGE 5 or 6 - Combine any materials into compound tools
BONE WORKING BASICS
Text and Illustrations By Steve Watts
* * *
"A Proposed Staging Sequence For Bone Working"
A possible reduction sequence for working bone...from the complete bone to the completed tool or ornament. This sequence was first presented in 1988 and has been used since that time both in personal replication projects and in the presentation of bone working workshops and demonstrations. It has been refined somewhat since that time and will continue to be re-evaluated as further applications are tested.
These bone working "stages" may or may not have been present in the mind and work patterns of the aboriginal craftsman, but may be helpful for replicators seeking to work with bone in a systematic way.
Knives of bone and antler made by the author.
Stage 1- Obtaining The Material
The material in this case, of course, is bone. It is: found/gathered in the environment, traded for, obtained as a by-product of butchering/cooking activities, or processed directly from the carcass for the intention of working. Fleshing, boiling, and shallow burial are common processing methods.
Stage 2 - Creating The Blank
Breaking, scoring/breaking, scoring/cutting, flaking, cracking, smashing, grinding, splitting, or otherwise modifying the bone in preparation for shaping. The "blank" may be the whole bone modified, or a part or piece of the bone obtained by one or more of the above methods. In some cases "ideal" blank-forms may be required, in others a more generalized shape/size may suffice.
Stage 3 - Shaping
Grinding, carving, sawing/abrading, or otherwise modifying the blank to shape it into the final outline and cross-sectional form. Many bone implements may be completed with this stage. Others may require Stage 4 work for completion.
Stage 4 - Finishing
Polishing, notching, fine sharpening, drilling, engraving or other modifications may be applied to the shaped piece (as holes in needles, fine points on awls, etc.). Finishing procedures are most often related to specific tasks required of the tool.
The piece in hand at each stage is referred to in this way:
Stage 1... The Bone
Stage 2. The Blank
Stage 3. The Shaped Piece
Stage 4. The Finished Piece
Example: "Stages of Manufacture of A Bone Awl"
As in flintknapping, bow making, pottery or any other aboriginal technology approached in a systematic way; stages of manufacture may often be combined. Seldom however can they be rearranged in order. Stages may be omitted completely...as in the case of an expedient digging/stabbing tool created by the uncontrolled smashing of a long bone with a hammerstone. In this case the bone worker moves from whole bone to the completed tool with one swift blow.
Sources of Material
Bones of domestic and legally killed game animals can be obtained from hunters, ranchers, butchers and dairymen. Domestic and legally killed bird bones are rescued from the butcher block and the stock pot. Except in a survival situation, avoid all bones from protected species ..bird, mammal, reptile or human. No need for your bones to rot in jail !
Fresh or Dried?
The primitive bone worker may have little choice in his selection of raw materials in a given situation. When a choice is presented...which is better, fresh or dried bone?
Fresh bone seems stronger and more flexible than dried. Tools from these are less brittle and less likely to split and splinter. Yet, in manufacturing, a tendency to split can be an advantage if it can be controlled. Extremely weathered bone can deteriorate to a "spongy" state, making it the least desirable. Extremely fresh, uncooked bones can be excessively greasy, slippery and difficult to work with.
As with many things, a middle ground is best. In the "ideal" situation, where time allows, the best of both worlds finds the artisan using fresher bones through Stages 1 & 2 (where cutting, smashing, splitting, etc. are most utilized), slightly drier for Stage 3, and drier still for stage 4 (final grinding, polishing and sharpening).These Stage 4 tasks are best accomplished with dry materials. Fresh bone (somewhat like green wood) never takes the finer finishing processes well. It tends to "fuzz" and "feather" on the surface, resisting polish. Even a tool made from fresh bone will dry out ove
r time, so completed implements should be oiled periodically to prevent weakening by checking, cracking, etc.
Raw or Cooked?
Raw bones are stronger than cooked ones...retaining their oils, structure and integrity. Baked or roasted bones may be used, but are often weakened considerably. Boiling (one of the preferred methods of processing found in Stage I) seems to weaken bone less than other "drier" cooking methods. Boiled bones are softened slightly in the process, allowing for ease of manufacture. Firmness is regained once they are dry. And, remember, all bones can be used for a smelly fuel (highly prized by aboriginal peoples living in wood-poor environments)—fuel for cooking, heating, or processing yet more bone.
Bone Working Tools
The aboriginal bone worker's tools vary from the simple (a hammerstone) to the sophisticated (a pump drill). Tools most often utilized in the various stages of manufacture typically are:
Stage 1 ...Digging sticks (wood or antler) for digging up buried bones; bifaces, unmodified flakes and scrapers for butchering and fleshing fresh bones; pots for boiling; packs, baskets, skins and cordage for transporting.
Stage 2...Hammerstones with flat, rounded or edged anvils; unmodified flakes, denticulated flakes and bifaces ("saws"); mauls, large-grained grinding stones, wedges, flakers and burins.
Stage 3...Medium-grained grinding stones, "saws", unmodified flakes, drills, gravers and burins, scrapers.
Stage 4...Finer-grained grinding stones, polishing stones, buckskin and sand polishers, drills, burins/engravers, pigments, oil.
Scraps
Cut-offs, splinters, partial halves from unsuccessful splitting attempts, etc. should be saved and examined. A "waste" piece from one project may become —upon close inspection— a perfect Stage 2 blank for another. The splinter becomes an awl or a needle, the cut-off a fish hook, or almost any piece a bead or ornament. Often a "useless" scrap is just a blank waiting for a yet to be thought of project. Toss these in a gourd, basket or bag with the other discards and wait for inspiration.
* * *
The staging sequence presented by Steve was adapted from a reduction sequence for stone developed by Errett Callahan. It is an excellent way to approach all projects using natural materials and can be adapted to resources as diverse as shell and wood. Thinking of projects in stages gives you not only a predictable sequence of steps to a project, but also provides a blue print as to how a project may proceed in terms of processes. The Ed
* * *
***Brains, brawn, planning and perseverance are useful in all stages ***
Using the toe bone (phalange) of a deer, the sides of the bone are abraded away until only one cut is required to create the hook.
Scoring
For many bone-working projects (awls, needles, pins, daggers, large gorge hooks, knives, etc.) long sections of split bone are required. The nature of bone, however, does not lend itself to such splits. When unmodified and hit with a percusser, bone tends to split spirally instead of longitudinally. To overcome this the artisan carves/ scrapes a groove the length of the piece (using a flake, biface or burin) before applying percussion. After scoring, the bone can be tapped with the percusser along the groove, encouraging the bone to split in this predetermined manner.
Bone Splitting Tips
By Steve Watts, 1995
Splitting a rib bone using the bipolar technique.
(Photo:Michael Eldredge)
The Edged Anvil
John White (Ancient Lifeways Institute, Illinois) shared a bone splitting tip with me many years ago that I, in turn, have shared with many others since: Instead of a flat anvil, use an "edged" anvil—the edge of a core, large spall, biface etc. Partially bury this anvil in the ground or support it in some other way, placing the groove in the bone on that edge, and moving the bone back and forth as you tap with the hammer stone or billet. This concentrates the energy and results in high splitting-success rates.
Bipolar Splitting
Just hitting a bone laid on an anvil with none of the above preparations will yield unpredictable results at best. (For a possible exception see "Jacketed" technique below). Yet, I've discovered that large rib bones can be successfully split without any grooving or grinding preparation using bipolar percussion. Hold the rib on edge on a slightly rounded anvil. Moving it back and forth along the anvil as you work, whack it smartly with a hardwood or antler billet. You'll most often get nice long splits (sometimes even the entire length).
Replicas made by Steve Watts. River Cane vial and bone needles. (Photo: Hayden Allen)
The "Jacketed" Techniques
During a recent (Aug. '95) deer skinning, butchering experience we "discovered" a low-tech bone splitting technique that needs further experimentation. Having skinned the legs, a participant laid the bones on an anvil and smashed them without having removed the meat, sinew, membranes/tissues as would "normally" be done when using more formal bone splitting techniques. The object was marrow extraction, so the cleaning of the bone was neither indicated or suggested. The bones, to my surprise, split into long thin pieces producing instant needle, awl, pin blanks. The experience was repeated with similar results. Perhaps the adhering "jacket" of tissues affected the fracture-energy in a way different from "naked" bone? Or maybe it was just a fluke. Try it.
An Experiential Exercise With Bone
By David Wescott & David Holladay
* * *
In anticipation of this issue, we had a question that we thought needed answering..which works easier with stone tools, fresh or aged bone ? Much like the adage "don't compare stone tools to steel tools..compare stone tools to no tools at all," there is also no comparison when it comes to working bone with stone. ...not all bone is created equal.
We have a great deal of experience working wood with stone and have come to the following conclusions. We found also that the same rules hold mostly true for working bone.
1. Stone flakes or blades cut green materials best.
2. The drier materials become, the easier they take final shaping.
3. Planing and scraping to a smooth finish works best on drier materials.
4. Final burnishing and polishing is best done on dry materials with a polishing agent (grease/oil).
Our chance to do a comparative study came one morning when a doe was killed by a passing rental car near our field office. We already had frozen bones on hand, and a whole yard full of dry bones gathered from the field, both of which we had used regularly. We immediately called the wildlife authorities to salvage the deer, and were given permission. We butchered the carcass on the roadside with stone tools. Skinning and quartering went quickly as we have done this regularly. We saved the hind quarters and front shoulders for food. The entire process took less than 15 minutes. Deboning the meat and fleshing the tendons with a cannon bone scraper took another 30 minutes. Then the test began.
The fresh cannon bone was skinned and ready for testing along with a frozen and aged bone. The exercise was to test the efficiency of stone tools on splitting a cannon bone. Simple burins were made from local flakes of jasper. Grooves were cut into the channel in each bone (front and back). We wanted to split the bone by graving, not cracking or splitting by pounding on an anvil. The dry bone went much as expected, and took over 45 minutes to complete a through cut on both sides. The frozen bone wasn't quite as hard to work, but took about 30 minutes to split.The fresh bone, on the other hand, was cut through to the marrow along its entire length (except the knuckle ends) in less than ten minutes.
After having worked lots of aged and frozen bone in demonstrations and classes, we were amazed (not merely impressed) at how fast the "green" bone worked in comparison. Creating the finished needle at right helped illustrate the other points listed above. Once the bone was split and a sliver removed, we had to let the bone dry or dried naturally as more refined steps to the process were completed.
* * *
More Bone Fish Hooks1
"The raw materials from which the bone and thorn ho
oks were made had been gathered prior to the project. The bones utilized were believed to be a cat (#1) and a possum(#2). These were chosen because only two cuts on each were necessary to form fish hooks. I employed a sawing motion with a slight rocking of the tool...in order to avoid wedging the tool into the cut.... A piece of sandstone added the finishing touches to the bone.
As far as field experimentation was concerned, the manufacturing of the two fish hooks was only the beginning [of the sets]. Fish lines and leaders were also made...attached to the hooks...[broken pottery shards were used as[ sinkers were the last addition to the tackle.
Primitive Technology Page 12