Primitive Technology

by David Wescott

  Bones that have begun to decompose may be beyond use, but others can be rejuvinated by adding oil. When you find a bone, break it, and clean it out, and let it dry, then test it for strength. Bone is very brittle by nature and must be worked with carefully when making fine tools.

  Bones have specific characteristics and capabilities. Bone working includes understanding where to look for the bones best suited to a task, how to modify them, and the tool options available.

  Antler - stabber, club, billet, needle/pin, bow, purse Skull - bowl or pendant Jaw - Knife handel, saw

  Vertebrae - slide, socket, beads (snake and fish) Rids - knife, bow, buzzer, bullroar, batten Scapula - shovel, hoe

  Femur - needle, ring, stabber, flesher, awl, scaper Ulna - knife, awl

  Canon - multiple tools (see page -)

  Ankle - bow-drill socket

  Toes - rattles, amulet, arrow heads, fish hooks

  The oldest known artifact on this continent is a 27,000 year-old caribou bone flesheing tool.

  Working With Natural Materials

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  Working with natural materials as opposed to those processed and available in the store, introduces a variety of new problems. Since most processed materials are cleaned, sanitized (and approved by the EPA, USDA, etc.) they are free of many of the germs and other critters that natural materials may carry.

  When working with bone, hides, brains, etc. remember that you are working with dead tissue which is prone to rotting and all its attendant hazards. Tularemia and Bubonic Plague and many other unfriendly diseases (most are treatable) are blood-borne, so be careful. Infection from rotting tissue (especially brains) is very possible. If you wish to process animals, make sure you protect yourself by using gloves and/or washing in an antiseptic solution when you're done. Tissue that is thoroughly dried and dead (tendons, rawhide, etc.) seems to produce fewer problems.

  Harvesting roadkills is illegal in almost all states, although the laws are being changed to at least obtain some use from what would otherwise go to waste. Check with your local Fish and Game officials for regulations in your area. The use of parts from threatened and endangered species is illegal. The use of many animal parts for sale or trade varies with local regulations as well.

  Flintknapping - the act of controlled fracture of a rock by another tool- is prone to produce flying debris, sometimes very sharp debris. This may rocket towards onlookers or towards yourself. The use of protective eyewear and gloves is recommended. Work in well lit and ventilated areas.

  Some stone and shell may be hazardous when ground. Serpentine and Abalone, for example, produce asbestos fibers. Grinding should be done under water to reduce dust. Proper safety measures should be taken.

  Many plants that provide usable fiber are poisonous. Know the properties of any plant you use. Do not leave plant parts, refuse, or stockpiles where those unaware may ingest them.

  These and any other principles that apply to the safe use of natural materials should be followed. The authors recommend that you become informed of any dangers associated with materials specific to your area. Instructions contained in this work do not cover, imply or guarantee safety.

  STAGES OF MANUFACTURE - Percussion Reduction

  By Errett Callahan

  STAGE 1 - Obtain Material

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  STONE TOOL BASICS

  Functions, Features, Form and Fracture

  By Steve Watts

  “The right tool for the right job” is perhaps a very ancient bit of wisdom. Define the task, then find or create the needed tool using the proper stone type, methods and techniques of manufacture. Although many stone tools are multifunctional (or can be easily modified to be so) few can function well outside their “Task” category. You will no more butcher a deer with a hammerstone than you would hammer a neal with a razor blabe.

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  The Principle of Uniformity in Workable Stone

  * * *

  Not all rocks are created equal. Many have large grains that force energy produced by a hammerstone to travel around the individual grains. The energy may travel wherever the rock lets it, making the results very unpredictable for flaking, but servicable for other techniques such as pecking. Rocks with medium-fine grains may allow the energy to sheer each crystal and travel with more predictability, or may simply crush at the point of impact or crumblie apart. Neither of these types of rock works well for flaking unless the crystals are well bonded, allowing the energy to travel into and through the rock. Rocks that crush our crumble when struck work well for projects that require pecking and ginding, rough flaking, or abrading.

  Hard fine-grained rocks work well for a variety of percussion techniques as well as pecking and grinding. Rocks with no grain are glassy or flint-like and allow energy to pass in very predictable ways. Rocks that have a glasslike quality are by far the most sought after for percussion work where a very sharp edge is desired. These rocks vary in hardness, but they allow a broad range of uses as simple tools.

  Each of these rocks range from coarse to medium grain and from relatively soft to very hard. A flake was attempted on each to test for flakability. 1 and 2 are soft, coarse grained and crumbled when struck. They will peck very well. 3 has obvious layers and broke unpredictably. 4. would flake, but the mineral seams caused some problems. 5. flakes very well and is extremely hard.

  No one rock type is usable under all conditions or for all tools, and not all rock types may be found in your location. Learn to use a variety of rocks with a variety of techniques. Start with simple projects like discoidal knives, simple choppers and flake tools and progress as your knowledge of available materials progresses.

  Extremely fine-grained basalt like this works very similar to obsidian (shown below), but is much tougher and not nearly as sharp.

  TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

  This is a letter of endorsement from the Society of Primitive Tehcnology for hunting with stone arrowpoints. Stone points have been used successfully for hunting since long before the dawn of history. They should continue to be allowed for hunting.

  The sharpest material known to mankind is glass, such as obsidian, which is used to make the best stone points. According to the American Medical Association (AMA News 2 Nov 1984), obsidian is up to“500 times sharper than surgical steel”and may fracture to the last moecule. Dr. Saxton Pope consistently found that obsidian points penetrated 25% farther than steel points (Pope 1923: 368, 369).

  The banning of such a superior cutting edge is ludicrous. We would therefore encourage approval of the use of stone points for bow hunting. For this endorsement, we would stipulate (1) that the points be newly made, not ancient artifacts; (2) that only the top grade of obsidian or the finest-grained flints (lithic grade scale 1-3) be used; and (3) that the points be knapped to the lowest feasible edge-angle by experienced flingknappers, rather than by beginners. The other attributes (ie. width, design, etc.) should conform to local laws.

  Errett Callahan, PhD.

  President, SPT

  from Primitive Archer. Vol. 2, No. 4. The Broadhead of Stone, by Sam Fadala

  " Dr. Payson Sheets did a fantastic study of the flint head....using a scanning electron microscope, the dullest edge was shown to be that of chert produced by percussion flaking. The quartzite flake was far sharper than chert, almost ten times so....The stainless steel razor blade used in Sheet's test proved two times sharper than the scalpel in fact. But the obsidian blade was sharper than either the razor or the scalpel - far sharper, in fact....obsidian was 100 to 500 times sharper than the razor blade, and 210 to 1050 times sharper than the surgical scalpel” .

  .

  Surgical scalpel and obsidian blade photographed by a scanning electron microscope at a magnification of 10,000x. Brigham Young University.

  EXPERIMENTAL REPRODUCTION OF

  PREHISTORIC SICKLES

  By Manuel Luque Cortina,

  Asociacion Nacional De Technologia Primitiva Y Supervivencia

  a
nd Javier Baena Preysler, Universidad Autonoma De Madrid

  * * *

  A sickle could be defined as serrated flint or as a couple of serrated flint teeth embedded in the grooves of wooden hafts and fixed with “cement”(Spurrel, 1982). Sickles have probably been used since the early neolithic to the present, and are almost always related to the origin of agriculture in such tasks as threshing, reaping and cutting of cereals.

  The type of denticulates we have reproduced for this experiment are based upon archaeological microliths found in the site of the grave of a Spanish forger, near Madrid (Baena, J. and Luque, M.. 1994). No attempts were made to analyze microwear, gloss or polish of the reproduction. Sickle morphology and hafting procedures were just experimental and simply designed to test the cost of production and efficiency of this kind of instrument. The model presented in Plate I is a reconstruction based on archaeological data. It does not mean that this particular form was documented in the past.

  A more complete development typology of sickles located in different archeological deposits from the Old Continent and Near East, illustrating the historic development of the experimental works with this kind of tool, can be obtained from the works of Jule Jensen, H. 1993 and Steenberg, A. 1943.

  In our example, four main aspects were pointed out; wood employed in the production of the sickle, lithic reduction sequence of denticulate sickle flakes, glue and hafting, and the cordage to reinforce the whole structure. Finally we demonstrated the efficacy of the tools made by non-systematic experimentation in cutting bracken, nettle (Urtica dioica) and grass (Avenua fatua and Aegilops ovata). The primary results are shown at the conclusion.

  EXPERIMENTAL REPRODUCTION

  Wood Shape

  In order to describe the methodology of the project, three parts to the experiment were identified: handle (h). arm (a) and forearm (f) (Plate I). This configuration can be made by using a fire-moistening treatment of the wood selected, but materials with natural features (boxwood roots, fallen branches, etc.) can also be used. Thereby, no particular skills are required to get the desired shape.

  One of the most important features of the sickle, is the resistance of the wood to breakage. The wood employed in the experiment was broom, (Cytisus scoparius). We also tried other materials such as cherry wood, boxwood and common elm, all of which gave us the same results. Due to the short length of both arm and forearm of the sickle, the strengths needed to withstand flexion during reaping is highly independent of the wood selected. Thus, good woods for making a sickle are quite common and available. What is always important, is to avoid gnarled branches, which can accidentally fracture while working.

  The handle must be wide enough to provide a fitting surface for easy handling; neither thin, nor bulky; our haft is 3.5 cm of diameter, which decreases in width, gradually to the distal end of the arm. The transition between forearm and hafting area can be right angled, slightly obtuse or even absent, it depends on the sickle morphology, and use.

  Plate I. Sickle morphology and flakes employed. h=handle, f=forearm, a=arm.

  For hafting the teeth, a slit is produced lengthwise by scratching the arm with a burin. In spite of the fact that we can employ a simple flake or blade for the same purpose, burins seem to be suitable and effective for shaping a longitudinal fissure, as well as an accurate section at the same time (Figure 1a). In order to make a better seat for the teeth, it's important to avoid an inverted triangular section in the groove. The cross-section usually shows a rectangular profile.

  The outline of the slit must be well centered; curvilinear delineation should be avoided as far as possible (Figure 1b). A poorly made haft will cause accidental detachment of the microliths while reaping. Microliths can also be pulled out, if the crack depth is too shallow, or if microliths extend too far beyond the upper limit of the crack, normally caused by the creation of an inverted triangular section on the groove.

  Figure 1. Groove a. section of the arm. b. Groove well centered and irregular groove.

  Width and depth of the fissure are a function of the microliths dimensions. Groove depth might be at least, half of the microlith width and no longer than the radius section of the arm, which would probably weaken the whole structure of the sickle (Figure 2).

  Figure 2. Depth crack and cordage application.

  Lithic Reduction Sequence and Tooth Manufacturing

  Sickle teeth are flakes with a saw-like edges formed by numerous small, closely spaced notches (Juel, 1993), (Figure 3).The lithic reduction sequence for producing these teeth is quite simple. No complex strategies are required except for the production of the blades that will provide the blanks.

  In our case the lithic samples found at the archaeological Calcolithic site are made from random flakes. Our goal was to get small pieces, roughly similar in dimension to the originals. For this process, a couple of polyhedral cores were produced (Plate I).

  1. Shaping a preform from a single flake is the first step towards the final morphology; hammerstone, soft hammer and even antler billet are quite useful.The flake is simply reduced by flaking until a fragment about 5 cm long and 3 cm width cm is obtained. Generally this step can be avoided by selecting flakes that are already close to the desired shape.

  2. Final shaping and flake preparation. The back of the flake, that is to say, the side that will be inserted into the groove, is made (according to our archaeological sickle-flakes) either by pressure or by bipolar percussion (Figure 4), using an anvil and hammerstones of small dimensions (60mm x 36mm x 27mm for the hammerstone). The goal is to make this edge abrupt, avoiding undesirable bending fractures. When reaping, both, lateral surfaces of the groove and the tooth itself, produce flexural strains, due to the effort of cutting.

  Figure 3. Morphology of a sickle tooth, and section. a=notch, b=dorsal surface, c=ventral surface, d= flank.

  Figure 4. Bipolar percussion using an anvil. a=anvil, b= sickle tooth, c=hammerstone.

  3. The final step is creating the teeth by simple retouch, usually made by pressure, with a sharp flint edge, a bone punch, or even an antler burin. This retouch must be produced from the dorsal to the ventral face and vice versa (Plate II).

  In our archeological pieces, we have found many of this kind, although some of them presented very small individual notches upon the ventral side, very closely spaced.

  Before creating the teeth, it's recommended to prepare the cutting edge, avoiding diversions (?): both transversally and longitudinally.

  The sections of archaeological sickle-flakes found, are normally triangular or of a triangular trend, while their morphology was quite varied. We have noticed semicircular shapes, trapezoids, rectangles as well as many other type variants. We have reproduced, sickle-flakes having a trapezoid shape to help the coil of cordage bind around the arm of the sickle (Plate II).

  We have spent from four to six minutes in the manufacturing of each tooth.

  Glue and hafting.

  Glue was obtained from a treatment of red deer tendons, but there are many ways to produce it (see BPT #2).

  Plate II. Notch retouch of teeth with antler burin.

  Before filling the slit with the glue, it's recommended to try a “dry”haft in order to set up the final positioning of every tooth. This allows the modifying of the flank of the tooth or the groove. Each position must be well defined before final hafting.

  Before pouring the glue into the fissure, reinforce the groove by daubing it with a thin layer of liquid glue. A second deposition of glue will serve to hold the denticulates in place, in a straight line all along the crack.

  Next, fill the entire fissure with glue and arrange the teeth in the final lateral morphology. The result is shown in the Plate III.

  Plate III. Filling up the groove.

  Cordage.

  In order to establish a better seat for the teeth, and also to reinforce the sickle which is slightly weakened because of the groove, we tied cordage around the arm, passing it between holes defined by the microliths (Figure 2).
This reinforcing may not be necessary with a good covering of glue.

  Our cordage was made with sparto grass fibers (Stipa tenacissima) and stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), common species of Spain. Better results could be obtained when using cordage impregnate with the glue described above.

  First experimental use

  Reaping of Avenua fatua and Aegilops ovata lasted 30 minutes, cutting 16 square meters (Plate IV). The final result was the loss of one lithic piece and the breaking of five teeth into three pieces. While reaping brackens for ten minutes, two microliths were pulled out and five flakes sustained accidental indentations.

  Figure 5. Reconstruction of sickles using blades. a= Spanish Neolithic from Cueva de la Sarsa (Fortea et al. 1987). b= two Bandkeramick sickles (Behm-Blake 1963, in Jensen 1994).

  Plate IV. Reaping Avenua fatua and Aegitops ovata with the sickle.

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  REFERENCES

  Baena, J. and Luque, M.