FLINTKNAPPERS' MEMORIAL MUSICAL TRIBUTE

CULT OF THE GIANT ISHI POINTS

(above giant Ishi points made by Emory Coons)

CULT OF THE GIANT ISHI POINTS



I have always liked giant points. I chased the Ted Orcutt legacy as a kid and lately I am amazed by the work of Cole Hust, Jim Winn, Jim Spears, Bob Hunt and other giant biface makers. I however don't do much percussion knapping and usually make arrowheads and small knives. Lately I have been concentrating on Ishi points for a book that Hugo Name is putting out at the University Buenos Aires. So I decided to make a 40 inch Ishi point, complete with Ishi type notches. This one is dedicated
to Cole.

NOTCHED ISHI STYLE






Here is Cole with one of his smaller White Deer Dance Bifaces. I am working on an article about him for next week.

My Latest Arrowheads, Flintknapping

ARROWHEADS AND BLADES OF ANCIENT CALIFORNIA

Morphological typologies of projectile points in North America have often been employed as time-sensitive prehistoric cultural markers. Although there has been
some controversy as to the reliability of this method, I wrote this book in 1985
showing the types of California arrowhead and projectile points and other lithic bifaces. Also is a chart of lithic material types and uses.

Blue Green Insulator Glass Point Made By Ishi.

Blue Green Insulator Glass Point Made By Ishi.
Native Americans and Australian Aborigines both made arrowheads out of Insulators. The telegraph companies got fed up with the knappers steeling their glass isolators that they would leave free ones piles up by the poles so they wouldn't have to repair the section taken down by the knappers.This style insulator, nicknamed "signal", is one of the most diversely colored styles produced by Hemingray. Colors exist in practically the entire spectrum! The example shown above is blue/green and you can see the point made by Ishi, at the museum is the same color
Primary Embossings:
H.G.CO.
Hemingray
No Name
S.S.&CO.

Style Number:
19

Date Produced:
c.1880's-c.1940's
Rare Ishi Points From Private Collections
Through a shadowy maze of secret connections and back room meeting and a plethora of mass mailings fallowing up on leads and dead ends. Here is a portion of the Ishi points given away or sold by Ishi from his museum flintknapping demonstrations. All on this first post verified as authentic by chain of position and eye witness testimony and expert lithic technology diagnostics.

This point is extremely rare, made by Ishi from MAN MADE blue-green insulator glass
Point one is a classic side notch point with uncharacteristic wide notching,Inulator glass is brittle and tends to brake away on delicate tear drop notching.


ABOUT ISHI POINTS
Today Ishi is well known for the arrowhead named after him, a
stylized side notch type, he commonly knapped at his museum home, In
this case, Ishi's short five-year stay at the Museum of
Anthropology, University of California, a legend born of an odessy
that began August the 9th, of August 1911 ending on Ishi's death
March 25, 1916. According to Nelson (1916) . Nothing gave Ishi, and
the visiting public, as much interest and satisfaction as his
arrowhead chipping. The Ishi Point type discussed, he made several
varieties, is as follows: The classic Ishi point is best known for
its symmetrical tear drop notches in the lower margin of the point.
The notch enters at less than a thirty-second on an inch at the
entry point then expand to an eighth of an inch wide or more in the
body of the point. The deep teardrop notches extend three eighths to
a quarter of an inch deep into the face of the basal region. This
gives the neck area, between the notches, a similar diameter of the
prospective arrow shaft creating the perfect haft.


The classic Ishi point has a blade edge that is either straight or
incurvate. The base is concave. The point has sharp angular ears
below the characteristic notches. The point has a triangular form
giving the point the overall delicate but deadly outline. The point
has diffuse diamond cross-section created by a medial ridge. Ishi
points have closed tear drop notches.


The medial section of the Ishi point has subtle oblique flaking
patterns, more pronounced on the elongated specimens. Oblique or
parallel flaking is done, according to Errett Callahan, to create an
extremely sharp edge, as oblique edges do not have delta flakes and
therefore less final retouch is necessary and the blade edge is
razor sharp. The blade edge on an Ishi point is usually incurvate,
this a result of the final pass of oblique medial flakes. The clear
glass material gives the point an ice crystal look, that combined
with its' oblique parallel pattern flakes and near perfect symmetry,
transcends all description of beauty.
Ishi
Most of you have heard the story of Ishi a thousand times, the tear
filled tale of the last natural American. Ishi wandered out of the
wilderness in 1911, starving. confused and mourning the loss of his
family and race. The last Yahi-Yana of Dear Creek, California.
Rescued and given sanctuary in the Museum at University at California
Berkley where he lived doing odd jobs and demonstrations until his
death by TB in 1916. Ishi was said to be a reserved and intelligent
gentleman, and an excellent flintknapper. Ishi's friend Dr. Saxton
Pope wrote this of Ishi when he died; "He closes a chapter in
history. He looked upon us as sophisticated children, smart, but not
wise....He knew nature which is always true. His were the ualities of
character that last forever. He was kind; he had courage and self-
restraint, and though all had been taken from him, there was not
bitterness in his heart. His soul was that of a child, his mind that
of a philosopher."
Of late, Ishi has been in the news quite a bit, Researcher Steve
Shakely, of Kroeber Hall at Berkley, states that Ishi may not have
been a Yana after all but, based on physical and anatomical
measurements of Ishi himself and the point type he made, he may have
been a Wintu, a neighboring tribe. Furthermore in the news, the
California Indians have been trying to get the existing remains of
Ishi back from the Smithsonian for burial. Originally Ishi wanted to
be buried in the traditional Yahi-Yana fashion, but the powers that
be at the time had dismembered and burned his body. Before they
burned his body they cut out his brain and sent it to the
Smithsonian. In recent news releases it appears that Ishi's remains
may be returned to his Dear Creek home for burial. The delay in
returning the remains had to do with the fact the Ishi had no living
relatives, recent DNA testing has resolved the issue. In addition,
another bit of Ishi news came about when researcher, Dennis
Torresdale discovered a small cash of authentic Ishi points in Ishi's
waste flake collection in an old coffee can in the basement of the
museum at Berkley. Dennis was extremely noble and turned the points
in to the museum, according to Ishi collector Charlie Shewey, the
last authentic Ishi point sold at auction for a cool $27,000.00.

nsulator knapping is no different than selecting core material of a lithic type that shows
an angular unenterprising form. I don't recommended destroying insulators to test this theory.
There are dozens of historic accounts of knappers in America and especially Australia
using insulators as core material to craft projectile points. I am in the process of hunting these down and will post them
next week.

Unfortunately for this topic there is no mention in the Ishi literatures of insulator knapping however,
Kroeber's accounts (1961) of Ishi's practices collecting knapping
glass are quite vivid, and this particular passage captures the
event in detail: " Plate glass, brown glass from beer bottles and
the blue glass of "Milk of Magnesia bottles" were among Ishi's
favorite lithic materials. " As a final irony of the time of Ishi's
concealment, Ishi was cut off from trade to the north and south and
Yana country had no obsidian or flint. Painstakingly and silently,
Ishi had visited the length of Lassen Trail, every campsite of
emigrant, hunter or camper, up and down Deer Creek, and the cabin
middens and ranch dumps of whatever dwelling he could reach by light
and return from by night, combing them for the discarded bottles
they were likely to contain. Once back home, he shaped at his
leisure, the pieces of glass into his ammunition."


Glass knapping is more complex than it seems on first observance.
There are several techniques, some cultural and some based strictly
on the shape of the mass of glass to be reduced and subsequent
unique strategies that lend themselves strictly to shape of core
materiel (i.e.. Bottles, plate glass, insulators). The glass object, when
collected, is the basic core material.
According to Mark Moore (2000) "The methods
used to manufacture glass bottles at the turn of the last century
were not equal to the mechanized bottle-making innovations seen in
the US today, bottles in the older bottles were relatively thick
(better for knapping), compared to modern bottles".

“The story goes that the first telegraph lines across Australia ran into trouble because the native people discovered that glass insulators flaked well. A good many telegraph lines went suddenly dead when someone shinnied up the poles and removed the insulators. The problem was ultimately solved by leaving extra insulators at the base of the poles” (Tindale 1985:24; Flood1983:188 and Whittaker 1999: 67)



BROKEN INSULATOR EXPERIMENT

ESKIMOBOY'S THEORY , SEEMS TO HAVE WORKED WITH THIS OLD BROKEN PORCELAIN INSULATOR.
"You know I was thinking about how to go about knapping one of those, and I bet if a guy took a hit at the bulb end to set up a platform, then you'd have one chance anyhow for your best peice thru the solid bulb end, keeping half or so of the hollow part, maybe wouldn't be that hard to do, but I think you'd only have the one chance at the biggest peice with maybe the other half for a smaller point."

Authentic Ishi Points from Private Collections. THE GOLD STONE POINTS

Rare Gold Stone Points Made By Ishi at Knapping Demo.Authentic Ishi Points from Private Collections. THE GOLD STONE POINTS

Through a shadowy maze of secret connections and back room meeting and a plethora of mass mailings fallowing up on leads and dead ends. Here is a portion of the Ishi points given away or sold by Ishi from his museum flintknapping demonstrations. All on this first post verified as authentic by chain of position and eye witness testimony and expert lithic technology diagnostics.

This first set is extremely rare, two points made by Ishi from MAN MADE Italian “Goldstone” , a copper powder laced glass made by Italian monks and imported to America.

Point one is a classic side notch point with uncharacteristic wide notching, gold stone is brittle and tends to brake away on delicate tear drop notching.

The second point appears to have ear snapped during notching and may have been picked up by the customer as a discard at the demo?

ABOUT ISHI POINTS
Today Ishi is well known for the arrowhead named after him, a
stylized side notch type, he commonly knapped at his museum home, In
this case, Ishi's short five-year stay at the Museum of
Anthropology, University of California, a legend born of an odessy
that began August the 9th, of August 1911 ending on Ishi's death
March 25, 1916. According to Nelson (1916) . Nothing gave Ishi, and
the visiting public, as much interest and satisfaction as his
arrowhead chipping. The Ishi Point type discussed, he made several
varieties, is as follows: The classic Ishi point is best known for
its symmetrical tear drop notches in the lower margin of the point.
The notch enters at less than a thirty-second on an inch at the
entry point then expand to an eighth of an inch wide or more in the
body of the point. The deep teardrop notches extend three eighths to
a quarter of an inch deep into the face of the basal region. This
gives the neck area, between the notches, a similar diameter of the
prospective arrow shaft creating the perfect haft.


The classic Ishi point has a blade edge that is either straight or
incurvate. The base is concave. The point has sharp angular ears
below the characteristic notches. The point has a triangular form
giving the point the overall delicate but deadly outline. The point
has diffuse diamond cross-section created by a medial ridge. Ishi
points have closed tear drop notches.


The medial section of the Ishi point has subtle oblique flaking
patterns, more pronounced on the elongated specimens. Oblique or
parallel flaking is done, according to Errett Callahan, to create an
extremely sharp edge, as oblique edges do not have delta flakes and
therefore less final retouch is necessary and the blade edge is
razor sharp. The blade edge on an Ishi point is usually incurvate,
this a result of the final pass of oblique medial flakes. The clear
glass material gives the point an ice crystal look, that combined
with its' oblique parallel pattern flakes and near perfect symmetry,
transcends all description of beauty.





"Goldstone (gemstone)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Goldstone
Goldstone

Goldstone is a type of glass made with copper or copper salts in the presence of a reducing flame. Under normal oxidative conditions, copper ions meld into the silica to produce transparent bluish-green glass; when the reduced goldstone melt cools, the copper remains in atomic isolation and precipitates into small crystalline clusters. The finished product can take a smooth polish and be carved into beads, figurines, or other artifacts suitable for semiprecious stone, and in fact goldstone is often mistaken or misrepresented as a natural material.

The most common form of goldstone gives the illusion of being reddish-brown, although in fact that color comes from the copper crystals and the glass itself is colorless. Some goldstone variants have an intensely-colored glass matrix—usually blue or violet, more rarely green—and a more silvery appearance to the suspended crystals, whose color may be partially masked by the glass or which may be based on different metals than copper (perhaps cobalt, manganese, or chromium).

The manufacturing process for goldstone was discovered in seventeenth-century Venice by the Miotti family, which was granted an exclusive license by the Doge. Persistent folklore attributes the discovery and secret of goldstone to an unnamed Italian monastic order, giving rise to the alternate name "monk's gold" or "monkstone". Another name, "stellaria", is based on the starry internal reflections.

Curiously, goldstone is one of the few cases where a synthetic simulant provided the eponym for the similar natural stone. The original Italian name for goldstone is "avventurina" or some similar word or phrase indicating its accidental discovery, hence the mineral name "aventurine" for forms of feldspar or quartz with mica inclusions that give a similar glittering appearance. Yet another name for goldstone is "aventurine glass", but this should be discouraged to avoid confusion with the minerals."

Most of you have heard the story of Ishi a thousand times, the tear
filled tale of the last natural American. Ishi wandered out of the
wilderness in 1911, starving. confused and mourning the loss of his
family and race. The last Yahi-Yana of Dear Creek, California.
Rescued and given sanctuary in the Museum at University at California
Berkley where he lived doing odd jobs and demonstrations until his
death by TB in 1916. Ishi was said to be a reserved and intelligent
gentleman, and an excellent flintknapper. Ishi's friend Dr. Saxton
Pope wrote this of Ishi when he died; "He closes a chapter in
history. He looked upon us as sophisticated children, smart, but not
wise....He knew nature which is always true. His were the ualities of
character that last forever. He was kind; he had courage and self-
restraint, and though all had been taken from him, there was not
bitterness in his heart. His soul was that of a child, his mind that
of a philosopher."
Of late, Ishi has been in the news quite a bit, Researcher Steve
Shakely, of Kroeber Hall at Berkley, states that Ishi may not have
been a Yana after all but, based on physical and anatomical
measurements of Ishi himself and the point type he made, he may have
been a Wintu, a neighboring tribe. Furthermore in the news, the
California Indians have been trying to get the existing remains of
Ishi back from the Smithsonian for burial. Originally Ishi wanted to
be buried in the traditional Yahi-Yana fashion, but the powers that
be at the time had dismembered and burned his body. Before they
burned his body they cut out his brain and sent it to the
Smithsonian. In recent news releases it appears that Ishi's remains
may be returned to his Dear Creek home for burial. The delay in
returning the remains had to do with the fact the Ishi had no living
relatives, recent DNA testing has resolved the issue. In addition,
another bit of Ishi news came about when researcher, Dennis
Torresdale discovered a small cash of authentic Ishi points in Ishi's
waste flake collection in an old coffee can in the basement of the
museum at Berkley. Dennis was extremely noble and turned the points
in to the museum, according to Ishi collector, the late Charlie Shewey, the
last authentic Ishi point sold at auction for a cool $27,000.00.Subsequent
research indicates some have been on the black market for much less.

MY ISHI RESERCH PROPOSAL (BASED ON Rondeau, M.F., and V.L. Rondeau. RESEARCH FORMAT)



RESEARCH PROPOSAL: ISHI LITHICS AND GLASS DEBITAGE
ANALYSIS; A WINDOW TO PROTOTLITHIC UNDERSTANDING,
A LITHIC TAXONOMY.
RAY H. HARWOOD
A. Statement of the Problem There has been a wealth of books and articles related to Ishi and his projectile point knapping. Ishi’s biface production trajectory and physical approach is used throughout experimental archaeology and “folk-knapping’ today (Shackley 2001) and can be traced directlyback to Ishi via Crabtree. However, little has been done thus far on an extensive debitage study, especially a systematic replication of his lithic works relating to the studies of said debitage. According to Shackley(2001) though the objects Ishi made are nearly deified in some circles, an examination of his lithic technology, with current advances, has simply not occurred, possibly as a result of the rather romantic effect of this historical figure.
Succinctly stated; the problem to be researched is the application of modern lithic
debitage analysis to the existing Ishi glass and lithic refuse. Debitage, defined as "residual lithic material resulting from tool manufacture. Useful to determine techniques, and for showing technological traits" (Crabtree 1972:58). The anomaly of glass and lithic reduction in the proto-historic era (protolithics), also known as contact or historic period lithic analysis, will be used to extract important data for this little known, and seldom studied, subfield of lithic technology. I use the term “lithic anomaly” here to designate an artifact class possessing a unique set of definable salient attributes such as might indicate distinct manufacturing and/or techno-functional behavior.It is the focus of this proposed research endeavor to increase the flaked glass and protolithic database with use of modern micro-lithics study methods for debitage classification and subsequent anayasis and and replicative verification through extensive flintknapping experimentation . Replicative studies will focus on the attribute and statistical analysis of the debitage created while maintaining close attention to precise, systematic and historically accurate replication. The lithic debitage will be processed into a precise taxonomy. Taxonomy (from Greek taxis meaning arrangement or division and nomos meaning law) is the science of classification according to a pre-determined system, with the resulting catalog used to provide a conceptual framework for discussion, analysis, or information retrieval. In theory, the development of a good taxonomy takes into account the importance of separating elements of a group (taxon) into subgroups (taxa) that are mutually exclusive, unambiguous, and taken together, include all possibilities. In practice, a good taxonomy should be simple, easy to remember, and easy to use. Flintknapping experimentation is one means of expanding the theoretical scope and application of lithic debitage studies. Flintknapping experiments, replicative systems analysis, have shown, when properly applied, to be a most reliable method, indicating the prehistoric agents responsible for the redundant and unambiguous patterns that occur in the prehistoric flaked stone record (Callahan 1979; Crabtree 1972, 1973; Flenniken 1980; Muto 1971). These identified attribute patterns have been found to vary according to the techniques of production and the stages of reduction, thus exposing clues to technique and methodology (Breschini and Haversat 1991). There is even an indication that the pressure technique used on the long glass points, Ishi made at the museum, was somewhat different than on the smaller obsidian points (Harwood 2001; Shackley 2001). According to Shackley (2001)
“there is no evidence on the performs at the Hearst Museum or in the literature
That Ishi abraded the margins during reduction, even when using obsidian and glass, but to produce the oblique parallel effect he was so proficientat doing, he must have prepared the platforms.” These theories can be tested through micro analysis of the debitage.

In spite of some support for this analytical technique (Patterson 1983), a number of potential problems with size class analysis, as well as, debitage replication have been recognized. These include: 1) different techniques to manufacture similar items; 2) the mixing of waste flakes from different flaking techniques; 3) failure of flintknapping to accurate replicate a collection under study; 4) variations in debitage due to raw material differences; and 5) the collection both prehistorically and historically of certain debitage specimens (Stahle and Dunn 1983:94).

B. Nature and Design of the Project
Described herein are the details of what the project intends to do and where the project will be carried out. The bulk of the research will be carried out at my home and will involve the systematic replication of 10 sets of 10 projectile points each and the subsequent debitage classified and categorized. Comparisons will be made with the actual degitage of Ishi and theories regarding the original; lithic reduction sequences speculated’
The raw materials and technical attributes in the Ishi debitage collection would be subjected to classification and close attribute studies. Various methods of flintknapping replication would correspond to ascertain the type and origin of the various debitage manifestations. From here statistical inferences and theories will be considered, correlations made and the final data used to infer viable reduction and notching scenarios.

The project would be carried out in several phases:
1. A close review and study of the existing publications relative to this study.
2. Initial inspection at the museum and the Ishi artifacts on display.
3. Interviewing key personnel in the lithic and Ishi research community.
4. A close inspection and study of the Ishi debitage, and possibly his tools and stone artifacts.
5. Extensive flintknapping replicate studies and creation of the Ishi lithics taxonomy reference collection; points, performs and debitage .
6. A follow up inspection of all debitage, both Ishi’s and that from the replication
Phase of the study.
7. Final conclusions, peer considerations, and outcome of research project published. Preliminary reports on the finding of this research project will be submitted to:
SCA Newsletter and SCA meetings paper presentation (2008), Journal of Lithic Technology,

C. Methodology
This section should describe the procedures and techniques for carrying out the project and should include at least the following points:
the nature of the data/information to be collected, studies will focus on the attribute and statistical analysis of the Ishi debitage to identify lithic reduction sytems used by Ishi.
1) the methods for collecting the data: Separate the debitage into categories based on raw material, then subclassify by attribute. Replicate material with flintknpping experimentation and create taxonomy.
2) the sources of information such as library materials and field notes (with descriptions of field methods where appropriate) will be provided.

D. Resources and Clearances
1) sources of funding (personal funds, and possible future grants),
2) facilities available (such as computer use and lab/office space in the field and at the home institution), CSUB Archaeology lab for analysis of replicated lithic debitage and corresponding projectile point reduction sequence studies, taxonomy and close analysis and classification of same. UCB Pheabe Hearst Museum for study of historic Ishi lithics. Personal residence for systematic flintknapping replication of 100 test units (“Ishi Points”) and debitage retrieval.
3) equipment available, if applicable; approximate replica of Ishi’s knapping kit will be prepared by student. Diagnostic and analysis tools for magnification and other micro-lithic evaluation are house at CSUB (for replicated protolithics) and UCB (for Ishi’s historical protolithics).
4) assistance available (e.g., contacts in the field or consultants to the project); Several contacts have been established at both the PhD level and that of experts in the field of “folk knapping”, also primitive archery experts have been consulted for their perspective of technological form and attributes of this projectile point style.
5) preparedness to conduct the research (e.g., background course work, prior related research experience, personal knowledge of the study site in terms of language and culture); The research student has familiarized himself with the back ground literature on both Ishi and the field of lithic studies. The research student has been flintknapping, as an amateur, off and on for 30 years and has learned to replicate all of the Ishi styles of projectile point. The research student has familiarized himself with castings of Ishi styles of projectile point procured from “Lithic Casting Lab”.
6) documents obtained or to be obtained (including Human Subjects and Informed Consent Forms, clearances from contact persons, letters of introduction from research director and from host institution, passport/visas, etc.). Letters of personal introduction provided were those used for my Graduate school application package.

E. Time Table
Specify the projected start up date, the period of fieldwork (broken down by time needed to set up and initiate the project, the time engaged in data collection, and the time required for data analysis and write up of the results), and a projected date of completion for the entire project. The initial inspection of the Ishi’s protolithic debiatge at USB Pheabe Hearst Museum will be the starting point. The replication, categorization and report completed and written by SCA meeting of 2008 in Burbank, California.
F Conclusion
In order to understand these stone and glass artifacts, and the person whom made and used them, archaeologists must understand the processes involved in the acquisition of the raw material, production strategies and stages of lithic reduction, and the function, and final disposition of these lithic artifacts. In the past years, experimental studies involving the manufacturing and use of stone tools have been integrated with studies of refitted or conjoined lithic artifacts and microwear analysis. The result is a much more dynamic view of the variability in assemblages of lithic artifacts. Continuing these research techniques into the Ishi lithics and subsequent debitage is a logical progression. COMMENT: It can be expected that a satisfactory fulfillment of items A through D, as well as G, will be directly applicable toward completing the final write up of the project.




G Literature Cited
This listing might contain references that have not been located or looked at yet but will likely be of use before the project is completed.


Adams, Rex K. 1980. Debitage Analysis: Lithic Technology and Interpretations of an Archaic Base Camp Near Moquino, New Mexico. Unpublished Master's Thesis, Department of Anthropology, Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, New Mexico
Ahler, S. A
1989 Mass analysis of flaking debris: studying the forest rather than the tree. Alternative approaches to lithic analysis, edited by D.O. Henry and G.H. Odell. Archaeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association Number 1:85-118.
Ainsworth, Peter W. 1987 Comments on Austin's "Discovery" of Biface Notching Flakes. Lithic Technology 16(2-3):56-58.

Burrill, R. 1990. Ishi, America’s Last Stone Age Indian. The Anthro Company. Sacramento.
Burrill, Richard. 2001 Ishi Rediscovered. The AnthroCompany.
Burrill, Richard. 2004 Ishi in His Second World.
Callahan, E. 1979 The Basics of Biface Knapping In The Eastern Fluted Point Tradition. A Manual for Flintknappers And Lithic Analysts. Archaeology of Eastern North America 7: 1-180. ed. Brennan, New York.
Callahan, E. 1999 Ishi Sticks, Iceman Picks and Good For Nothing Things. Bulletin of Primitive Technology 18: 60-68, Rexburg.
Cotterell, Brian, and Johan Kamminga
1987 The Formation of Flakes. American Antiquity 52:675–708.
Cotterell, B. and J. Kamminga
1987 The formation of flakes. American Antiquity 52(4):675-708.
Cowgill, G. L.
1990 Artifact classification and archaeological purpose. Mathematics and Information Science in Archaeology: a Flexible Framework, ed. by A. Voorrips. Holos Verlag, Bonn:61-78

Crabtree, D. 1972 An Introduction to Flintworking. Occasional Papers, Idaho University Museum, Pocatello.
Dibble, H. L. and J. C. Whittaker
1981 New experimental evidence on the relation between percussion flaking and flake variation. Journal of Archaeological Science 8:283-296.
Flenniken, J.J. 1980. Replicative Systems Analysis: A Model applied to the Vein Quartz Artifacts from the Hoko River Site. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Washington State University.
Flenniken, J.J. (1984) The past, present, and future of flintknapping: an anthropological perspective. Annual Review of Anthropology, 13:187-203.
J. Jeffrey Flenniken, (1986) Anan W. RaymondMorphological Projectile Point Typology: Replication Experimentation and Technological Analysis
American Antiquity, Vol. 51, No. 3 (Jul., 1986), pp. 603-614
doi:10.2307/281755
Flenniken, J.J. and P.J. Wilke (1989) Typology, technology, and chronology of Great Basin dart points. American Anthropologist, 91(1):149-158.
Harwood, Ray 2001 Points of Light, Dreams of Glass : An Introduction into Vitrum Technology. Bulletin of Primitive Technology (No. 21).Pp. 24-36 .ed. Wescott, Idaho.
Hayden, B., N. Franco, and J. Spafford
1996 Evaluating lithic strategies and design criteria. Stone tools: theoretical insights into human prehistory, edited by G.H. Odell. Plenum Press, NY:9-50.
Healan, D. M.
1995 Identifying lithic reduction loci with size-traded macrodebitage: a multivariate approach. American Antiquity 60(4):689-699.

Hoffman, C. M.
1985 Projectile point maintenance and typology: assessment with factor analysis and canonical correlation. For concordance in archaeological analysis, edited by C. Carr. Waveland Press, Prospect Heights, IL:566-612.
Janes, R.R. (1989) A comment on microdebitage analyses and cultural site-formation processes among tipi dwellers. American Antiquity, 54(4):851-855
Kelly, R. L.
1988 The three sides of a biface. American Antiquity 53(4):717-734.
Kroeber, Theodora. Ishi in Two Worlds: A Biography of the Last Wild Indian in North America. Berkeley: University California Press, 1963.

Magne, M. P.
1989 Lithic reduction stages and assemblage formation processes. Experiments in lithic technology, edited by D.S. Amick and R.P. Mauldin. BAR International Series 528, Oxford:15-31.
Mauldin, R. P. and D. S. Amick
1989 Investigating patterning in debitage from experimental bifacial core reduction. Experiments in lithic technology, edited by D.S. Amick and R.P. Mauldin. BAR International Series 528, Oxford:67-88.
Muto, Guy R. 1971. A Technological Analysis of the Early Stages in the Manufacture of Chipped Stone Implements. M.A. thesis, Department of Anthropology, Idaho State University.
Prentiss, W. C. and E. J. Romanski
1989 Experimental evaluation of Sullivan and Rozen's debitage typology. Experiments in lithic technology, edited by D.S. Amick and R.P. Mauldin. BAR International Series 528, Oxford:89-99.
Nelson, Nels C.
1916 Flintworking by Ishi. In William Henry Homes Anniversary Volume, edited by Frederick Webb Hodge, pp. 397–402. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C.
Newman, J. R.
1994 The Effects of distance on lithic material reduction technology. Journal of field archaeology 21(4):491.
Patterson, L. W., and Sollberger. 1978. Replication and Classification of Small Size Lithic Debitage. Plains Anthropologist 23(80):103-112.
Patterson, L.W. 1983. The Importance of Flake Size Distribution. Contract Abstracts and CRM Archeology 3:70-72.
Patterson, L.W. (1990). Characteristics of bifacial-reduction flake-size distribution. American Antiquity, 55(3):550-558.
Rondeau, Michael F. 1982a. Debitage Analysis: A Basis for Site Characterization. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for California Archeology, Sacramento.
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Rondeau, Michael F. 1982b. Lithic Seasonal Rounds in the Northern Sierra Nevada: A Regional Model. Paper presented at the Great Basin Anthropological Conference, Reno.

Rondeau, Michael F. 1982c. The Archeology of the Truckee Site, Nevada County, California. California Department of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento.

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doi:10.2307/2694274

ISHI POINTS AND FLINTKNAPPING

PART TWO OF ISHI FLINTKNAPPING BY RAY HARWOOD

The first step in the beer bottle knapping process is to detach the
only usable portion of the bottle, the bottom. The bottom is
detached with several diverse methods. The Ishi method is carried
out with a sandstone hammer stone, using one quick percussion impact
downward at a 45 degree angle just above the base.


Next, remove the vertical, jagged glass residue (Ishi method, see
also see Harwood 1986, 2001) with light taps with a small hammer
stone. Then abraid the margin with an abrasive stone. The next phase
involves the decortication, or cortex removal. The decortication
process renders the preform into a semi lenticulation in cross-
section. This process involves the setting up of striking or
pressure platforms with pressure and shearing. Platforms are
important to prevent premature flake termination, hinge fractures,
and margin collapse by crushing. Edge preparation and center plane
alignment remains of the utmost importance during the entire
procedure, after every sequence of flake removals this must be
checked and corrected . Both edge preparation and center plane
manipulation can be easily and quickly managed by the act of
shearing (see Crabtree 1972, Callahan 1979, Harwood 1986, 2001
Whitaker 1994, Patten 1999) .Discussing platforms in pressure
flaking terms is a precarious undertaking at best, as there are so
many variables. It can be basically summed up as an angles, rt.
angle ( 90 degrees) down to the most acute angle (less than 90
degrees) 45 degrees usually being ideal that is used to apply the
down and inward force necessary to detach a predetermined and
predictable flake. . Platforms are often isolated, an isolated
platform is an apex or faceted surface raised up by reduction of
adjacent material. Patten (1999) concludes that isolation of a
platform ensures that force is applied exactly in the right place
and is also concentrated to cause fracture to start easily. The
isolated platform may also be referred to as a nipple or spur,
depending on the relative sharpness (again see Crabtree 1972,
Callahan 1979, Harwood 1986, 2001 Whitaker 1994, Patten 1999) .


Next, in the glass-lithic reduction continuum is decordication-
removing of the shinny service, and lenticualation- creating a
lenticular cross-section . This is done by make use of and creating
new abraded platforms (isolated and or continuous) and pressing off
flakes . This method involves the abrading of the preform
(unfinished, unused form of the proposed artifact) margin, platform
preparation and basic shaping. The basic platform is crated with
short flake pressed of the margin through a process known as
shearing, which is facilitated by running the edge of and antler or
bone, in a shearing motion, along the margin of the lithic preform.
The margin is then abraded with an abrasive stone or carborundum
like material. The abaiding of the platform edge remedies the fact
that untreated edges are to sharp to obtain proper bite. The actual
pressure method (see Crabtree 1972, Callahan 1979, Harwood 1986,
2001 Whitaker 1994, Patten 1999))involves pressing off flakes, from
the prepared platform, using a deer antler tine. The pressure is
forced in at a 45% angle into the prepared platform on the margin of
the preform. In the case of Ishi the preform was held in the left
hand, protected by a thick leather pad, the antler pressure applied
by the right hand.





Staging the preforms:


I took Ishi's reduction stages and applied Dr. Errett Callahan's (
1979) biface staging methodologies for my experimental reduction and
manufacturing sequencing. Lithic reduction staging for bottle glass
projectile points. Aside from the classic staging documentation of
Callahan some most intriguing ethnohistoric and experimental data
comes from several sources discussed below.


Paul Schumacher (1877) documented actual calculated biface staging
observed among the stone workers of the Klamath River Yurok.
Newcomer (1971) identified reduction staging as it applied to
aboriginal hand ax manufacture. Muto (1971), though denying an
actual distinct set of rigid stages, did apply a sequence to the
early stages of Clovis-like bifaced artifacts. Sharock (1966) gave a
five stages reduction sequence to biface reduction sequencing. A
stages sequence was applied to bottle glass reduction by the author
in 1983 and again in 1988. Nami adapted a variation of Callahan's
staging to Argentine lithic reduction in 1991. While the knapping
sequence of the traditional of lithic materials has been widely
documented ( those mentioned above to a lesser degree: Crabtree
1972 ,Callahan 1979., Whitaker, 1994 and Patten 1999 and others) ,
the study of glass knapping technology has been, for the most part,
restricted to a very few (Harwood, 1983, 1988, 2001, Wellman and
Ibarra 1978, 1988). Here again I am further adapting the stage -
sequencing theory to both plate and bottle knapping strategies .
According to Callahan biface reduction is not a random and continual
banging away at the edges, but a structured reduction strategy,
mindful of changing of width thickness relationships and edge
angles, this necessary to create a predetermined form having proper
features and attributes. This structured thought process involves
attaining stages within the reduction continuum, I submit a similar
scenario hold true for glass knapping.


Bottle Glass Reduction Stages {Figure 10}


Stage 1 - Blank: Glass bottle of suitable form for the end product.
Unmodified, beyond vertical edge removal. Plano-convex with at least
3/16 inch thickness. Detachment achieved with percussion
methodology. Stage 2 - Rough out: Through percussion methodologies a
rough outline in created through the removal of excess raw material.
Large decordication flakes create a semi-lenticular cross-section.
Flakes are exacuted form both faces of the material , but focus on
the outer zone. The roughly centered, bi-convex edge should be
neither too sharp nor too blunt (ideally between 55-75 degrees).
Plano-convexity deminished, with flakes removed from the ventral
side first.


Stage 3 - Primary Preform; Symmetrical handaxe-like outline,
lenticular cross-section and straight/centered, bi-convex edge with
edge-angles falling between 40 - 60 degrees. Percussion methods are
set aside and " power stroke" pressure is used. An antler tine,
thick bone or wooden pressure flaked or dulled wire or untempered
nail was used, according to Callahan (1999) Ishi's flaker (Ishi
Stick) was a piece of deer horn bound to a stick about a foot long A
narrative of Ishi's tools follows from Pope (1918) follows: "he used
deer horn for the heavier work, but while with us he chiefly
employed a soft iron rod three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter and
eight inches long, having a handle of padded cloth bound to it for a
distance of sic Inches. The tool must be a substance that will dent
slightly and thus engage the sharp edge of obsidian." Callahan
reflects (1999), pressure flakers, Ishi sticks to be precise, must
have a flexible main shaft or handle , a rigid handle made for
increased trauma and shorter flakes. " It has been found that a
somewhat flexible shaft of the long composite tool provides an extra
kick that will send those flakes flying". A leather or hide pad
covers the left palm.


Stage 4 -Secondary Preform; Asymmetrical outline with, lenticular
cross-sections and a straight and centered, bi-convex edge. Edge
angles should fall between 25 - 45 degrees. For Ishi, an Isosceles
triangle. A sharper pressure tool tip is needed here and both Ishi
switched to a mounted wire pressure tool for glass work. Variant
angles were selected for desired flake patterns, (i.e. parallel-
oblique flakes directed diagonally across the surface of the biface
preform).


Stage 5 - is the finished preform , final retouch, notching ,
serration or pattern flaking is employed at this stage depending on
the anticipated final product. This process was carried out with
either a wire, nail mounted tool.


According to Nelson (1916) Ishi preferred to use untempered or
detempered iron flakers and notching tools with shape round or
chisel shaped points. Ishi's tools are still in the museum of
Anthropology, University of California,


The plate glass {Figure 11}





glass plates , or glass plank is the second to be discussed. Plate
glass is a prized lithic raw material both for its shape and its
knapping quality. While bottle bottoms must be knapped with the
plano-convex attribute in the forefront of one's mind, the plate
glass is symmetrical is cross-section from Stage 1 - Blank) , the
selection of the raw material. obtaining the glass blank. For fully
functional projectile points and knives the material must have a
thickness of at least 3/16 of an inch, and 1/4 inch is the
preferred. After the plank of plate glass has been trimmed or cut to
a optimum shape and size, through etching snapping , or bipolar
splitting and shearing, the edges are ground, but not rounded,
(abraded) with an abrasive stone. When the margin is white with
abrasive scratches one can be sure no slippage will occur while
working the glass material. Again it must be stressed, edge
preparation and center plane alignment remains of the utmost
importance during the entire procedure, after every sequence of
flake removals this must be checked and corrected . Both edge
preparation and center plane manipulation can be easily and quickly
managed by the act of shearing .(see Crabtree 1972, Callahan 1979,
Harwood 1986, 2001 Whitaker 1994, Patten 1999) .


At this time an alternate bevel around the circumference of the
plank is achieved, known as stage 2 (Rough out):in the process.
Alternate bevels are achieved by using pressure to remove short,
stubby flakes, alternately from the face of one edge and then
flipping the plank over and repeating the process, also known as
turning the edge or initial edging. The second bevel flake uses the
declining edge of the opposed flake as a platform for applied
pressure and so on down the margin. In this fashion the knapper is
continually flipping the piece from side to side as the bevel flakes
are detached. (see alternate flaking: Crabtree 1972, Callahan 1979,
Harwood 1986, 2001 Whitaker 1994, Patten 1999) .


After the plank is fully alternately beveled, or turned, an
additional abrading is carried out to remove sharp brittle edges and
will cause crushing or splitting when heavy pressure is applied.
Also the abraded areas will need to hold the tip of the of the
pressure flaking tool long enough to detach a proper conchoidal
thinning flake.


Welman and Ibarra (1988) gives a proper account of stage 3 (Primary
Preform) of plank knapping to achieve the initial bifacing
attribute; "Remove flakes, starting at the potential tip ( or distal
end). Remove the flakes from each apex in sequence (In this, the
apex is the isolated platform). . Try to have the flakes meet half
way across the preform (important to create the medial ridge). Flip
the preform over and repeat the flaking process." Between flake
detachments the intermittent or delta flake must be lightly removed.
Following the face decordication process, the margins must be
sheared into proper contour and the edges, primary thinning. The
Ishi power stroke involves the following technique. The glass or
lithic piece rests is held in the left hand supported on the left
inner thigh. The pressure is applied inward steadily until maximum
force, supplied by the thigh, then a bust of force from the right
shoulder into a outward energy with a twist of the body, the power
stroke often works well as a substitute from percussion flaking on
glass, where some forms of percussion cause to much trauma to the
delicate material. This method often causes injury to the knappers
back, shoulder and wrist muscles. The flake scar on the face of the
preform resembles percussion scares, especially when delivered to an
isolated platform.


Stage 4 (Secondary Preform) involves the shaping and sharpening of
the point, what flintknapper, Joe Dabil describes as oyster shelling
as the deep contouring conchoidal flakes that give the contour and
sharp edge resemble sea shells, this is a secondary thinning
strategy that gives the reproduction an authentic "Ishi look".
Variant angles were selected for desired flake patterns, (i.e.
parallel-oblique flakes directed diagonally across the surface of
the biface preform. This also removes delta flakes. This stage also
necks in the tip and gives the preform the pointed attribute.


Stage 5 (finished preform) gives the work subtle refinements such as
edge trimming, notching serration, notching and so on. {Figure 12}





Phases of The Notch (a secondary staging, within the primary final
stage)


Stage 1: (prepetory) Carefully supporting the biface in a padded
left palm, Ishi was right handed" "Using point of tool methodology"
and a "less sharp tool" , a retouch tool, take a prepetory (guiding/
thinning) flake at the location of the proposed notch. Flip over,
carefully calculate position of first notch location and repeat.
Then lightly shear or abraded margin and leading edge (above and
below where the notch will begin) of prepatoy flake scar for
strength, so the notch won't blow out later in the process.
According to Nelson (1916) and Pope (1918), Ishi preferred to use
untempered or detempered iron flakers and notching tools with sharp
round or chisel shaped points. Ishi's tools are still in the museum
of Anthropology, University of California. It is important to note
(Harwood 2000, Paten )1999 for an ideal notching environment a thin
preform is best. At the end of this stage results obtained are notch
locations have been selected thinned and prepped for stage 2,
entering.


Stage 2: (Entering) Carefully supporting the biface, especially
around the notch, reducing bending fractures in a padded left palm,
or in some cases on a leather pad on a flat surface (Titmus, 1985)
Using the "side of tool" methodology, with the flat ended tool, the
first of a series of alternate crescent flakes are "snapped"
Important to calculate centerline on each of the proceeding
detachments, the centerline platform must be below 50% . The tool
must be very sharp and thin. It is imperative that the centerline
platform of the notch not exceed 1/4 of the margin centerline. The
centerline is your platform. The meat under the notch must stay
thin, if the platform rises the platform will crush and a slick wall
will present problematic scenarios. The inward and slightly downward
pressure and platform surface contact areas must not be extensive or
abrupt or end shock with snap off the base of the point or the notch
opening tang will blow off and open the closed end notch opening.
Blown open closed end notch openings and severed basal regions, from
end shock, are observed on several of the Ishi specimens. Notching
requires a steady hand and a steady build up of pressure with a
slight rocking motion, but a sliding in and down at release. Follow
this pattern and reach around under the center line at 75% when
obstacle mass impedes or binds the process, "slide away" methods to
abrade and prepare is sometime applied. Many knappers suggest the
notch should be made with two small flakes rather than one (see
Crabtree 1972, Callahan 1979, Harwood 2001, Whitaker 1994, Patten
1999) . This gives you a second chance should you crush a platform ,
At the end of this stage results obtained are notch locations have
been selected thinned and prepped, a deep and very thin notch has
been symmetrically achieved via the notch entering process, "closed
notch opening" intact.





Stage 3" (Tear dropping) Carefully supporting the biface, especially
around the notch, reducing bending fractures in a padded left palm,
Ishi was right handed, or in some cases on a leather pad on a flat
surface (Titmus, 1985) "Using point of tool methodology," the sharp
tool is utilized. The tip is very carefully inserted of the inner
end of the thin elongated notch. The tool must be very sharp and
thin. The downward pressure and platform surface contact areas must
not be extensive or the very crescent flake that you desire
will "fallow the lip,"("toilet bowl effect", follows the rim)
encompass the notch opening tang and blow open the closed end notch
opening. Blown open closed end notch openings and severed basal
regions, from "the toilet bowl effect", are observed on several of
the Ishi specimens. To give extra control and minimize the excess
endshock trauma, and the toilet bowl effect, Ishi would wrap the
left thumb in soft leather and punch the notch in perpendicular to
the margin of the biface or from the corner while holding the object
between the left thumb and index finger (Nelson 1916, Titmus, 1985,
Shackley 2001). Once the notch has been entered, the knapper must
keep the tool tip away from the notch opening tangs a slight touch
from the metallic tip will cause a micro end shock and blow open the
closed end notch opening. The preform is horizontal and the tool is
vertical, but this is often modified to various degrees given the
many variables encountered. The wrist is cocked downward and inward
on the inner left thigh in an uncomfortable posture. Obtaining
contact at, or below, the center line slidaway toward the tip
(proximal end) of the preform, utilize alternate flake sequence to
insure correct centerline platform placement and utilization..
Repeat this procedure on the other side for a symmetrical notched
point. At the end of this stage results obtained are notch locations
have been selected thinned and prepped, a deep and very thin notch
has been symmetrically achieved via the notch entering process, and
an interior teardrop or "keyhole" notch has been achieved "closed
notch opening" intact.





Stage 4 (Final retouch) Final retouch is conducted after the notches
are intact, as this is time and labor intensive and often fails as
the result of base snap. After the notches are complete , using the
sharp tool, point of tool methodology is used to clean, clarify and
obtain final sharpening. The base is shallowed and shape clarified
at this time. The outside of the notch opening of is in need of
clarification of symmetry at the end of this stage results obtained
are notch locations have been selected thinned and prepped, a deep
and very thin notch has been symmetrically achieved via the notch
entering process, and an interior teardrop or "keyhole" notch has
been achieved "closed notch opening" intact and the point is
finished.


Other Points of glass: Most lithic artifacts in America came from
weapons used prior to the arrival of the bow and arrow. In Australia
there was no arrival of the bow and arrow. On each continent the
vast majority of lithic projectile points were that of atlatl dart
or spear points. This is not true however with the glass projectile
points. In most of America the bow had fully replaced the altatl
technology . A projectile point is principally a devise used to kill
by introducing the tip, carried by a shaft into the flesh of the
prey. However, in Australia, and with Ishi at the Museum, the glass
points were quite often a trade item or collectable anomaly rather
than an actual field projectile point. There are other, less
documented, studies such as Dr. Hugo Nami's (1984) report on the
proto-historic use of glass in projectile point manufacture by the
Ona Indians of Tierra Del Fuego at least as late as 1910, the
Bushmen of Africa have been knapping manufactured glass for 250
years, and the excavations of late show glass knapping technology
among warriors of the Great Planes and the African slaves of the
deep south.


Ishi's friend Dr. Saxton Pope wrote this of Ishi when he died; "He
closes a chapter in history. He looked upon us as sophisticated
children, smart, but not wise....He knew nature which is always
true. His were the qualities of character that last forever. He was
kind; he had courage and self-restraint, and though all had been
taken from him, there was not bitterness in his heart. His soul was
that of a child, his mind that of a philosopher."


It seemed strange to me that Ishi's methods and way of posture and
so similar to most western modern knappers, not the southern table
top pressure, until I thought again of Crabtree, he worker with the
points - his fingerprints grace the cortex along with Kroeber's, -
Pope's, Nelson's and Shakley's.


BIBLIOGRAPHY





Burrill, Richard


1990 Ishi, America's Last Stone Age Indian. The Anthro


Company. Sacramento, CA.


Callahan, Errett


1979 The Basics of Biface Knapping In The Eastern Fluted Point
Tradition. A
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Entry for June 03, 2006
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ISHI AND HIS POINTS. Part 1, by Ray Harwood

My name is Ray Harwood, I have only achieved a
BA in Anthropology. However, I have been flintknapping
for 35 years. On several occasions I have been requested to submit
specific research technical papers for publication.

I am requesting access to the Ishi lithics for collection
for the purpose of measuring, weighing and classifying
the projectile points and subsequent byproducts of Ishi’s
knapping process. Furthermore, the lithic classification
of the byproduct material based on material and attribute
analysis.


For Book: Papers in Honor of Errett Callahan, PhD, Hugo Nami, Ph.D. Ed.)
Rough Draft By: Ray Harwood,

Life and Lithics, the Saga of 1-24363, The Classic Ishi Point.


E-mailed as a partially complete document to johnsonnl@berkeley.edu ).

. The purpose of this article/ chapter is to document certain aspects of
the "lithic" reduction/ production sequences of a certain
protohistoric artifact anomaly, the glass Ishi, specifically those
crafted from man made colored bottle and clear window glass, by Ishi
at the museum, circa 1911.


Flintknapping today is a part of the world lived in by a very few,
but at one time it was part of everyone's world to some degree. The
transition of these worlds was paved with horror and death. The man
named Ishi was at the end of that time and the start of this time.
Like Alice through the looking glass Ishi entered a new and strange
world, from his wilderness life to one with foolish devices and
white people running about like mad rodents. The new world was a
dream like circus, but a dream come true and a deliverance from the
nightmare of solitude .It was considered of the utmost importance
not to understate the importance of Ishi's background, the dark
horror that was the American holocaust. (see Kroeber 1961, Burrill
1990, Harwood, R. 1999 , Harwood, J. 2000, Shackley 1996) The
darkest hour is just before the dawn and it was just the break of
dawn, on a hot August night, the 9th, of August 1911, some miles
south of Red Bluff, California, a down trodden, exhausted and
fearful man was found in the stable of the Charles Ward
Slaughterhouse on Oro-Quincy Road . The story ends with Ishi's
lifeless brain being carved out of his skull and sent to the
Smithsonian. The ashes placed in a small black jar. Ishi's remains
have been repatriated under the provisions of the National Museum of
the American Indian Act of 1989, as amended, 20 U.S.C. 80q et seq.
(see Rockafeller, 1999)


Today Ishi is well known for the arrowhead named after him, a
stylized side notch type, he commonly knapped at his museum home, In
this case, Ishi's short five-year stay at the Museum of
Anthropology, University of California, a legend born of an odessy
that began August the 9th, of August 1911 ending on Ishi's death
March 25, 1916. According to Nelson (1916) . Nothing gave Ishi, and
the visiting public, as much interest and satisfaction as his
arrowhead chipping. The Ishi Point type discussed, he made several
varieties, is as follows: The classic Ishi point is best known for
its symmetrical tear drop notches in the lower margin of the point.
The notch enters at less than a thirty-second on an inch at the
entry point then expand to an eighth of an inch wide or more in the
body of the point. The deep teardrop notches extend three eighths to
a quarter of an inch deep into the face of the basal region. This
gives the neck area, between the notches, a similar diameter of the
prospective arrow shaft creating the perfect haft.


The classic Ishi point has a blade edge that is either straight or
incurvate. The base is concave. The point has sharp angular ears
below the characteristic notches. The point has a triangular form
giving the point the overall delicate but deadly outline. The point
has diffuse diamond cross-section created by a medial ridge. Ishi
points have closed tear drop notches.


The medial section of the Ishi point has subtle oblique flaking
patterns, more pronounced on the elongated specimens. Oblique or
parallel flaking is done, according to Errett Callahan, to create an
extremely sharp edge, as oblique edges do not have delta flakes and
therefore less final retouch is necessary and the blade edge is
razor sharp. The blade edge on an Ishi point is usually incurvate,
this a result of the final pass of oblique medial flakes. The clear
glass material gives the point an ice crystal look, that combined
with its' oblique parallel pattern flakes and near perfect symmetry,
transcends all description of beauty. Ishi collector Charlie Shewey,
relayed to me that the last authentic Ishi point that sold at
auction sold for a cool $27,000.00, other black market dealers, underworld,
state $2,000.00 to $5,000.00 for those not of the classic “Ishi” form. .


To demonstrate the diversity of Ishi's points and existing specimen
data of Ishi's points(see Shackley , 1991, 1994, , 1996, 2000 ).
Unfortunately Ishi gave away and sold many of his points while doing
his demonstrations. But fortunately there are 120 specimens in
museums and 4 in private collections, some of which are now
available as castings. The "classic Glass Ishi" is an ornate Desert
Side Notch, and the style reflected in this paper, the totals of
these specimens is 49 and another 8 DSN with serrated edges,
certainly not what most of us see in our minds eye as a true "Ishi"
yet he made them. 17 of the specimens are corner notched, expanding
stem points, with another 5 of these being the same form but
serrated - again = certainly not what most of us see in our minds
eye as a true "Ishi" yet he made them. 10 of the Ishi specimens are
of the cottonwood triangular -concave base-again = certainly not
what most of us see in our minds eye as a true "Ishi" yet he made
them. 18 are basal notched with contracting stem, 6 more are basal
notched with contracting stem but serrated-again = certainly not
what most of us see in our minds eye as a true "Ishi" yet he made
them. Of the "classic Ishi" is a ornate Desert Side Notch the bulk
were made after , and during, 1911 at the museum 49 in the museum
collections, 4 in private collections for a total of 53, 2 were
excavated at Payne's Cave, TEH193 (see Shackley , 1991, 1994, ,
1996, 2000 ), 3 at Kingsley Cave, TEH-1, (again see Shackley , 1991,
1994, , 1996, 2000 ). For a grant total of 53 classic Ishi points .
The problem with cross-tabulation for statistical data is this, what
if Ishi (or Kroeber) simply held on to his best points, or his
worst? this would have set a majority of "non classic Ishi's into
the public giveaways and left a disproportionate number of the
classic style in our data base. We can sit and think, were the
cottonwoods preforms for "classic Ishi's?", saving preforms for
opportune times of concentration are best for advance notching. and
so on... After looking at all the Ishi's I see none that were not
very well crafted, despite the stage of reduction/production. The
medial oblique -parallel flaking on prepared platforms set and
abraded to perfection. Ishi's point style and form varied from one
setting to the next, his environment, necessity or public opinion
seems to have played a role in the point type he crafted at any one
time.


Many projectile points have a diagnostic element that may, or may
not, earmark some chronological period, region or cultural
tradition. A class of artifact sharing generalized, definable
attributes is known as a "type", the type may then intern be part of
a larger tradition. Within each tradition there are often several
distinct sub-traditions. Sub-traditions are most often characterized
by stylistic variations.


Projectile point typology has been a controversial subject, best
summarized by John C. Whitaker (1994) "Archaeologists are
occasionally accused , even today, of a pathological desire to
classify everything into neat little pigeonholes. While
classification can be carried to absurd extremes, there are a number
of good reasons why we are interested in typology, studying and
establishing schemes for classifying objects and phenomena." This
being established. the Ishi point being discussed is actually a
hybrid of a classic western point type the Desert Side Notch Point,
referred to most often as the "Redding Subtype", mean weight = 2.99+-
0.98, basal width/max. width ratio = 1.00 +- (Shackley, 2001). The
Desert Side Notch point is best known for its characteristic
Isosceles triangular, basic shape with side notches and concave
base. The blade edge is straight while other California area side
notched points have an excurvate blade edge. The average width to
thickness ratio for this point is 5/1. Some specimens have some
basal grinding for the haft. The average length of the Desert Side
Notch is 2 to 4.5 cm. The carbon 14 dates for this series suggest
that it appeared sometime after 1,100 A.D. and continued into the
Historic era. An archaeologist named Lyton found a Desert Side Notch
point in association with the charred bones of a domestic cow at
Hanging Rock Shelter, Northwest Nevada, therefore indicating use by
historic Northern Paute.


Smaller then the more stylized Ishi point, the Desert Side Notch
resembles the side notch Cahokia points from the Midwest and the
Ishi point resembles attributes of certain Basket Maker III points
of Colorado.


Not every man in the Yahi culture made and used arrowheads. Pope
(1913) stated that the flintknapping art was the special function of
the older and more skillful men. "Ishi seems to have been associated
with the medicine man of his tribe. Besides the usual customs, he
preserved many of the more highly developed arts and crafts of his
culture".


Kroeber's accounts (1961) of Ishi's practices collecting knapping
glass are quite vivid, and this particular passage captures the
event in detail: " Plate glass, brown glass from beer bottles and
the blue glass of "Milk of Magnesia bottles" were among Ishi's
favorite lithic materials. " As a final irony of the time of Ishi's
concealment, Ishi was cut off from trade to the north and south and
Yana country had no obsidian or flint. Painstakingly and silently,
Ishi had visited the length of Lassen Trail, every campsite of
emigrant, hunter or camper, up and down Deer Creek, and the cabin
middens and ranch dumps of whatever dwelling he could reach by light
and return from by night, combing them for the discarded bottles
they were likely to contain. Once back home, he shaped at his
leisure, the pieces of glass into his ammunition."


Glass knapping is more complex than it seems on first observance.
There are several techniques, some cultural and some based strictly
on the shape of the mass of glass to be reduced and subsequent
unique strategies that lend themselves strictly to shape of core
materiel (i.e.. Bottles, plate glass). The glass object, when
collected, is the basic core material.


The bottle is the first glass Ishi preform (Core ? )type. I shall
discuss (see Nami, 1984 Harwood 1986, 2001) the choosing of a suitable
bottle; there are two attributes you should consider: first, the
bottom of the bottle glass should be as close to flat at possible,
no deep concavity. Secondly, the thickness of the glass should be
enough to allow a good amount of flake reduction, about 3/16 of an
inch or better, in the bottom's center. I have knapped a substantial
number of glass arrowheads, and I have found that the best bottles
for the reduction have only a slight basal concavity, the upper face
of the bottle bottom as a slight convexity and in the center it is
nearly 1/4 inch thick. According to Mark Moore (2000) "The methods
used to manufacture glass bottles at the turn of the last century
were not equal to the mechanized bottle-making innovations seen in
the US today, bottles in the older bottles were relatively thick
(better for knapping), compared to modern bottles".


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Saturday June 3, 2006 - 11:00am (PDT) Edit | Delete | Permanent Link | 0 Comments
Entry for June 03, 2006
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Why the World Flintknapping Society Failed


Why the World Flintknapping Society Failed!Image

Well, for the most part, most people are selfish and mean and did not want anything I had anything to do with work. Furthermore, I was pointing out the lack of ethics, morals, and knowledge expressed by modern knappers. Stated in substance, I sketched their sins in the
sand. Preground slabs, I stated, make very nice points. Preground slab flaking is not flint-
knapping in a traditional view point, it is lapidary art. I find lapidary art very pleasing and
have no issue with it.

Why was I cut out the "TARP" well, I was pointing out the lack of ethics, morals, and knowledge expressed by modern knappers. Stated in substance, I sketched their sins in the
sand. Most modern knappers have no concern with archaeology, lithics of any sort of code of ethics. The WFS offered a code to follow...that's why it failed.