A Little Hint On How To Spot Modern Stone Knapping

[monsterrack]

I thought this mite help someone in some way, when faced with is this an old arrowhead or new. The first photo is of a piece of Dacite that was chipped with an antler. The next photo is the same type of stone but chipped with a copper tool. Now both stones side by side. Notice the ripples that the one chipped with antler has and the one that was chipped with copper does not have as many and when copper leaves ripples they are deeper and more pronounced. Antler is a softer item to knap with compared to copper, so you see the shock wave pattern, which are the ripples more with antler than metal and as I said metal billets make deeper ripples and the shock wave is much stronger so it goes through the stone farther and that is why knappers like to use metal. Both pieces where chipped from bottom edge of each piece in the photo.

 

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[painterx7]

Nice thanks for input rack as always helpful !!!!

 

[ARC]

So what is the difference between ones that have been made using another stone / rock?

 

[rock]

When the black flint is fresh it is a brighter color also and seems more shinny? If it is a old point it is usually dull from what I have seen. Is that correct?

 

[curious kat]

...some great advice from an expert!

 

[monsterrack]

You will have the same effect on other stone as with the Dacite. New points will have a better shine to them, but that doesn't always mean they are not a real artifact. The stone I used is a type of Obsidian and most of the time it will still be shiny, unless blasted by sand or rolling in a river.



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[rock]

It looked like the flint I find here in GA is the reason I asked.