The perfect design of an arrow head

[veryoldrockhunter]

You know, I feel quite certain that there was a time when there was a man--maybe Homo Erectus or possibly an early Homo Sapien that
decided to design an arrowhead.
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I as an electronic design engineer and electronic technician have been given design criteria in a form such as this:

The enclosure shall be as follows:

1.) It shall be made of 6061 aluminum.

2.) It shall be grained and anodized

3.) It shall have rounded corners.

4.) It shall have front handles.

1.) The printed circuit board shall be of G-10 military grade epoxy copper-clad board of .062 thickness.

2.) The board shall be of no more than 4 layers

3.) The board shall be silkscreened with a ledgend of the components to be attached to it.

4.) The board shall be tin-lead plated

5.) The tin-lead shall be oil-heated and flowed.

6.) The board shall be hand-soldered

etc, etc, etc! I think that you should get the picture!

Now when this Early Man decided to design the very first arrowhead, I just know that he first hunted up something to scribble on and
layed out the design criteria for his new invention. I'm sure that it went something like this:

1.) This pointed device shall be of complete symetri.

2.) The thickness shall be heaviest in the center and gradually come out to each edge
in a very equal manner so as to be the same thickness at all points at the place that constitutes the edge.

3.) The top half of the device shall be an identical mirror image of the bottom half! Like-wise, the back side shall be an identical mirror image of the front side!

4.) The device shall be balanced perfectly so as to not wobble as it flys to it's destined target.

5.) Also The Arrow shaft shall be perfectly round!

6.) The Arrow shaft shall have an exact straightness for a like reason!

7.) There shall be a counter-balance device on the end adjacent to the arrowhead device for balance of the total shaft. It should be made
out of the finest eagle feathers for trueness.

NOW--WHAT DO YOU THINK REALLY HAPPENED?​

Here is what I think happened! a man about to fall asleep suddenly said to himself in what ever way he did his thinking about life,​

"Pointed rock be better than pointed stick"! ​

You can bet your life on it--if it could be proven--that is exactly how the arrowhead

was invented!

So what is my point? Why did I type this up as early as my 2nd post on this forum?

Because, I have been trying to find others that understand that arrowheads did NOT start out as an artistic collectable item from the git-go. They had to go through the process of evolving into the beautiful pieces we find today and charish as art. We can also be sure that the first arrowheads were tied to the side of the shaft. eventially the man using them decided that the arrows would trael in a much smoother fashion if the arrowhead was in the center of the tip instead of on the side. Then one day he got to thinking that it would be better if it were thinner and thinner and thinner and thinner--you see evolving over a period of time into the beautiful items that work so well.

I would like to communicate with others that have the same understanding as I do in this area.

I found a "rock" back about 8 years ago when I first got started into the hobby of hunding arrowheads and I was positive that it was truley a point or tool of some kind but everyone that I was with on this outing declared it to be nothing more than a rock. Well, I can get very stubborn when I am sure of myself. I was VERY sure! I kept hunting in the area that I found the first piece of this type and found 3 more identical to it within the next few days.

Over the years, I have collected rocks of the exact shape--which by the way was--kind of weird. Now, I have also found the exact same shape made from jasper which were smooth, or ragged but I have also found the exact same shape and knapped from flint. I have also NOW found them in the books. They are usually called Spoke-Shaves and most of the ones in the books come from Islands off the coast of Alaska. Mine were found in Arkansas, NC, California, and OK.

Also, I now have about 75 of these pieces that any person of sane mind would recognize as being definitely related. I am sure of at least one thing--that is that they are all at least cousins--and not very distant--LOL!

I guess one of the main things that I feel is that I would rather hold in my hand a piece of stone that was fashioned into a usuable tool over 1/2 a million years ago as to hold something made by a Native American in 1835. And I am Native American so I don't mean it as a predjudiced situation.

Have any of you have had similar ideas or found unusual items that you are sure of that no one is inerested in--I AM!

Thanks,

Billy Dean Ward

 

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[BosnMate]

I'm having trouble sleeping, so I'll answer this one also. The first stone tool was probably a rock that one old boy picked up and used to crack another alongside the head. The first pointy tool was probably a fire hardened stick. It's hard to skin an animal with your teeth, so I expect the second stone tool was a busted bit of rock with an edge sharp enough to skin the hide off. The first things I think people "invented" was probably cordage, strips of hide for heavy duty work, sinew thread for sewing, and cordage for snares and traps and erecting shelters. Who knows when they invented plant fiber cordage, but that might have come first. Glue was probably invented when they realized that their fingers were sticking together when handling green hides. Somebody probably busted a skull open and put the brains on a bit of raw hide, and found that it softened the hide. Before arrows there were spears and atl atl's, and someone figured out that the spear or dart would do better with a sharpened stone attached with hide glue and sinew. Why don't you put some photos of your identical stones that you found in various places so we can see them. Perhaps you are on the right track. You want to find a stone that was busted by a paleo man, but if it's real crude, you got an up hill battle proving it, because nature busts a lot of rocks the same way. Clovis points, which were made way before 1835, are a piece of art. People are all human, and humans are proud of their stuff, be it now or stone age. I think once they figured out that they could shape stone, they set out to make it a functional piece of art. Again, they were human, some did better work than others. Oh yeah, they also used bone. Oh yeah again, they also made bone and stone fish hooks, which means that they had to have invented cordage. I'm thinking that the first things, even before clothing would have been cordage which would tie their world together, and fire sharpend sticks for digging roots and for weapons, with clubs of various sorts at about the same time. What do I know, I'm getting sleepy. Goodnight.

 

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I can't really give an opinion on the evolution of the arrow point but I can say that it all starts with finding that prized chunk of flint!

It's kind of amazing when you crack open that special material, a whole kit transforms before your eyes. Everything from micro-flints, to end scrapers, knives, you name it!

I spent some time years ago hanging around a highly skilled wood carver that would sell his pieces for big money. He would always say that all he did was pick up a piece of driftwood, and instantly see what the final piece would be. He just simply highlights what nature already created.

Most basic stone tools that I have found or seen are formed from that initial "cracking open" the flint and then simply touched up from pressure flaking.

Once you are familiar with the different tools, it becomes a breeze to find them as they all seem to repeat the same geometrical designs. It appears that these shapes almost always transform from cracking open a certain type of material from the start. A typical flint is layered and breaks in the same way providing there are no inclusions or trouble spots.

The evolution of highly worked pieces like arrow or spear points and knives no doubt came from studying nature. Over time the skill became perfected.
Adding an artistic impression may come from the desire to honour the Great Spirit and hope for a good return on the hunt.

Interesting post!
Cheers.

 

[veryoldrockhunter]

All Right!!!!!!!!!!

I love it. I'm gonna enjoy this forum.

Actually the MAIN point I was trying to make is that when my friends try to tell me I am crazy because I don't just look for FLINT-KNAPPED tools and points, I have to question there sanity. They seem to think that the very first point was a masterpiece and that hunting and collecting anything short of a masterpiece is futile and is just weird rock hunting. I have a decent camera and when I learn to take pictures and transfer them to the computer I will certainly post them here.

I'm going to do a drawing to start with and comment on the basic characteristics of the pieces that I have that are alike. Not every piece is identical bet there are plenty of similar characteristics that anyone can see that they are following a certain--I think theme might be the correct word.

I'll do that and post it here on my next post then I'll try to study the software that came with my new camera and learn how to to it all.

Thanks for your comments