Uniface Tools - *New Pictures Added*

[The Grim Reaper]

Uniface had asked if I would post some of my Scrapers with Engraver Spurs on them so I took some photos of some of the best examples, along with some pics of my some of my Thumbscrapers and of my two best Uniface Tools.

The first picture is of the Scrapers with Engraver Spurs on them. I know the consensus has usually always been that these are Paleo in nature, but these more than likely all came from sites that are mostly Archaic in nature. Since we don't have a lot of Paleo sites in my area and I only know of two sites that consistently produce Paleo artifacts and since I never used to keep track of where my Scrapers came from it would be hard to say if any of these came from either of those sites. The two in the front row in the middle actually have the spur on the back end of the tool.

The next four pictures are of some of my better Scrapers that I have out on display. There are probably a hundred or so pictured here and I have boxes full of these put up since I don't have room to display them.

The next four pictures are of the best Uniface Tool I have ever found. I call this my Paleo Boy Scout Knife. It has a very sharp cutting edge on one side. A scraper edge on the other side. A Spokeshave on one end and an Engraver Spur near the Spokeshave. It is made from a very high quality flint that I still haven't ID'ed, but I don't think it's a local flint.

The last three pictures are of a Semi-Uniface Tool. For the most part it is uniface and unchipped on the back side except for a cutting area that has been chipped on the rounded end. This piece has some of the most delicate flaking I have ever seen and is a very nice Knife or Scraping Tool. I believe it is made from Carter Cave Flint.

 

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[uniface]

Re: Uniface Tools

WOW !

Near speechless here.

Thanks !!!!

Ideas as they occur.

 

[hammerstone99]

Re: Uniface Tools

Sweet, thanks for sharing!!!!!!!

 

[marty from missouri]

Re: Uniface Tools

very impressive collection ty for sharing and goodluck =)

 

[abarnard]

Re: Uniface Tools

absolutely awesome uniface scrapers, thanks for sharing...

 

[kneelingwarrior]

Re: Uniface Tools

Great representatives of what I am finding also. The kneeding on the large one in your hand is tell-tale for me. More tools than points, right? Thanks, KW

 

[naturegirl]

Re: Uniface Tools

Wow, thanks for the education, both this collection and to uniface for brings the subject up. Buckshot found a neat knife/multi-use tool of some sort, I hope he posts a pic. Without this forum, we would have thought it was something, but not sure what. I'm pretty sure he has some thumb scrapers too. Thanks, these are as good as points.

ng

 

[Th3rty7]

Re: Uniface Tools

nice show of uniface stuff dorkfish, those last two are sweet examples.

 

[Tnmountains]

Re: Uniface Tools

Great collection. Nice to see all the examples. I can not help but wonder how many we skipped across the water or just chunked years ago because it was a uniface. Not knowing that it was a tool. Only since I became a member here and learned from you guys have I started keeping the uni tools. In less than a year I have a bunch and wonder what 20 years or more of collectiing would have looked like.
I think you just showed me !!! Thanks Dorkfish and Uni

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Re: Uniface Tools

Thanks for all the comments guys and girls. It very much appreciated.

I know exactly what you mean TN. The really nice piece that I call the Boy Scout Knife laid in a box for probably 20 years before I realized it was a killer piece and needed to be put out on display before it got damaged. I found that piece back in the early 70's when my dad was still taking me hunting and we knew it was something because of the obvious chipping, but it wasn't an arrowhead so it went into a box with the other Scrapers. I was going through some boxes one day and came back across it and though to myself, "Man, that's way to nice to be in a box", so I got it out and put it on a shelf. Then about 10 years or so I ago I finally realized it just might be a Paleo tool and it has been displayed with pride in a prominent place in my curio cabinet ever since.

 

[larson1951]

Re: Uniface Tools

dork, I also have pails full of scrapers

a few years ago I quit saving them but now I will keep the nicer ones
I have some beautiful examples made from knife river flint and also some very cool scrapers
made from jasper, clear agate, and banded agate
I have the later style with the round scraping edge and the old style that have the graver tips on each side of the scraping edge

would you like me to post a few photos?

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Re: Uniface Tools

By all means larson. I would love to see some of your Scrapers. You can post pics on my threads anytime you like. I never tire of looking at your awesome finds.

I always like it when others add their similar finds to my threads. It not only keeps the thread going, it also lets us all see artifacts similar to our own from all around the country and helps to educate us.

 

[uniface]

Re: Uniface Tools

Once more -- with feeling. Wonderful display, Dorkfish. Many thanks for posting it !

This is worth what you're paying for it, but I associate the spurred type you start out showing with the in-between period that goes from Clovis on one end to the full-blown Dovetail & Thebes Early Archaic on the other. This gets variously called Late Paleo and Early Archaic in different states. I have a couple (only) like that, of Coshocton.

The various others are familiar -- the booger bear is matching them with the point types of the people who made them. The Piled Higher and Deepers have, unfortunately, pretty much evaded doing this. A whole site report will often have one line in it devoted to these, like "Uniface tools were particularly common." (Boy, thanks a lot, Doc !)

By the "Early Archaic" stuff your sites produce, you're referring to Daltons ? Ohio Lanceolates ? Dovetails/Thebes ? Bifurcates ? Kirks ?

While I'm asking questions, can you ID the materials these are made of ? Looks like a little Flintridge, a little Coshocton, and a lot of some other stuff -- some of it pretty nice quality. But what the heck are they, and from where ?

That's probably enough questions for a while.

Thanks again !

 

[buckshot]

Re: Uniface Tools

Hey Df, Thats alot of tools! Nice. Im glad to see this thread with scrapers and uniface pieces. Im sure i have also overlooked some but, am now trying to pay alot closer attention. I have afew pieces and hope you dont mind pics. They are all Florence A chert. That odd shaped piece is my bird effigy. I think it's just a oddball piece, but i like it. Thanks for sharing some of your collection...

 

[uniface]

Re: Uniface Tools

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Re: Uniface Tools

uniface, thanks for the comments and the info. It's very much appreciated.

As for the pieces found on our Early Archaic sites, we don't find Daltons in my area, or at least no one I know ever has, but I did find a Holland on one of my sites in the past year. We do however find plenty of Lance type points, Thebes, Doves, Kirks, and all variety's of Bifurcates. Our Archaic sites produce just about every type of point that they used.

The material includes Flint Ridge, Coshocton, Upper Mercer, Carter Cave, Brush Creek, Zaleski, Kanawha, Chalcedony, and just about every type of flint you would expect to find in Ohio. They utilized all types for their scrapers, especially the high grade stuff. Something that is kind of odd though is that I know one site we hunt were you will find Scrapers made of some of the most beautiful pieces of flint you will ever see, but we have never found a point made from any of the same material. The points are almost entirely made from the local River Cobble, which isn't a bad grade of flint/chert, but it doesn't compare to the high quality flint the Scrapers are made from. Any ideas on why this would be?

I will be adding a some new pictures in just a little bit. I dug out a few boxes of Scrapers and Uniface Tools and took them to work with me so I could go through them and get some pictures. I found some real killers that I had forgotten I had. I guess I'm going to have to make room and get them displayed. lol

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Here's some pictures of the ones I pulled from the boxes I took to work. I even found 4 more with Engraver Spurs on them.

 

[uniface]

Yowie Zowie !!!!!!!!!!

I'm in awe ! Such beautiful stuff !!!

You can make points of very average stuff and they will kill just fine. But a scraper made of poor quality stuff is more trouble to make than it's worth. You want scraper stuff to be the hardest and toughest you can get, holding a good edge for a long time.

Same situation out west : lots of Paleo obsidian points but no Paleo obsidian scrapers, which will be of chalcedony, jasper, agate &c..

Often, streams and rivers produced high quality flints as glacial cobbles. These were gladly collected and used even though they were often on the smallish side.

 

[uniface]

Buckshot - the tools in your first picture are what are called retouched flakes -- knife and scraper edges worked into flakes removed in the process of making other tools like points. Pre-historic re-cycling

 

[Tnmountains]

My girlfriend and I have decided one rain day later this year we are going to empty out my buckets of flint.I have some 5 gallon sheet rock buckets full and we are going to do a post on "rediscovering my collection".lol Have learned a lot from you guys.
Thanks