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| Safety first. |
MUNArch, Memorial University of Newfoundland's undergraduate archaeology society, is sponsoring a series of flintknapping workshops beginning at the end of March and running into the first week of April. I'll be leading the sessions and we'll cover three different topics;
Percussion Knapping,
Pressure Flaking, and, for the first time ever in St.John's,
Hafting. Each session is limited to 15 people, but we are holding two of each to accommodate up to 30 people. First priority goes to archaeology students for registration space, but there are usually a few extra spots available if you would like to contact MUNArch to be wait-listed: munarch@gmail.com
Percussion flaking - March 19th or 20th
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Bandaids and leather are supplied, but
you should where shoes and pants
to protect your legs. |
In this class, students will learn the basics of using hammerstones and antler billets to strike flakes from cores. By the end of the evening, you will have produced your own hard hammer and soft hammer flakes, a uniface and a biface. Here are some photos and stories from the MUNArch Percussion workshop in 2012:
Pressure flaking - March 26th or 27th
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| Some pretty pressure flaked points from te 2012 workshop |
Pressure flaking was one of the big cultural revolutions of the Upper Palaeolithic. If you want to knap an arrowhead, then you want to know how to use pressure to push flakes off of stone. Most people leave this workshop with a pocket full of projectile points. Check out this link to see the efforts of 2012 knappers:
Hafting - April 2nd or 3rd
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| Hafting makes the tool |
A stone tool is rarely a completed tool until its hafted into a handle. This is the first hafting workshop that I've ever offered in St. John's and this is where you really get to see how stone tools were made and used. You'll work with stone, wood, sinew, and natural glues to haft one or more of the pieces that you produced in the Percussion and Pressure Flaking workshops. Here is a link to a similar workshop that I led in Calgary:
If you are interested in participating in any of these flint knapping sessions, please contact MUNArch by email and let them know which workshops and which days you wish to attend. Each workshop is scheduled for 6:00 pm in QC 4028 in Queen's College on the MUN Campus (next to Bitters). The costs are:
$25 for 1
$40 for 2
$50 for 3
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| Percussion knapped biface |
Keep in mind, you must attend percussion and pressure flaking to complete hafting. Furthermore, space is limited to 15 people per session, so sign up is first come first serve! Memorial University archaeology students have first priority in booking.
If you have any other questions, email munarch@gmail.com!
Photo Credits: Tim Rast
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