We mentioned in the last newsletter that members of MKG had been invited
to the 8th Annual Workshop on the Archaeology of the Lake Superior Basin that
was held at the University of Minnesota - Duluth on March 13-14. MKG member
Gordon Peters was the host for
the event. MKG members Betty Dahl, Bill Ross, Tony Romano, Leroy Gonsior as
well as the editor were present to hear archaeologist from throughout the region
talk about the hundreds of paleo artifacts they brought to the conference.
It was a pleasure for those of us who are not archaeologists to be accepted and
be able to exchange information and ideas with these professionals.
***MKG
KNAP-IN, PINE CITY, JUNE 27-28***
*The following article has been reprinted
from the Institute for
Minnesota Archaeology Quarterly Newsletter, Vol.4, #3, September, 1989. Our thanks
to the IMA for giving us permission to use it.
-Ed.
Ice
Age Hunters In Minnesota
by Orrin C. Shane III
Science Museum
of Minnesota
When the ancestors of American Indians crossed the
Bering Land Bridge and entered North America from Asia 15,000 years ago, much of
the continent was gripped by glacial ice of the great Laurentide Ice Sheet.
This ice sheet covered much of
the northeastern North America, and in the Midwest extended across Minnesota to
about Des Moines, Iowa. The southwestern and southeastern corners of Minnesota
were ice-free as was an area around Wolf Creek in central Minnesota. The unglaciated
areas supported little vegetation and few animals, and were unsuitable
at this time for human occupation.
By 11,300 years ago, when people we
call "Paleo-Indians" spread over much of North America south of the Laurentide
ice, most of Minnesota
was ice-free. The southern part of the state was probably covered by open spruce
parkland (a mixture of trees and grasses), occupied by large game like woolly
mammoth, mastodon, giant elk, horse, giant bison, caribou, muskox, giant beaver,
deer, elk and moose. Evidence that these animals attracted Paleo-Indian
hunters include finds of Clovis fluted projectile points in parts of southern Minnesota
and adjacent Wisconsin.
What is a Clovis fluted point and how was
the distinctive fluting on these
points produced?
Clovis fluted points take their name from a site
near Clovis, New Mexico, where they were found with extinct animals and dated
to about 11,500 to 11,000 years ago. Only a few examples have been found in
Minnesota, and so far only from the southern-most counties of the state. The largest
and smallest Clovis points found so far in the state are shown in Figures
1A and B. Figure 1A is from the University of Minnesota collection, and was
found in Rock or Noble County Minnesota.
Figure 1B is from a private collection, and was found in Murray County.
These illustrations were drawn for the Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) by
Mr. Ken Sander.
Clovis and other fluted points have distinct flake scars
on one or both faces created by the removal of one or more long "channel
flakes". Channel flakes are detached from the face of a point by striking
a blow with a stone or bone hammer directed at a prepared striking platform
at the base on the point. This
striking platform takes the form of a carefully prepared "nipple", as
shown in figure 1H. This specimen, from Fillmore County, shows a Clovis point
from which one flute was successfully removed from one face. A nipple-like striking
platform was then formed at the base of the point, but the point broke,
much to the probable dismay of the knapper, before the second flute could be detached.
Figure
1E shows another fluted point from which one flute was successfully
removed, but which
broke when an attempt was made to remove the second flute. The drawing of the
obverse face of this point shows that the striking platform for the obverse flute
has been completely removed the preparation of the nipple-like striking platform
for the removal of the flute from the reverse face.
By 10,500 to 10,000
years ago, Minnesota was completely free of glacial ice, with much of the
state covered by conifer forest and grassland. An extinct form of bison somewhat
larger than modern buffalo roamed
the state. These were apparently hunted by the descendants of Clovis hunters
who made a new style of fluted projectile point. These points are usually
called Folsom points, after a bison kill site in New Mexico where they were first
identified.
Figures 1C-E show several find examples of Folsom points
from Minnesota, all illustrated by Ken Sander for the SMM. Figures 1C and D are
from the University of Minnesota collection, and were found in Southwestern
Minnesota. Figure 1E is from a
private collection, and was found in Washington County, northeast of St. Paul.
Figures 1F-H show three Folsom points from the vicinity of Albert Lea, Minnesota.
These examples, owned by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, were
illustrated for the SMM by
Mr. Alan Hage.
After about 10,000 years
ago, fluting seems to have gone out of style in Minnesota and elsewhere in North
America, although large several unfluted lanceolate points were still being
made. Several varieties of lanceolate
points, or "plano" points as they are called by some archaeologists,
have been identified and described. One variety is the Browns Valley
point, named for points found with a human skeleton at Browns Valley, Minnesota
in 1933. Figures 1I and J show two Browns Valley points from Traverse County,
Minnesota, both illustrated by Alan Hage. Another "plano" type is
the Hell Gap point, named after type specimens from the Hell Gap site in Wyoming.
Figure 1K is a Hell Gap point
from Lincoln County, Minnesota, drawn by Ken Sander for the SMM.
*Since
this article was written, the editor is aware that Dr. Shane has had the opportunity
to examine a number of fluted artifacts from the Pine City area (Neubauer
collection). Also, an article by Romano and E. Johnson describing a bifacially
fully fluted, Gunflint silica, Clovis projectile point from the Reservoir
Lakes area north of Duluth has been accepted for publication by the "Wisconsin
Archaeologist". It is
thought to be the most northerly described Clovis point in Minnesota. Ed.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
LITHIC
MATERIALS OF SOUTHEASTERN MINNESOTA
PART II
by
LEROY GONSIOR
Galena Chert
Galena chert occurs as irregular
shaped nodules varying in
thickness from one inch to one foot across. It is located in veins reportedly
up to 10 feet in thickness. The thickest vein I have examined was a foot thick
and was comprised of densely packed chert nodules. Galena chert can be extremely
plentiful in loess covered lag deposits in Fillmore County, especially where
veins are evident. These surface lag deposits can be followed for miles and
were extensively utilized by American Indians. Galena chert is fossiliferous
(containing fossils - Ed.) and
includes particles 1 to 2 millimeters in size, with inclusions composed of shelly
invertebrates, brachiopods (a type of fossil plant -Ed.), and trace fossil
burrows (small channels made by worm like animals in the soft material that eventually
formed into stone - Ed.) 5 to 10 millimeters in diameter (Withrow 1983:53).
The structure is homogenous with few pores. The surface has a dull luster
and occasional chalky surface. The trace fossil burrows are highly diagnostic
which leads to the easy identification
of this material. Under a long wave ultraviolet light, this chert fluoresces
into brilliant multicolored hues of orange, yellow and lavender. Galena
chert varies in color from a medium gray to a chalky white. Nodules collected
from surface lag deposits in Fillmore County have a chalky, dull cortex (outer
layer - Ed.) while samples procured from exposed stream beds along the Root
River exhibit a brown, polished rind (outer layer - Ed.). Surfaces of heat treated
specimens exhibit waxy luster
including white or bright red cortex. Galena chert ranges in color from light
gray, light brownish gray [5 YR 6/1], to pale reddish brown [10 R 5/4]. Heat
treated specimens change to pale red [5 R 6/2], moderate red [5 R 5/4] and
[5 R 4/6], grayish red [5 R 4/2], moderate reddish brown [10 R 4/6] or medium
gray (Withrow 1983:53).
The Galena Formation is a Middle Ordovician age
carbonate deposit extending from Southeastern Minnesota into Iowa, Wisconsin, and
Illinois. Three members are
recognized in Minnesota, the upper Stewartville, the Prosser, and the Cummingsville
members (Austin 1972). The Cummingsville Member is thought to be the chert
bearing member in Minnesota since it is equivalent to the chert bearing Dunleith
Member in Wisconsin. Many lithic quarry or procurement sites for Galena chert
are known in Iowa and Wisconsin including the Bass Site in Grant County, Wisconsin
which was utilized extensively during the early Archaic Period to produce
Hardin-barbed points (Stoltman
1984). Until the discovery of a concentration of lithic sites in central Fillmore
County by the Minnesota Trunk Highway Archaeological Reconnaissance Survey,
little was known about the nature and use of this material in Minnesota (Gonsior
1992). Recent research indicates that Galena chert was intensively utilized
at archaeological sites within its source area in southeastern Minnesota,
and particularly the Root River drainage, but is weakly distributed outside its
source area.
Galena chert
is a good material for flintknapping, however it is considerably easier to
knap after heat treating. Heat treating can be done by placing nodules in an oven
at 450 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit for four hours and letting them cool overnight.
The high range for heating is about 625 degrees Fahrenheit before damage
occurs. Heat treating in pits requires about nine hours of heating with blanks
placed three to four inches below the fire. Finding nodules large enough for
flintknapping can be difficult
since most of the nodules I examined at lag deposits in Fillmore County were small
and blocky. Antler billets work well with heat treated specimens while hammerstones
perform better with unaltered nodules.
Maquoketa Chert
Maquoketa
chert is found in elongated nodules of up to a foot in diameter, although
most are smaller and are commonly in the 3 to 6 inch range. The exterior
has a sponge like appearance with many small cavities. The interior is comprised
of bands which are poorly
cemented apparently because of a variable silica content. The structure has splotches
or mottling which are apparent when flakes are examined with background
light. All the samples examined are a uniform light to medium brownish gray
color with a Munsell reading of [7.5 YR 5/1 to 6/2]. The color is difficult to
describe since flakes look gray under normal lighting as opposed to the splotches
which are amber with a background light, and also because it is a translucent
material that does not seem
to have a very strong color. When heat treated, the color is a lighter gray to
a dirty white color, [7.5 YR 8/1 to 10 YR 7/1]. The splotches remain unchanged
as amber or yellowish brown [10 YR 6/6 to 5/6]. Under a long wave ultraviolet
light, this chert fluoresces into a bright yellow color with olive gray splotches
and an orange cortex on weathered cobbles.
Maquoketa chert is found
in the Ordovician age, Clermont Member of the Maquoketa Formation which is described
as an arenaceous dolostone
(a dolomite formed from more sand-like material - Ed.) with abundant chert
(Mossler 1978). Both the Elgin and Clermont members in Minnesota are described
as fossil-bearing limestone with alternating shell beds formed in shoal deposits
(Bayer 1967). Apparently the only known surface exposures in Minnesota are
found in Fillmore County. No fossils were present in the samples examined.
Very little is known about the use of this lithic material, some American Indian
sites along the South Fork of
the Root River, including the Hadland Site, have produced debitage along with
some crude, expedient bifaces.
Maquoketa chert is a low grade material that
is appropriately termed as tough for flintknapping. The small amount of experimental
flintknapping that I have conducted is characterized by frustration.
When reducing nodules or bifaces, the bands separate. Heat treating to 500 degrees
Fahrenheit improves the workability, but the structural deficiencies remain.
To be continued in
the next issue.
Pressure Flaking Pads
BY: JIM REGAN
Most of us get started in flintknapping by learning to pressure flake
small birdpoints from thin flakes of flint, obsidian, or even small bits of glass.
After doing this for a while you learn through practice how to hold and
apply force to achieve longer flakes. The pad used to hold the workpiece and protect
the hand from injury while
pressure flaking plays a very important part in the ability to remove successful
flakes. Much knowledge can be gained from reading books like "The Art
of Flintknapping", by D.C. Waldorf, and by watching other knappers whenever
possible. My intent here is to pass along some of the ideas that I have found
to work through my own experience.
I started originally with a leather
pad, as many knappers do, but found it did not provide enough protection from
the business end of my flaker.
A friend showed me a pad he had made by cutting a rectangular piece of rubber
from the side wall of an old tire, which worked quite well. Since old tires
are in quite abundance, I had no problem making one of my own. I cut it approximately
2" x 4", and the thickness was about 1/4". Before too long
however, I discovered that I could run longer flakes if the stone was not actually
touching the pad as the flake tried to run past. I solved this problem
quite easily by cutting another
pad of the same size, which I then cut a notch in for flake clearance. I used
the notched pad next to the point, and the un-notched pad for backup (figure
1).
For convenience, the pads can be clued together with rubber cement,
but it is certainly not necessary. The important thing to remember is that you
now have a little "trough" which allows the flake to keep on traveling
without touching the pad (figure 2). This makes the flake length proportional
to your strength and skill level
only--not abnormally short because it was pinched by the pad.
Another
type of pad which I have used with good success is nothing more than an
old terry cloth towel which I folded into a strip about 4" wide and then rolled
up tightly into a round cylinder (figure 3). I lay the point lengthwise
on the rolled up cylinder, which is comfortable to hold an provides good protection
while flaking. This type of pad doesn't seem to cause the flake pinching
problem, no doubt because it is
much softer than the rubber, and not springy like rubber. If you want to make
a more pronounced trough for flake removal, just burrow the tip of your flaker
between the point and the pad, at the point where you want the flake to detach.
Once again, because the pad is cloth instead of springy rubber, the trough will
easily stay in place long enough for you to detach the flake. As you wear
a hole in the cloth just unwrap it and refold and wrap it back up in a different
direction. This is about as
easy as it gets for a pad, plus it costs nothing-just use almost any old rag.
The only minor drawback is that you have to keep rewrapping the cloth to keep it
nice and tight, since it tends to loosen up after a few flakes.
The current flaking pads I use are just a minor improvement on the rubber pads cut from
tires. I found a source for neoprene sheet which comes in 1/2" thickness.
I can also get it in soft and hard versions. If I'm working on a small delicate
points where breakage might
be a problem, I will use the stiffer pad, which helps keep the point from flexing
while I'm working on it. For most general flaking I like to use the softer
pad, because it is easier to hold the point in position against the pad. In
either case, however, I make a small trough in the face of the pad for flake
removal. There are a couple of ways that you can do this easily. If you have
a Dremel tool you can quickly grind the rubber away as required. An Exacto knife
also can be used, although it
is more difficult to get a nice clean channel with it. One of the easiest ways
is to simply heat a large nail red hot over the kitchen range or with a propane
torch. While holding the nail with a pair of pliers, let the nail melt into
the rubber as required for the channel (it's pretty smelly though, so don't do
it inside). See figure 4.
Another note on small, delicate points:
If breakage is a problem, make yourself a wooden block that is comfortable to
hold and glue a piece of leather
to it. You will probably want to cut a notch in the leather for flake removal,
as on the previously mentioned pads (see figure 5). The stiffness of the wood
should eliminate breakage caused by the point flexing while flaking.
I
hope this gives you some help in your own pressure flaking. No doubt there
are many other good ideas floating around out there, so I would encourage you to
share them with all of us. Why not drop a line to the editor, who will write
them up in future issues for all
to benefit from.
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MINNESOTA
KNAPPERS GUILD
4TH ANNUAL KNAP-IN
JUNE 27-28, 1992
At
the
NORTHWEST CO. FUR POST
PINE CITY, MN
Drawings courtesy
of
Val Waldorf
FOR MORE INFORMATION: JIM REGAN (612) 462-5568
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THE PLATFORM
