STONE TOOLS more -->
A grindstone (as seen in Figure 8-9) is used to sharpen bone points. By grinding for a long time, the bone point could get as sharp as a needle that could pierce hide. Bone fish hooks were ground until sharp on a stone like this. What do you think needles and fish hooks were made of after the Europeans arrived? Can you think why the people would adopt the new technology?
What do you know about different types of stone? Why do you think sandstone is used for grinding (see Figure 9)? Is this the type of tool that would be carried from place to place? How heavy do you think it is?
Hand mauls (see Figure 10-11) were used much the same way that hafted mauls were used, basically like a hammer. But because they are held by hand much more fine, finishing work can be done with a hand maul. Large hafted mauls were used for heavy splitting. Smaller hand mauls were used for more detailed work. These tools were made by pecking and grinding until the desired shape was achieved. Like a hafted maul, the hand maul had to be made from a type of stone that could be used as a hammer without breaking easily. Can you see how two of these mauls in Figure 11 were broken?
Do you think it would take a long time to make these tools? Do you think they were a valued tool by the woodworker? Do you think a woodworker made his or her own hand mauls, or might there have been specialists who made them? If so, what would this tell us about the economy?
Hammer stones (as seen in Figure 12) were used as a percussion tool for making other kinds of stone tools.
Stone bowls are made from various granular stones (see Figure 13). An artist may start with a naturally concave bowl, or may make the cavity. The faces and heads carved on the bowls are done by pecking carefully with a small stone. If you try this, be sure to wear proper safety goggles and heavy gloves.
The raw material used to create stone tools is called "a blank". Look closely at the blank in Figure 14, noticing the grooves where pieces of stone have been sawn off. What tool do you think was used to saw the pieces of stone? Do you think it takes a long time? Look at the other stone tools in this case. Which ones might have been made in this fashion?
Flake tools (as pictured in Figure 15) could easily cut animal hide and other materials and so were often used in butchering and hide working. In order to make these very sharp flake tools, special kinds of stone had to be found. Usually basalt, chert and especially obsidian (the black glassy rock) were used because of the ability of the rock to fracture. Sometimes the people had to travel far to find the right kind of stone to make these tools. Do you think it's possible that people would trade for the valuable stones?
Cobble tools (as seen in Figure 16) were one of the first types of tools ever made by human beings. They are relatively easy to make and the stones used are found everywhere. You might think that once more complex tool making techniques were developed people stopped making cobble tools, but they continue to be useful especially when there are no other resources available and little time. What do you think people used these tools for?
Scrapers (see Figure 17) were used in butchering and to scrape the hides clean so that they could be used to make clothing, blankets, drums, etc. When archaeologists are looking for evidence of human activity it is sometimes hard to tell a flaked tool from a broken one. But the way that tools are made leaves very specific marks on the stone.
What are projectile points (as pictured in Figure 18) used for? If you guessed hunting, you would be correct. But the point by itself is not the whole weapon. Think about how a spear or arrow is made and what other materials would be used. Why is it that the projectile point is usually found in the archaeological record?
Microblades (as seen in Figure 19) are very small, but these stone tools are also very sharp. Can you guess how these small tools would have been used? Remember that usually only stone preserves and is recovered by archaeologists.
Stone knife blades (as pictured in Figure 20) are made from a large piece of stone called a blank. They are usually made of stone that easily fractures in predictable patterns like basalt. Many people think these may have been used as arrow heads, but they are much too large. Slate is a very dense, compact, layered stone which makes them a great choice for making knives. The layers let people make very flat knives that are very strong (as seen in Figure 21). These knives could be used for scraping or smoothing. Can you think of one use for these tools?
The nephrite adze blades in Figure 22 are made from large piece of stone called a blank. For strong adzes, the toolmaker would seek out specific types of stone that does not shatter easily. Why would this be an advantage? (Hint- look at the wood tools page)
