Archaeology 101: Arrowheads, Knives, and Spears - Lithic Analysis pt. 2

[@steviegoodgravy8624]

Been waiting years for a competent, informative video like this. Thanks, man. Keep up the good work and maybe think about getting a patreon or subscribe star

[@johnkaelin903]

Awesome. Love the info brother, thank you.

[@TurnRocks]

I’m so dang happy I seen your channel. Great breakdowns so much to learn here!!!

[@Ontario_Rockhound]

Another great video, I have really enjoyed the lithic analysis videos!

[@davidbelisle8014]

Very well done. You always casting new light in my small mind.

[@FacesintheStone]

There is a lot going on in our history that we would never have expected David. Was it by design or just pure ignorance, I’m beginning to realize politics play a huge role.

[@daveperry9612]

Great video ! I have been hunting for artifacts for 50 plus years . I have been knapping for 30 years I think you are very accurate in my opinion . I think that a person can really understand what the native Americans were doing with their lithic materials by becoming a flint knapper . I am always studying types and materials for comparison to point types that I find . You can see exactly why bevels accure in halfted blades . I think that finding tool artifacts can give you a better understanding of the site and occupants . I have found paleo artifacts on definite woodland sites and wonder if this mix of age types could just be because the game that was hunted was using the same trails and areas for a long time period . I have also had people tell me that turkey tail blades were halfted but having made and tried this l know it probably wasn't done . I found that the tail snapped off very quickly , so not practical . Thanks for the good work and keep the videos coming .

[@pointsnpoles4640]

You would be a great person to have follow my channel and help me out with identifying some of the things I've found...I'm turning 35 and just started artifact hunting in September of last year. I'm up in east central Missouri

[@jimajello1028]

It is so good to hear a scholar using the correct terminology for lithic Technology & stone tool making industries. I was fortunate to have many ethical, knowledgeable archeologists who researched traditional lithic industries extensively.They insisted upon the use of correct terminology when referring to flaked or pecked & ground stone tools. Also, when researching only organic materials that were available to humans during time period indictive to the production of the stone tool types we were replicating were applied. I believe studying and understanding the fracture mechanics utilized in one of the greatest technological advancements that insured the continuation and evolution of our species requires the use of correct terminology. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Vincent James Ajello (Lithic Technologist/Researcher)

[@keithrussell1999]

I am so glad I found this channel! I have owned a giant site in Alabama that was so rich many universities dug there. I never thought I would sell it but things happen. I have just purchased, what I am sure is the best site in my county. I am in Alabama close to Birmingham but I don’t want to put the location out there because I don’t want field walkers.. I will try to call you and see if I can show you some of my dig finds.I am finding so much stuff that I believe it’s a village. I had 55 gallon drums of pottery in my Green co site,but here I am finding very small pieces and not much. I have to think it is a very old site.

[@robertfoster2988]

I really appreciate what you're doing I never went to collage but I've always been interested in archaeology especially the eastern woodlands much better than most of the crap you see on regular documentaries

[@AncientAmericas]

Great episode!

[@T.J-and-Soul]

Your knowledge is so deep well done mate. I'm going through cancer for my third time and a youtuber called points 365 sent me 4 projectile points frim Tennessee so I can get some of that Warrior luck. I really like how well you explain things. Great work 😎

[@NathanaelFosaaen]

I wish you a rapid and thorough recovery! One of my mentors died of the Big K so so every survivor is a win in my book.

[@FacesintheStone]

Let’s talk about Effigies, and how it’s short sighted to think that all we ever did was hunt and gather. The ancient people were extremely spiritual and religious. We know that much - but to think that they made complex multi faceted art out of the stones they carried perhaps as Supply at first for their exploration were carved into heart shaped birds and human beings is unfathomable by our American minds. Let’s talk about the politics that surround not recognizing this art left by our ancestors, and how we destroy these ancient mounds right in front of everybody without a care of anyone recognizing it. Let’s try to save the mound discovered in Graham North Carolina, despite the 300,000+ dollar homes that are being built upon it.

[@michaelmcgarrity6987]

I used to hunt for Arrow Heads in Minnesota when I was a Kid. My favorite were tiny, made of Pink Quartz. I expect they were used for taking Grouse, little Chicken sized Birds that often stay frozen on the ground trying to hide as people walk by. I imagine Tribal Children would be out having fun small game hunting early on. Thanks Nathan!

[@pointsnpoles4640]

I appreciate very much the straightforward knowledge that you have given us and just subscribed from Lincoln Co Missouri. I am curious about one thing tho, just a bit of context, I just started Artifact hunting in September of last year, and I would like to know if there is any way to be able to tell what time period/cultures other tools came from. Such as adze,celts, axes (granite/ chert)

[@NathanaelFosaaen]

Not without context. I'm gonna put up a video about that in a few days actually.

[@ferengiprofiteer9145]

Have you mounted blades/points to shafts? The notches at the base, are they to prevent removal to cause more damage or to help with mounting?

[@NathanaelFosaaen]

Several times. basal notches allow for a broader cutting radius while also reducing drag.

[@FacesintheStone]

I have extracted wooden tools from my site, and I’ve been able to mount ground hatchets and blades to the original wooden tools that were preserved in clay for thousands of years. Because it was all found during the construction of an expensive housing development getting an archaeologists to recognize these artifacts is impossible. Archaeology seems to be a very politically motivated field where one cannot just look at the artifact without finding out where it was from and who it might affect if they call it what it is.

[@zenolachance1181]

Extremely educational, thank you

[@richardmann3396]

Great information. Thanks .

[@mikeprice4103]

Taking a fun closer look at my field finds, thanks.

[@LVWRSHP2]

Just discovered your videos and really enjoying the insights from someone who is formally educated in this field. I would be interested in your thoughts on smaller archaic points like Lecroys. I have often wondered if they may have been used on the end of a long narrow shaft for gigging small prey as they seem more suited for that and too light to have been used as a spear tip with an atl-atl. Without a doubt, archaic gatherer/hunters would have been proficiently opportunistic and I believe, taking advantage of these rudimentaty technologies, optimizing their survival capabilities. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@christinadupuy897]

I'm in north Florida, is Bolen a type or an area style of knapping? Very informative videos, thanks.

[@lesjones5684]

How about flat base triangular arrowheads I find them on the Delaware River

[@mikehurricane5767]

Mornin Brother ! I have enjoyed every one of your videos . I love the detail you must go through at your dig sites . Labor intensive and back breaking . Truly thankful for what you do . Would you consider selling one or two points you have made ? Thanks for all the information . I would love to help at a site before I pass . Take care ,,,,,

[@joshuawarner1437]

Interesting how the type you demonstrate @13:21 is a fairly newer type. Out in the western Great Basin, I’ve seen points very similar to that type associated with paleoindian contexts. Just shows how critical context is.

[@ProxyMaestro]

Awesome video thanks. I love the detail you go into here. I hope you with do more of these. Maybe with some paleo stuff?

[@lindafoxx2033]

Sagdid was a Zoroasterianabd Scythian funeral rite where the four eyed dog that watched the dead and purified the soul for the afterlife. They gave harsh punishment to those that abused a dog.

[@dyad9592]

Many of the artifacts appear to be made with a precision, and esthetic, seemingly beyond that needed for functionality. Is that true? If so, what benefit drives the maker to invest the extra labor? Any cultural insights? Thanks again for an informative vid.

[@NathanaelFosaaen]

It costs zero dollars to do a good job.

[@kariannecrysler640]

Did everyone make their own or did the guy who did it best make lots and distribute?

[@NathanaelFosaaen]

Depends on when and where and who you're talking about.

[@kariannecrysler640]

@@NathanaelFosaaen so in some cases there’s collecting of cores (?) the central distribution & in others more individuals collection and development? Also does the quality of the knapping change from region, over time or improved design & materials? I presume yes due to all three but would like to be correct

[@NathanaelFosaaen]

@Kari Anne Crysler not central distribution. There are exchange networks that occur at times, but 99.9% of the time material is very local and tools are basically always made within the community. I learned to knapp in a couple of months. There's really no need to get an expert to do this for you if you're raised knowing how to do it. But this is really too big a question for a comments section answer. Entire dissertations are written about lithic production at specific sites.

[@j.shorter4716]

On the topic of beveling: This may have been an easier method of resharpening points that are still in a haft. Just chip one side, flip it, and then the other side. This way you wouldn’t have to turn the dart shaft all the way around away from your body which would be required to bifacially resharpen unless the point is unhafted.

[@randymack1234]

I guess some styles of points were just so efficient that they were in use for more than a thousand years . If it ain't broke , don't fix it. Case in point. I have 7 or 8 Bolen Bevel's , all the same size and all have the same amount of bevel. All beveled on the left side. Some say that's from resharping , but to me , it looks like they were intentionally made in that shape . I would love to hear your take on this.

[@ChristianMarkhamNTX]

What would you call the first projectile point you showed?

[@NathanaelFosaaen]

The one around 45 seconds? That's not a projectile at all. If I remember right I'm pretty sure that was a drill.

[@ChristianMarkhamNTX]

@@NathanaelFosaaen sorry it was the one made out of yellow chert that resembled a Thebes point or something similar, where you were talking about the incurvate edges. The first in the series of points you were analyzing with the dental pick.

[@chucklearnslithics3751]

Very good. Again. You mention that points types are rarely thought to be about identity or cultural identity related. Do you feel the same or different about any relationship to technology used to create the Lithic type or style?

[@NathanaelFosaaen]

Actually, it's kinda the opposite. We FAR too often imagine that a point type somehow reflects cultural identity, which is about like imagining that there's such a thing as clawhammer people and mallet people living today. In pre-mercantile societies where just about everything you use is made by your own community it's a lot easier for elements of artifacts to map on to identity, but there's no easy way to identify when something is a marker of identity and when it's a marker of practice when you don't have a written record that tells you about it.

[@closertohome-b7m]

Thanks Nathaniel

[@amelcihuyaAmel1212]

Koleksi mantap

[@Bowie_E]

What is the most surprising/interesting instance of prehistory people's interacting and sharing technology that you've discovered via finds/tools/etc in North America?

[@douglaswilliams99]

Very informative. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and knowledge. 👍

[@TheEbrithil2]

Modern technology manufacturers should also support standards for thousands of years. Compatibility in the stone age was much better.

[@TheEbrithil2]

Really good video, but you should make them a bit louder.

[@milesruby3271]

I found an small Eva type , im guessing. In southern Ohio along the Ohio River. Small basal notched point, paper thin i had never seen a basal notched around here. Seems like everyone was along the Ohio

[@flamingorentals6819]

Nice intro

[@thrashmetaldad]

🤘🤘

[@DennisRichardH]

Thanks for your very interesting videos. My undergrad was Classics, then went into social services from grad school. I have always become very absorbed with archaeological topics, but have never gotten into the finer points that you cover (pun intended). I might have done something like archaeology in grad school if I had thought I could have won a professorship (unlikely, I thought). Anyway it is a treat for me to get a window into archaeological analysis techniques. I will probably watch all your fascinating videos.

[@johnnyringo6161]

Dunklin county Missouri in between the st. Francis and Mississippi Rivers is completely covered in artifacts from Paleo to the mound builders and all points in between it's mind boggling the scope of habitation isn't even widely known

[@NathanaelFosaaen]

Which mound builders? Mound construction was practiced for about 6000 years.

[@johnnyringo6161]

@@NathanaelFosaaen ooh wow 😲 I was not aware of the scope of mound building in the pre colonial America's I guess .... I was referring to the Mississippian culture as the mound builders though

[@lesjones5684]

I found flat base triangular points 😂😂😂

[@Patriot1777]

How can people make the same type points in several states??, wounder if they used a pattern like a leaf or something.

[@NathanaelFosaaen]

Nah there's a lot of variation within each type, and once you know how to knapp its not that difficult to nake the same things over and over.

[@lesjones5684]

Glouster city site

[@barrydysert2974]

i wish i could have learned this 30 years ago. This will sound strange, but thank you for giving me the greatest regret of my life. 🙏

[@NathanaelFosaaen]

I feel you. I wish I had this channel to watch back when I was in undergrad.

[@twothreebravo]

12:35 Classic Gary. That guy 🙄amirite? 😎

[@asahelsmith9490]

Stabby-stabby part...lol

[@Bowie_E]

I laughed at that too lol love those technical terms!

[@frankhartman323]

Just think 10,000 years from now archaeologist will be digging up Walmarts and shopping malls and finding things like pokemon, video games and Hillary Clinton books and let's go Brandon flags,etc!!

[@FacesintheStone]

And then the archaeologist will say that they’re just fake. That’s what they do right now when we find bird effigies and Indian mounds during construction projects.

[@dr4d1s]

1:58 - "the stabby-stabby part", this is a technical term that I understand! Lol

[@lesjones5684]

He’s a alcoholic 😂😂

[@lesjones5684]

Are you drunk today 😅😅

[@MOEMUGGY]

Imagine you were the chief of the culture that made dovetails, and you taught your son how to make a dovetail.. What are the chances his great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandson would make the exact same point flake-for-flake?? Some, if not most of these points look like the same fellow made them. And why were NO other forms present during that 300 to 1000 year time period?. Where were the maverick free-thinkers? Is it possible everybody was just a copy-cat for hundreds of years? Nobody could think outside the box?? At the end of the day, they were just sharp pointy rocks. There was no need to copy each other for 1000's of years flake-for-flake. And it wasn't just one culture. Every culture since the last Ice-Age was this way... Clovis, exactly the same for 100's of years.. Dalton, exactly the same for 100's of years.. Cumberland, exactly the same for 100's of years.. Dovetail, exactly the same for 100's of years.. Kirk, exactly the same for 100's of years. I'm not buying the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" idea. Somethings missing in the archaeology. Either the time spans accepted for these cultures are all wrong, or people really did live for 1000's of years back then.

[@NathanaelFosaaen]

All of this is wrong. There's a cache of kirk points from SC that was 3D scanned and uploaded to Andrew White's website. NONE of them are identical. No two Clovis points are quite the same either. Nor are turkey tails. There is a huge range of variation within every point type. Your understanding of lithics is hilarious.

[@MOEMUGGY]

@@NathanaelFosaaen So, how can you tell they're Kirk's or Clovis if none are the same? hmm?? I've found points in Missouri and Kentucky, and you can't tell them apart if you hold them both in your hand. Right down to the same number of flakes. This isn't just once either. This' with hundreds of different point types from THOUSANDS of different collectors across the nation. Too many similarities across too many cultures to be random or coincidence. Or "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" for 1000's of years. If you can't admit it's odd, then you're a quack of the highest order regurgitating what you've heard... That my friend is laughable

[@NathanaelFosaaen]

@Moemuggy you ignorant slut. If you check out Andrew White's website you'll find an archive of Kirk points from a single cache that have been 3D scanned. They're all corner notched with a straight to excurvate base and more obtuse blades with straight to excurvate sides. Same goes for Clovis. They're all lanceolate points with double 1/3 flutes and straight sides and blunt tips. It's not that complicated. No two points are ever exactly the same. Upload a video of the points you claim are identical and I'll point out the differences, because unlike you, I know what I'm talking about.

[@NathanaelFosaaen]

@@MOEMUGGY If you check out Andrew White's website www.andywhiteanthropology.com/kirk-3d-models-list.html you'll find an archive of Kirk points from a single cache that have been 3D scanned. They're all corner notched with a straight to excurvate base and more obtuse blades with straight to excurvate sides. All variations on a theme. Same goes for Clovis. They're all lanceolate points with double 1/3 flutes and straight sides and blunt tips. It's not that complicated. No two points are ever exactly the same. Upload a video of the points you claim are identical and I'll point out the differences, because unlike you, I know what I'm talking about. What's laughable is your misunderstanding of lithic technology.

[@MOEMUGGY]

@@NathanaelFosaaen Dude, you're a Muppet. The page you linked doesn't even load. Let me guess, they were all Kirks? Broad base? Corner notched? ground bases? So why did the whole culture make Kirk's for a 1000 years? Where are the lancelets? The side notches? The fluted points AMONG the Kirk's?? So you think it was against the law for them to make any other design for a 1000 years? You think nobody could have said, "I have a better design"? You've never questioned why these people didn't deviate from the original design for 100's or even a 1000 years? over, and over, and over again? "yup, whole cultures, (possibly millions of people) for upwards of a 1000 years just copied each other again, and again and again". Look dude, I'm not asking you to believe people lived for 1000's of years back then, and we're possibly seeing the same maker of these points. Hell, I don't believe that either. But you have to admit it's rather odd that these people didn't have any individual creativity since the last ice age. If this topic triggers you about Kirk's, Golly, I hope you don't find two Daltons from the Mid-West... Now those people were copy-cat's. And seriously, don't get it in your head you're the only one here that knows a thing or two about Lithics. I'm old enough to be your Daddy, Son. I found my first Dovetail long before you were a twinkle in someone's eye.