BoingBoing linked to a National Geographic article regarding the use of red ochre by stone-age humans. Recent research now suggests that they deliberately used it as an additive to improve the adhesive quality of the glues they were making at the time. Considering that some type of adhesive was probably incorporated into the hafting process, this may explain why so many clovis-period projectile points found today show residual staining left by this iron-rich mineral. It was originally thought that the red pigment was rubbed onto the spear heads for spiritual or ceremonial reasons, but these latest findings shed new light upon how it could have be used in other ways. See for yourself:

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This Plevna impostor measures about 3-3/4″ long and 1-7/8″ wide. It is made from Keokuk Burlington chert. I call it an impostor because, try as I might, I couldn’t quite get it to turn out like the one illustrated on the “Story in Stone” poster by Val Waldorf. The edges were sharpened by removing flakes from one face which was characteristic of Plevna points. But I wasn’t satisfied with the notches and the overall shape isn’t as rounded as I wanted. Anyway, the crumbled stone in the background is an unknown material (I just couldn’t remember what kind of rock it was after I purchased it) representing today’s first attempt to produce a point. It was less than homogenous with numerous limestone inclusions. I have no doubts that an expert flint knapper could have made something from it, but as you can see, I couldn’t. Oh well, practice makes perfect.

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Lifehacker linked to an interesting Instructables submission using the birch polypore for use as a band-aid. Check it out.

Making plasters/band-aids in the woods

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I also forgot to mention that I enjoy paddling – a lot. I took the canoe out today and paddled the Oak Orchard River through a portion of the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge in Genesee and Orleans Counties, NY. With the exception of all the downed trees that I had to portage over or around, it was an enjoyable, flat water paddle.

Adding to the pleasure of the trip was the abundance of wildlife I was lucky enough to see. Right on the onset, I saw a redtail hawk (you might be able to make him out perched in the snag in the middle of the photo above), a heron, a woodchuck, some deer, and then I saw these guys: there were three of them in a maple tree that was covered in wild grape vines. The young raccoons were gorging themselves on the grapes. I watched them for about 20 minutes then continued on my way. Because this section of the Oak Orchard passes through a large swamp, the river is all flat water. So, I paddled in as far as I could until I had to turn around so I could get back to my truck before dark. The funny thing was that on my return, the raccoons were still in the same tree enjoying their grapes.

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This is an introductory post. There is nothing fancy here, I am just taking this opportunity to get a feel for what I am doing and to present a little prelude to what can be expected from Lithic Labs in the future. As I explain in the About page, I will be dabbling with different aspects of flint knapping, bushcraft and primitive outdoor technologies. And to kick things off, I’ve added a picture of some of my latest work. These are three points I made from different materials. From left to right we have a dovetail point made from mookaite jasper (from Australia), a corner-notched point of burlington chert and a biface made out of normanskill chert. I know – no scale reference. Future images will include something like a ruler or quarter to satisfy the engineers out there. And just for the record, none of my points will be for sale (unless noted otherwise).

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