Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,456
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Post by Sabre52 on Apr 14, 2018 8:32:07 GMT -5
Howdy folks, The hill we own across form our house has an old Amerind flint/chert quarry site where the Amerinds percussion flaked trade blanks to lighten the weight of flint pieces transported for trade or for knapping somewhere else at a later date. These huge blanks are a fairly common find all over the ranch wherever the Edwards formation limestone yields rootbeer or Edwards blue flint nodules. Those are the two of the three major chert types that were collected here locally. They call it flint but it is actually chert. The Edwards blue is actually black with gray streaks and occurs in veins too, some of which are so thick and erosion resistant that they form some of our horseback paths we use for crossing the creek. The third type is a vein type called Pedernales Chert and actually looks a lot like brown toned petrified wood. Really fooled me until I saw it in situ when we first moved here. Here's a pic of a typical trade blank. As you can see, they are big and hard to miss.....Mel
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,681
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Post by Fossilman on Apr 14, 2018 8:46:59 GMT -5
Well, so that's what they are called.....I have a piece of material like that,(mine is quartz) I found in Montana... Was wondering why it was so big, now I know... Thanks Mel... Nice looking piece there too...
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,456
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Post by Sabre52 on Apr 14, 2018 12:13:01 GMT -5
It's also interesting how many types of blanks there are too, each probably destined for different sorts of tools. Some are pointed bifaces like the one I pictured. Others run smaller, four inches or so and are thinner biface rounds or ovals and another type is sort of a flat ended oval of really large size. I'm talking eight inches to a foot or so long and an inch or more thick. I find these preform type blanks fascinating and man it would be cool to have seen how each form was utilized. The only ones that definitely point to a purpose are ovals with the cortex left intact at one end to form a handle. I'm sure those were destined to become the unique, sharktooth looking Kerr knives as those always have intact cortex to serve as a firm grip when using the knife for butchering.....Mel
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Post by RickB on Apr 14, 2018 13:09:47 GMT -5
Nice info - do you have a photo of a kerr knife - a local form? Fixing to do a search to see what one looks like. Rick B
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Post by orrum on Apr 14, 2018 13:48:04 GMT -5
Lots of folks call them bifaces or preforms or even large spalls. I knap a lot of Pedernales. Would love to get some solid rootbeer!!! Want to do some trading Mel?
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Post by fernwood on Apr 14, 2018 16:02:12 GMT -5
That is a great example of a blank.
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lookatthat
Cave Dweller
Whatever there is to be found.
Member since May 2017
Posts: 1,360
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Post by lookatthat on Apr 27, 2018 18:47:53 GMT -5
wow
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