Authentic Flint Artifact Authentication Services Steve Granger

The Legacy Continues.....
The body of the book is finished. Now all that is left are the interior
pages, glossary, index, etc.........and the cover design. I hope to
have the book out in the next couple of months.....October hopefully!
The book is not a reprint of Greg Perinos' Volume One, but it
includes all pertinent information found in that book. This book will
be arranged so that anybody can both afford to buy it, and easily use
it! Please keep visiting this site as we will put up a notice of our
progress! Thanks,Steve Granger

Back in January of this year, I bought a 5 ½ inch Scottsbluff point,
that was found near Toledo Bend Rsvr, in Louisiana. It is a great
artifact! Perfect in every way! After the new wore off some, I noticed
what appeared to be color striations near the hafting areas, above
the base. I really didn’t look closer, as this was not out of the normal,
or so I thought. A friend of mine in Shreveport, Louisiana, wanted to
look at it under a scope, and study it. So, I brought it to his office so
that he could get a better look. After studying it a few minutes, he
asked if I’d noticed the “cut-marks?” I replied, what cut marks! He
showed me the areas he was seeing under the scope, and there they
were! Wow! How neat I thought! It was only later that I started
putting the pieces of the puzzle together though! I’d always heard
that short based Scottsbluffs were used as knives, with the base
being short, there wasn’t enough hafting area, to create stability as a
lance, or spear. After observing this point for quite some time
though, I could see a different scenario unfolding! If this point would
have been used as a knife, then there would have been no need to
cut the binding. “ *Note the pic to the left (clickable thumbnail will
open in separate window for larger view): The fine black lines
represent the cut-marks.” The only reason the binding would have
been cut, would have been if the handle was broken, but if the
handle broke, then it is reasonable to believe that the thin, short base
would have broke also! So what about a “throwing spear?” Well, if it
were used as a throwing spear, then it is also reasonable to believe
that the point would have had some kind of damage. If the spear
was damaged so that it had to be replaced, then surely the point
would have been damaged also. The only reasonable explaination I
could come up with, was that it was a “lance point.” Lances were
thrusting spears. I have this mental picture, of a group leader,
defending his family, maybe against a predator such as Short Faced
Bear. The only thing between this predator, and this mans family,
was this man, and his lance! The family flees to safety, and the man
jabs the lance at the Bear! The Bear swats at the lance, and snaps
it into! The rest of the tribe catches up, and several other men step
in to help! The Bear is overwhelmed and retreats! Now realistically I
know this probably didn’t happen, especially since Short Faced
Bears met no rival! But this is all conjecture anyhow, and I like a
happy ending! So the hunter picks up the now broken lance, and
decides to save the point for another lance tip. So, he takes out a
flake knife, and slowly starts cutting the sinew binding. The binding
is large around the point, and it takes several minutes to cut though.
The flake knife, is made out of the same material as the Scottsbluff,
probably out of the same core, so it easily scribes the surface layer
of the point. Then the point is placed in a pouch, to be used at a
later date and time. However, it is lost before it could be used again.
Now, once again, this is all conjecture, but it does offer reason as to
why there would be cut marks on a Scottsbluff of this size, with very
little resharpening. If anyone has any suggestions as to how, or
why, please email me. Also, if you have noticed cut marks, on other
points, I’d like to hear about it. Thanks for reading………This is all
for this week…..”Find, Record & Enjoy!” Points & Barbs~Steve
Granger












							Steve Granger PO Box 364 Hallsville, Texas 75650 Email: stevegranger@authenticflint.com established May 1st, 2006 Authentic Flint Authentication