[Illustration: Fig. 16—An Arrowmaker’s Outfit.]
Primitive man used Stone a long time before finding what proved to be a
very superior variety, Flint, a rough block of which is shown on the
left in the picture. Possibly he chanced upon a piece of Flint and in
using it as a Hammer Stone noticed that it broke into thin flakes with
sharp edges, and with this knowledge he soon learned to make Flint
Knives, Scrapers, Arrow-points, Drills, and other cutting and piercing
tools. For example, from the rough piece of Flint, “A,” the arrowmaker
struck off a few flakes with his Stone Hammer, producing the piece
marked “B,” which has something of the shape of the final point. Then by
means of the chipping tool of deer antler, marked “E,” he pressed off
thin flakes from the edges of “B,” and produced “C,” and finally the
finished point, “D.”
[Illustration: Fig. 17—Flint Cutting and Scraping Implements.]
Perhaps the earliest tools made from Flint were simple flakes, struck
from a block of flint by means of a hammerstone. “B,” in the picture,
shows two of these flakes, which remind us, in shape, of a modern knife
blade or a safety razor blade. At first they were simply held in the
fingers, but later probably were mounted in wooden or bone handles. In
“C” is shown the “core” of flint from which the flake or blade was
struck off. In time primitive peoples, including the Mound-builders and
the Indians, came to make more pretentious knife-blades, like that shown
as “D.”
Scrapers of various sorts were made from flint, and served many
purposes. The simplest form, a mere flake of flint, is the top specimen
in “A,” while an improved type, with notches for securing it to a handle
is shown below it. They were used for scraping wood, bone and stone, in
making tools and ornaments, and for removing the fat from skins, before
tanning.
[Illustration: Fig. 18—Flint Drills and Perforators.]
For drilling wood, stone, bone, and other materials, primitive man made
and used Flint implements of the types shown in this picture. Flint
Drills such as these are abundant in village sites and on the surface of
the ground where their makers lived. Two different kinds of perforators
are shown here. The one to the left is made with an expanded base so
that when drilling a hole through hard material, such as wood or a thick
piece of leather, the tool could be turned easily by the hand. The other
specimen, to the right, “A,” was probably used like an ordinary punch of
today, with a twisting motion. Flint is a very hard stone and with such
Drills as the one on the left, holes were made in softer stones like
granite and slate.
In “B” is shown the manner in which Flint points of this type were
mounted on a shaft and made into a mechanical drill by twining a
bow-string once around the shaft and drawing the bow back and forth.
[Illustration: Fig. 19—Flint Arrow and Spear Points.]
Most useful of all Flint implements were the “Points” or “Heads” of
Flint, as shown above. The only difference between an Arrowhead (A) and
a Spearhead (B) is that of size. Those more than three inches long are
usually called Spearheads.
With Arrows and Spears tipped with Flint Points, the primitive hunter
was able to “bag” an abundance of game. Flint Points like these are
probably the most numerous of the relics left by the prehistoric
inhabitants of America. They are found by the hundreds of thousands in
all parts of the country, on the surface, in mounds and graves, and in
places where the Indians had their villages.
Shot from strong bows, these Flint Points had great penetrating power.
Arrowheads have been found imbedded in the bones of large animals and
human beings in such positions as to show that they passed through
almost the entire thickness of the body before being brought to a stop.