American Flintknappers
John C. Whittaker
- “An
- important
- resource
- for
- students
- of
- modern
- replication
- studies
- .
- .
- .
- Of
- interest
- to
- anyone
- studying
- folk
- technologies
- in
- general.”
- -The
- Journal
- of
- the
- Royal
- Anthropological
- InstituteMaking
- arrowheads,
- blades,
- and
- other
- stone
- tools
- was
- once
- a
- survival
- skill
- and
- is
- still
- a
- craft
- practiced
- by
- thousands
- of
- flintknappers
- around
- the
- world.
- In
- the
- United
- States,
- knappers
- gather
- at
- regional
- “knap-ins”
- to
- socialize,
- exchange
- ideas
- and
- material,
- buy
- and
- sell
- both
- equipment
- and
- knapped
- art,
- and
- make
- stone
- tools
- in
- the
- company
- of
- others.
- In
- between
- these
- gatherings,
- the
- knapping
- community
- stays
- connected
- through
- newsletters
- and
- the
- Internet.
In
- this
- book,
- avid
- knapper
- and
- professional
- anthropologist
- John
- Whittaker
- offers
- an
- insider’s
- view
- of
- the
- knapping
- community.
- He
- explores
- why
- stone
- tools
- attract
- modern
- people
- and
- what
- making
- them
- means
- to
- those
- who
- pursue
- this
- art.
- He
- describes
- how
- new
- members
- are
- incorporated
- into
- the
- knapping
- community,
- how
- novices
- learn
- the
- techniques
- of
- knapping
- and
- find
- their
- roles
- within
- the
- group,
- how
- the
- community
- is
- structured,
- and
- how
- ethics,
- rules,
- and
- beliefs
- about
- knapping
- are
- developed
- and
- transmitted.
- He
- also
- explains
- how
- the
- practice
- of
- knapping
- relates
- to
- professional
- archaeology,
- the
- trade
- in
- modern
- replicas
- of
- stone
- tools,
- and
- the
- forgery
- of
- artifacts.
- Whittaker's
- book
- thus
- documents
- a
- fascinating
- subculture
- of
- American
- life
- and
- introduces
- the
- wider
- public
- to
- an
- ancient
- and
- still
- rewarding
- craft.“This
- is
- a
- superb
- book,
- authored
- by
- one
- of
- the
- only
- people
- with
- both
- the
- anthropological
- background
- and
- the
- connections
- in
- the
- world
- of
- contemporary
- flintknapping
- to
- write
- it.
- It
- really
- is
- unlike
- any
- work
- I’m
- aware
- of
- in
- lithics
- studies.”
- —Michael
- Stafford,
- Director,
- Cranbrook
- Institute
- of Science
pro-mbooks3 : libris
