How to Make Stone Tools

Nate Salzman

The day of the CCASM September meeting was dreary with a threat of rain, but then the sun came out late in the afternoon.  It was really good to have the sun out since this was the first in-person meeting since March 2020 and it was to be held outdoors at Burch House in the Port Tobacco Village.

At the September 9 CCASM meeting Nate Salzman demonstrated how to flint knap, i.e. how to remove flakes from stones.  As he knapped he talked about what is involved in making stone tools -- selecting the rock, finding the location on the rock to strike, and using different types of tools to remove the flakes.   Although we usually think of flint knapping as a means of creating projectile points, Nate showed how a single flake could also be a tool.

Striking a piece of Obsidian
with the base of an Antler

Looking at stone artifacts from Charles County
(in the "dark" at the end of the meeting)

 

Nate Salzman is an Education and Exhibits Specialist at Jefferson Paterson Park and Museum (JPPM).  Nate is also the manager of the Indian Village at JPPM and conducts a number of JPPM Workshops relating to primitive technologies.

Before the meeting
(Notice the bug spray)

Attendance: 15

MHT/ASM Workshop in Archaeology - 2021

The 30th Annual Workshop in Archeology was held at the Maryland Historical Trust in Crownsville, MD, on Saturday September 11.   It has been two and a half years since the last in-person workshop.  There were masks and social distancing, but it was really good to see everyone again.

 Talks and presenters included

The Late Woodland in the Potomac Valley,  Richard J. Dent  (Keynote Speaker)

Looking for Cresap's Fort using Remote Sensing,  Matt McKnight

Concurrent Sessions 

Open-Source Geophysical Information Systems (GIS) for Archaeology,  Scott Strickland
    
Soils, Sediments, and Landscapes in Archaeology,  John Wah

A 3D Photogrammetry Modeling Workshop,  Tom McLaughlin & Zachary Singer

 

Concurrent Sessions 

Identifying 17th-Century Colonial Ceramics,  Amelia Chisholm
 
Atlatl Dart Throwing Workshop,  Bob Weist
   
CAT Session: Prehistoric Overview - Part I & Part II,  Bob Wall and Charlie Hall

CCASM members attending included Elsie, Evelyn, Jim, and Carol.

CCASM is a chapter of ASM.

 
Click for program agenda and more details about talks

Note: There was one change to the agenda.