John T. Rine
Engl 1010 049X
September 7, 2004
My First Arrowhead
It is Tuesday. The mail finally arrived. My wife informed me that the package I had been expecting finally arrived! I darted around her as quickly as possible to get it. From the time I ordered it, to the time it arrived, I nearly drove my wife crazy through constant one-sided discussion of what I would do with its contents once I had them in my possession. Once the box was in my hands, I tore wildly at its bindings. When it was finally open, I dug through several layers of packing material until I got to the last. With the last layer of packing material pushed aside, I gazed upon the beautiful pieces of black, glossy flint.
After several minutes of looking at the flint pieces, I set them aside and headed for the shed. Once inside, gathered my flint working tools. I collected my hammers-both copper and antler used to flake flint through direct percussion, my pressure flaking tool used to flake flint through the application of pressure, and my abrading stone, used to create surfaces suitable for the application of either percussive or pressure force. I also gathered a tarp, used to catch the sharp refuse, a piece of deer hide to protect my knee from sharp flakes, and a 5 gallon bucket upon which to sit.
After gathering my tools, I headed back to the flint. I collected it too, and then went to a quiet spot in my yard. Once there, I spread out the tarp, placed the flint and my tools on it, and then sat down on the bucket. I picked up one of the pieces of flint and began to survey its features. Such study is required so that a reduction strategy may be formulated. After creating such a plan, in my head, I spread the piece of deer hide across my knee, picked up my large copper hammer and began shaping the piece. Blow by blow, the outline and the cross-section of the piece began to resemble a stone projectile point. Suddenly, I heard a loud snap. I knew the outcome before seeing it. On the...