The Right Stuff: Raw Material Selection in Flintknapping

Evidence of stone tool production dates back 3.3 million years, predating our own species. From the beginning, this new behavioral adaptation required early hominin relatives to understand which characteristics a stone must possess in order to be utilized for tool production. Only stone types with specific traits can be predictably and reliably fractured into a predetermined shape to create sharp-edged fragments that are useful as tools—a process referred to as flintknapping. Understanding the nature of these qualities and learning to identify them in raw materials across the landscape is the first step in producing stone tools, a technology that was essential to the success of ancient relatives living in harsh and dangerous environments around the world.

In this lecture, ASU Graduate Research Assistant Nic Hansen will describe the necessary characteristics a rock must have to be useful as a raw material for producing stone tools. He will provide examples of the many different varieties of stone that possess these qualities and discuss how and where they have been utilized throughout the deep history of global human ancestors. He will also share his experiences investigating raw material selection and procurement through self-collecting stone for flintknapping in Arizona. Finally, the lecture will include a live demonstration of knapping techniques using a variety of raw materials, highlighting differences in their characteristics and the types of tools best suited to each. Attendees are invited to join in an engaging exploration of the stones that helped shape our shared human history.

ASU Staff, Students, and Faculty have FREE Admission with their Sun Card!