22" Basalt Biface - Field spalling stage 1, Part 1

Shows the initial field spalling of a large 22" piece of Arizona basalt. The biface is placed on sand in a creek bed close to where is was found and roughed out with heavy copper billets.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Flintknapping
• Lithics
• Arrowhead
• Paleoplanet
• Cahokia

[zekeyo37]

hey jim i live in austin and a short drive from perdenales and i was wondering how u got that flint in your "Collecting Texas Flint" video thx

zekeyo37

[paleomanjim]

Austin is surrounded by flint! Head south or east and check roads that cross creeks and rivers, or try to ask for permisssion from landowners....jim

[lebaronr]

hey jim,

i had never heard of knappable basalt until this video.

just wondering the difference in workability to dacite...

it almost seems as though there is some kind of stage sequence of toughness between obsidian dacite and basalt.

anyways... later,

reuben

[paleomanjim]

Yeah, they are all volcanic and work about the same except in the final stages where the basalt is more prone to step fracture. With care even basalt can be knapped thin though....jim

[111fishkiller]

Are U trying to get workable pieces off the big piece,or are U actually trying to transform the big rock,into a giant point/blade?

[paleomanjim]

There are obsidian sources near Phoenix. The north part of the state has petrified wood, basalt and dacite....

[82f150]

what type of knappable stone is around pheonix

[paleomanjim]

I dont think there is any workable basalt around phoenix, most basalt is very tough to work. There are some obsidian sources close to phoenix, but mostly very small....

[82f150]

hey jim i got an uncle that lives in arizona, he lives in phenix. is there any basalt around that area?

[paleomanjim]

Arizona, USA