Hixton Silicifed Sandstone - Silver Mound - Wisconsin Public Television Barry Howe Lethal Lithics

This is a segment from Wisconsin Public Television's "Wisconsin Stories" series, "We're Rockin' episode, originally aired in 2000. We are given a tour of the rockshelter at Silver Mound, and I give a little flintknapping demonstration. I also display a few of the projectile points I made out of Hixton Silicified Sandstone, a unique orthoquartzite material highly sought after by indians of all periods, and by modern colllectors. Silver mound is comparable to Flint Ridge in Ohio in terms of the sheer volume of stone indians quarried there over the millennia.

When filming this segment, the director had me knapping in the background. I tried to be quiet so as not to drown out the hosts. I thought I was doing them a favor, but it turned out they had wanted me to bash away. Oops. That's what happens when you work with an amateur!

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• hixton
• silicified
• sandstone
• silver
• mound
• wisconsin
• arrowheads
• native
• american
• indian
• artifacts
• flint
• stone
• tools
• spears
• knife
• tip
• point
• points
• blade
• archaeology
• archeology
• Lethal
• Lithics
• paleo
• cave
• man
• knap
• knapping
• knapper
• public
• television
• sugar
• quartz

[cjYooper]

Some of the spearpoints found some 250 miles away in Michigan's Upper Peninsula were HSS. They appear to be part of a 10,000 year old cremation and so the points are quite damaged and broken by the heat.

[MadEclectic]

@cjYooper

Sounds like a Scottsbluff cremation. I know you guys have some fine paleo stuff in the UP, including Hixton material.  Thanks for viewing and commenting!

[MadEclectic]

KOA and the archaeologists discourage roaming the woods and rockshelters. I confine my explorations to the fields around the base of the mound. The material can be found for miles all around. Haven't been therein over ten years. Thanks for viewing and commenting!

[LakesideLithics]

So cool! I love seeing where the raw materials come from.

Can you work quartz. I fing mostly quartz points but can't find anyone to demonstrate how it was worked.

[MadEclectic]

@LakesideLithics You still haven't. I've worked synthetic quartz slabs, which work real nice. But natural quartz crystal I've never battled. I think it was used frequently in chert-poor northern WI. Try some of those boys in the Carolina Piedmont. Quartz crystal was very commonly used out there, along with shale. Poor bastards! :)

Thanks for watching!

[IamMohawk]

Very nice! That stone I take it is ready for knapping as is,would you happen to know if its resorce is large enough for people to be taking anytime? Congrats my friend.

[MadEclectic]

@IamMohawk To my knowledge, Hixton is not improved by heat treating. I don't think the indians treated any of it either. I suspect heat treatment would destroy it. I have cooked lots of my local chert using fire, but I have never experimented with Hixton. See my comments below as far as collecting stone for yourself.

Thanks for watching/commenting!

[greekmyths27]

ive walked the whole mound by my self but part of the koa camp ground owns most of it more of the good side where the caves are

[greatbasinman]

Awesome point you turned out for the audience. Scottsbluff ? Your good!!

[otepgod]

@MadEclectic

I'll contact ya! It is always more fun walking hours with someone other then myself.

Klintworth