Worked?

HornSlayer's post got me thinking about some pieces my wife found a while back. So, same question, have these been worked? They appear so to me.

yes and yes, they have both been worked and shaped

Preforms. Knives, looks like. Definitely worked.

Awesome! This is our first find at our place other than fossils.

Yes, some good ones.

Those are cool. Nice find

Beautiful!

Yes sir! And there is a nice pup growing out of your thumb in the first pic!

Very nice find indeed.

Yes. Preforms. Rather hurriedly made as evidenced by the hinge fractures in some of them, but nothing that a skilled knapper couldn't take care of as they further reduce the mass.

Nice finds. Thanks for sharing.

How did they take those big flakes or pieces of flint or whatever they are called to give it the shape?

Yes and they are awesome!

What county? They look similar to a Guadalupe biface. Also, post up your pics of fossils you've found. Those are interesting as well.

They were found in Bandera County between Utopia and Vanderpool. We have a ton of clam fossils and have found some snails. Here is one of the clams. This was one we brought home for our daughter to take to school. I'll have to get pictures of the better ones in a few weeks.

They would use 'hammerstones' of various size and hardness to strike a smaller piece from a larger workable source. A hammerstone could also be used for further reduction of the smaller piece. An antler 'billet' could be used for finer more precise striking, but at the stage we are looking at a hammerstone would be quickest and last the longest.

They were just trying to 'rough out' a piece that could be easily carried to another spot (or stored somewhere) for further reduction and refinement. We are talking 'percussion' reduction at that level. You simply would not be able to remove big enough flakes by 'pressure' flaking. Both methods were needed depending upon what was being made.

Amazing what could be done by skilled knappers and rudimentary tools back then. I have seen some BIG Corner Tang knives that are thinner than anything I can make. Some of the Native Americans had incredible skill and understanding of what it takes to manipulate the stone. Of course 'GOOD' material makes a huge difference.

Cool fossils. We have the same type up north, including bivalves, snails, ammonites and oyster shells. All from the cretaceous period. Thanks for sharing.

Cool

Some more fossils.

Heads are worked slightly but not the finished product. They refer to these as slugs. I found 8 piled up in the lake bed at Limestone when the water was down 4 feet a couple years ago. Bought Robert Overstreets arrowhead book and found out they are not worth anything. Look very similar to the spear head slugs in your photo.

I like the display. Old barnwood looks perfect with the fossils.