I could not resist the challenge... So, I decided to see if I could get away with thinning the already narrow point, while not losing too much more width... Then, in the middle of the work, a very unexpected situation arose...
So, I was trying to be very mindful of not losing width. And, the first thing that I did was to inadvertently knock off the tip, by blowing through a freeze cracked fault line...
This shot shows the results after some rounds of re-thinning, compared to the original tip that had been knocked off:
This shows where the tip detached, while the newer point is compared against the original tip:
Anyway, I decided to take a break and make another attempt at working with some of my past experiments.
During the fall of 2012, I was able to isolate what appeared to be the records of one particular Native American flintknapping technology, that seemed to work under some conditions, but not under other conditions. At that time, I eventually concluded that some versions of the technology could make up to coast to coast flaking, but not outré passé flaking, since a variable needed to produce outrepasse flaking was not present in the process.
Then, in January of 2015, after studying historical records for four years, I saw a match in a historical record that I predicted would produce outrepasse flaking. But, at the time, I only looked at this process within a particular line of methodology. And, it did work, as I have proven repeatedly, since January of 2015. But, the question that finally arose in my mind is whether the previous flaking methodology, from the previous experiments, would work with the newer overshot technology, as part of a broader umbrella technology.
At a certain level, this seemed like a big leap. So, I decided to put both lines of information to the test, first in general flaking, and then in bifacial flaking:
And, here is the first attempt at bifacial thinning:
B-B-B-B-BINGO!!!!!!!
This was a technology that was always there, and was what I needed, in order to help complete my theory. It also is part and parcel of the "umbrella technology" that I wrote about in past posts, that includes "outré passé flaking", and "coast to coast flaking", as well as finer flaking.
In this technology, what can be seen is a range of platform remnants, coupled with relatively large flakes, in extremely hard stone. The small platform remnants look like pin points. Medium platform remnants look like small semi-circles. And, large platform remnants look like thick semi-circles, on the surface of the flakes. Also, the large platform remnants can be found on fairly acutely shaped flakes. And, I previously saw such platforms on acutely shaped flakes, as being problematical, due to bending issues. At this point, it is no longer a mystery. Also, regarding the shapes of the larger platforms, I would have previously misidentified them as being signatures of another technology. But, once again, I could not resolve the acute shape of the flakes, due to bending issues that are incurred when other technologies are used that produce similar circular-lipped platforms.
The bifacial reduction experiment shows the effects of such flaking, on a small biface, made from a large flake. Just two of these experimental removals covered two thirds of one side of the biface. The flakes are relatively flat, and arc over the stone. Thus, the process should be good for rapid thinning with few removals, and large flake scars. Ironically, this flaking process is intrinsically tied to the outrepasse flaking process, and the coast to coast flaking process, even though the end results look physically different. As a result, three to four forms of flaking could all be dovetailed, under an umbrella technology, though the results all might look different. - heavy flaking, outrepasse, coast to coast, and finer flaking. So, there is now more candy in the paleo candy store!!
This development will basically alter all subsequent work. In higher grades of stone, this development will make it possible to make an early switch from hammerstone technology, to the "umbrella technology", that I have written about, and demonstrated, in the past. Also, this technology broadens the range of the "umbrella technology", which also helps to complete my theory.
Anyway, I finished re-thinning the fluted point. It might be close to a waisted point. Sorry for the overexposed lighting...
