An archaeologist with a few weeks of knapping experience tested the tine flaking process in fluting. Here are the results.
He also has been making a side by side study of tine flaked preforms that he has made experimentally with the Cushing method, and mid-stage artifacts known from his area, in the Midwest. On artifacts that have not been finished by pressure, he has already found exact matches of flaking signatures that are identical to his own experiments, and that only could have been made with a deer tine, but not with a hammerstone or a baton.
He is now compiling a list of all of these matching signatures, which actually affect the overall shape of the preform, and shape of the edges, during reduction, and prior to final pressure flaking.
He already told me that he believes I have rediscovered a lost flaking process. And, he is now communicating with other archaeologists.
This is his first experimental fluting attempt as a non-knapper.
