Author Topic: Wyoming knapping rock? (Read 3992 times)

JEB · « **on:** August 11, 2020, 04:48:22 pm »

Looking for some areas in the S. E. Wyoming to gather knapping rock. Anyone have any ideas?

Hawkdancer · « **Reply #1 on:** August 11, 2020, 10:18:49 pm »

There might be some in and around the Guernsey area, supposedly the "Spanish Mines" are near there, they were a source for more than a few Native American tribes. Don't have any contacts in that area though.
Hawkdancer

JW_Halverson · « **Reply #2 on:** August 13, 2020, 05:59:09 pm »

Here are a couple articles online regarding the "Spanish Digs", as the uneducated of the late 1800's and early 1900's called them. There was nothing Spanish about it, just thousands of years of Native American intensive excavation of workable stone! just add the h at the front of the links below.

https://www.vorebuffalojump.org/pdf/VBJ-Spanish%20Diggings.pdf

https://wyoarchaeo.wyo.gov/index.php/learn/wyoming-archaeology-awareness-month/project-a-day/70-september-15-spanish-diggings

http://pugetsoundknappers.com/interesting_stuff/JM%20Spanish%20Diggings%20Quest%202016.html

JEB · « **Reply #3 on:** August 13, 2020, 07:26:19 pm »

JW we are going to be in a town called Centennial, Wy. Is this anywhere near the Spanish Diggings? If you know? I know there is some Moss Agate in Wyoming but unless you go 3' deep it gets cracked up.

Hawkdancer · « **Reply #4 on:** August 13, 2020, 11:03:17 pm »

Don't have my Wyoming map, but I think Centennial is west of Laramie, it would be at least 100 miles to the Digs! Scenic drive though! Sort of!

Hawkdancer

mullet · « **Reply #5 on:** August 14, 2020, 04:36:52 pm »

Okay, I will, JW.

JW_Halverson · « **Reply #6 on:** August 15, 2020, 08:23:25 pm »

Quote from: JEB on August 13, 2020, 07:26:19 pm

JW we are going to be in a town called Centennial, Wy. Is this anywhere near the Spanish Diggings? If you know? I know there is some Moss Agate in Wyoming but unless you go 3' deep it gets cracked up.

According to mileage calculators, Centennial is 2 hrs 46 minutes from Guernsey, kinda in the middle of the digs area

JEB · « **Reply #7 on:** August 16, 2020, 06:00:16 am »

Thanks everyone. I am going brook trout fishing but thought as long a I was out there I would try and gather some local knapping rock.

Hummingbird Point · « **Reply #8 on:** August 16, 2020, 09:06:19 am »

Look at this book, starting page 210:

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x001726249&view=1up&seq=12

ssrhythm · « **Reply #9 on:** January 12, 2021, 02:33:05 pm »

I'm just going to reply to this thread for anyone that may be lookiing in SE wyoming in the future. I was just up on the south side of GreyRocks reservoir, checking out some rocks along the road right of way, and I found a gracious plenty of a couple of three types of chert. The cobbles that were right there by the road where they had tumbled down the hillside were not huge and ranged from golf ball sized pieces to one the size of a basketball and lots of cobbles of various sizes in between. I have only knocked off small pieces of cortex from most, and there is some grey, blackish, tan, and some beautiful tan to deep orangy red stuff. I picked up a good bit of each that I could see the core of that was broken off of bigger rock up the hillside, and some is glassy smooth while other is a bit grainy, but still very nice and knappable. I have no idea what I'm going to find as far as consistency within these rocks as far as cracks or concrete inclusion, but I'm stoked to find out. I'm hoping that heat treating will take care of some of the grainer stone, so I'm about to buy a turkey baster and will hopefully have this rock heat treated and worked some by next weekend. I'll post up pictures of how it turns out. This rock may not be anything folks on here would care to pick up and work, but I know for sure that skilled knappers could easily make some sweet points out of a lot of what I found.

Primitive Archer