Let's all take a moment to appreciate this man, who is giving away (for free) his knowledge and his craftsmanship on the internet, so anyone can learn by to flintknap. Of course, if one can find flint, deer antlers and perfectly shaped rocks =) Thank you, sir!
Hope you post more videos soon!.., you are absolutely THE. VERY. BEST. at describing in detail and in teaching your knapping process, and the history behind the tools and points that you recreate!! If I would’ve discovered your channel earlier I would’ve saved myself a LOT of grief, and rubble piles! Lol I’d absolutely LOVE to see some projectile points, particularly Folsom and Clovis!
Excellent content as always :) and I do love the waffle about hand axes and anything else too. I’m definitely here for the waffle as well. And the final comment on the sexy hand axe theory had me in stitches 😂 can’t beat a video containing flint knapping, educational info AND good humour. Perf 😃
Just listening for the snap and tink sounds I could tell when a nice thin or long flake came off. It was a pleasant experience. So much I nearly nodded off.
So good... Beautiful ovate and pointed axes... Boxgrove/Heidelbergensis I know was a true craftsman and possibly craftswoman too, but anyway so deeply skilled in the art of being human. The sound of stone hitting flint is like bells to me, it lowers my heart rate and puts things to right in my mind... an inheritant trait going back millennia to the dawn. On another point, near Stone Henge a few years (4?) ago they found Aurochs bones, stone axes and 1.1/2- 2inch approx rough carved round hard chalk balls, all buried together, and noone could conclude what they were for...well, slingshot? The Romans (a tad later) were dab hands it hitting their mark, as was David with Goliath!
"BIG, SEXY TOOLS = BIG SEXY MATES"... precisely the mechanism we've employed throughout eons to identify "smart, skilled, strong breeding partners... Hence, we continue on as a species. "Seriously 😎 cool demo, doc!! Thanks for your finesse... but... watching you knap is quite addicting!! I'm going cold turkey tonight (of all nights) MAKE MERRY🎄!
And Montana! I would sell my neighbors firstborn for a couple of those nodules. It wouldn't be a good deal for whomever wound up with him though. He's not a nice child. 😉
It's not a bad idea but I would probably look to use a deer carcass when I'm next in Scotland as it would give me the opportunity to show the difficulty of cutting through animal hair.
@@ancientcraftUK please do. I think it would be interesting as hell to see as I want to try it myself at some point, and I can't find any video of someone using a handaxe to butcher the animal.
It’s hard to say when only the ‘finished’ tool remains, but many small handaxes were probably curated and retouched into smaller versions over time. We certainly see this with many Neanderthal handaxes that ended up with steep edges
@@ancientcraftUK Thank you Dr. Dilley I wonder about these things and the way knowledge is/has been assimilated through time. If it is possible that some of the muscle memory and skills developed may have seeped into our DNA because those skills prolonged lives and allowed for larger brain development.
Dr James? How much do you know about gem stones, plasma lightening granite and quartzite? I would go more into here but privacy. Think piezoelectric effect on a massive scale.
Just a random thought.... would mesolothic, or neolithic, folks who happened across tools from an earlier age, have been tempted to rework them with their more 'modern' methods ..... up-cycling, so to speak ?? I wonder what their thoughts might have been 'critiquing' what they perhaps considered to be 'crude' work
There are a few examples of this happening, though it’s quite rare and the reworking is usually quite basic. Interestingly there’s an Iron Age burial from near London that contained two Mesolithic axes. The burial was closer to today in time than it was to the axes by three fold!
@@ancientcraftUK I found a polished flint axe head in the mid '60's that had been retouched very nicely at the business end, most likely in the same 'era'. I lent my entire collection to a small local museum when I left for college but never got a receipt for it and the curator popped his clogs. Some years on I tried to get it back but could not prove ownership so there it stays :
That stone fractures so easily, some of the rock I get out of the creeks in central Texas is so tough! May need heat treating ? But did they heat treat stone back then ? Great work !
I’ve read that they did. They would cover their stone in sand then make a fire over it. Not sure how widespread this was, but it was done Most of the “cool” knapping we do nowadays with high quality stone though the people back then might think is a waste of time. But who has a blast making blade cores for Pete’s sake!?
Produces a thing that looks nice, but our ancestors would have had a purpose for use in mind. Unless some of these objects are tested as tools, the art remains vacant. The hypotheses that these are for butchery, versus root vegetable preparation, versus “see my sexy hand axe” needs more exploration.
Let's all take a moment to appreciate this man, who is giving away (for free) his knowledge and his craftsmanship on the internet, so anyone can learn by to flintknap.
Of course, if one can find flint, deer antlers and perfectly shaped rocks =)
Thank you, sir!
it's important he does not giving away his fingers :)
Well for the record, we actually ARE here to hear you waffle about handaxes!
Haha touché! Some more waffle coming your way after Christmas!
@@ancientcraftUK Any thoughts about knapping the uniquely North American fluted Folsom-point blades?
A t-shirt with a hand axe and #knaptime on it is something I would definitely buy and wear.
Hope you post more videos soon!.., you are absolutely THE. VERY. BEST. at describing in detail and in teaching your knapping process, and the history behind the tools and points that you recreate!! If I would’ve discovered your channel earlier I would’ve saved myself a LOT of grief, and rubble piles! Lol
I’d absolutely LOVE to see some projectile points, particularly Folsom and Clovis!
Excellent content as always :) and I do love the waffle about hand axes and anything else too. I’m definitely here for the waffle as well. And the final comment on the sexy hand axe theory had me in stitches 😂 can’t beat a video containing flint knapping, educational info AND good humour. Perf 😃
Just listening for the snap and tink sounds I could tell when a nice thin or long flake came off. It was a pleasant experience. So much I nearly nodded off.
I just started watching your channel and I’m loving the content, keep it up and keep napping
Hello, I've just seen you digging in Whales (Preseli Hills) for Blue Stones in a Video about Stonehenge in German TV. Greetings from Germany
So good... Beautiful ovate and pointed axes... Boxgrove/Heidelbergensis I know was a true craftsman and possibly craftswoman too, but anyway so deeply skilled in the art of being human.
The sound of stone hitting flint is like bells to me, it lowers my heart rate and puts things to right in my mind... an inheritant trait going back millennia to the dawn.
On another point, near Stone Henge a few years (4?) ago they found Aurochs bones, stone axes and 1.1/2- 2inch approx rough carved round hard chalk balls, all buried together, and noone could conclude what they were for...well, slingshot? The Romans (a tad later) were dab hands it hitting their mark, as was David with Goliath!
As usual, well presented and well executed!
"BIG, SEXY TOOLS = BIG SEXY MATES"... precisely the mechanism we've employed throughout eons to identify "smart, skilled, strong breeding partners... Hence, we continue on as a species.
"Seriously 😎 cool demo, doc!! Thanks for your finesse... but... watching you knap is quite addicting!! I'm going cold turkey tonight (of all nights) MAKE MERRY🎄!
nice flint ! wish we had some in scotland worth knapping
And Montana! I would sell my neighbors firstborn for a couple of those nodules. It wouldn't be a good deal for whomever wound up with him though. He's not a nice child. 😉
Thank you Professor
Hi there are you still running flint knapping courses at all ? I know you use to run them up and down the country 👍
@AncientCraftUK - Dr. James Dilley Any thoughts about knapping the uniquely North American and fluted Folsom point blades?
I love your videos! However, why is the sound so quiet?
Has your material been heat treated
Great video man! keep this sort of ancient content coming! oh and as a side, i assume you do but if you don't have you seen or heard about Will Lord?
Glad you enjoyed it! More to come soon
Is there any plan to show actual butchery with that kind of tool at some point on the channel? I would be really interested in it.
Quite possibly, but I would want it to be conducted as responsibly and ethically as possible
@@ancientcraftUK Yeah I understand the challenge. If you find a good compromise I would be really keen to see how the tools are used in real life.
Maybe a pig carcass could be used unless wild boar wasn't on the menue yet.
It's not a bad idea but I would probably look to use a deer carcass when I'm next in Scotland as it would give me the opportunity to show the difficulty of cutting through animal hair.
@@ancientcraftUK please do. I think it would be interesting as hell to see as I want to try it myself at some point, and I can't find any video of someone using a handaxe to butcher the animal.
Could you build a battle axe or of the Material
Have you tried heat treating flint? Like cooking it in sand under a fire?
I have! You get some amazing colours out of poor quality flint occasionally
Are the small hand axes retouched into smaller hand axes a child could use? Or???
It’s hard to say when only the ‘finished’ tool remains, but many small handaxes were probably curated and retouched into smaller versions over time. We certainly see this with many Neanderthal handaxes that ended up with steep edges
@@ancientcraftUK Thank you Dr. Dilley I wonder about these things and the way knowledge is/has been assimilated through time. If it is possible that some of the muscle memory and skills developed may have seeped into our DNA because those skills prolonged lives and allowed for larger brain development.
Dr James? How much do you know about gem stones, plasma lightening granite and quartzite?
I would go more into here but privacy.
Think piezoelectric effect on a massive scale.
what the ?
What happened? You started a great channel. You should keep producing videos.
Is he using heat treated flint?
I have been on his course and he did not use heat treated flint on that!
Just a random thought.... would mesolothic, or neolithic, folks who happened across tools from an earlier age, have been tempted to rework them with their more 'modern' methods ..... up-cycling, so to speak ?? I wonder what their thoughts might have been 'critiquing' what they perhaps considered to be 'crude' work
There are a few examples of this happening, though it’s quite rare and the reworking is usually quite basic. Interestingly there’s an Iron Age burial from near London that contained two Mesolithic axes. The burial was closer to today in time than it was to the axes by three fold!
@@ancientcraftUK
I found a polished flint axe head in the mid '60's that had been retouched very nicely at the business end, most likely in the same 'era'.
I lent my entire collection to a small local museum when I left for college but never got a receipt for it and the curator popped his clogs. Some years on I tried to get it back but could not prove ownership so there it stays :
That stone fractures so easily, some of the rock I get out of the creeks in central Texas is so tough! May need heat treating ? But did they heat treat stone back then ? Great work !
I’ve read that they did. They would cover their stone in sand then make a fire over it. Not sure how widespread this was, but it was done
Most of the “cool” knapping we do nowadays with high quality stone though the people back then might think is a waste of time. But who has a blast making blade cores for Pete’s sake!?
It’s not really a thing you have any control over, Dr Dilley, but your voice gives me ptsd flashbacks to the “Jiggle Jiggle” song.
Produces a thing that looks nice, but our ancestors would have had a purpose for use in mind. Unless some of these objects are tested as tools, the art remains vacant. The hypotheses that these are for butchery, versus root vegetable preparation, versus “see my sexy hand axe” needs more exploration.
Sexy hand axes lol
Awww that looks problematic a bit.
What has happened to this channel?