"...very attractive to readers interested in
ancient crafts, survival skills, or the history of technology....
far superior to anything currently available."
—James C. Woods, director, The Herrett Museum,
College of Southern Idaho
"A mid-range user's guide to flintknapping is long
overdue. There have been some admirable attempts to produce such a
volume, but these have been targeted at specific, fairly narrow
audiences. Not so with Flintknapping....
[Whittaker's] clear aim is to reach professional archaeologists as
well as hobbyists. I believe he achieves this goal with incredible
skill and humor.... I highly recommend this book to everyone
interested in flintknapping."
—Plains Anthropologist
Flintknapping is an ancient craft enjoying a resurgence of
interest among both amateur and professional students of prehistoric
cultures. In this new guide, John C. Whittaker offers the most
detailed handbook on flintknapping currently available and the only
one written from the archaeological perspective of interpreting
stone tools as well as making them.
Flintknapping contains detailed, practical
information on making stone tools. Whittaker starts at the beginner
level and progresses to discussion of a wide range of techniques. He
includes information on necessary tools and materials, as well as
step-by-step instructions for making several basic stone tool types.
Numerous diagrams allow the reader to visualize the flintknapping
process, and drawings of many stone tools illustrate the discussions
and serve as models for beginning knappers.
Written for a wide amateur and professional audience,
Flintknapping will be essential for practicing knappers
as well as for teachers of the history of technology, experimental
archaeology, and stone tool analysis.