Richard Warren's Flake Over Grinding Page 4

PAGE 4 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
RICHARD WARRENS
FLAKE-OVER-GRINDING
PAGE 4 OF 4 PAGES
COPYRIGHT SEPTEMBER 30, 2003 PETER A. BOSTROM

CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGE DOUBLE IMAGE
RICHARD WARREN FLAKE-OVER-GRINDING POINT
DONNIE McKINNIS COLLECTION

This point represent one of the best examples of Richard Warren's work. The flaking is very uniform and it's slightly longer than most of his flake-over-grinding points that he made. The material is some type of semi-translucent chert of high quality. This point was at one time in the Charley Shewey collection.

Flake-over-grinding is a stone tool manufacturing technique that is rarely seen in the archaeological record. There are only two areas in the world where the process was used for the production of large knives and ceremonial pieces. There is no evidence that the technique was used, traditionally, within any of the many Stone Age cultures in North America.

TYPE IV DANISH DAGGER
MAGNIFIED AREA OF SURFACE GRINDING
DAGGER PERIOD
NORTHERN EUROPE
FLOYD RITTER COLLECTION

The arrows above point to both the magnified view of a ground area on the surface of a type IV Danish dagger and the location on the dagger. There were several different types of Neolithic daggers. Some of them, like this type IV example, were surface ground before the pressure flakes were applied. Danish daggers are famous for the high level of skill involved to make them. The craftsmen who were making them used every stone tool manufacturing technique available to them to enhance the quality their products. Flake-over- grinding gave them the best pressure flaking control so they used it.

Flake-over-grinding was used during the manufacture of some of the different types of Neolithic daggers in northern Europe towards the end of the Neolithic period. Predynastic Gerzean knives and some Fishtail bifaces from northern Egypt alone the Nile River were also made by grinding the surface of a preform then pressure flaking over the prepared surface.

GERZEAN KNIFE
MAGNIFIED AREA OF SURFACE GRINDING
PREDYNASTIC PERIOD
EGYPT
BUFFALO MUSEUM OF SCIENCE COLLECTION

This picture shows a small magnified area on the surface of an Ancient Gerzean knife. More-often-than-not there usually is some evidence of flake-over-grinding left on the surface of these ancient knives. The arrow points to a small "patch" of surface grinding that the knapper was not able to remove during its final stage of pressure flaking. This is evidence that the uniform flaking on this knife was achieved by flake-over-grinding.

Modern knappers are producing some very spectacular examples of flake-over-grinding points these days. The knappers of today are using much better equipment than the knappers of ancient times. Motorized grinders are their best piece of equipment. There are not to many examples of ancient flake-over-grinding because hand grinding preforms is a time consuming process. Flake-over-grinding was assigned to making ceremonial objects like Predynastic Fishtail bifaces and show pieces like the type IV Neolithic daggers. Otherwise, normal stone tool manufacturing techniques were the rule of the day.

MODERN-MADE GERZEAN KNIFE
DONNIE McKINNIS COLLECTION

This is a modern example of flake-over-grinding. It is a replica of a Predynastic ripple flaked Gerzean knife. The preform for this knife was ground smooth so that a uniform parallel flaking pattern could be applied. The opposite side is smooth. Gerzean knives were flaked on one side only.

Richard Warren will always be remembered for his exquisite lanceolate spear points that he made with his innovative flake-over-grinding process. His art work is becoming more recognized each year by art collectors and by flintknappers who are learning about his work.

"REFERENCES"

2002, Nelson, Larry, "The Richard Warren I Knew", Chips, Vol. 14, #4, pp. 16-18.

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