Posted on 06/09/2023 9:29:58 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Every day, hundreds of stone artifact enthusiasts around the world sit down and begin striking a stone with special tools attempting to craft the perfect arrowhead or knife. This craft is known as flintknapping, and for most, it is a skilled hobby or art form that was thought to occasionally require bandages or stitches.
However, new research suggests flintknapping is far more dangerous than previously understood. And for early humans who were without the modern conveniences of hospitals, antibiotics, treated water and band-aids, a more severe cut could get infected and be life-threatening...
They found Nicholas Gala, at the time a Kent State undergraduate anthropology major working in Kent State's Experimental Archaeology Lab, who was looking for a senior honors thesis project...
Flintknapping is the method of breaking, flaking and shaping stone tools, such as points for arrow tips or sharp blades for an ax or knife. Archaeological evidence for knapping goes back more than 3 million years...
The researchers learned that knapping is far more dangerous than they previously imagined. Among some of the most severe injuries reported by flintknappers included running a flake across their bone like a wood planar, cuts deep into the periosteum of the bone, and the need for a tourniquet after piercing their ankle with a flake...
Thirty-five people surveyed said they have had small stone flakes fly into one of their eyes. The researchers also shared a historical account of William Henry Holmes who disabled his entire left arm from flintknapping back in the late 1890s. Several grislier examples are reported in the open-access study.
(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...
Yes, this is stupid. The folks that were chipping flint already knew to use leather hides to help in some ways to prevent injuries.
It’s just the base of an antler.
Dental abcesses were a huge and deadly issue.
It may have been shortened to either “Knapp” or “Flint”.
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