obsidian - stonebreaker-fsc.net · “obsidian ~ a glass buttes adventure” beckons you to observe...

A Glass Buttes AdventureOBSIDIAN

by F. Scott Crawfordwww.ArrowheadCollectingOnTheWeb.com

www.StoneBreaker-FSC.net

ISBN-10: 1-48120-452-1$14.95The Soft Cover Book Is Available From: https://www.CreateSpace.com/4089344

“OBSIDIAN ~ A Glass Buttes Adventure” beckonsyou to observe the hidden secrets of the ancient art andcraft known to many as “Flint Knapping”. Numerousrich flows of Obsidian, the volcanic glass, cover theseslopes. Glass Buttes obsidian was utilized at least asfar back as the Clovis culture, over 13,000 years ago.

Clovis-style lance point knapped from transparent “Midnight Lace” Obsidian found at Glass Buttes,in eastern Oregon. Produced by F. Scott Crawford in 2005 A.D.

Copyright © 2007, 2009, 2012. F. Scott Crawford. All rights reserved.

ISBN-10: 1-48120-452-1ISBN-13: 978-1481204521

www.ArrowheadCollectingOnTheWeb.com

www.Arrowhead-Maker.com

www.StoneBreaker-FSC.net

www.Arrowhead-MakeYourOwn.com

DEDICATION

For Maggie, “forever & forever.”

54

F. Scott Crawford OBSIDIAN ~ A Glass Buttes Adventure

From the 1990’s until 2010, every summer in lateJune and again in late September a group of 10 to12 students gathered for several days of obsidianknapping instruction, demonstrations and practice atGlass Buttes, in eastern Oregon.

Welcome To The “Glass Buttes” Volcanoes In Eastern Oregon.This “flint knapping” Workshop was long hosted byCraig Ratzat as a teaching service to the customersof his www.Neolithics.com website, a source ofknapping stone and tools for knappers of all agesand levels of expertise, from beginners to advanced.

Personally, I have been to four of Craig’s KnappingWorkshops over the last ten or twelve years. TheGlass Buttes instructions and demonstrations havebeen instrumental in helping me advance along myjourney through the wonders of stone tool making.

In addition, all of us students have been able to pickthe brains of a number of alumni of the Workshops.These are previous students who have excelled inlearning and mastering the knapping craft. Theyshow up again and again to give support andencouragement to the new breakers of stone.

Plus, they all just love to razz the teacher ... andshare stories about all the giant stones they dug outin the old days, when they had to work barefoot inthe obsidian fields and quarry out the stone for classwith their bare hands, etc., etc. Really, I think theyjust come around for the camp food!

I thought it would be interesting for rockhounds andstudents of native population technologies to bringyou a glimpse of the seldom seen world of flintknapping (it is pretty much just obsidian knappingup here on Glass Buttes).

This activity has gone on for thousands of years,and has somehow remained a secret society, withvery little public acknowledgement of its products,its teaching and its vast influence on all aspects ofmodern technology.

Some folks are absolutely sure that without theground- and stone-breaking research performed by

curious and hungry flint knappers through theuntold millennia of human history, there would beno space age, no modern transportation systems, noiron and steel construction materials, no copperpennies or electrical wiring, and, of all things, nointernet!

It is an absolute certainty that if ancient knappershad not been seeking out all the good sources ofsharp and workable stone, we would never havemastered the natural resources which are sointegral to modern life.

That’s enough propaganda!

Now, let’s take a behind-the-scenes look atwhat really happens when flint knappers ofall levels of skill get together for a few daysof exploration and “limited” exploitation ofthe incredible obsidian flows which havebeen known and utilized at Glass Buttes forthousands of years.

Come along through the next few pages, here atmile post 77, east of Bend, Oregon on Highway 20.

FSC

Another thing you soondiscover is that the trenchesfor quarrying are not alwaysvery wide. Maybe one ortwo people can work side byside.

That means that the rest ofyour group gets to take abreak while you are sweatingaway down in the rock pit.

They do have to learn how tosupervise the labor of others.After all, how else will theysee your special talent formaking dirt fly.

All the time, you wonderwhat this has to do withknapping stone?

And then, that one greatboulder of obsidian comesloose at your feet. Now it isyours!

Supervising!The first thing you learn atone of Craig Ratzat’s GlassButtes Workshops is that youcannot break rock until youhave learned how to obtain it.

Out here on the slopes of thisancient volcano, that canmean digging into the oldflows of obsidian mixed withpumice and ash.

And naturally, the largerpieces which you would liketo obtain are deeply buried.

Sometimes a few minutes ofoverburden removal is allthat is needed. But, some-times that process can takehours of work ... in the hot,dry summer sunshine.

As you can see, there are alsoareas on the mountain whereyou can simply pick up nicesize chunks of obsidian andplace them in a bucket.

These are areas where theslow moving obsidian flowemerged from cracks in thesurface and individual piecestumbled down the hill side.

Quarrying Rock!

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So, you roll that chunk of stone out of the pit. Withevery intention of setting it aside so that you andyou alone can work on it.

A Few Good Chunks Of Obsidian ... 4 Days Of Knapping.

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Your head is full of visions of sunshine glinting onthe freshly fashioned obsidian blades and pointswhich you are going to produce.

And just let somebody else pick upyour chunk! Ha!

Yet, in just a few more minutesdigging you roll out two or three morenice boulders of volcanic glass.

Pretty soon you have no idea whichpiece it was that you so treasured, andyou just dig on through the stone,knowing that you will have all that youcan break for the next week, after youand your fellow students havecompleted your quarrying activities.

Each teaching session involves discussion anddemonstration of a different stage in thepreparation of raw material for and then theactual production of knapped tools. Craigclearly shows the processes to the group andthen works with each individual student toevaluate and refine their skills.

As he teaches and demonstrates the skilledresults of many years of practice and carefulthought about his work, new students and long-time friends alike loudly echo their respect forhis expertise and their frustration at their ownpace of knapping development across themountain slopes: “We hate Craig Ratzat!”

Of course, that sentiment initially caused Craigsome discomfort. But today, after consideringthe great respect in which his students hold him,Craig just grins and answers back:

“It’s alright to hate Craig Ratzat!”

“99 Attaboys! = 1 Oh $*%@!”

“But It Looks So Easy!”This side broke during the notching process of this Calf Creek style spearpoint. Just a little twist out ofline with your hand or tool and you can split the blade lengthwise like this.

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One of Craig’s early students regularly comes tothe Glass Buttes workshops, bringing hope andinspiration to each new group of knappingenthusiasts.

Mike’s favorite project is the production ofClovis style spearheads. With several years ofdedicated practice, he has become veryproficient in the hand fluting of these definingtools of the very earliest explorers of NorthAmerica.

As he works, Craig’s new students and Mike’slong-time friends alike loudly encourage hissignature objective: “Flute that thing!”

“Flute That Thing!”

Glass Buttes is one of those places where every stepyou take is likely to be exactly where another man,woman or child walked before you, sometimes aslong as 12,000 years ago.

Their footprints may not be visible to you, but theprotected evidence of their activities abounds.

Keep your eyes open and you might find a dartpoint hidden in the ground hugging leaves of the

First On This Mountain?high mountain slopes. Maybe it was made by ayoungster, who was learning to work the stone, justlike you.

It is almost a sacred place; where the secrets ofworking this amazing volcanic stone have beenpassed down for over four hundred generations.

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Glass Buttes at sunset does incredible things to yourvision. At the right time of year you can still see thenative big game like elk, mule deer and antelope.And, when you squint your eyes in exactly thecorrect manner, looking out across the miles andback through the years, you can still see the ancienthunters stalking their prey across the valleys belowthe far mountain ridges of the Oregon desert.

You Can See 12,000 Years!

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Hundreds, even thousands, of years ago, nativecraftsmen would sit on this stone bench near thetop of Glass Buttes.

From this elevated shelf of the mountain, theycould see for many miles across the valleys andmountains.

As they sat to work on obsidian tools, theycould also keep an eye out for herds to hunttomorrow, or observe the progress of an activehunt below.

How do we know this?

Because some left their unfinished tools behind,here along a seldom seen natural stone wall highup on the mountain. Their preforms of obsidianremain to this day, hopefully undisturbed in thissacred home place forever.

Some would say that in the mountain wind youcan still hear their quiet conversations as they sitat work.

If you sit near here and listen to your heart, it isindeed possible that you can still watch the longstory of their lives unfold in the valley belowyou.

A Natural Place To Sit, WorkAnd Watch For Dinner.

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You and I might have been born in the era of flightand the beginning of the Space Age, but often wefind our hearts and souls yearning for a simplertime. For a time when survival itself was often agreat accomplishment which depended on our owneffort and skill.

Night Falls With Brilliant Colors In Eastern Oregon’s Desert Landscape.One way this manifests in our lives is this interestand obsession with making stone tools and weaponsjust like our ancestors did all over the world, forthousands of all-too-often forgotten generations.

Maybe that’s why we gotta break rock!

I say “Go for it!”

Learn to master this ancient craft and art which wecall “Flint Knapping”.

Then you too will enjoy your new-found ability toturn rock and stone into useful tools and huntingweapons.

Rebuild your link with the creative and resourcefulhuman beings who have gone before us all.

That’s why I wrote the correspondence course“FLINT KNAPPING 20.12” ... to help us all makethe connection to our history and to our past.

Get on that “Fast Track” to learn the ancient andhonorable art and craft of creating tools and huntingweapons out stone ... “Flint Knapping”.

Subscribe today.

FLINT KNAPPING 20.12TM

www.StoneBreaker-FSC.net/FLINT_KNAPPING_20-12.html

“Midnight Lace” Obsidian -- Knapped OfStone From Glass Buttes in Eastern Oregon.Backlit To Demonstrate The Transparency

Of This Volcanic Natural Glass.

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“Rainbow” ... “Mahogany” ... “Silver Sheen” ...“Gray Green KawKaw” ... “Midnight Lace” ...“Brown” ... “Tiger Stripe” ... some of the colorfulvarieties of volcanic obsidian found on the slopesand ridges of Glass Butte and Little GlassButte in Lake County of eastern Oregon.

Knapped From Glass Buttes Obsidian During The 2007 A.D. Workshop.Here are four different styles of ancient tools andhunting weapons (enlarged about 50%) which weremade by the author during the June 2007 “Glass

Buttes Workshop” hosted by Craig Ratzat, masterflint knapper and proprietor of www.Neolithics.com... the supply house for knapping tools and stone.

Those of us who enjoyed traveling to Glass Buttes,breaking chunks of obsidian into spalls and bladesand learning to master the ancient craft of stoneknapping from Craig and his oft-returning “GlassButtes Workshop” alumni will always treasure thememories and skills which we learned on the dryand dusty slopes of these old volcanoes.

Arrowhead Collectors ...What Will You Find On The Internet Today?

Arrowhead CollectingOn The Web

© 2011. All rights reserved. F. Scott Crawford, Carrollton, Texas. http://www.ArrowheadCollectingOnTheWeb.com

TM

I found this arrowhead on the worldwide web. You can do it, too.

Here’s how!

Every month in the e-magazine“Arrowhead Collecting On TheWeb” you’ll learn how your mousecan actively do the searching ... onthe internet. We bring you up-to-date information and links to on-line sources of authentic, ancientarrowheads.

Plus, you get practical and usefulguidance on how to tell if anarrowhead is ancient, or if it’sa modern reproduction. Wegive you the telephonenumbers, mailing addresses,e-mail addresses and web-site links to reputableauthenticators who canprovide experienced,scientific examinationsof arrowheads to verifyand certify the authen-ticity of stone pointsand other tools youcollect.

I found this wickedly sharp, ancientarrowhead on the world wide web,although it was originally found inSiskiyou County in northern California,in 2008, by Jennifer Peterson.

I purchased it from Jennifer, in anauction on eBay in November 2009.

When Jennifer found this expertlymade, finely serrated gray obsidian“Gunther” style arrowhead, it was in

the place where it was last used, aban-doned or stored away and forgotten.

Now, any collector can tell you thatthere are times when you will want

to wander the fields and streamsyourself. So, every month, in

the pages of “ArrowheadCollecting On The Web”,

we also provide articles andphotographs to show youhow to effectively look for

and find ancient arrow-heads and other stone

tools for your collection.

We share stories fromreaders across America

who write about andphotograph their

own, personal finds.

Don’t miss a singlearticle each month in

“Arrowhead Collecting On The Web”.

By the way, there is no cost to youre-magazine subscription ... and

that is just as good as free!

Sign up today, atwww.ArrowheadCollectingOnTheWeb.com


“24 Comprehensive Steps ~ Your Fast Track to Making Arrowheads Yourself”If you just gotta learn how to make stonearrowheads, spear and dart points or knifeblades, make sure you order a subscriptiontoday, so you don’t miss a single one of the 24profusely illustrated lessons in the new flintknapping correspondence course:

“FLINT KNAPPING 20.12”You will learn to make arrowheads which you’llbe proud to show your friends ... guaranteed.

Or You Pay Nothing!**(See my “Chiseled In Granite & Chipped In FlintGuarantee!” below.)

The first two lessons in your subscription aremy gift to you. Even the postage is on me.They are the Introductory Trial Membershipto your full subscription.After you receive these first two free lessons of“FLINT KNAPPING 20.12”, if you are nothappy with your subscription for any reasonwhatsoever, simply reply to the first monthlybilling notice from PayPal®, and request thatyour subscriptionbe cancelled.You will owenothing and youmay keep the firsttwo introductorylessons as my giftto you. All the risk ismine, and the rewardsof learning an excitingand challenging newcraft are yours to enjoyfor many years to come.

Your First TwoLessons -- MyFREE Gift To You,As An Intro-ductory TrialMembership. by F. Scott Crawford

Each twice-monthly lesson of “FLINT KNAPPING 20.12” is designed tointroduce flint knapping methods and ideas in an additive order so youwill learn and use them progressively to begin making arrowheads foryourself, with increasing skill and confidence as you learn and practice.

“I Guarantee It!”If, after 180 days (six months ~ 12 issues) of “FLINT KNAPPING 20.12” youcan not use the recommended methods and tools to make stone arrowheads

you are proud to show your friends, just send an e-mail to me, the author, andI will refund every penny of your subscription paid to that point in time. Keep

the personalized notebook and lessons you have received as my gift to you.No questions. No problems. Period.

That’s my “Chiseled in Granite & Chipped in Flint Guarantee!” to you ~ it’stougher than any old Bronze, Iron or even Space Age refined sugar warranty.

F. Scott Crawford, Carrollton, Texas ([email protected])

Plus, I Will Send You,Free, A PersonalizedThree-Ring BinderFor Your Copies Of“FLINT KNAPPING20.12” At Lesson #3

What Do You GetWhen You Order“FLINT KNAPPING20.12”?

• Spalls Of Stone• Chips Off The Old

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• Preforms & Slabs ~Ready To Finish Now

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Twice Each Month,You Will Learn MoreAncient & ProvenSecrets To Build ASolid Foundation InThe Essential AspectsOf “Flint Knapping”.Here is the list of topicsprepared for your com-plete series of lessons in“FLINT KNAPPING20.12”.• Mastering The Stone• Hammer Stone

Percussion• Soft Hammer

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*Bonus EditionsRead, study and practicewhat you learn in eachlesson. Do this and youwill indeed be on the“Fast Track” to learn,enjoy and master thechallenging craft of flintknapping.

Subscribe to “FLINTKNAPPING 20.12” byvisiting my web site listedbelow. Click one of thePayPal® Subscribebuttons on the site.You will receive two 8- to16-page lessons eachmonth, for $9.95 perlesson, with secure billingthrough PayPal® of just$19.90 per month, postpaid. Your membershipcontinues twelve months,‘til you get all 24 lessons.I thought about deliveringeach lesson once amonth ... but what eagerflint knapping student

wants to wait a wholemonth for the next lessonof “FLINT KNAPPING20.12”? So, they comeout twice a month.

Each fully-illustrated,clearly-written lessoncomes in full color. It isalready 3-hole punchedfor your personalizedthree-ring binder.After your 24 lessons arecomplete, you’ll also getThree Bonus Editionsabout the most desiredand challenging flintknapping techniques andprojects: “Clovis &Agate Basin ~ PaleoPeriod”, “Ishi ArrowPoints ~ End of theStoneage” and “Folsom& Cumberland ~Indirect Percussion”.

www.StoneBreaker-FSC.net/FLINT_KNAPPING_20-12.html


Here’s How To Order“FLINT KNAPPING 20.12”

Through The Secure PayPal®

Subscription ManagementSystem -- You Can Click The Web Link Below:

© 2012, all rights reserved. F. Scott Crawford, Carrollton, Texas. www.StoneBreaker-FSC.net/FLINT_KNAPPING_20-12.html“FLINT KNAPPING 20.12” is a trademark of F. Scott Crawford.

28

F. Scott Crawford

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OBSIDIAN ~ A Glass Buttes Adventure

29

This 8” bifacial, bi-pointed stone blade wasmade by percussion and pressure flaking from aspall of “Rainbow” Obsidian from Glass Buttesin eastern Oregon. Produced by F. ScottCrawford in 2009 A.D., and photographedduring a brief period of global cooling thatoccurred just after the winter solstice thefollowing winter, on December 25, 2009.

To Order On-Line, From My Publisher, For Just $14.95,Simply Click Right Now On The Following Secure Link:

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