Unpopular opinion: The flint knapping demo at the local museum was way better than I expected

I went to the State Museum in Columbus last week for their archaeology exhibit. They had a guy showing how they made arrowheads and tools from flint. Three years ago I would have walked right past that. But after reading about the Clovis point finds out in Ohio, I stopped and watched for 20 minutes. The guy said he learned from a master knapper in Texas who could knock out a point in under 10 minutes. I ended up buying a small flake from him for $5. Has anyone else found those live demos more useful than the stuff in the glass cases?

2 comments

2 Comments

williamhill1mo ago

Whoa, slow down there. It's a flint demo, not a life-changing experience. Twenty minutes watching a guy hit rocks is a long time. The Clovis point stuff in Ohio is cool and all, but buying a flake for five bucks? That's just a sharp rock you'll lose in a week. Glass cases are boring, sure, but at least the artifacts are real and not just some guy's practice pieces.

martin.paige1mo ago

Ha, yeah I used to think it was just some guy hitting rocks too but it really changed my mind.