Is this size about right??

[Bent-Twig]

This is one of my finds that when found you just have to sit in the field and say "WHY??".

I put some clay on it to try and get a feel for what the size of this thing might have been. I play around with temporary restorations on my broken stuff, but this one is too big of a project for me. I tried to get a feel for the size , but was unable to get the flaking and color satisfactory. left it like this and put it in a case a year or so ago. Anyway my question is do you think this is a close guess of the size? Found a few years ago in a field in Huron Co. Ohio.

Twig.

 

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[Bent-Twig]

Here is a case of some of my repaired ones.

Twig.

 

[Neogeo]

Mayhaps just a little smaller,but as a whole it looks very good to me...You have a knack for it ....Keep it up..

 

[mainer]

Cant help you on the size Bent-twig, but you did a heck of a job repairing the points in the frame.

 

[Th3rty7]

Excellent job on the restoration, that's an impressive frame. I think your base is probably half or 1/3 the size of the complete point. jmo...MAN what a heartbreaker!

 

[brandywine]

I agree with NeoGeo...you have a Knap for it.

 

[Hippy]

A good way to tell is feel how far the grinding is extending up the lateral sides. On most first stage St. Louis style clovis it should extend about 1/3 the length of the point. If you're piece has a ground base all the way up then you're probably still missing 2/3 of it or more. If the grinding stops measure it and calculate a total length. That should get you pretty close.

However, that being said, on some of the monster St. Louis style clovis points the bases weren't ground and they were never used. Dr. Tom Loebel, a paleo researcher, has found most of the large 5"+ St. Louis style clovis points are made of exotic materials for the area and rarely have ground bases. He believes they may have been ritual offerings because of the lack of use wear.

Hope this helps and not confuses.


Hippy

 

[joshuaream]

That paleo base and the Crowfield in the frame are spectacular pieces (the rest are pretty darn nice as well.) Congrats!

How long is it now? Ohio has produced a lot of fine 4 to 5 inch Clovis points but I don't think I've seen any over 6 inches.

 

[Bent-Twig]

That paleo base and the Crowfield in the frame are spectacular pieces (the rest are pretty darn nice as well.) Congrats!

How long is it now? Ohio has produced a lot of fine 4 to 5 inch Clovis points but I don't think I've seen any over 6 inches.

Joshua

The point right now w/my repair is at 5 1/4" . The actual base is 2". Which point in the case is a crowfield? I am not familiar with that type.

Twig.

 

[Bent-Twig]

A good way to tell is feel how far the grinding is extending up the lateral sides. On most first stage St. Louis style clovis it should extend about 1/3 the length of the point. If you're piece has a ground base all the way up then you're probably still missing 2/3 of it or more. If the grinding stops measure it and calculate a total length. That should get you pretty close.

However, that being said, on some of the monster St. Louis style clovis points the bases weren't ground and they were never used. Dr. Tom Loebel, a paleo researcher, has found most of the large 5"+ St. Louis style clovis points are made of exotic materials for the area and rarely have ground bases. He believes they may have been ritual offerings because of the lack of use wear.

Hope this helps and not confuses.


Hippy

Hippy,

O.K. , now this might seem strange. I checked the piece and it appears that the base is lightly ground. One edge is lightly ground the full length to the break. The other edge is not ground at all. Do you suppose that this was broken during the grinding and that is why the other side is not ground at all? I took a bunch of pictures and I am not sure that they will help at all , but I believe that the edges are clear enough for you to see that the one is ground and the other is not. Wonder what happened??

Twig.

 

[joshuaream]

Just based on other Clovis points I've seen from Indiana and Ohio, I'd say you close to the maximum probable size. It probably started out around there and would have been worked down as a knife, until perhaps getting small enough to be used as a dart.

The Crowfield is the fluted piece in the frame, it could be a clovis but looks Crowfield-ish to me. They are a rare point type and highly sought after even when broken.

I've seen grinding on one side before, might have been a hand-held knife during the early stages.

 

[Bent-Twig]

Joshua,

It does seem that someone had told me once that the point in the frame was a rare style but I cant remember what it was called. Might hace been that they called it a crowfield , I just cant remember. That thing has one heck of a flute running up off the tip.


Twig.

 

[wells]

good job on the repair, what is the whitish chert the basal section is made of? real nice!!

 

[Bent-Twig]

good job on the repair, what is the whitish chert the basal section is made of? real nice!!

I think it is Flint Ridge. But might be something else??


Twig.

 

[Tnmountains]

Your work and skill is amazing. Sounds like you are getting good advice. How do you paint? I have some woodland pottery I need to have restored?
Thanks for sharing a really cool project. You need to have thirty7 pencil draw it for you.
Later
Mtns

 

[creek astronaut]

Just based on other Clovis points I've seen from Indiana and Ohio, I'd say you close to the maximum probable size. It probably started out around there and would have been worked down as a knife, until perhaps getting small enough to be used as a dart.

The Crowfield is the fluted piece in the frame, it could be a clovis but looks Crowfield-ish to me. They are a rare point type and highly sought after even when broken.

I've seen grinding on one side before, might have been a hand-held knife during the early stages.

Werent clovis used with a dual function in mind regardless of size?I thought that was the efficiency of the clovis point,you could use it as a spear/dart point to kill and then use it as a knife to clean up your kill.I really like your work twig,i would think a little smaller but you have it close.I also think that it may be flint ridge chalcedony.The repair frame is pretty sweet.thx for the look.

 

[joshuaream]

Werent clovis used with a dual function in mind regardless of size?I thought that was the efficiency of the clovis point,you could use it as a spear/dart point to kill and then use it as a knife to clean up your kill.
[/quote]

I think all of them would have made great knives, but probably not all would have been dart points. It would take some serious muscle to sink a 5 inch point into a big ol' Sloth or Mastodon, and the chances of hitting bone or breakage would be greater.

 

[Bent-Twig]

Just based on other Clovis points I've seen from Indiana and Ohio, I'd say you close to the maximum probable size. It probably started out around there and would have been worked down as a knife, until perhaps getting small enough to be used as a dart.

The Crowfield is the fluted piece in the frame, it could be a clovis but looks Crowfield-ish to me. They are a rare point type and highly sought after even when broken.

I've seen grinding on one side before, might have been a hand-held knife during the early stages.

Werent clovis used with a dual function in mind regardless of size?I thought that was the efficiency of the clovis point,you could use it as a spear/dart point to kill and then use it as a knife to clean up your kill.I really like your work twig,i would think a little smaller but you have it close.I also think that it may be flint ridge chalcedony.The repair frame is pretty sweet.thx for the look.

CA,
Thank you!! I think you are right , I believe it is calcedony. There is a lot of hours in that repair frame. First walking to find them then hours in the chair to repair them. I think I will take the large clovis and scale it down some and then try my hand at it again.

Twig.

 

[Bent-Twig]

Your work and skill is amazing. Sounds like you are getting good advice. How do you paint? I have some woodland pottery I need to have restored?
Thanks for sharing a really cool project. You need to have thirty7 pencil draw it for you.
Later
Mtns

TNMNTNS

I use Studio 71 acrylic colors. I usually only use combinations of white,black,brown and red. Sometimes with the Ridge material ya need a little orange also. I just put a little of each color on a paper plate and start mixing them to get the shade I want.

Twig.

 

[TripleCreek]

Bent Twig

The grinding was done on the Clovis points as a way to keep the "binding" material from being cut by the sharp edge of the point. Before the point was "pitched and bound", it was dry fitted to the spear shaft. Where the sharp edges stuck out wider then the shaft, they were ground. When centering the point that you have, it appears that the left side sweeps in more then the right, this may have put that edge under the surface of the wood shaft when centering the point. Thus it would not need to be ground.
Picture sliding the point into the "slotted" spear shaft, centering it, and then rubbing an abrasive stone along the sides, where the stone sticks out to dull it or abraded it back to the surface of the shaft. This procedure make a custom fit. To grind it without "fitting" may produce a point that is narrower then the shaft and make a more sloppy fit. I do not believe that grinding would brake a point like that. More then likely that point was broken when the spear was thrown. If you look at the point carfully on the forth or fifth picture down, you can see on the left side of the flute, a small flake that follows the ridge of the flute. (on the left hand side) This is an "impact" fracture, it can only be made during or after the brake in the point. It is formed because as the point bends from "impact", the ridge on the compression side of the break, acts like a pressure flaking tool, and pops off that little flake. It can be done latter on purpose, but most likely this flake was as a result of the impact that broke the point. It appears to be an ancient brake.

3creeks