- 77
- 377 816
Pathways of the Past
Registrace 16. 02. 2013
This channel is dedicated to sharing the prehistoric art of flintknapping, traditional skills, and educating about our shared archaeological past. I upload flintknapping replications, videos documenting projects that I make, and videos documenting archaeological cultures and sites. I have been flintknapping since the Spring of 2010 and have earned both a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Anthropology with a focus on Archaeology. I am a field archaeologist doing cultural resource management (CRM) within the United States. Join with me as I explore archaeology, flintknapping, and ancient technology.
An Edge from Stone: Making a Stone Adze
Stone was the medium people used for thousands of years to fell trees and work wood. Adzes, woodworking tools with horizontal edges, were different from axes but just as important. In this video, using traditional techniques, I make a fully functional stone adze.
Music:
"Wild Dance" by Onyx Music, used under Artlist License 808614
Music:
"Wild Dance" by Onyx Music, used under Artlist License 808614
zhlédnutí: 3 049
Video
The First Polynesians on Rapa Nui grew South American Crops
zhlédnutí 11KPřed 3 měsíci
In this video I discuss the recent paper, "Identification of breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) and South American crops introduced during early settlement of Rapa Nui (Easter Island), as revealed through starch analysis" by Berenguer et. al 2024. In this study, the authors examine starches left on obsidian flake tools from one of Rapa Nui's earliest archaeological sites and make surprising discov...
The Kentucky Late Archaic Period: Flintknapping a Saratoga Point
zhlédnutí 642Před 7 měsíci
The Late Archaic (5,000-3,000 BP) is the last subdivision of the Archaic period in Kentucky Archaeology. Increased cultural complexity is known during this time period, with people obtaining exotic goods through long-distance exchange networks, the beginnings of horticulture, and even the first use of pottery. In this video, watch me replicate a Saratoga point, a style from this period, and dis...
Pathways of the Past Trailer 2024!!!
zhlédnutí 360Před 7 měsíci
Pathways of the Past is dedicated to teaching about the archaeological past, particularly through demonstrating how stone tool were made and used by people in the past. This video covers highlights from this past year, as well as teases footage from some of the project and videos I have for 2024!!! Music credit: Savanna by Milo Mwanza, used under Artlist license 808614
The Kentucky Middle Archaic Period: Flintknapping a Godar Projectile Point
zhlédnutí 881Před 9 měsíci
Beginning around 8,000 years ago many of the hunter-gatherer populations in Kentucky became less mobile, making use of wetland and riverine resources, using new types of tools, and burying their dead in midden cemeteries. These cultural changes are what archaeologists use to define the Middle Archaic period. During this time people were making side notched projectile points, which I replicate i...
The Kentucky Early Archaic Period: Flintknapping a Kirk Point
zhlédnutí 813Před 11 měsíci
We continue our journey through Kentucky's archaeological timeline with the Early Archaic period. It was during this time, starting ~10,000 years ago, that Kentucky's environment and ecology had transitioned from Pleistocene conditions to those like today. During this period, archaeologists see evidence for changes in stone tool technology, food procurement strategies, and more. The Kirk archae...
Making a Hafted Flint Hidescraper
zhlédnutí 759Před rokem
Hide scrapers would have been one of the most important tools in prehistoric toolkits, as tanning hides was necessary for many cultures to make clothing, containers, tent covers, and more. In this video I not only replicate a stone endscraper, like found in many archaeological assemblages, but also haft it to a wooden handle to demonstrate what the complete tool might have looked like.
Kentucky's Paleoindian Period: Flintknapping a Clovis Point
zhlédnutí 4,4KPřed rokem
We start our exploration of Kentucky's past in the Paleoindian period, the earliest period of human occupation in the state. The earliest archaeological culture in this area known to date is the Clovis culture. These ancestral Indigenous Americans mastered Kentucky's Ice Age landscape just before the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. They would have hunted both extinct and extant animals using s...
New Video Series Announcement! Kentucky Archaeology
zhlédnutí 361Před rokem
A look at what is coming to this channel! I will be doing a series focusing on the archaeology of the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky by making a replica of something from each of its subdivisions of prehistory. Thanks for being patient with me as uploads have been slow, I hope you enjoy this video series!
Flintknapping a Hollow Base Arrowhead and Bell Beaker in Denmark
zhlédnutí 977Před rokem
The Bell Beaker phenomenon is a unique cultural manifestation that occurred around the beginning of the Bronze Age in Western Europe. While metal artifacts do show up in Bell Beaker archaeological assemblages, flint tools were much more common for daily use. In this video, I flintknap a Hollow Base arrowhead replica from Bell Beaker age Denmark and discuss this archaeological phenomenon. All mu...
Collecting Newman Chert for Flintknapping
zhlédnutí 2,9KPřed rokem
In this video I collect Newman chert, aka Carter Cave chert, for flintknapping arrowheads, spearheads, and other stone tools. This high grade material originates from Newman Limestone Formation in Eastern Kentucky and was used for thousands of years by indigenous peoples to make stone tools. Join me on a short adventure in a creek while I collect this rock!
Flintknapping a Projectile Point from Monte Verde and the First Americans
zhlédnutí 1,5KPřed rokem
The Monte Verde site is one of the most important pre-Clovis archaeological sites in the Americas. Located in Chile, an extensive deposit of organic artifacts were preserved giving archaeologists an unparalleled glimpse into the lives of the Late Pleistocene people living here. Carbon dating at the site showed that people were in South America 14,500 years ago, well before the Clovis culture. I...
Flintknapping a Pre Clovis point from the Cooper's Ferry Site and the Earliest Americans
zhlédnutí 1,6KPřed rokem
Not much is known about the earliest Americans, but archaeologists are coming out with new research all the time. Recently, archaeologists working at the Coopers Ferry site in Oregon announced they had excavated a new portion of the site with well-dated deposits dating to 16,000 years ago, which included 14 stemmed projectile points. This predates other early North American sites by 2,000-3,000...
Making a Flint Knife from the Groswater Complex
zhlédnutí 2,3KPřed rokem
Making a Flint Knife from the Groswater Complex
Flintknapping an Oxbow point and Ice Patch Archaeology
zhlédnutí 1KPřed rokem
Flintknapping an Oxbow point and Ice Patch Archaeology
Flintknapping a Northern Side Notched Point and the Middle Holocene Period
zhlédnutí 2,3KPřed 2 lety
Flintknapping a Northern Side Notched Point and the Middle Holocene Period
Flintknapping a Quartz Microlith and the Oldest Evidence of the Bow and Arrow
zhlédnutí 1,6KPřed 2 lety
Flintknapping a Quartz Microlith and the Oldest Evidence of the Bow and Arrow
Flintknapping a Leaf Arrowhead and the Neolithic Period
zhlédnutí 1,6KPřed 2 lety
Flintknapping a Leaf Arrowhead and the Neolithic Period
Flintknapping a Channel Islands Barbed Point and the Paleoindian Period
zhlédnutí 3,4KPřed 2 lety
Flintknapping a Channel Islands Barbed Point and the Paleoindian Period
Flintknapping a Tanged Point and the Incipient Jomon period in Japan
zhlédnutí 2,2KPřed 2 lety
Flintknapping a Tanged Point and the Incipient Jomon period in Japan
Recreating a Groswater Complex Harpoon and Paleoarctic Life in Newfoundland and Labrador
zhlédnutí 4,2KPřed 2 lety
Recreating a Groswater Complex Harpoon and Paleoarctic Life in Newfoundland and Labrador
Flintknapping a Spined Early Archaic Point and an Ancient Female Hunter of the Andes
zhlédnutí 1,5KPřed 2 lety
Flintknapping a Spined Early Archaic Point and an Ancient Female Hunter of the Andes
Flintknapping Obsidian Tattooing Tools from the Solomon Islands
zhlédnutí 1,1KPřed 2 lety
Flintknapping Obsidian Tattooing Tools from the Solomon Islands
Flintknapping Still Bay Point from Blombos Cave, South Africa
zhlédnutí 2,1KPřed 2 lety
Flintknapping Still Bay Point from Blombos Cave, South Africa
Flintknapping one of Otzi the Iceman's Arrowheads and Life in the Late Neolithic
zhlédnutí 3,7KPřed 2 lety
Flintknapping one of Otzi the Iceman's Arrowheads and Life in the Late Neolithic
Flintknapping an Oxbow Knife and the Middle Archaic period
zhlédnutí 1,7KPřed 3 lety
Flintknapping an Oxbow Knife and the Middle Archaic period
Flintknapping a Clovis Point and the Paleoindian Period
zhlédnutí 9KPřed 3 lety
Flintknapping a Clovis Point and the Paleoindian Period
can you talk about side scrapers and their hafting?
would these be used for scraping and shaping wood as well?
Occasionally endscrapers like this have woodworking use-wear on them, so it isn’t unheard of. Though the perpendicular orientation of the scraper to the handle wouldn’t be the best for woodworking, I’d think.
would they haft flint scrapers like the one you use to shape the handle? what alternatives can someone use for that task?
While I don’t know of any examples of complete sidescrapers with the handles preserved (since it’s so rare), it’s not unusual to find similar tools with use-wear indicating they were hafted to a handle. Being hafted in the center of a long handle that could be grasped with two handed would probably work best. Alternatives to flint scrapers or to unhafted scrapers of any kind?
Solutrean culture heavily valued there tools by evidence of “sacrificial blade caches”. Some of the most beautifully thin lengthy points were found that were over 12 inches long! Producing blades that were thin, long, and masterfully pressure flaked is extremely difficult and arduous. I’ve tried many times and broke many but the challenge is master level for bifacial point reproduction.
Oh I forgot to add that the solutrean culture did a technique called “outre passé” which is French for over shot. The only other culture that did this technique was Clovis. At the first or second stage they would began doing over shot flakes across the whole core to rapidly thin down the piece then make a edge across the whole core it’s incredibly risky but reduces the amount of time in production most often found at quarries.
Awesome historical documentary well done!
Awesome, good job man the arrowhead and the information. Collector from Missouri.
great info.
your content deserves 100k views first week, but of course that's not the world we live in
Fascinating! You've inspired me to try making one myself!
Great job as always!
It’s amazing how effective that really is! Id love to see a comparison to a knapped guilford axe.
I got to see the prehistoric adze quarry on main island of American Samoa. It's in the headwaters of Vaipuna stream near village of Leone (leo-ngee). Also the bedrock grinding polishing bowls called "foaga" (foh-ahn-ah). The ones I saw were on the banks of stream beds of the villages of Amaluia, Asili and Afao at west end of Tutuiuila. Slippery Rock just south of Leone.. Also on the beach at Faga' (fah-ngah) on the north shore island of Ta'u (tah-ooo). The basalt rock at said quarry has been found in far away parts of Polynesia and is of very fine grain. If you visit AmSam go to the National Park Service visitors center in Pago Fagatogo (fah-ngah-koe-ngo) and a ranger can give you directions. I did a home stay for two months in village of Amaluia. Look up on Google Satellite maps or Google Earth of American Samoa islands to view these spots I mentioned (street view is also of these spots).
Very nicely done. How many hours do you think it took to grind the adze?
love it! finally some different styles of tools!
Very cool!! I’ve wanted to try my hand at ground stone tools. I haven’t knapped in well over a year after I lost my touch. Might be time to get back into it. The only complaint I have about your videos is that I wish you could make more.
Outstanding!
Barbourville
very similar to the square axes from neolithic europe , nice work !
I am guessing that there were some kind of rotary systems that turned large flat stones, and I believe these stones were made with a slightly more sophisticated technology... but I can't prove it. I could only assume that someone clever enough to Knap stones, would also realize the basic physics of a makeshift flywheel. There have been large stone wheels found at some sites and some claim that they were animal driven grain grinding stones. I would just like to think that there is a more timely method! Great show man!
I think there would be more evidence of large rotary stones used to grind stone axes if that were the case. Worldwide, we see more evidence lateral grinding, evidenced by large stones with grooves/trenches from grinding axes. There’s a compelling argument that in some places, people used “sledges” to grind their axes, basically to weigh the axe heavily against the grinding surface and provide handles. Let me see if I can find a link to show you.
czcams.com/video/7oma6hIBrrQ/video.htmlsi=YShbziTC3ia5VWyw
Great video. Little tip from experience here, but if you go to your local creek and get sand to use as a grit while grinding it makes the whole process go twice as fast even if your grinding on sandstone. I found that out and will always do it that way from now on. When ready to polish you can just wash the sand off your sanding block or get a smooth stone and polish the edge without sand which i have found to work the best.👍🏻
I used crushed sandstone to produce sand combined with flint dust for grinding this adze blade.
@@pathwaysofthepast I bet that works even better
Excellent video and great information
Nice!!!
can you do a couple videos/series on eastern woodlands style toolkits?
I’ve been doing a series on Kentucky points/archaeology, but I assume you mean an entire set of tools for a particular time/archaeological culture? That would be cool
@@pathwaysofthepast Yeahi love you qork on Kentucky points but yeah i meant more along the lines of the toolset used be the southeastern Dalton cultures
Thank you for explaining and showing the techniques. I always enjoy your videos.
Beautiful adze. The stone blade you made is just like the ones I used to find along the Scioto River in Ohio. Thank for showing start to finish!
Good video,... now where will we find you in the ice? Did you also make his Knife sheath, Bow and Arrows, Quiver, Shoes, Clothes, Back Pack?
I find solutrean style points in pa made from aluminum oxide aka corundum any chance you have ever worked with this material and tried to make a point? I have a lot of rough corundum if you would ever like to try let me know id sacrifice a piece lol.. I know it's controversial but I believe I have found evidence that the solutrean made it to the east coast of North America.. the corundum is so hard they were using a lot of abrasion and heating techniques to shape it ...many saws and drills..my theory is this material is to difficult to flake but they made great points and they seemed to have used abrasion to creat the shape or preform then went in heated the edges and pressure flaked..?? They were also making effigy stones and beads and pendants I've located several quarry sites in s.e PA check my channel out for more info ...Awesome Work!!👍
I can appreciate the work with the primitive tools. .
Great explanation!
I love your explanations! I have read so much about the topic but I am always hungry for more.
Thank you! There’s so much to talk about with Clovis and Paleoindian archaeology, I could make videos constantly on the topic.
You are ignoring the theory outlawed by mainstream archaeology that South American peoples first colonised the eastern Pacific, then Polynesian arrived and usurped them, wiping out most but not all of the people with South American genetics. However more evidence is coming out to support this theory. Because Thor Heyerdahl advanced this theory, who was a citizen anthropologist, academics hate on it due to jealousy of a non-academic interfering in their sphere.
doesn't make sense. polynesians were navigating the open ocean in that part of the world at that time.
@@eeeaten polynesian have only been in the pacific 2200 yrs go figure.
@@eeeaten even the haida acknowledged this
@@darrelhenley-mc9dw sorry, i mis-spoke above, or perhaps even commented on the wrong video. i agree with you. if polynesians reached the americas (they probably did) it was around 1200AD. there is no polynesian genetic influence in the americas. the op is total bananas.
I live in Denmark and are fasinated by those points. Make a lot of them myself.
I doubt you have ever been there
No, I have in fact, never been to Easter Island
very interesting
People on Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia told me that there was another Civilization on the island Before They Settled There . European Historians Hate This Local Knowledge , and are Teaching the Young Islanders , The European Version of History !
THE WHITE CAVE MAN WAS IN HIS CAVE EATING HIS KIDS
european historians would love that knowledge, it would be very interesting. there's no evidence to support it.
@@eeeaten clown 🤡 🤣 😂
@@darrelhenley-mc9dw maybe you can articulate a point next time?
@eeeaten like u nono no no no no Why would u bring up the olmec that's nots peru caral chile you just showing how ignorant u are why do you find another hobby instead of the no no no one have
I enjoyed this content and you have a nice narrative voice.
Thank you for an informative video. One basic theme to history is: people got around!
I wish I had about 500 lbs of that obsidian that you’re knapping! I have no such quality stone available to me!
Isn’t it possible that the south-American plants’ seeds travelled by sea, on their own? Or who knows, by air, through marine birds?
The Northern Pacific current would carry a boat all the way from Hawaii straight to Central America and down the coast, and then back around to New Zealand, so it's almost certain that they travel to by boat.
Multiple return voyages. Where to and from do you think? Thanks for the video 🥝🇳🇿
They followed the currents around the South Pacific, the northernmost of which e goes straight to Central America from Hawaii, down the coast of South America, then back across to New Zealand.
@@slappy8941 no.
Great information we'll presented. You sir are a scholar
wery good! interesting!
The plot thickens. People want the story to be simple, but we are complicated. Maybe some went direct to Sth. Am. Some called in at Rapa Nui. Some came back West bypassing Rapa Nui. Some returned via there. Four different possibilities and any or all of them could have happened.
Or South Americans sailed there?.
@ikengaspirit3063 despite Thor Heyerdahl’s famous experiment, the plausibility of that is small based on archaeological, genetic, and cultural evidence. Considering the sailing prowess of Polynesian people, sailing to South America is the plausible scenario.
@@pathwaysofthepast I'm just saying man, local fishermen from south america easily get washed to Rapa nui and Marquesas Islands, so the sailing from south america to those islands is favoured by the winds and currents and the earliest range of the calculate time that Ameridian DNA got to the Marquesas islands could put it earlier than polynesians, on some of the islands.
@@ikengaspirit3063 WHAT ALOT OF BULLSHIT, YOU HAVE TO NO WHERE THE ISLANDS ARE THE SEA IS SO BIG,POLYNESIAN NEW EXACTLY WHERE, THEY WERE SAIL THE SEA FOR THOSAND OF YEARS.I NO I AM MAORI AND MY PAPA SHOW ME HOW THEY SAIL TO AOTEAROA.THEY FOLLOW THE SPERM WHALES BUT THE WHITE MAN KILL MOST OF THEM,YOU TO BE MILLIONS OF THEM.I AM 70 YRS OLD NOW.
Polynesian are not the first people the oral tradition states that clearly
polynesians were the first people in easter island, hawaii, tahiti, new zealand.
This is really interesting. I heard cassava/yuca/manioc came from Africa with the slave trade to the Americas. It seems like that can't be correct.
its not cassava originated in south america and spread to africa with colombian exchange.
highly appreciated......history of the technique while watching it in practice!
I've ALWAYS wanted to learn flint working. I even named my daughter Ayla after the main character in the The Clan of the Cave Bear novels. What a beautiful, relaxing location to work the flint. I'm sure the type of location for this type of work goes back 10s of millennia for drinking, cleaning the tools or maybe finding material that has washed down stream from other deposits. I'm glad I found you on Instagram to come here for videos.
Nice, putting it on after the coffee brews. Just gonna slap that like button before I forget later lol
Yes. They left their giant, stone faces in Southern Mexico. They also left the Polynesian rat, the Polynesian chicken, various tools, and concepts.
Polynesian wayfarers are not the Olmecs, people with their history and technology could not create or rival that of the Mexican ancestors
@@moist_onionsThe current would carry them straight from Hawaii to Central America, so it's highly likely that they visited there. The Olmecs probably made some of the heads in their honor.
@@slappy8941 no.
no, there is no evidence of polynesians in the americas. no polynesian rat, no polynesian chicken, no tools. the olmec heads were carved long before polynesians reached the americas.
@@j.b.4340 do know how Maui is described by honest polynesians
I was hoping you'd drop some dialogue onto a class. I think it would be great to see you on a Rogan or Rinella podcast. Keep up the timeless work.