SMITITSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 



VOL. 94 



concavity and the length of the " cars." There is nothing to show 

 whether the work was entirely that of a single individual or whether 

 two were needed. It is quite possible that one held the point with the 

 punch firmly seated at the proper spot on the nubbin while another 

 gave a quick, sharp tap on the flaking implement with a hammerstone. 

 This unquestionably would require skill on the part of both but prob- 

 ably would not be as difficult a task as though one person tried to do it 

 alone. Present day experts in stone chipping may be able, through 

 experimentation, to solve the problem of which would be the more 

 efficient method. In a majority of cases a single, long flake was 

 removed at a single blow. Occasionally the first attempt was not satis- 



n 



a 



Fig. 3.- 



-Stages in the removal of the channel flakes and three forms of base on 

 Folsom points. 



factory and a second try was made. Major Coffin has two flakes in his 

 collection which show this clearly. The first one was rather short 

 and very thin, the second thicker and much longer. The first fits per- 

 fectly into the groove in the second. 



After the fluting was accomplished, the edges and base of the point 

 were refined by secondary chipping. This is evidenced by the fact that 

 those broken in the grooving process, and consequently not completed, 

 do not have the retouch. Occasional specimens show an additional 

 treatment in that the base and the edges for about one-third of the 

 length of the blade were smoothed. Whether this was intentional or 

 accidental is not known. This smoothness may have resulted from the 

 hafting of the stone in a wooden or bone handle, or, as one writer has 

 suggested, it may be due to a deliberate dulling of the edges to pre- 



