Description

This book is a product of more than 25 years of research on the various raw materials in the Ozarks that prehistoric Native Americans used to make chipped-stone tools. The purpose of the book is to provide a reference source or guide to the bewildering array of chipped-stone (knappable) resources available in the Ozarks.

The book is divided into two parts. Part I consists of four chapters that provide a background to the discussion of chipped-stone resources in the Ozarks. The introductory chapter includes a historical sketch of chert research in the Ozarks, terminology related to various types of lithic resources, methods used to procure and organize collected field samples, and a discussion of modern flintknapping and potential negative consequences of this ever-growing hobby/industry. Chapter 2 is an overview of the complex physiography and geology of the Ozarks province. Chapter 3 discusses several aspects of the availability, procurement, and utilization of chert resources. The final chapter of Part I discusses several analytical methods that have been used to identify various sources and types of raw materials.

Part II is the core of the book. It details the more than 60 types of chipped-stone raw materials that are found in the Ozarks. The descriptions of local Ozarks resources are divided into six chapters arranged chronologically by geological era and period. The discussion of each resource type consists of sections on geological context, various physical attributes, the effects of heat treatment, resource distribution, and prehistoric utilization. A chapter on raw materials that occur in areas surrounding the Ozarks is also presented. The final chapter in Part II is a discussion of changing patterns of prehistoric use and heat treatment of Ozarks resources through time.

Part II is followed by three appendices, including one with 28 color illustrations of the major types and varieties of cherts and other lithic resources that were used in prehistoric times. Another appendix is a glossary, containing definitions of geological and archaeological terms used in the book.

This book is intended for professional archaeologists, avocational archaeologists, geologists, and other researchers and laypersons who may be interested in studying cherts and other chipped-stone resources in the Ozarks.