Pressure flaking an obsidian knife or arrowhead
I have been interested in arrowheads since I was a small boy. In over 60 years I have learned to duplicate many of these beautiful artifacts. I have been aided in this endeavor by some very talented flintknappers and by one unique individual by the name of Ishi. He was the lone survivor of the California Yahi indian tribe at the turn of the century. His remarkable story is a treasure of knowledge and expanded our understanding of indian toolmaking probably more than any other person in history. The tool used to chip (pressure flake) an arrowhead is called an "Ishi Tool" in tribute to this remarkable person.
Ishi's history: When gold was discovered in California the influx of gold miners, ranchers, developers, etc. invaded the native americans traditional hunting grounds. The Yana tribes of indians were decimated by disease and slaughter. Almost all of the Southern, Northern and Central tribes were destroyed. Only one group continued to resist. The Yahi people who lived in the hills above Sacramento. Ishi was the last surviving member of this warlike tribe. His entire life his people were fighting, raiding and finally hiding from the white people. As a boy Ishi saw devastating attacks by indian hunters on his tribe. His people continued raiding but then had to go into hiding to survive. In 1909 at approximately 47 years of age, he was the sole survivor of his people. In a coming blog I will share more details of Ishi's life, his capture and life in the museum of California in San Francisco. During the time he was living in the museum Ishi shared his vast knowledge of the Yahi people. We learned from him how native americans made their bows and arrows, lodges, chipped their stone tools and arrowheads, fished the rivers and their day to day methods of survival. Modern flintknappers and survival experts are still using these techniques today.
For 50 years, I have been teaching friends and boy scouts Ishi's pressure flaking method of chipping arrowheads, obsidian knives, and spear points. You can see examples of this work by going to my website:
https://rcobsidianknives.com
Most of my history of Ishi comes from the book "ISHI In two worlds" by Theodora Kroeger. The author was the wife of the antropologist that became Ishi's best friend while he lived in the museum in San Francisco. It is an amazing account of Ishi, his people and the neighboring tribes of Yana indians. I highly recommend it for anyone wishing to learn more about this amazing man.
