Talk:Flint (tool)
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[edit] Flint & Chert Deposits in the Midwestern U.S. (State-by-state)
Ohio- 19 varieties, Indiana- 11, Kentucky- 8, Illinois- 6, Michigan- 3, West Virginia- 2, Tennessee- 2, New York- 2, Pennsylvania- 37, Wisconsin- 3, North Dakota- 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flint & Chert Deposits in Southern Ontario, Canada- 12
All of the above were mined and knapped by prehistoric cultures to make projectile points, scrapers, bladelets, etc. In the northern latitudes where no native flint could be excavated, they used glacial cobble. Sometimes raw flint was put through a heat-treating process to harden it. This darkens its color as well. Another material found in the western states used for the same purpose is obsidian. It is not flint however, it is an igneous rock that fractures to a cutting edge of one molecule in thickness.
Bibliography: Prehistoric Cherts of the Midwest (DeRegnaucort & Georgiady, 1998); Cherts of Southern Ontario (Eley & vonBitter, 1989) Musicwriter 16:00, 5 October 2005 (UTC)
