What exactly is flint and where does it come from? Anyone who has found or seen an Indian arrowhead has wondered this. If you want to be scientific about it, then flint is a type of rock that is chemically composed of silicon dioxide. All right, for us non-scientists, here is a more understandable definition. Flint, used by stone-age people like American Indians to make stone knives, tools and weapons, is any form of stone that is comprised primarily of silica which has a property called conchoidal fracture. WHAT? O.K., this just means that it fractures in a rather uniform, predictable way. That’s important when you are trying to make precise forms out of solid rock, such as knife blades, arrowheads and spearpoints.
The term “flint” can be used as a generalization to include many similar but geologically unique, materials. Flint, chert, jasper and agate are a few that were used by stone-age people (as well as by flintknappers of today) that have those essential characteristics of conchoidal fracture and high silica content. To the people of thousands of years ago these were GOOD rocks. Another good rock was obsidian – volcanic glass. Though it is not actually flint, it is the sharpest substance known to science. It was also widely used by primitive people. Doesn’t sound so primitive, does it?
Where is flint found? … not everywhere. Prehistoric people traveled considerable distances to obtain this valuable material. More often they traded it as a commodity, sometimes for hundreds of miles. It was a prehistoric industry you might say and an important part of their economy. Quarrying flint is usually a backbreaking and sometimes dangerous endeavor. Working in pits in the ground to extract rocks is somewhat less than safe. You see, quite often flint is found in limestone beds, and not always right on the surface. It required digging, hammering and gut-busting labor to free the roundish nodules or sometime layers of bedded flint. Then a process called spalling commenced to cull out the bad stuff and discard it. It wasn’t all usable, high quality flint. Quality was important for successful trade and for successful flint knapping
Flint wasn’t available at the local hardware store or area Wal-Mart (imagine that), and where it was for trade, it probably never went on sale. So how does this flint stuff affect you? It probably doesn’t, now – but you can be sure that it once did! You see, no matter where on the earth your ancestors came from, at one time they depended on flint as much as you and I depend on metals to sustain us in our daily lives today. Just something to think about next time you look at a rock.