Some of my bird points.
Bone tools
Made some tools from deer bone. Pictured are some ulna bone awls which are also great for flint knapping, they make really fine serrations and notches. Also some regular awls and bone needles and a fish hook made from a deer toe bone. I polished and sanded them using the scouring rush also called horse tail reed.
Prehistoric Fossils October 26, 2012
I have been collecting fossils for some time now, to hold something in my hand that has been preserved in stone for millions of years is simply amazing. For those of you that don’t know, the word fossil means “dug out of the ground.” Here are some that I have purchased over the years.
This is a tooth from an Equus or Prehistoric Horse- Pleistocene – Recent
This is a tooth from a Prehistoric Bison. Pliocene – Recent
Tooth from Three-Toed Horse (Nannippus peninsulatus) Pliocene Era
Tooth from Prehistoric Ground Sloth (Megalonyx) Pleistocene Era.
Fossil Crinoid stems (Sea Lillies) and Gastropod shells from ancient sea snails.
Trilobite fossils (Species Phacops) and Ammonite fossils from England.
Fossil ferns (Pennsylvanian Era) and Polished Echinoids (sea urchins) from Morocco.
My Favorite Stone Age Documentaries May 2, 2012
I always enjoy watching a good documentary. Here are a few of my favorites that I have watched over the years. If you have a chance check them out.
BBC Video- Walking With Cavemen.
History Channel- Clash of the Cavemen
History Channel- Journey To 10,000 B.C. The Real Story of Prehistoric Man’s Fight For Survival
Nova- America’s Stone Age Explorers Where did the first Americans come from?
Discovery Channel- Ice Age Columbus Who were the first Americans?
Discovery Channel- Iceman Hunt For A Killer (About Otzi the Iceman)
Discovery Channel- L.A. 10,000 B.C. (About Los Angeles during the Ice Age.)
Also check Netflix if you have it, a lot of great films on Prehistoric animals. Cave of Dreams is also a good one to watch.
Take Care.
Using the hand drill March 29, 2012
These pics are from last year. Made a coal using California buckeye hearth board and spindle. Probably took about 30 seconds to form a coal with this fire drill combination.
Bone tools
I made a few bone tools about a year ago using elk bone and pieces of cow rib bone. Pictured are small bone ornaments, needles, awls and a harpoon point with dogbane cordage.
Grinding and Pounding Stones March 8, 2012
I took a break from flintknapping and finished up on some ground stone artifacts. The flat stone with the three small depressions is called a nutting stone, Native Americans used these for cracking acorns, hickories and other types of nuts. There is also a sandstone mortar which is useful in grinding charcoal and stones for pigments. It is still a little shallow, I want to peck and grind it a little deeper I think. The small grayish stone dish will be used as a paint pallete. I made the paint brush using a piece of cat-tail stalk with a little yucca fiber and pine pitch to glue the fibers in place.
Fire by Friction March 1, 2012
Fire was one of the most important discoveries ever made by primitive man. Making fire with friction employs the basic principles of generating heat by turning the spindle to create friction so the wood slowly begins to burn forming an ember.
It took me about 4 to 6 weeks of daily practice before I was able to get a coal using cat-tail on a yucca hearth board and another week to make one using cat-tail on a poplar hearth. But nothing is more gratifying than making fire with two sticks.
Spindles and hearth boards
Poem February 27, 2012
Read this poem in a book and thought I would share it.
As man today
I greet you, Ancient Brother Man
And point with gratitude
To these artifacts you made in eons past.
The signature of man’s slow rise
Is on each tool, each point, each axe
And we can sense the human impact still.
Who smoked this pipe? Who played this flute?
Who used this hoe? Who threw this spear?
And was it made for enemy – or deer?
As Man today
I kneel upon an mountain circled flat
To feel the ancient ashes yield, and see
A kinship gift which you have left for me.
I grasp within my hand a perfect tool
So long ago chipped carefully from stone,
And now but for the timing of our fates
It might have been my own.
I touch with care its edges keen and fine,
Where once you placed your thumb
There now is mine.
-NORA NULL BUNNEY
Stone Mortar Project February 25, 2012
Hi, I’ve recently picked up some nice stones at some of the beaches here in California and thought I would make a sandstone mortar using the grinding and pecking method. Takes a lot of time and patience, but it is a really fun project. The Native Americans often used these to grind acorns, nuts and also paint pigments. I will be posting the finished mortar in a few weeks I hope. 
stoneagepaths 