Elfshot: Alaska Archaeology Month

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Alaska Archaeology Month - Shaft Smoother

A pair of sandstone abraders

I'm working on a few shaft smoothers for Alaska Archaeology Month. These are sandstone abraders, that were likely used to sand arrow or dart shafts smooth. Based on analogies with such abraders that have been found elsewhere in North America, we are assuming that they were used in pairs. I'm working the abraders into shape and trying to antique them as I go along. At the moment, these preforms have the approximate shape roughed out, but I'm continuing to modify and antique them to match the reference artifacts.

The cut blocks in the ledger stone make ideal
blanks for sandstone abrader

So far, the biggest triumph has been finding a good source of sandstone. I know of roadcuts and quarries around St. John's where I can collect red or reddish purple sandstone, but I wanted something more neutral or buff coloured for these pieces. I wound up buying sheets of sandstone wall facade at Home Depot. In the past, I've had bad luck trying to use this sort of building material as a source of raw material. I have a box of very poor quality quartzite ledger stone that I picked up at one point hoping that I could knap it. It didn't work. However, this particular stone worked perfectly, it is a tough, gritty sandstone that is perfect for this particular project.

Each section of ledge stone has at least a 1/2 dozen good shaft smoother blanks in it. I intend to use the remaining sandstone as abrading stone for other projects. Later in May, I'll see how it works for grinding slate ulus.