How to Make Rock Arrowheads
Arrowheads are often found in areas that were once inhabited by tribes of Indians. These primitive weapons, made from stone, were used for defense and obtaining food. Although there isn't much need to use arrowheads for protection or food-gathering today, creating them can be a rewarding project.
Instructions
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Gather rocks for your project. Typically, stones such as obsidian, flint, chert and jasper work very well for creating arrowheads.
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Examine your rocks thoroughly to ensure that they are free of cracks, holes and any other damage. If they are damaged, the arrowhead may break when you're creating it.
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3
Choose a picture of an arrowhead that you'd like to recreate (see Resources). This will make it easier to work on your arrowheads.
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Choose the stone that you will create your arrowhead from. If the stone is a large, round stone, you will need to break it in half to have flat edges to work with. Hitting it squarely in the center should do the trick. If your stone has flat edges, you are ready to get to work.
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Using your hammer, large rock or other tool, strike the rock on the sides to carefully remove smaller pieces of the rock. This process is called percussion flaking. You may also choose to use hit a smaller tool against the rock with the hammer. This allows you to have control as you shape the arrowhead.
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Continue to remove smaller slivers of the rock to create the desired shape of the arrowhead. Once you have created the rough shape you're after, you can sand the arrowhead to make it sharper and neater.
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Tips & Warnings
Use even smaller but forceful strikes to take tinier shards of rock off of the arrowhead. This allows you to finish the shape of the arrowhead.
Resources
- Photo Credit Photo courtesy of www.MamasMinerals.com
