Overview of Book Contents

This book is a product of more than 25 years of research on the various cherts (or flints) and other materials in the Ozarks that prehistoric Native Americans used to make chipped-stone tools. The purpose of the book is to provide a reference source or guide to the bewildering array of chert resources available in the Ozarks, which includes parts of five states (southern Missouri, northern Arkansas, northeast Oklahoma, extreme southeast Kansas, and southwest Illinois).

The book is divided into two parts. Part I consists of four chapters that provide a background to the discussion of chert resources in the Ozarks. The introductory chapter includes a historical sketch of chert research in the Ozarks, terminology related to various types of lithic resources, methods used to procure and organize collected field samples, and a discussion of modern flintknapping and potential negative consequences of this ever-growing hobby/industry. Chapter 2 is an overview of the complex physiography and geology of the Ozarks province. Chapter 3 discusses several aspects of the availability, procurement, and utilization of chert resources. The final chapter of Part I discusses several analytical methods that have been used to identify various sources and types of raw materials.

Part II is the core of the book. It details the more than 60 types of chipped-stone raw materials that are found in the Ozarks. The descriptions of local Ozarks resources are divided into six chapters arranged chronologically by geological era and period. The discussion of each resource type consists of sections on geological context, various physical attributes, the effects of heat treatment, resource distribution, and prehistoric utilization. A chapter on raw materials that occur in areas surrounding the Ozarks is also presented. The final chapter in Part II is a discussion of changing patterns of prehistoric use and heat treatment of Ozarks resources through time.

Part II is followed by three appendices, including one with 28 color illustrations of the major types and varieties of cherts and other lithic resources that were used in prehistoric times. Another appendix is a glossary, containing definitions of geological and archaeological terms used in the book.

Target Audience

This book should appeal to flintknappers, professional archaeologists, avocational archaeologists, geologists, and other researchers and laypeople who may be interested in studying various types of chert, quartzite, rhyolite, and other chipped-stone resources that are present in the Ozarks region.

 

 

How to Purchase the Book

Purchase Price: $45

For shipping orders, please include $4 shipping and handling with payment (Total price with shipping: $49)

 

Please mail payment to:

Jack H. Ray

3321 S. Barrington Ave.l

Springfield, Missouri    65807

 

For more information, please contact Jack Ray at 417-836-4888 (day), 417-889-2554 (evenings) or email: jackray@missouristate.edu

The only comprehensive guide to the identification, distribution, and prehistoric use of Ozarks cherts & other lithic resources

Raw Materials: A total of 65 raw material types are described, including 47 cherts, 6 quartzites, three chert breccias, two ironstones, and one type each of rhyolite, silexite, basalt, hematite, argillite, siltstone, and sandstone.  

Color Photographs: To aid the identification of resource types, Appendix 2 contains 28 full-color photographs of 40 raw material types that were commonly used by prehistoric knappers from Paleoindian to Protohistoric times.

Heat Treatment: The effects of heat treatment on each raw material type is described as well as how to identify heat-treated artifacts and when the technique of heat treatment first appeared in the Ozarks.

Distribution: The distribution of each raw material type is described and maps are presented that detail where each resource is found by county. 

Prehistoric Use: The prehistoric exploitation of each raw material type is presented as it is currently known from the Paleoindian period to the Protohistoric period. 

Extralocal Resources: In addition to raw material types available in the Ozarks, lithic resources in areas that border the Ozarks are also briefly discussed as are two exotic resources (obsidian and Edwards chert) occasionally found as artifacts in the Ozarks.

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