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JOHN ALEXANDER'S
FORKED LIMB FLUTING
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COPYRIGHT NOVEMBER 30, 2005 PETER A. BOSTROM

JOHN ALEXANDER ("SWOOSE") FLUTING WITH FORKED LIMB

abstract
JOHN ALEXANDER'S ("SWOOSE")
FORKED LIMB FLUTING

    This article illustrates and describes just one of many different ways modern and prehistoric flintknappers have fluted their points.  This process is most interesting because it presents a very simple &  seemingly reliable technique for detaching long channel flute flakes. The method has been developed and demonstrated by John Alexander, who goes by the nickname "Swoose," at two or three knap-ins over the last couple of years. The process involves a combination of levered pressure against a prepared platform and a slight percussion strike against the flat surface of the biface near the platform. Striking the surface, which is already under pressure, initiates the fracturing process.  Bob Patten (2005) refers to "Swoose's" method of fluting as "axial compression." This technique produces long flutes that relate to Barnes and Cumberland points.

    "An invention is something new and useful. The word applies to the apparatus of human activities and to the processes involved."---1912, Fredrick Webb Hodge, Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, Part 1.
    
"One might achieve a flute-like flake by accident, but only by carefully crafting a process can such flakes be made routinely"---2005, Bob Patten, Peoples of the Flute, A Study in Anthropolithic Forensics, p.137.


 

JOHN ALEXANDER'S
FORKED LIMB FLUTING

    John Alexander, everyone calls him "Swoose," has been flintknapping, off and on, for many decades and he's experimented with several different flake removal techniques. But his fluting process with the use of a forked limb and antler billet has caused the most interest. He has demonstrated this technique at two or three knap-ins over the last couple of years. This technique was first described in Bob Patten's book "Peoples of the Flute, A Study in Anthropolithic Forensics," (2005, pp. 245-246). Bob uses the term "axial compression" to describe "Swooses's" method of fluting.


JOHN ALEXANDER ("SWOOSE")

FLUTING A POINT

     This picture shows "Swoose" in the process of fluting a point using his forked limb lever method. The wood he is using is mesquite but other types of wood should also work. On one end of the fork he has lashed a piece of deer antler which presses against the platform on the base of the preform. The antler also has some shallow grooves cut into the surface to help hold the preform steady. The other end of the point is pressing against the wood. "Swoose" says he estimates between 200 and 300 pounds of pressure is needed before he lightly tapes the flat side of the point near the platform to detach the flake. The flake usually flies away leaving the preform still in position. Covering the preform with a small piece of cloth or clear plastic before striking will prevent the flakes from becoming air born. "Swoose" has fluted seven and eight preforms in a row without any difficulty.

  "Swoose" lives in a small west Texas town called McCamey where he's called home for 86 years. He has many other talents other than flintknapping. The local community is proud of his athletic accomplishments. In various Senior Texas and World track and field events he's held 9 age group world records and received over 400 gold medals. In 2000 John Alexander was inducted into the Texas Senior Games Hall of Fame.


CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGE IMAGE
FLUTED PREFORMS
FLUTED WITH FORKED LIMB BY "SWOOSE" 

     These four preforms were fluted using "Swoose's" forked limb method. The preforms were made by the flake-over-grinding technique and no attempt was made to flute the other sides. These were made only to demonstrate the forked limb fluting device. Remnant platforms can be seem on the bases. The longest example on the right measures 3 1/4 inches (8.2 cm) long.

   When asked how he came up with the idea of fluting in this peculiar way, "Swoose" says he was exposed to the basic concept when he was stationed in New Guinea during World War II. New Guinea was and still is one of the best locations in the world to observe primitive technology. He was assigned to the 912 signal company and was on active duty from 1942-1945. Before the war, "Swoose" was a ham radio operator. He began with his crystal set in 1933. His knowledge of electronics guided his time in the military towards radar, specializing in repair and installation. In New Guinea he says when the local natives needed power to do something, they used levers. His experimenting with pressure using a lever has produced a simple forked limb method of removing a long Cumberland style channel flake.


FLUTED PREFORM
FLUTED BY LEVERING A HOE HANDLE AGAINST A TREE TRUNK
BY JOHN ALEXANDER ("SWOOSE")

    The long channel flake on this preform was removed by applying pressure against the platform with a garden hoe handle on one end and the point against a small tree trunk at the other end. The lower end of the hoe handle was on the ground. A slight percussion strike near the platform initiated the release of the flake. Flintknapper and primitive technology instructor Bob Withrow suggested that this same procedure could have been accomplished with the use of a spear shaft pressing against a tree or piece of wood. In-other-words the primitive tool kit needed to make Barnes or Cumberland flutes using pressure may not have needed any additional tools other than what was already at hand.

    Swoose says there are not very many trees in west Texas around  McCamey, so he's had trouble finding usable tree limbs. The forked and crooked limb illustrated in this article was taken from a mesquite tree or shrub. He says it's not fancy but it has successfully fluted many points.

CONTINUE ON TO PAGE TWO

"REFERENCES"

1912, Hodge, Fredrick Webb, "Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico," Part 1, pp. 611-612.
2005, Patten, Bob, "Peoples of the Flute, A Study in Anthropolithic Forensics," pp. 137, 245-246.
Personal communications with John Alexander "Swoose," (flintknapper).
Personal communications with Bob Patten, (flintknapper & author).
Personal communications with Mike Dothager, (flintknapper).
Personal communications with Bob Withrow, (flintknapper & primitive technology instructor).

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