In this video, I make a close replica of Otzi the Iceman's flint knife. Otzi is a Copper Age glacier mummy and a very important archaeological find due to his body preservation and the organic artifacts found with him.
In 2018 I was in the region of the Otzal and visited the Otzi museum in Bolzano. Now I wish I had tried to score a piece of that grey flint to play with.
I have seriously got to make my own today. I once found a translucent knife blade In my yard that looked identical to Otzi knife. We live on top of a prehistoric site in Louisiana. Each time we plow a garden or if natural erosion occurs. Artifacts literally spring up from out of the earth lol. Just in my yard alone I have found hundreds of projectile points, scraper knives and broken pottery.
Face Book has a page to post your points you should post some pictures people would love to see. You can share your post here with a link that would take you their.
Time for a professional excavation before all is destroyed? Fantastic to have that on your property, shocking it was never investigated before building. Please contact a local historian. Good luck anyway.
Seriously, get that looked at by experts. There is a dearth of knowledge about north american pre-european history. That is starting to change; but all the info that could be gleaned is good.
I salute you young man (I'm old enough to say that). From your skills, information& use of natural materials you've made a great educational video for "up & comers" to the arts of flintknapping&reproducing tools of the ancients who came before us. I love seeing competent younger guys or gals carry on such old skills.
Impressive flint knapping skills! I tried it once at a living history presentation, and it's really difficult to do well. Otzi is fascinating and your presentation was very well done. Cheers!
Great job on your video. It is cool to watch someone recreate the same knife Otzi carried with him. I can see how important a tool like this would have been to his survival. Thanks for sharing your skills and expertise with us all.
We have heaps of Flint in our area colors range from black to almost white, the Aboriginals used it for making their tools, heaps of middens filled with flint knappings around the cliffs. But a lot have eroded from rain and ocean winds/waves. Nice work, lots of hours needed to learn the craft i presume.
Pathways of the Past: my friend, do you have a new subscriber. I have often heard about flint knapping, and even seen videos with a few moments of somebody actually performing that craft. But this is the first time I’ve ever understood the pressure tool. I can hardly wait till the day I can give this a shot!
Respect for that reconstruction. Looks really authentic. I was there a few Years ago. At the Ötzi museum in Bolzano / Italy. That was very interesting about the times he lived and the things (tools, weapons, cloths) he carried. And of course it was an awesome feeling seeing him live through the glass.
You mean seeing the exact copy of him live and all the copies of his belongings as well. All the real items and his body are in temperature controlled storage. I watched a whole mini documentary of how they 3 D printed his body and then painstakingly painted it to match the original. Amazing.
@@brutus4013 I've seen a copy of him that shows how he (probably) looked when he was alive and also copies of his body. Many of his belongings where displayed, few originals and many copies and reconstructions. But I've also seen him real! He lied in a frozen chamber which had a small window (about the size of a postcard) to watch in. Could see him in dim light.
Thank you so much. You made this very interesting and showed great skill in your making the reproduction as well as your story telling and film making. I thoroughly enjoyed it! I live in an area of the plains and have a friend that has found some amazing pieces locally. Please make more!
I have seen people flintknapping, like at the state fair, but after one learns how to do it, I think the hardest part of the whole process is finding the flint. I have found flint arrowheads on my dad's farm and have wondered where the flint came from, being that on no place around have I ever heard of flint deposits. I once found a rock with a flint center. Considering how many flint objects and flint chips around the area, there must be a rather large flint deposit somewhere, or maybe they came from afar and were traded for! I once had a arrowhead, or I think it was, but now I think that some of these may have been knife blades! Anyway, it was white with black specks! Where would that have come from! Also, we have found several very small arrow heads! We assumed it was for small game! It seems that I once read a article that where there is technology that can trace where such flint actually came from! Is that true?
Wowzer Silas your video's are truly inspirational to me man! I thought the story behind Otzi was most interesting as heck because they say he was murdered possibly did something wrong and they can't examine his body anymore cause it would deteriorate to rapidly for them to work on him and find out why he died. I really want to know what happened to him and why. Great video and excellent dagger Pathways of the Past!
Antlerz&Flint Finder There are many videos about "Otzi", I'm sorry I don't know their links, but you can easily see the most recent examinations&documentaries about him (and what they've learned thus far from tissue tests, DNA, etc) here&there on Utube. Search Utube or Google....."Otzi The Iceman"
His body was damaged as well. Watching the video of them hacking and pulling at him with ski poles, is torture. So much damage, every archeologists worst nightmare.
Liked the update about Otzi, knew that he had been in a fight prior to his death. Suggesting that he might have been running for his life? Also, liked the knapping demonstration with the deer antler part. I wonder if the knapper shown has ever tried indirect percussion? I ask this because I used to try to knap as a kid. I have only recently learned of the indirect method from YT... it appears that this indirect method originated in what is now Europe from findings there. You might use deer antler, but first you must have a shallow channel scored into the tip of an antler (as shown) to catch an edge of the rock work piece and then strike the antler away from the conjugate rock and antler to strike off a flake. For those that might be interested, a bit of glass often chips like obsidian.
Fantastic project! In case anyone interested in the pronunciation of "Ötzi", Austrians/Germans would pronounce an "Ö" very different from an "O": more like an i in 'bird' or u in 'occur'... "Irtzi" ;)
I think Otzi used those mystery leather straps for extra binding on the dagger in case it got too damp and loose fitting. Maybe if he was going to go at it with some heavy work, he'd re-enforce the handles with the leather strips. They might have also been for the unfinished bow and arrows. Could this be the reason for the second set of notches? Was the original wood greased up or treated with anything?
@@pathwaysofthepast Louisiana. I find Evans and Tangipahoa types here. Some of the larger first stage ones I've found really remind me of that blade you made and to my knowledge nobody really knows why they were making them
@@wagstag89 I'm from Alabama and I found one double notch in a bluff shelter I've been digging for almost 20 years. It's quite out of place for my area and I've always wondered about that point.
@@BM205 yeah to my knowledge that would definitely be out of place in Alabama. Even here in Louisiana they tend to be concentrated around marshy wetland environments. There's a lot of theories about why they were doing it but no one knows for sure. I will say I believe it had something to do with their diet in the marshlands such as prying open muscle shells. They may have even been tying cordage to that second notch for some reason if they were throwing darts at something in the water. It's thought that the mound builders here may be the same people responsible for the double notched points. Very strange to find one in an Alabama rock shelter but that is definitely a cool piece to have. I guess necessity could cause different people in different regions to come up with the same tools sometimes
@@wagstag89 Yes I've had that same theory that the second notch was for better retention of the projectile. If it was used at a target in water then that definitely makes sense. Good talkin with ya hope you find some good ones. Stay safe and God bless
Great video. Thanks for the information and visual instruction. I like your axe it's very unique what is it? I may have to harvest a buck not only for food, but to source some antler for primitive arrow head, flint tool crafting. Thanks for posting.
Thanks! I know it’s a tomahawk but I don’t know where it came from or anything. Deer antler is also fairly easy to buy too, much easier to buy the size and shape you need rather than hunt a buck with just the right antlers
Nice video. I remember reading a story about a well known Indian who was being shipped by train to a reservation. He managed to escape and was traveling by foot, trying to get back to his people. But, he was starving, not having any tools to help secure food. He fashioned a flint dagger, similar to what you made and looked for something to kill. He saw a small homestead and was watching to see if they had any chickens he could steal when a dog started barking at him. He ran from his hiding place and the dog chased him. As he went behind a large rock he suddenly turned and grabbed the dog and killed him with the knife. After he was far enough away he cut up the dog and dried the meat and hide. He made a pouch to carry his food from the hide and it was enough to last him until he got back to his people.
Great video, and very nice reproduction. Just gotta say how ironic it is, though that a guy who can use antler and stone to make a sharp cutting tool from stone has such a bloody dull steel ax! Chopping that handle took longer than Otzi would have taken with his copper ax! :)
Нет, ну если принять во внимание, что сам оригинал с момента его изготовления и до момента его находки , в свою очередь какое-то время использовался по прямому назначению. То в свою очередь надо признать, что данная копия наиболее полно показывает каким изначально мог быть сам оригинал..
Funny. Usually native English speakers can pronounce Ö perfectly fine. “Perfect“ has the Ö sound. “Urgent“ has the Ö sound. Ötzi is peonounced like “uht-see“ or “ert-see. 🤗🙏
Not sure if he used green or dry wood. Green wood will shrink and probably make it loosen up but you can always re-soften the sinu and turn it back. I’d love to have one so I may have to give it try 👍
Pathways of the Past oh I figured you continued due to the love of it, for sure. Funny thing is, I started knapping while teaching a thematic unit on the book Ishi the Last Yahi, and have been doing/studying it ever since because it’s awesome. I totally understand where you’re coming from. You’re just way more awesome than I am by putting together all these amazing videos. Keep it up. I’m totally enjoying the stuff you’re putting out.
Thanks man! Glad you’re enjoying these. I’ve read that book about Ishi and it was very interesting. I might do a video or two relating to him one of these days.
There is a Dolomite ring with leather in his backpack (saw it in a different video, but couldn’t leave a comment). It looks like a fishing lure.all it needed was a bone hook and he had twine/cordage. I also have an idea what the Roman dodecahedron was used for. DM me or email me for what I solidly believe what they were used for, and why they have wax on them.
just watched that same video and wondered why they asked if anyone knew what the dolomite ring and leather where used for but didn't allow for any comments.lol I would guess it was used as a fly and mosquito swatter, but I could be wrong.
@@kutaboveperfection I just watched the same thing. Those twisted leather pieces were just looped through the knotted loop. They were not attached. It can't be a fly swatter.
Hi, impressive flint knapping skills here. I learned a lot. I actually got one technical question : When you are making the pressure flaking around 6:00, are you pressing downwards (towards the leather pad) or inward (toward your fingers and the center line of the blade). Thank you so much for this quality stuff ! Cheers from France !
That's a good question! Pressure flaking is most effective when you use a combination of inward and downward pressure at the same time. While at that moment of the video I'm pressing more in than down, I'm pressing in both directions. It's easiest to think of pressing inwards then down to release the flake. I hope that answers your question!
@@pathwaysofthepast Thank you very much to take the time to answer. It's very clear. I'm doing lots of knapping these times, and i find that the flakes I create with pressure flaking are not as long as i would like them to be. They are pretty short and thus change the bevel of my blade a lot. I think I'm pressing too much down and not in enough. Thanks a lot!
@psyckopatate it's more likely that you are not preparing your platforms correctly. Be sure that you have lowered the edge of the preform below the centerline of the side you are removing the flake from. Also grind the edge to strengthen it before pressing in and down to remove the flake.
If Otzi had a bronze axe-head (copper surely so early at 5,330 bce), was his knife considered an heirloom? rather than purpose made by him. Or was bronze so scarce that other implements had to be made the old school way from flint. (His knife looks solutrean in style).
Metal was very rare and expensive. People used stone and bone tools in every day life for long time after metals were discovered. Ötzi probably made himself his stone tools.
It was copper, but, no, the knife was not an heirloom. Metal was rare, extremely expensive, and flint was far and away the most common cutting tool. The real mystery is why whoever killed him didn't take the copper axe.
But how many of these fake knifes end up on the market for being authentic?? I seen it more than once. If you ever decide to buy, make sure the seller is a AACA member as they must give you a 30 day return period.
This isn’t fake, this is a reproduction. Also please keep in mind I do not promote or support the buying or selling of artifacts on this RU-vid channel.
I make stone tools but mainly just for friends and family and an occasional custom order that intrigues me. Look around online and I bet you can find some though. Maybe you'll get the quality level your looking for their are blades at both ends of the spectrum.
