Prehistoric story

Hello! I'm James,

Part-time prehistoric man, I am studying for a Masters in prehistoric art at Canterbury Christ Church University. I have years of Flint Knapping experience creating replica stone tools and experimental archeology. I also have a degree in Graphic Design and that has been a big influence on my journey into cave art, in which I am currently researching the cave painting process and prehistoric creative journey. When I'm not doing that, I'm creating stone tools and practicing ancestral skills, or gathering local materials.

Located in Kent currently.

Explore the Shop for replicas you can buy, made to order by me using prehistoric techniques, or get in touch if you would like an item made to order. I also offer beginner kits for pressure flaking, with more on the way. See what I'm up to on Instagram.

Do get in touch for any enquiries.

Flint knapping courses coming soon!

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About flint knapping

So, what's Flint Knapping and how does it work?

Flint Knapping is a common name for the process of lithic reduction (knocking flakes off stone).

The technique is roughly 3 million years old and has travelled through our ancestor species onto us through the genus homo. H. erectus evolved 2 million years ago and was the first archaic human species to leave Africa and disperse across Eurasia. Homo sapiens emerged in Africa at least 300,000 years ago from a species commonly designated as H. heidelbergensis.

The skill has remained unchanged, the knapper uses a hammerstone (hard rock) to strike the material (in our case, flint), releasing a flake in a predictable and controllable manner. These flakes can then be refined into tools, known as Flake Tools. Alternatively, one can continue removing flakes until only the tool is left as the centre of the material stone, this is known as a Core Tool, for example, a hand-axe.

Student film - First Spark

The First Spark is a student led short film, produced at Canterbury Christ Church and directed by Eden Shephard. The film incorporates the journey of learning Flint Knapping as a beginner and educates the prehistory that ties with the craft. The First Spark intends to influence the younger audience and students to partake in Flint - Knapping ; to return to their roots of childhood and explore as we did thousands of years ago. Eden and her crew aimed to reshape learning through adventure and hands on experience through highlighting how Flint Knapping was a step in discovering cumulative skill in prehistory. The enlightenment of prehistory in the film really does tie in the significance of not forgetting how we as humans have evolved and progressed as a species.