Prehistoric story

Hello! I'm James,

Part-time prehistoric man, I am a professional Flint Knapper and prehistoric skills experimental archeologist. 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 and experimental archeology. 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.

About the materials

At Prehistoric Crafts, and as a modern knapper, I am keenly aware of choosing the right materials to maintain authenticity and good morals. That's why all my bound products use synthetic sinew, in fact I do not use any hunted products in my work. Many of my products also contain antler, and I only use naturally shed antler. No deer were harmed, I rather like deers.

What about the rocks? Most of my flint is collected my hand at various locations around the country, the picture in this section shows me collecting flint at St Margret's Bay in Kent. Flint is knappable because it carries a shockwave in a uniform manner. This repeatable result can be manipulated to control the shape of the material. All flint is knappable, and many other materials are too, this is because of the cryptocrystalline structure of the quartz which produces planes that the shockwave can travel through.

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.