flint fishooks

[kc65]

Has anyone ever seen or posess flint fish hooks? Ive heard they are very rare, if they exist at all

[old creek warrior]

Ive always heard flint fish hooks are fakes

[bolenman]

hahahahahaha no i have not seen one.I dont think there is any...real ones anyway.JMOP

[mtskinner]

KC just type in fish hook under the search icon and it will pull up a thread that somewhat discussed the topic! Alot of guys on here will frown if you talk about hooks not made of bone; as most flint fish hooks are typically modern made! There are some that have been documented but they are very rare!

[kc65]

i know of a woman here in lee co. who several yrs back asked me to look at her late husbands collection of artifacts, they were very private couple no one even knew they had thousands of artifacts all found on their hog farm...celts,pestules,grinding stones and bowls and points by the hundreds the only items she had in a frame were very small arrowpoints beads hair pins and one fishook from flint never mentioned it to her. i still bump into her occasionally..I believe they do exist in obscure collections like hers...

[kc65]

point to ponder...how could one be authenticated?

[kc65]

I believe you and i believe i have seen one also am going to call her up and c if i can get one more priveliged look at her collection

[Hernandoman]

kc, I think they exist as well, although I think they are very rare. No doubt there are fake ones as well but I think there are some authentic old examples. Should be able to look at patination, etc.... to be able to tell if old.

The thing is though, if they are not that old, say Mississippian for example, they wouldnt have heavy patination anyway, depending on the soil, where found, etc...

[Fdock]

It would be great to see a nice river stained/polished example. That would sure help me decide...

[kc65]

Hernandoman, Indeed..

[kc65]

Fdock, it seems to me that we would more likely find flint hooks on landsites other than an aquatic environment, where currents floods etc. would damage the fragile thing.. i would be more suspect of a river example

[bolenman]

If there is any documented in a report let me know,i will get a copy from u.g.a,it would be new to me but i try to learn something everyday.If they used flint for hooks there should be a lot of them found atlest broke....I would like to here more about the documented examples.Thanks sid

[smokster]

heres one that i reluctantly show. i friend of mine has a few of these and gave me this one many years ago. he says he found them on the Oklawaha river on a hernando site

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y216/smokster/points/fishook.jpg

[Hernandoman]

The few that I have seen or heard of, seemed to have more of a ceremonial or decorative context than a utilitarian use. To clarify, I dont know that they were ever used to really "fish" with and I am not sure they were that functional. I could see how they would have been symbolic good luck charms in the next happy huntin grounds or worn for good luck. The picture from over 100 years ago by Moorehead would seem to reinforce this possibility.

[Hernandoman]

Photo taken around 1907 and was published in Warren K Mooreheads Stone Age of North America in 1910

[kc65]

Those are all similiar to the one i saw, just different lithics. I would agree as to their being to delicate to have functionality other than adornment etc..Thanks fellas.....

[sandchip]

I sure don't know, but the one Smokester showed us doesn't look like it would hold a fish long enough to land it, and the one in Moorehead's looks far too delicate to withstand the rigors of a thrashing fish without snapping in half. So maybe Kevin's onto something that they were more of a ceremonial or decorative item, which would better explain their scarcity, if they are indeed genuine.

[bolenman]

yep i would agree

[Buckster]

I saw one once in a antique shop in El Paso Ill a few years ago. It had a hole in the shank for the line. I dismissed it because I am always very weary of antique shop artifacts .

[iamsharky]

kc, I think they exist as well, although I think they are very rare. No doubt there are fake ones as well but I think there are some authentic old examples. Should be able to look at patination, etc.... to be able to tell if old.

The thing is though, if they are not that old, say Mississippian for example, they wouldnt have heavy patination anyway, depending on the soil, where found, etc...

A good friend of mine found one on the suwannee. a white flint, classic fish hook with a groove near the top of the hook for the line. it still had tar residue.

[BOLENBEVEL86]

Were they used as gaffs?If there hooks ,what was used as string,or fishing line if you will?

[sandchip]

It does seem like bone would be stronger than flint as a fishhook.

[Hernandoman]

No doubt that bone was the material of choice for fish hooks. Much more functional, durable, etc.... As far as the few fish hooks fashioned from flint, I think they were more of a novelty than anything else.

[kc65]

sort of like the gold fishooks worn today on caps n visors