Yosemite park celebrates ancient arrowhead crafting tradition
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Yosemite National Park recently showcased the enduring practice of knapping, a technique Indigenous people have used for thousands of years to create tools from stone.
The skill dates back at least 74,000 years to Stone Age Ethiopia and continues today with artisans worldwide. Knapping involves carefully selecting stones like chert, flint, and obsidian, then breaking off flakes to create sharp-edged arrowheads, knives, and scrapers.
Although obsidian does not occur naturally in Yosemite, Indigenous communities in the region have long valued the volcanic glass. They obtained it through extensive trade routes that spanned hundreds of miles, exchanging obsidian for resources like animal hides, medicinal plants, pine nuts, and acorns with tribes near Mono Lake in eastern California. Early inhabitants of Yosemite used obsidian to make large spear points and atlatl points.
Over time, as bows and arrows became more common, they shaped the obsidian into smaller, more aerodynamic arrowheads. Yosemite National Park continues to honour this tradition with an annual Knap-In event featuring demonstrations and workshops.
