This moose antler billet was used by contemporary flintknapper Tim Dillard to make bifacial tools.
The modern moose antler flintknapping billet in this model was used by Tim Dillard to make North American style bifacial tools. Most hobbyist flintknappers in North America use copper billets, called ‘boppers’ for thinning bifaces by direct percussion flaking, but a minority of more traditionally-oriented flintknappers used antler percussion tools—called ‘billets’—of various sizes. Large direct percussion billets like this are relatively rare in the archaeological record.
The replica is held in the Michigan State University Museum, Archaeology Teaching Collection, catalogue no. 2002:226.100.
Tim Dillard is a flintknapper based in Illinois who learned the art when he was about 12 years old. He is experienced at making a diverse array of bifacial stone tools from the North American archaeological record, using a variety of techniques and methods. Rather than relying on copper, he uses exclusively ‘traditional’ tools such as hammerstones, antler percussion flakers (called ‘billets’), and antler pressure flakers. Dillard is the principal instructor at the Center for American Archeology’s week-long Flintknapping Workshop, in Kampsville, Illinois. A recent review concluded that this workshop is the best venue available for receiving instruction in all-traditional methods and techniques for making North American-style bifacial tools.
