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Errett Callahan

A Tribute To Errett Callahan
by Steve Watts, 1997
from the "Bulletin of Primitive Technology

    In the 'last' issue of The Bulletin Of Primitive Technology (Spring '97, #13), we announced the retirement of the Society's founder and past-president, Errett Callahan. Errett's contributions to the field of primitive technology and experimental archaeology are vast and deep. Many readers are perhaps unaware of the details. So, it seems fitting and proper that we pause here to formally acknowledge those contributions.

Experimental Archaeology
    In the 1970's, while completing his master's and doctoral degree work from Catholic University, Errett served as professor of anthropology at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. There he pioneered classes in "Living Archaeology" - combining academic study with a hands-on approach to technology and experiential field courses. During this time, he began his contacts with other practicing pre-historians in Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands - contacts which continue to this day. He influenced them and they him. This wider world view became essential to his work.

    This decade also saw a flurry of field projects and their resulting reports and publications: 1972 - The Old Rag Project (an Early Woodland encampment experience in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia),  1973 - The Wagner Basalt Quarry Project (a Desert Archaic encampment experience in northern Arizona),  and from 1974 through 1979 - The multi-phased Pamunkey Project (a series of extended Late Woodland living experiences in Tidewater Virginia). All of these projects involved heavy student participation, not only in the manufacture of everything from stone tools to houses (and the applied use thereof), but also in the collection of scientific data on a huge scale over a significant period of time. This data has contributed greatly to the corpus of experimental archaeology literature and to our understanding of the technological past. The results of all this work were published in The Living Archaeology Newsletter (1973-75),  The Newsletter of Experimental Archaeology (1972-73), and the Experimental Archaeology Papers (1974-76). Other reports resulted in the publication of three books - - the Old Rag Report: A Practical Guide to Living Archaeology (1973),  Basics of Biface Knapping In The Eastern Fluted Point Tradition: A Manual For Flintknappers and Lithic Analysts (1979), and The Pamunkey House Building Experiment: An Experimental Study of Late Woodland Construction Technology in the Powhatan Confederacy (1981).

Lithic Technology
    During these hectic years of work, teaching and research, Callahan's devotion to flintknapping and lithic analysis was ongoing and tireless. Beginning as a self-taught knapper in the 1960's, Errett was later influenced by Don Crabtree, J.B. Sollberger, Jacques Pelegrin, Gene Titmus, and the late Francois Bordes. Callahan's contacts with knappers throughout the Americas and Europe resulted in the establishment of  The Flintknappers Exchange (the original), a newsletter devoted to the flintknapping community, which he edited throughout the 1970's. In the 1980's Errett's pioneering art and fantasy stone knives broke new ground and opened up a new market for many accomplished flintknappers. He has worked hard to bring flintknapping into the public eye and to portray the craft in a positive light. Much of this work is a part of a long-term study of the Danish Dagger - the results of which will soon be published.

Standards and Measures
     Throughout his career, Callahan has sought to clarify and codify many of the terms and processes involved in the practice of primitive technology. As Don Crabtree and John Coles had done before him (in their respective fields of lithic technology and experimental archaeology), Errett has mused and written extensively about definitions and classifications in an attempt to create a common language and a set of standards. His view of the stages of biface reduction (now several times modified) have served many in their own flintknapping and teaching. And, his often controversial attempts to define "levels" of authenticity and investment (which may be applied to the manufacture of a single stone tool or the building of an entire village) have inspired many to self-examination. Agree with Callahan or not, you can be assured that his evaluations come from a deep reservoir of experience. His latest thoughts along these lines will be featured in his forthcoming book, The Cahokia Pit House Project: A Case Study In Reconstructive Archaeology - - the results of over forty years of working and thinking in the field and the reconstruction of more than fifty aboriginal-style structures.

Connections
    In the late 1980's something new began to happen. Primitive technology practitioners began to move out of isolation, connecting with each other, and sharing the wealth of their experience and knowledge. Leading the way in the west was David Wescott, Director of the Boulder Outdoor Survival School. Following the lead of his mentor, Larry Dean Olsen, Wescott revitalized the "Rabbit Stick Rendezvous" in 1988. He invited leading primitive skills teachers from throughout the country to learn from each other and to begin a nationwide network. This was followed up with the publication of the newsletter, "The Songline", in the winter of 1990. "Rabbitstick" became the model for many regional gatherings around the country, and "Songline" inspired others to reach out and share.

    In the east, Callahan (now freed from academic duties and restrictions) began to offer workshops at his home. From across the country neophytes and experienced teachers alike came to "Cliffside" in Lynchburg, Virginia to gain from Errett's skill, experience and global connections. This fertile interchange of east and west, new and old, led to an inspiration. In November 1989 Callahan invited a small group of primitive skills teachers and practitionaers to meet at the Schiele Museum of Natural History in Gastonia, North Carolina. With that meeting The Society of Primitive Technology was born. From that time until November 1996 Errett served as the President of the Board of Directors. The rest, as they say, is history.

And Now . . .
    This story, like most, is incomplete. There are the major house building projects in New York, Virginia and Maryland in the 80's - - the Smithsonian's Ginsberg Elephant Experiment - - the visits with Canadian Cree and Inuit - - numerous knife shows and awards - - and on and on.

     Today Errett continues to work in his tireless, systematic way. He is currently working on three publications simultaneously - - each one dealing with a long-term project or set of projects spanning decades. His style, which combines a dedication to scholarship with a high level of skill and precision continues to inspire many, challenge others, and even antagonize a few. But, for all, he is a force to be reckoned with.

     Thanks again, Errett, for a job well done.

     Also see www.errettcallahan.com  .

The following is an excerpt from the Bulletin Of Primitive Technology, p.9-10, Fall 2000: No.20.)

    Mastery doesn't come with tools or tricks. Mastery lies in the hands and head. It's a matter of know-how and that takes time.

    A master is one who can work at a world-class level in a traditional manner in a wide range of technologies. You don't get there by being good at any one thing, even if you're the best in the world at it. A master can handle the largest sizes with finesse, but size alone does not make the master. The flintknapping master is one who is fluent in both New and Old World technologies, one who can walk across time. He must be able to demonstrate competency at replicating Oldowan, Acheulean, and Mousterian technologies. (If you think the Neanderthals' Levallois work was easy, think again.) The Upper Paleolithic blademaking industries must be demonstrated without hesitation. The Solutrean laurel leaves must be replicated with the proper thinness and flake removal sequence. Mesolithic bladelets, microblades, and geometric microliths must be second nature. And Neolithic square work, mega-blades (over 30cm), and Danish Daggers must be replicated in all their elegance. That is, they must be replicated with the proper flake removal sequence and contours, not just simulated in their approximate shape. New World forms such as Clovis, Folsom, and the parallel-flaked Late Paleo points must be replicated as well as the Archaic and Woodland points and bifaces so beloved of many. And the Maya eccentrics and prismatic pressure blades must be demonstrated with confidence. And if they are knifemakers, their bifacial edges must be able to shave the hair off an arm and slice leather smoothly.

    Yet mastery does not stop at acrobatic skill, no matter how talented one may be. On the one hand, one must be legitimate. Everything must be above board with no hidden cards under the table. Everything one makes must be indelibly signed and dated. On the other hand, the master must be a teacher. He must make himself available to students and not live in isolation. He must be willing to teach all he knows. He holds nothing back (unless the student's ethics are suspect). There are no secrets. And following the leads of Don Crabtree and J. B. Sollberger, as well as the martial arts masters, the master is modest, he has humility. You don't get that by patting yourself on the back. Humility above all else is the mark of the master.

    The only living masters of flintknapping who I recognize are Gene Titmus of Idaho and Jacques Pelegrin of France. They have demonstrated to the world the vast majority of the above. They work with traditional tools in a traditional manner. And they are light years ahead of anyone else, myself included, and traveling faster. You don't get where they are overnight. It takes decades to become a master. But time alone does not a master make.

    I have previously defined a flintknapping master as one who has demonstrated a certain rigorous depth and breadth of knapping skill, Old World and New, reaching across all time and space barriers. The definition also included certain standards of high character.

    In reconsideration of certain high points of flintknapping in the prehistoric past, it seems that my original definition would have excluded from mastery the makers of the prestigious Danish daggers, the Maya eccentrics, certain Paleo and Late Paleo projectile point types, and other exceptionally well-made and challenging stone tools. This is because, although these artisans did what they did well, they only did their one thing; they did not work in world wide industries. I now suggest that for such single high points of prehistoric knapping, there should be a master skill level designation for ancient workmanship which lies beyond the journeyman level if the challenge is sufficiently great and the skill demonstrated lies at a world class level. Naturally, for prehistoric situations, standards of character may not be determined.

    With modern knapping, the same considerations should also hold true, except that standards of character should indeed be considered. Thus a modern knapper, working in only one or a few industries, but doing so at a world class level, may be considered for mastery if the following standards, as noted in my 1999 definition, are taken into account:
    1- One's ethical behavior is beyond reproach;
    2- One is a teacher, passing on knowledge, sharing one's innermost "secrets" (once
          the student is ready for them), and refusing to withhold knowledge (except to students
          who are not to be trusted);
    3- All works are indelibly signed and dated;
    4- Work is done in a traditional manner;
    5- Humility of attitude prevails.

    According to these standards, mastery is forever banned for those of unethical conduct, including such fraudulent activities as passing off one's work as ancient or as being anything other than one's own -- no matter how skilled one may be otherwise.

    Concerning traditionalism, there is no mastery, in legitimate flintknapping, for non-legitimate procedures. Such would exclude lapidary knapping. For those who prefer such procedures, let them create their own standards, but let them not have their work confused with traditional flintknapping, which is the only subject under consideration here.

    The determination of who is a master must not be self-proclaimed or be voted upon by one's peers. Only other masters may determine who is a master.

    In my original definition, I listed only Gene Titmus and Jacques Pelegrin as master-level knappers. I would now categorize them, and those who meet the same criteria, as described above, as "Grand Masters". It's now up to them to determine who are the new generation of master level craftsmen.

    Until such time, perhaps the Board of Directors of the SPT may wish to initiate further inquiry in this direction, preserving the privacy of the Grand Masters.