| The Corner Tang artifact has long mystified
folks as to how it was used and for what purpose. The specific placement of
two notches creating a tang One unanswered question is how were these
knives hafted. One theory is that they were attached to a leather thong
looped around the wrist. Johnny Maduzia has provided the images below depicting
this set-up. Dwain Rogers, who authored the latest study on Corner Tang
artifacts, replicated butchering with corner tangs and
found that while butchering a carcass in the field, a knife was sometimes difficult to
locate in the tall grass once it was laid down. Being attached to the wrist
via a leather strap allowed for easy access to the knife and it was less
likely to get lost.
Many of the corner tang stems are "flared", or expand near the base. This widening of the stem would
in many cases allow a leather strap to be firmly attached to the tang.
Rogers also noted that a number of examples he studied under
magnification display use-wear polish around the tang that would be
consistent with the use such a leather thong.
Also noticed on some examples was that the 'top' side of the biface
exhibited a polish. This could be a result of repeated use with the user's
index finger positioning the the biface during application. (See
Illustration 3). |
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| Illustration 1: Difficult to haft to a wooden
shaft, an expanded stem would facilitate 'hafting' with leather thong.
Examination under magnification shows stems of some examples to be polished
across the stem which is consistent with Dwain Rogers' replication studies.
Image by Johnny Maduzia. |
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| Illustration 2: Attached to the body in order
to prevent loss during butchering activity in high grass. Easily available.
Image supplied by Johnny Maduzia |
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| Illustration 3: Many corner tangs found exhibit use-wear
'polish' on the top side. This photo illustrates a potential cause of this
possibly being repeated placement of the index finger for support and
pressure. Repeated use of the corner tang knife in this position would be
consistent with use wear found on authentic examples. Image supplied by
Johnny Maduzia. |
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Dwain Rogers’ – Corner Tangs Across Texas
Dwain Rogers literally wrote the book on Corner Tang Knives. And you don’t have to be a Collector of Texas Artifacts to appreciate
the rich artifact information contained in this well-composed book. Flaking
characteristics, distribution patterns, archaeological context, hafting methods, use-wear
patterns, different forms, variations, and numbers of Corner Tang Knives found and
recorded are just some of the many areas addressed by Dwain Rogers. Many high-quality
color photos are used to convey the various corner tang forms as well as over a hundred
black and white photos of Corner Tangs. |
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Get your signed and numbered copy directly from Dwain Rogers today! Limited Number Available.
Dwain Rogers
4102 Birch Blvd.
Temple, TX 76502
Phone (254) 791-5520
Hard Cover, Glossy Book Jacket Cover, Signed and Numbered.168 pages, $75.
(Please add $5 for shipping and handling.)
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