A Manual for Neanderthals

Mewhinney, H.

Published by University of Texas Press, 1957

About this Item

A MANUAL FOR NEANDERTHALS by H. Mewhinney, hardcover, first edition, illustrations, University of Texas Press, 1957. Book Condition: Near fine. The text block and illustrations are in fine condition, with no marks, tears, or dog-ears. Tight binding. Not a remainder or library book. No bookplate nor inscription of previous owner. The blue cloth boards are in very good condition but for shelf rubbing along bottom edge. The gold lettering on the spine is bright, but the top and bottom of the spine are slightly bumped. The dust jacket is intact and in very good condition (edge chipping). 9 x 6 ¼, 122 pages, 15 oz. [From the dust jacket] The cry of man's earliest days on earth has come down to us chiefly in the tools and weapons he shaped from flint. With them he gained ascendancy over less dexterous beasts and began the slow conquest of his environment. Other records, including his very bones, have largely rotted away, but his tools of flint endure. H. Mewhinney presents A MANUAL FOR NEANDERTHALS as 'a common-sense, down-to-earth study of how flint tools and weapons were made?or for that matter, can still be made by any descendant of Stone Age man." The author first sets the scene with a delightful and informative disquisition on flint-flaking and flint-flakers, and then explains clearly and concisely how he and earlier Neanderthals have made flint artifacts, illustrating each step with drawings and photographs. Archeologists and anthropologists will discover in this book a modest but genuine contribution to their fields, while collectors of Indian relics and people who like to tinker with tools and master strange skills will find it a surprisingly practical guide to an interesting and ancient art. [About the author] Reporter, columnist, and man since 1935. Mewhinney's vast curiosity has led him down many strange bypaths of knowledge to the delight of his readers. His range of interests includes such fields as Greek and Latin Literature (he reads Latin easily), paleontology, archeology, ornithology, botany, wolf- and coon-hunting, and flint-flaking. He is the cofounder of the Sam Bass Garden Club (for stealing trees) , which still has only two members. He has been the subject of profiles in both Time and Life. How did this book come about? Let Mewhinney tell it : "It was a dull night on the city desk and I was killing time by reading the Encyclopedia Britannica. I came across M. C. Burkitt's article on the Old Stone Age. A splendid article, too. But he said it was difficult for a modern man to copy some kinds of Aurignacian flintwork. I did not believe this. So I went and got some flint. It is easy to copy Aurignacian work, also easy to excel it. To imitate the best Solutrean work takes much more skill.' With patience, and with A Manual for Neanderthals at your side, you too can learn to flake flint. Seller Inventory # 002054

Bibliographic Details

Title: A Manual for Neanderthals

Publisher: University of Texas Press

Publication Date: 1957

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Near Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

Edition: 1st Edition