FLINT STORY:

How silicon dioxide transformed human life

I remember it so well. I was sitting in the cafeteria at Sussex University before an evening session where I would be tested about my knowledge of archaeological artefacts. I thought I was reasonably secure about pottery and metalwork dates, but flint? I pored over my notes about artefact periods and types in a haze. At that stage, I’d hardly been in contact with any flint tools. It was hopeless.

But fate ensured I had a second chance. I stumbled upon an opportunity to investigate a site for my dissertation scattered deep and wide with prehistoric tools and debris. My contact with them became intense, while my knowledge grew appreciably in a short time.

A few years later, I was asked to give a talk about the Mesolithic period at a local museum, at which one participant asked: ‘What is flint?’. I knew enough to give a feasible answer, but realised I had to know more. There were no sources of information I could find that drew the numerous strands of its phenomenal story together, so I set out to write about its considerable practical and symbolic aspects in the form of a book.

Having visited prehistoric sites and museums in Europe for decades, I knew there were many fascinating stories from the continent that could also be told. My aim has been to appeal to readers who may never have considered prehistory as a subject of interest, but also those who are familiar with it but who’d like to own a book that brings together as much information as I was able to gather in five years and twentyfive chapters.

Flint Story is a personal observation of the indispensable role of flint during prehistory and how it came to be recognised in Europe, encompassing tales of not only geology and tools, but mines and fire, as well as the studies of antiquarians, collectors and experimenters. It also highlights the phenomenal range of unique objects fashioned with tools, often inspired by symbiosis with nature’s creatures and processes: from cave, rock shelter and portable art to hunting weapons, personal adornment and the first musical instruments. The book includes a guide to archaeological sites and museums, maps, a timeline and a list of online resources. There are 308 pages and 88 colour illustrations within the text.

All this was made possible through obtaining a BA in Archaeology and Landscape as a mature student, an opportunity now sadly denied to us in Sussex since the university closed its Centre for Community Engagement in 2012. I was one of the very last intake. I refused to attend my graduation ceremony and shake the hand of someone who’d axed such a valuable programme of lifelong learning. In a similarly defiant spirit, I’ve decided to shun mainstream publishing, with its stressful deadlines and obligations to participate in the usual circus surrounding book launches, to go DIY.

Flint Story is entirely homemade. It’s about the prodigious people of prehistory, and my wish to share knowledge of them with you, because how they lived still resonates in us today. I hope you enjoy reading it and it inspires you to set off on prehistoric adventures of your own.

Diana Jones

Copies of Flint Story are on sale for £16.99 at Barbican House in Lewes, as well as Much Ado Books in Alfriston, Steyning Bookshop, Worthing Museum and The Novium in Chichester. If you don’t live near any of these outlets, email flintstory@perso.be.