Missouri State University’s Anthropology Club held its first interactive meeting for the 2024-25 academic year Sept. 9 in Strong 405.

The topic? Flintknapping, a term used by anthropologists to describe different methods to make stone tools.

On hand to demonstrate the ancient technique were Professor Elizabeth Sobel and Associate Professor Scott Worman from the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Gerontology (SAG). Both professors regularly participate in archaeology-related sessions with the club.

Things looked a little different this time, though.

Club officers Kyra Uphoff, president, and Erin Ashford, secretary, watched as students kept filing into the small lab room. Ashford started looking for more chairs.

By the time the meeting started, attendees were spilling out into the hallway.

Ashford later said that roughly 30 people attended the meeting, breaking previous attendance numbers. Typical attendance is 15-20, according to Uphoff.

What is flintknapping?

“‘Flintknapping’ refers to making flaked stone tools, essentially making tools by breaking small pieces of rock – flakes – off of a larger piece – a core,” Worman said. “It is the process used to make things like spear points, arrowheads, knives, scrapers and similar tools.”

Worman and Sobel demonstrated three general flintknapping techniques to the group: bipolar, percussion flaking and pressure flaking.

“We like to incorporate all three flintknapping techniques into our hands-on experience so that the students understand all three approaches,” Sobel said. “Some students discover that they enjoy or have a knack for one technique more than the others.”

According to Worman, using the bipolar method requires placing a small core on a large stone, called an anvil, and striking it with another large stone, called a hammerstone.

“It is relatively easy and was often used when the rocks used to produce tools were too small to hold easily,” Worman explained.

Percussion flaking requires holding the core in one hand and striking it with an implement held in the other hand, Worman said. Pressure flaking is similar, but instead requires the individual, called a “knapper” to hold the core while applying steady force to the edge with a rod-shaped object, usually made of antler. Pressure flaking is often used to put “finishing touches” on tools made by percussion flaking, he added.

After finishing the demonstration, Worman, Sobel and club officers handed out rocks, protective gloves, lap cloths and goggles so attendees could practice.

Club enjoying continued growth

The flintknapping turnout was a pleasant, but not necessarily surprising, outcome for Uphoff, a senior anthropology major at MSU.

Uphoff has been implementing strategies she developed through her research on anthropology club participation. She presented her research at a New Mexico conference in Spring 2024.

“Based on the research I completed within the department last year, I noticed we were missing a group of students within the department,” Uphoff said. “When a brief survey was taken of the students in anthropology class[es], many didn’t know of the club.”

Uphoff attributes this communication breakdown to the COVID-19 pandemic era. Her solution has been to invite more professors to meetings while encouraging them to announce club activities in their classrooms.

Consequently, Uphoff said club numbers have grown steadily in the past two years. The club recorded 86 members for the Fall 2024 semester.

Uphoff gives Ashford a lot of the credit for the increase because of Ashford’s recruitment efforts.

“This year’s growth is partly due to Erin’s advertisement of the club [at] SOAR to incoming freshmen,” Uphoff said. “We have also continued to build rapport with upper classmen to encourage continued investment in the club.”

Worman said he is seeing typical interest and enthusiasm in Anthropology Club this year but noted the turnout for the flintknapping session was unusually high.

“I suspect it is because flintknapping is fun and the club is doing a good job of publicizing their meetings,” he said.

Officers focus on growth

This is Uphoff’s fourth year in Anthropology Club, her second year as its president. She previously served as the club’s treasurer for two years.

“Personally, I enjoy the growth that I see within the club the most,” Uphoff said. “Throughout my time as an officer, I have been able to see students excel academically due to the support of the club.”

As its president, Uphoff’s primary duties are to supervise the daily running of the club. She credits her “officer team” with helping keep that a smooth process.

“I delegate tasks for the other officers to do,” Uphoff explained. “Officers will then complete their tasks on their own time and report back. I can get the ball rolling at the start of the semester and then pick up tasks as they come along.”

Meanwhile, as the club’s current secretary, Ashford is responsible for measuring club attendance.

“I also help out with a variety of smaller duties that help make the club run smoothly,” she said. “These may include contacting people about future opportunities for the club, hanging up flyers [and] advertising, and giving input on decisions made for the club.”

Ashford is a junior history education major starting her second year in Anthropology Club. Currently, she is the only officer who is not an anthropology major.

While acknowledging that her summer SOAR contacts have contributed to the club’s growth, Ashford said that trying to accommodate student schedules has also played a role.

“We focused on making sure that we were able to have members who wouldn’t have to choose between any of the larger organizations or ours due to the schedule,” Ashford said.

Opportunities for social and professional engagement

Uphoff said this semester’s schedule of events represents a “healthy mix” of old and new.

“We always start and end the semester with a social event for the entire department,” she said. “From there we have our annual flintknapping event, professor talk and movie night.”

New events include a CV/resume building session with MSU’s Career Center, a professor-led field trip and a trivia night with the entire SAG department, Uphoff said.

“To select activities, we meet as an officer team before the start of the semester to discuss dates and past meetings,” Uphoff said. “From there we see if club members have event requests, such as the CV event.”

Sobel said Anthropology Club also creates opportunities for students to engage in service activities with the local community.

“For example, Anthropology Club members will spend an afternoon doing some maintenance [and] clean up work and documentation of a historic Black cemetery,” Sobel said. Students will encounter some local history while learning how archaeologists document historic burial grounds while helping the local community.

“Every year the club works to help anthropology students achieve amazing things and introduce this area of study to many curious people,” Ashford said.

Community and camaraderie

Anthropology Club is open to all students, regardless of major, according to Uphoff. The club strives to create “an atmosphere of camaraderie while fostering individual educational growth.”

The club also creates opportunities for students to engage in scholarly activities, according to Worman.

“The club organizes a student research conference every spring,” he said. “[This] gives students the experience of presenting the results of research projects and the officers the experience of organizing a conference.”

Worman said the club has served an important role for anthropology majors for many years, providing a sense of belonging and community.

“We hope they gain something like the ‘cohort’ experience of going through their classes with like-minded people who share their interests and become friends and colleagues,” Worman said.

“I enjoy the community around the club,” Ashford said. “Last year I came to the club to get a bit of a break from my own studies and stayed for the people.”

Learn more about Anthropology Club

Photo credits: Lynn Lansdown