Description

Chert is a fine-grained, silica rich sedimentary rock. It varies greatly in color from white to black but is most often gray, grayish brown, brown and light green to dusty red. ” Common chert” is a variety of chert that forms in limestone formations. It is the most abundantly found variety of chert. Where it occurs in chalk or mal, it is usually called flint. Jasper is a variety of chert. Chert was very useful to primitive man and to the Native Americans because it could be chipped and fractured in any direction, making it a perfect material to shape tools and weapon points. When arrowheads were made, chert was the favorite material to use in regions where deposits existed. Because sparks result when chert is struck against an iron-bearing surface, chert is also useful as an excellent tool for starting fires, and both flint and common chert were used in various types of fire-starting tools, such as tinderboxes, throughout history.