John Charles Whittaker (born September 6, 1953) is an American archaeologist and professor at

Grinnell College Grinnell College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalis ...

. Whittaker's research focuses on

prehistoric technology Prehistoric technology is technology that predates recorded history. History is the study of the past using written records. Anything prior to the first written accounts of history is Prehistory, prehistoric, including earlier technologies. About ...

and

experimental archaeology Experimental archaeology (also called experiment archaeology) is a field of study which attempts to generate and test archaeological Hypothesis, hypotheses, usually by replicating or approximating the feasibility of ancient cultures performing v ...

, specializing particularly in

stone tool Stone tools have been used throughout human history but are most closely associated with prehistoric cultures and in particular those of the Stone Age. Stone tools may be made of either ground stone or knapped stone, the latter fashioned by a ...

s and

atlatl A spear-thrower, spear-throwing lever, or ''atlatl'' (pronounced or ; Classical Nahuatl, Nahuatl ''ahtlatl'' ) is a tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in Dart (missile), dart or javelin-throwing, and includes a Plain bearing, b ...

s. He has also worked in natural history and ecology,

zooarchaeology Zooarchaeology or archaeozoology merges the disciplines of zoology and archaeology, focusing on the analysis of animal remains within archaeological sites. This field, managed by specialists known as zooarchaeologists or faunal analysts, examines ...

, and

paleoethnobotany Paleoethnobotany (also spelled palaeoethnobotany), or archaeobotany, is the study of past human-plant interactions through the recovery and analysis of ancient plant remains. Both terms are synonymous, though paleoethnobotany (from the Greek words ...

Early life and education

Whittaker studied anthropology at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. He began to learning to knap flint in his sophomore year, in 1972. Lacking chert or obsidian to practice with, he used the glass from broken soda bottles. Early on, he had to take a brief hiatus from knapping after he accidentally severed two tendons in his left index finger with a glass flake. In his third year at Cornell, Whittaker worked on the archaeological site of in France and studied under

François Bordes François Bordes (December 30, 1919 – April 30, 1981), also known by the pen name of Francis Carsac, was a French scientist, geologist, archaeologist, and science fiction writer. Biography He was a professor of prehistory and quaternary g ...

. Bordes taught Whittaker learned how to knap chert and deepened his interest in the craft. He also met expert knappers Mark Newcomer and Jacques Pelegrin. Whittaker later attended the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

as a graduate student, where he continued to work on

. Along with his colleague Harold Dibble, Whittaker developed a mechanical device that flaked stone in a controlled, repeatable manner. This allowed for the precise study of the effects of force on reduction angles. In 1979, Whittaker and Dibble taught a course on experimental archaeology and knapping. Whittaker obtained his master's degree from Arizona in 1979 and his doctorate in 1984.

Academic career

Shortly after completing his PhD in 1984, Whittaker began teaching at

, Iowa, where he still has a position . He was appointed a full professor in 2001. Whittaker has worked on multiple sites and regions, including the American Southwest, Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Central America. He is best known for his contributions to the study of ancient technologies, particularly his work in experimental archaeology by attempting to replicate or approximate past technologies and testing hypotheses and theories about the cultures that used them. This has included research into

bronze casting Lost-wax castingalso called investment casting, precision casting, or ''cire perdue'' (; borrowed from French)is the process by which a duplicate sculpture (often a metal, such as silver, gold, brass, or bronze) is cast from an original sculp ...

foraging Foraging is searching for wild food resources. It affects an animal's fitness because it plays an important role in an animal's ability to survive and reproduce. Foraging theory is a branch of behavioral ecology that studies the foraging behavi ...

and cooking, flintknapping,

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

, and

s. Whittaker has studied ancient and modern flintknappers in both the Old and New Worlds. His 1994 book, ''Flintknapping: Making and Understanding Stone Tools'', is a guide to the practice of

lithic reduction In archaeology, in particular of the Stone Age, lithic reduction is the process of fashioning stones or rocks from their natural state into tools or weapons by removing some parts. It has been intensely studied and many archaeological industrie ...

for academics and hobbyists, covering the history, mechanics, and techniques of flintknapping. Whittaker has also investigated atlatls, or spear-throwers. He is a member of the World Atlatl Association, an organization that promotes the use and continued research into atlatls. He is a regular contributor to the organization's journal, ''The Atlatl''. One insight gained from Whittaker's research was the physical effects of prolonged atlatl throwing on the human body, a condition known as "atlatl elbow" (cf.

tennis elbow Tennis elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis is an enthesopathy (attachment point disease) of the origin of the extensor carpi radialis brevis on the lateral epicondyle. It causes pain and tenderness over the bony part of the lateral epi ...

). After years of prolonged use of the tool, Whittaker developed the early stages of the condition, which has also been recorded in ancient remains such as

Mungo man Mungo may refer to: People * Mungo (name), a list of people with the given name or surname * Mungo people, an ethnic group in Cameroon Places * Mungo, Angola, a town and municipality * Mungo National Park, Australia * Lake Mungo, Australi ...

. He used this opportunity to study the relationship between atlatl usage and human anatomy, establishing the causes of the condition and how it can be prevented by proper form and stretching.

Awards

* World Atlatl Association, Top 10 Award, 2000, 2001, 2006 * World Atlatl Association, President's Award, 2012

Selected publications

* 1994: ''Flintknapping: Making and Understanding Stone Tools'' * 1999: ''Surviving Adversity: The Sinagua of Lizard Man Village'' * 2004: ''American Flintknappers: Stone Age Art in the Age of Computers''

References

External links

Faculty page
at Grinnell College
World Atlatl Association homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittaker, John C. 1953 births Living people American prehistorians Cornell University alumni University of Arizona alumni Grinnell College faculty People from Richland, Washington Scientists from Washington (state) 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers 21st-century American historians 20th-century American archaeologists 21st-century American archaeologists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Historians from Washington (state)