Alibates

A nodular flint that was quarried in the Texas panhandle near Borger and on the Canadian River, north of Amarillo, Texas. It comes specifically from the Quartermaster formation of dolomite, which was laid down in an ancient sea 250 millions of years ago. It is widely dispersed through west Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma. This material has a range of colors from white, red, purple, blue, pink, tan and yellow, and is often mottled or banded, often by alternate bands of gray and red . All of these colors are seen without heat treating. With several of these colors possibly appearing on one artifact. It can range from opaque to translucent in quality. Alibates is a high quality dolomite that we all fight over. It ranges from blues to a beef steak red and white modeled material. It can be both opaque and highly translucent and sometimes on the same artifact. It comes from the Texas panhandle area.

 References

 Richard Thompson, and A.G.Brunson Private Collection.