Bernard Ginelli, flintknapper
December 11, 1947 – November 4, 2018
"He is a knapper, and yet, here…"
Whether prehistory draws you in or has always been your passion, we hope you'll find what you're looking for in these pages, and take as much pleasure in browsing them as Bernard took in creating, teaching and sharing his passion.
Bernard passed away on November 4, 2018. This site keeps his memory alive and passes on the craft he devoted his life to mastering and sharing.
He was regarded as one of the finest flintknappers in the world, and trained a whole generation of professionals and enthusiasts.
His children: Pauline, Éric and Pascal
Learning to knap flint
This section is full of advice for learning or improving in this art: the properties of the material, the basic gestures, and step-by-step reduction sequences.
Creations & prehistoric tools
Neolithic bows, bifaces, atlatls, flint or obsidian knives, arrowheads, darts: all fully functional and made with the same techniques and materials our ancestors used.
PALAIOS Workshop
45, avenue de la Préhistoire — 24620 Les Eyzies-de-Tayac, France. A workshop open to the public, where knapping demonstrations and exhibitions used to run year-round.
Knapping workshops
Teaching yourself is possible, but it's a long and sometimes discouraging process: nothing replaces direct, guided experience. Bernard Ginelli trained generations of enthusiasts through multi-day workshops, in Tamniès or Les Eyzies, in the Dordogne region of France.