Like human beings everywhere, Indians used stone as their primary material for toolmaking for thousands of years. There are three basic ways that people make stone into useful tools: (1) by breaking (a process commonly called flintknapping), (2) by grinding, and (3) by pecking. Tools made by flintknapping included points (both spearpoints and later arrowpoints), knives, scrapers, and other cutting implements. Ground stone tools include hammers, grinding bowls, and dishes. Pecking can be used for making hammers and bowls.
The process of breaking stone to form tools is not a random process: it is not simply a matter of banging two stones together. The toolmaker will take a piece of stone and shape it into a culturally acceptable form. Thus, in a culture the same basic tool shapes appear over and over again. Archaeologists in their attempts to describe ancient Indian cultures generally use these stone tool shapes to categorize them. Clovis and Folsom are two major examples of this.
In Washington, Adam East was an avid collector of American Indian artifacts. Born in 1871, East began collecting these artifacts as a child and his collection grew to over 2,200 items. Eventually his collection formed the basis of the Moses Lake Museum and Art Center where it is currently displayed.
Shown below are some of the projectile points—arrowheads and spearpoints—which East collected. As with many Cabinets of Curiosities, the displays project little information about the context—camp sites, big game kill sites, butchering sites, time period, etc.—in which the artifacts were found. While these displays are interesting to look at, for most people they provide relatively little information about ancient Native American people and their cultures. The display cases often group projectile points with other stone tools, such as drills, knives, and scrapers. All of these are flaked stone tools.
In interpreting stone tools, Carrol Howe, in Ancient Tribes of the Klamath Country, cautions:
“The shape of a blade does not always reveal the diversity of its uses. Even though some artifacts seem designed for a special purpose, it is not always possible to determine the intent of the maker.”
It should also be noted that while stone tools, such as projectile points were utilitarian, not all stone artifacts were meant to be actually used. Some stone points, such as those which are very large and those which are intricately knapped, may have served to simply show the skill of the maker or, perhaps, have been intended as a ceremonial object.
Ancient America
For thousands of years prior to the European invasion, the Americas were inhabited by Native Americans. This series, based primarily on archaeology and museum exhibits, looks at the people of the Americas before the European invasion. More from this series—
Ancient America: A very brief overview of stone quarries
Ancient America: Avonlea, the early bow hunters
Ancient America: Some Plateau Indian petroglyphs (museum tour)
Ancient America: Windust Phase Indian Artifacts (Photo Diary)
Ancient America: Some Artifacts from the Columbia Plateau (Photo Diary)
Ancient America: Changing Technologies and Trade in California
Ancient America: Alaska Before 6000 BCE
Ancient America: Life in a California Rock Shelter (Photo Diary)