Bone Awls from the Curry Site, 14GR301
Date: 500 BCE-1500 CE
These two bone awls were found at different times by different people at the Curry Archeological Site in Greenwood County. The longest awl was a donation to the Kansas Historical Society in 1984 by the site's owner and was reconstructed from three pieces. The shorter awl was recovered in two pieces from excavations in 1966. They were used to make holes in soft materials, like hides, and possibly in basket and pottery manufacturing.

Carved Hematite Rabbit from 14CO385
Date: 1400-1700 CE
This is a rendering of a rabbit carved into a concretion of hematite recovered from archeological site number 14CO385, a village near Arkansas City, Kansas occupied between 1400 CE and 1700 CE by the ancestors of the modern-day Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. It was found in the 1990s by Kansas Historical Society archeologists excavating a large, deep food storage pit that later was filled with village trash. The specimen is 20.97 mm long, 11.12 mm high, 6.42 mm thick, and weighs 1.6 grams. Apparently, the artist saw the image of a rabbit in the naturally formed concretion and improved on it with a few well-placed modifications. It is unique for this site, this time period, and this group of people. There is no clear evidence that would suggest how it was used by the person that possessed it.

Catlinite Pipe from Jefferson County
Date: 1350-1850 CE
This Catlinite pipe was found in Jefferson County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1925. In Kansas, these pipes generally were made by American Indians between 1350 to 1850. The soft fine grain material of Catlinite enabled the pipe's maker to carve it into its rectangular shape. Pipes were used during trade negotiations and to mark special occasions.

Central Plains tradition Vessel from 14OT1
Date: 1050-1400 CE
When the individual sherds of this vessel were reconstructed it showed it to be a typical Central Plains tradition pot. It was found in the remains of an earthlodge in an Indian village in Ottawa County. Vessels of this sort tend to be rounded or globular in shape, have a restricted neck and grit temper. A cord-wrapped paddle was used by the American Indians to make the roughened surface treatment of this otherwise undecorated pot. Archeologists used plaster to fill in the missing portions of the vessel.

Central Plains tradition Vessel from 14OT1
Date: 1050-1400 CE
When the individual sherds of this vessel were reconstructed it showed it to be a typical Central Plains tradition pot. It was found in the remains of an earthlodge in an Indian village in Ottawa County. Vessels of this sort tend to be rounded or globular in shape, have a restricted neck and grit temper. A cord-wrapped paddle was used to make the roughened surface treatment of this otherwise undecorated pot. Archeologists used plaster to fill in the missing portions of the vessel.

Effigy Pipe from Atchison County
Date: 1350-1850 CE
This partial effigy pipe was found in Atchison County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1925. The soft, fine-grained material of the pipestone enabled the carver to shape and smooth the pipe, carve the effigy on the bottom and drill holes for the bowl and stem. The bowl and part of the effigy have been broken off. In Kansas, these pipes generally were carved by American Indians between 1350 to 1850 CE, though they continue to be made today. Pipes were used during trade negotiations and to mark special occasions.

Great Bend aspect Little River focus Vessel from the Paint Creek Site, 14MP1
Date: 1300-1650 CE
This pottery vessel was found at the Paint Creek village in McPherson County. It was donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1971. The pot, which is shell tempered, was reconstructed from many individual sherds, with the spaces filled in with plaster. The Paint Creek site is part of the Little River focus of the Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita), whose people practiced fishing, hunting, gathering, and agriculture.

Great Bend aspect Little River focus Vessel from the Paint Creek Site, 14MP1
Date: 1350-1650 CE
This pottery vessel was found at the Paint Creek village site in McPherson County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1971. The pot, which is shell tempered, was reconstructed from many individual sherds, with the spaces filled in with plaster. The Paint Creek site is part of the Little River focus of the Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita), whose people practiced fishing, hunting, gathering, and agriculture.

Great Bend aspect Little River focus Vessel from the Paint Creek Site, 14MP1
Date: 1300-1650 CE
This pottery vessel was found at the Paint Creek village in McPherson County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1971. The pot was reconstructed from two large sherds, with the spaces filled in with plaster. The Paint Creek site is part of the Little River focus of the Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita), whose people practiced fishing, hunting, gathering, and agriculture.

Great Bend aspect Little River focus Vessel from the Paint Creek Site, 14MP1
Date: 1300-1650 CE
This pottery vessel was found at the Paint Creek village in McPherson County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1971. The pot was reconstructed from two large sherds, with the spaces filled in with plaster. The Paint Creek site is part of the Little River focus of the Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita), whose people practiced fishing, hunting, gathering, and agriculture.

Hematite Artifact from Greenwood County
Date: 1350-1850 CE
This hematite artifact was found in Greenwood County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1984. The broken artifact still shows four grooved lines, though what its original function was is unknown. Hematite is a relatively soft and fine-grained mineral form of iron oxide. It is easily carved and polished.

Hetzel biface
Date: Unknown
This large biface was found in Shawnee County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1886. It may have been stored for future use (what Archeologists call a cache), meant for trade, or had some other significance we today do not know. It was broken prior to its donation. It is made from a large slab of Smoky Hill Jasper, which outcrops in north central and northwestern Kansas.

Kansas Pipestone Artifact from 14RC410
Date: 1400-1499 CE
This fragment of Kansas pipestone was recovered in 1981 by Kansas Historical Society archeologists at an archeological site in Rice County. The function of the artifact is unknown, it may have been a work in progress. The soft, fine-grain Kansas pipestone material enabled the carver to shape, smooth, and incise or score lines on the artifact. The site is part of what archeologists call the Little River Focus of the Great Bend Aspect (ancestral Wichita), whose people practiced fishing, hunting, gathering, and agriculture.

Pipestone Artifact
Date: 1350-1850 CE
Several of these carved pipestone items have been found in Northeast Kansas. The show up in different sites, and are likely historic American Indian in origin. They may have been used for molds for softer metals, such as lead or pewter. Only one that we know of comes from an excavated context, a Kansa village site, which was occupied from 1828-1844 CE.

Pipestone Pendant
Date: 1350-1850 CE
This pipestone or Catlinite pendant was found in Jefferson County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1999. The soft fine grain material enabled the pendant's carver to shape and smooth the piece, drill two holes for suspending the pendent, and to incise the fine lines that partially depict an image.

Pipestone Pendant Fragment from the Tobias Site, 14RC8
Date: 1400-1700 CE
This pipestone pendant or ornament fragment was excavated during the 2019 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school at the Tobias site in Rice County. The soft, fine-grained composition of the pipestone enabled the carver to shape, smooth, and drill a hole in the piece. The Tobias site is a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village that had dense artifact deposits, house remains, and numerous deep trash-filled storage pits. The site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Pipestone Pipe from Lyons County
Date: 1650-1850 CE
This pipestone pipe was found in Lyon County. In Kansas, these pipes generally were made by American Indians between 1650 to 1850 CE, though they continue to be made today. A recent study identified the original source of the raw material for this pipe as from Minnesota, though whether it was carved there or traded as raw material is unknown. The soft pipestone enabled the pipe's maker to carve it into its unusual square shape, most pipe bowls are round. Pipes were used during trade negotiations and to mark special occasions.

Pratt Complex Middle Ceramic Vessel
Date: 1300-1500 CE
The sherds of this reconstructed vessel were found at the Seuser site in Rush County in 1970. The vessel is from the Pratt Complex which occurred during the Middle Ceramic period. This pottery is typically cord marked, sometimes smoothed over cord marked, with sand tempering. The decorations around the rim were made by a pointed tool and by pinching the clay. Archeologists filled in the missing pieces of the vessel with plaster.

Pratt Complex Middle Ceramic Vessel
Date: 1300-1500 CE
The sherds of this reconstructed vessel were found at the Seuser site in Rush County in 1970. The vessel is from the Pratt Complex which occurred during the Middle Ceramic period. This pottery is typically cord marked, sometimes smoothed over cord marked, with sand tempering. The decorations around the rim were made by a pointed tool and by pinching the clay. Archeologists filled in the missing pieces of the vessel with plaster.

Scrapers from 14RC410
Date: 1400-1499 CE
These scrapers were recovered in 1981 by Kansas Historical Society archeologists at an archeological site in Rice County. Scrapers such as these would have been hafted on a handle and used to scrape hides. They would have required periodic resharpening. They are made of Alibates flint, a silicified or agatized dolomite from the Canadian River valley in the Texas panhandle; Smoky Hill silicified chalk, which outcrops in western Kansas and Nebraska; and local cherts from the Flint Hills region. The site is what archeologists call part of the Little River Focus of the Great Bend Aspect (ancestral Wichita), whose people practiced fishing, hunting, gathering, and agriculture.

Smoky Hill Phase Middle Ceramic Vessel from the Minneapolis Site, 14OT5
Date: 1232-1409 CE
This Smoky Hill Phase vessel was found at the Minneapolis Archeological Site in Ottawa County. A cord-wrapped paddle was used to make the roughened surface treatment of this otherwise undecorated pot. The globular or round shape of the vessel was efficient for cooking and storage.

Smoky Hill Phase Middle Ceramic Vessel from the Minneapolis Site, 14OT5
Date: 1232-1409 CE
This Smoky Hill Phase vessel was found at the Minneapolis Archeological Site in Ottawa County. A cord-wrapped paddle was used to make the roughened surface treatment of this otherwise undecorated pot. The globular or round shape of the vessel was efficient for cooking and storage.