Adze or Axe from the Country Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1400-1725 CE
This chipped stone tool, either an adze or an axe, was most likely used for woodworking. It was excavated from a Great Bend aspect village site (ancestral Wichita) in Cowley County during Phase IV archeological investigations in 1995. The site had been much impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations had been occurring at the site since 1916.

Beads from the Country Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1400 CE-1725
These three beads, each manufactured on a different material, were excavated from a Great Bend aspect village site in Cowley County during Phase IV archeological investigations in 1995. The site had been much impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations had been occurring at the site since 1916. One bead was made out of a crinoid fossil, perhaps found locally. Another is a white barrel shaped trade glass bead. The final bead is flat shaped and made of turquoise from the southwest.

Biface from the Country Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1400-1725 CE
This large chipped stone biface was excavated from a Great Bend aspect village site in Cowley County during Phase IV archeological investigations in 1995. The biface, made of Florence chert, may have been stored for future use (what Archeologists call a cache), been meant for trade, or had some other significance we today do not know. The site had been much impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations had been occurring at the site since 1916.

Bison Skull Fragment from the Country Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1400-1725 CE
The back portion of the skull shown here was attached to the uppermost vertebrae, the atlas or C1, of a bison. The skull fragment shows evidence of burning and polish, which may be pot polish or a sealant used to help preserve bone. The skull fragment was excavated from a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village in Cowley County during Phase IV archeological investigations in 1995. The site had been much impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations had been occurring at the site since 1916.

Bone Awl from the Country Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1400-1725 CE
This bone awl, refit from three pieces, was excavated from a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village in Cowley County during Phase IV archeological investigations in 1995. Awls such as this one are usually made from deer bone. They were used to make holes in soft material, like hides, and possibly in basket and pottery manufacturing. The site had been much impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations had been occurring at the site since 1916.

Caddoan Pottery from the Country Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1500-1725 CE
This rim sherd was excavated from a Great Bend aspect village in Cowley County in 1995. The sherd is decorated with a red film or slip and likely originated in the Red River region in Oklahoma or Texas. This vessel was probably made by the Caddo people who occupied northeast Texas and southeast Oklahoma and is evidence of long-distance trade between prehistoric people. The people that inhabited Great Bend aspect sites are ancestral to the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. The site was impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations had been occurring at the site since 1916.

Clay Objects from the Country Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1400-1725 CE
These two clay objects were excavated from a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village in Cowley County during Phase IV archeological investigations in 1995. These clay objects, one a cylinder or coil and the other a ball, could be remnants of preparing clay for pottery manufacture. The site had been much impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations had been occurring at the site since 1916.

Cowley Plain Rim Sherds from the County Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1400-1725 CE
These three rim sherds were excavated from a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village in Cowley County during a Phase IV archeological investigation in 1995. All three rims have shell temper. The black crust on some portions is likely burned food residue. The largest sherd has a handle scar still visible. The site had been much impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations had been occurring at the site since 1916.

Decorated Bison Bone from the Country Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1400-1725 CE
This bison metatarsal bone was excavated from a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village in Cowley County during archeological investigations in 1995. The bone, probably from a mature male bison is decorated on one side with a series of incised lines. The Country Club site had been much impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations have been occurring off and on at the site since 1916.

Deer Mandible Tools from the Country Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1400-1725 CE
These two deer mandible tools were excavated from a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village site in Cowley County during Phase IV archeological investigations in 1995. One mandible is nearly complete, the other has the horizontal ramus. Both mandibles show signs of modification and polish. The smaller one seems to have been stabilized with a wash of glue. Tools such as these could have been used as hide scrapers, corn shellers, or as an agricultural tool to aid in planting seeds. The site had been much impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations had been occurring at the site since 1916.

Excavation at the Country Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1995
Shown are five views (slides) of the excavations at a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village in Cowley County during Phase IV archeological investigations in 1995. Shown are views of a basin, a cache pit, bison scapulae exposed in an excavation unit, manos exposed in a feature and a post, perhaps from a structure. The site had been much impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations had been occurring at the site since 1916.

Fingernail-Impressed Pottery from the Country Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1400-1725 CE
These pottery fragments were recovered from a Great Bend aspect village site (ancestral Wichita) in Cowley County during Phase IV archeological investigations in 1995. The three pottery fragments came from a thin-walled jar and shell temper. The jar was decorated on the neck and shoulder with a series of fingernail impressions. The site had been greatly impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations had been occurring at the site since 1916.

Fresno Arrow Points from the Country Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1400-1725 CE
These five arrow points were excavated from a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village in Cowley County during Phase IV archeological investigations in 1995. Archeologists identify Fresno arrow points as being unnotched with a triangular shape. One point (upper left) was made of an unknown type of chert. The others were all made of Permian chert from the Flint Hills and were heat treated prior to manufacture to improve their knapping qualities. The site had been much impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations had been occurring at the site since 1916.

Handle Sherd from the Country Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1400-1725 CE
This handle sherd, once located just below the rim of a vessel, was excavated from a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village site in Cowley County during Phase IV archeological investigations in 1995. The handle was riveted onto the body of what may have been a Cowley Plain jar. The vessel had shell temper and a black crusty deposit that may have been food residue. The site had been much impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations had been occurring at the site since 1916.

Metate Fragment from the Country Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1400-1725 CE
A metate or grinding slab is the lowermost millstone for grinding foods or pigments by hand. They are different shapes and sizes. This one was excavated from a Great Bend aspect village site (ancestral Wichita) in Cowley County during Phase IV archeological investigations in 1995. The site had been much impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations had been occurring at the site since 1916.

Obsidian from the Country Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1400-1725 CE
These two fragments of obsidian were excavated from a Great Bend aspect village site in Cowley County during Phase IV archeological investigations in 1995. In 2005, they, along with other obsidian from the site, were analyzed using x-ray florescence (XRF) testing, an elemental analysis that matches the composition of the artifact to the composition of known sources. It was determined the obsidian from the site was Valles Rhyolite from the Cerro del Medio member and Cerro Toledo Rhyolite from the Obsidian Ridge member, both places found in the Jemez Mountains in New Mexico. Thus XRF studies help archeologists to learn about ancient trade patterns. The Country Club site had been much impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations had been occurring at the site since 1916.

Scrapers from the Country Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1400-1725 CE
These five scrapers were just a few of those excavated from a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village in Cowley County during Phase IV archeological investigations in 1995. Scrapers such as these would have been hafted on a handle and used to scrape hides. They would have required periodic resharpening. One scraper was made of Alibates flint, a silicified or agatized dolomite from the Canadian River valley in the Texas panhandle. Another scraper was made of an unknown chert. Three scrapers were made of Permian chert from the Flint Hills region. One scraper get their pinkish color as a result of the material being carefully heated before manufacturing to improve the chert's knapping qualities. The site had been much impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations had been occurring at the site since 1916.

Side-Notched Arrow Point from the Country Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1400-1725 CE
This side-notched arrow point was excavated from a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village in Cowley County during Phase IV archeological investigations in 1995. The arrow point was made of Permian chert. The notches aided in hafting the point to the arrow shaft. The site has been much impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations have been occurring at the site since 1916.

Turquoise from the Country Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1400-1725 CE
These small flakes and fragments of turquoise are just a few of those excavated from a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village in Cowley County during Phase IV archeological investigations in 1995. Turquoise is not common at Kansas archeological sites and its presence reflects trade with the southwest. The site had been much impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations had been occurring at the site since 1916.

Vessel Base Sherds from the Country Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1400-1725 CE
These three base sherds were excavated from a Great Bend aspect (ancestral village) village in Cowley County during Phase IV archeological investigations in 1995. All three sherds are shell tempered and each has at least a portion of the flat base of a vessel present. The site had been much impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations had been occurring at the site since 1916.