Antler Billet from the Saxman Site, 14RC301
Date: 1500-1650 CE
This flintknapping tool, an antler billet, was recovered from the Saxman site in Rice County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2016. The billet was made from the base of an antler and was used to remove flakes from chert during flintknapping. The Saxman site, a large Great Bend aspect village, was occupied by the ancestral Wichita people.

Arrow Shaft Wrenches from the Nulik Site, 14SR305
Date: 1000-1500 CE
These broken bone arrow shaft wrenches were recovered during excavations in 1969 by Kansas Historical Society archeologists at the Nulik site in Sumner County. Arrow shaft wrenches were used to straighten a warped arrow shaft. Two of these wrenches were made on deer tibias and one on a deer long bone. Two wrenches are decorated with incised zig zags and lines. The excavations at the site revealed a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) house and associated midden (refuse heap or mound).

Arrow Shaft Wrench from the Thompson Site, 14RC9
Date: 1500-1800 CE
This bone arrow shaft wrench was recovered from the Thompson site in Rice County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1963. Arrow shaft wrenches were used to straighten a warped arrow shaft. This wrench was made on the left tibia of a deer. The site, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, was a Great Bend aspect village occupied by ancestral Wichita people.

Artifact Collection from 14SF301
Date: 1975
Shown is a slide, taken in 1975, of artifacts collected at the Comanche Archeological Site in Stafford County. The site was the location of a camp in a blowout (a depression created by wind erosion) within stabilized sand dunes. Archeologists consider the site to be multicomponent (multiple occupations) that was occupied periodically through the Early to Late Ceramic Periods (1 CE - 1800). Artifacts shown on the slide include bone, pottery sherds, chert knives and arrow points.

Awl from the Paint Creek Site, 14MP1
Date: 1500-1800 CE
This complete bone awl was found at the Paint Creek archeological site, a village in McPherson County, Kansas. 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 awl was donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2012. 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.

Awl from the Thompson Site, 14RC9
Date: 1500-1800 CE
This awl was recovered during excavations at the 1986 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school at the Thompson site in Rice County. The right fibula of a raccoon was sharpened and polished to make the awl. Awls were used as a perforating tool in soft materials, like hides, and possibly in basket and pottery manufacture. The site, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, was a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village.

Awls from the El Cuartelejo Site, 14SC1
Date: 1650-1750 CE
Shown are three of the many bone awls that were recovered from the El Cuartelejo site in Scott County. The site, unique in Kansas, is the location of a seven room pueblo occupied by refugees from the Taos and Picuris pueblos in New Mexico in addition to Dismal River aspect groups (Apache). El Cuartelejo, also called the Scott County Pueblo, has been excavated and studied by many archeologists since 1898. These awls were recovered during the 1976 Kansas Archeology Training Program. Awls were usually made from deer bone and used as a perforating tool in soft material, like hides, and possibly in basket and pottery manufacturing. The awl on the left was made from a whitetail deer ulna and the awl in the center from a deer metapodial. The awl on the right was made from a rib, which, when the tip broke was never used again.

Awls from the Sharps Creek Site, 14MP408
Date: 1500-1800 CE
These three awls were recovered from the Sharps Creek site in McPherson County, a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village that was occupied during the Late Ceramic period. Awls were usually made from deer bone and used as a perforating tool in soft material, like hides, and possibly in basket and pottery manufacturing. The two awls on the left were recovered during excavation at the site in 1968 by Kansas Historical Society archeologists. The smaller awl on the right was recovered during excavations at the 1993 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school.

Awls from the Tobias Site, 14RC8
Date: 1400-1700 CE
Shown here are bone awls recovered from the excavations during the 1977 and 1978 Kansas Archeology Training Program field schools at the Tobias site in Rice County. Awls were usually made from deer bone and used as a perforating tool in soft material like hides, and possibly in basket and pottery manufacturing. The Tobias site is a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village that has dense artifact deposits, house remains, and numerous deep trash-filled storage pits. The site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Awls from the Tobias Site, 14RC8
Date: 1400-1700 CE
Shown here are three of the many bone awls excavated at the Tobias site, a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) site in Rice County. The Tobias site was the location of the 1977 and 1978 Kansas Archeology Training Program field schools. The smallest awl was recovered in 1977 and the two larger awls were recovered in 1978. Awls were usually made from deer bone and used as a perforating tool in soft material, like hides, and possibly in basket and pottery manufacturing. 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.

Awls from the Trowbridge Site, 14WY1
Date: 1-250 CE
These awls were found at the Trowbridge archeological site, in Wyandotte County, and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1973. Awls such as these are usually made from deer bone. They were used to make holes in soft material, like hides, and possibly in basket and pottery manufacturing. Trowbridge is a Kansas City Hopewell site from the Early Ceramic Period. During this time archeologists find evidence of houses, cultivated plants, and decorated pottery.

Beads from the Forrest Site, 14PA303
Date: 500-1100 CE
These bone and shell beads were recovered at the Forrest site, a Keith phase site in Pawnee County during excavations by Kansas Historical Society and University of Kansas archeologists in 1967. The flat disk bead was cut from a mussel shell and drilled. The bone beads were made from small animal bones. They were scored, then cut or snapped, and finally had their edges smoothed, to form the tubular beads. Incised spirals and rings were added to each bead for decoration. The site was occupied sometime between 500 and 1100 CE. The people who lived here were semi-sedentary hunters and gatherers.

Beads from the Shrope Site, 14CO331
Date: 1400-1725 CE
A salvage excavation was conducted at the Shrope site in Cowley County by Kansas Historical Society archeologists and crew in 1995. The shell bead shown here, and numerous artifacts, were recovered from deep within a bell-shaped pit. The mussel shell is delicate and great care must have been taken to create the oval hole and shape the bead. The bone bead was found at shallower depths in a different pit. Both ends of a bird bone have been scored, snapped and smoothed to create the bead. The Shrope site was a large Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village. Forty-one archeological features, such as storage pits, hearths, and post molds, were uncovered at the site.

Bird Bone Beads from the Curry Site, 14GR301
Date: 1200-1400 CE
These bird bone beads and others were recovered from the Curry site in Greenwood County, and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1984. The Curry site was a multicomponent (multiple occupations) site occupied periodically during the Archaic, Early Ceramic and Middle Ceramic Periods. The beads were made from a section of bird bone. They were scored, then cut or snapped, and finally had their edges smoothed, to form the tubular beads. Incised spirals and rings were added to each bead for decoration.

Bison Bone Digging Stick Tip from the Radio Lane Site, 14CO385
Date: 1400-1725 CE
This digging stick tip was recovered from the Radio Lane archeological site in Cowley County. This digging stick tip, made from a bison leg bone, was used to dig holes and plants seeds. The tool has a beveled bottom for working in the soil and would have had a handle socketed at the top. The Radio Lane site was a large Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village. Kansas Historical Society archeologists and crew excavated there during a salvage project in 1995.

Bison Bone Rasp from the Crandall Site, 14RC420
Date: 1500-1800 CE
This rasp was excavated from the Crandall site in Rice County during the 1983 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school. The rasp was made by cutting grooves into a bison rib. At some point, the rasp was broken into two pieces. Archeologists believe that artifacts like these could have been used as musical instruments by drawing a stick across the grooves. The Crandall site is a Little River focus Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) habitation site.

Bison Bone Rasp from the Shrope Site, 14CO331
Date: 1400-1725 CE
This bison bone rasp was recovered from the Shrope village site in Cowley County. The rasp was made by cutting grooves (36 still present) into a bison rib. Archeologists believe that artifacts like these could have been used as musical instruments by drawing a stick across the grooves. The Shrope site, a large Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village, was excavated by Kansas Historical Society archeologists and crew in 1995. Forty-one archeological features, such as storage pits, hearths, and post molds, were uncovered at the site.

Bison Scapula Hoe Fragments from the Sharps Creek Site, 14MP408
Date: 1500-1800 CE
These three bison scapula hoe fragments were recovered in 1968 by Kansas Historical Society archeologists at the Sharps Creek village in McPherson County. The hoe's maker removed the long spine that runs the length of the scapula (shoulder blade), beveled and sharpened the edge, and hafted it to a handle. The Sharps Creek site is part of the Little River focus of the Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita), whose people practiced fishing, hunting, gathering, and agriculture.

Bison Scapula Hoe Fragments from the Tobias Site, 14RC8
Date: 1400-1700
These bison scapula hoe fragments were recovered from excavations during the 2019 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school at the Tobias site in Rice County. To make the hoe, the long spine that runs the length of the scapula (shoulder blade) was removed and the edges were beveled and sharpened. Then the hoe blade was hafted to a handle. 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.

Bison Scapula Hoe from the Aerhart Site, 14OT305
Date: 1000-1400 CE
This remnant of a bison scapula hoe was collected from the Aerhart site in 1934 and donated in 1971 to the Kansas Historical Society. The Aerhart site, in Ottawa County, was a Smoky Hill phase site with one circular house with an entryway to the southeast. The hoe's maker removed the long spine that runs the length of the scapula (shoulder blade), beveled and sharpened the edge, and hafted it to a handle. This hoe has nearly been completely used and may have been repurposed into another tool.

Bison Scapula Hoe from the Curry Site, 14GR301
Date: 1200-1400 CE
This portion of a bison scapula hoe was recovered from the Curry site and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1984. The Curry site is a multicomponent (multiple occupations) village in Greenwood County. The scapula was sharpened and attached to a handle and used as a hoe in gardening.

Bison Scapula Hoe from the Minneaspolis Site, 14OT5
Date: 1232-1409 CE
This bison scapula hoe was recovered from the Minneapolis archeological site in Ottawa County during excavation in 1934. It was donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1987. The Minneapolis site represents a village of the Smoky Hill Aspect peoples during the Middle Ceramic time period. The hoe's maker removed the long spine that runs the length of the scapula (shoulder blade), beveled and sharpened the edge, and hafted it to a handle.

Bison Scapula Hoe from the Tobias Site, 14RC8
Date: 1400-1700 CE
This bison scapula hoe fragment was excavated during the 2019 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school at the Tobias site in Rice County. The hoe's maker removed the long spine that runs the length of the scapula (shoulder blade), beveled and sharpened the edge, and hafted it to a handle. The beveled edge is still visible. 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.

Bison Scapula Hoes from the Anthony Site, 14HP1
Date: 1100-1300 CE
These two bison scapula hoe fragments were recovered from the Anthony site in Harper County. To make a hoe, the long spine that runs the length of the scapula (shoulder blade) was removed and the edges were beveled and sharpened. Then the hoe blade was hafted to a handle. The Anthony site dates to the Bluff Creek complex in the Middle Ceramic period. Bluff Creek people practiced a mixed economy of hunting, gathering, and some horticulture.

Bison Scapula Hoes from the Tobias Site, 14RC8
Date: 1400-1700 CE
These bison scapula hoes were recovered from excavations during the 1977 and 1978 Kansas Archeology Training Program field schools at the Tobias site in Rice County. The makers of the hoes removed the long spine that runs the length of the scapula (shoulder blade), beveled and sharpened the edge, and hafted it to a handle. 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.