Alternately Beveled Knife and Drill from the Anthony Site, 14HP1
Date: 1100-1300 CE
This knife and drill were recovered from the Anthony site in Harper County. Repeated sharpening on the knife's alternate sides created the bevels. It is made of Florence chert from the Flint Hills region and gets its pinkish color as a result of the material being carefully heated before manufacturing to improve the chert's knapping qualities. Drills were used to bore holes in materials softer than the drill itself, such as hides, shell, wood, or soft stone. The drill is made of Smoky Hill silicified chalk, a type of chert that outcrops in western Kansas and north into Nebraska. 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.

Alternately Beveled Knife from 14BT435
Date: 1000-1500 CE
This alternately beveled knife was collected from an archeological site in Barton County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2021. Repeated sharpening on alternate sides created the bevels and at least some were likely hafted to a handle. made of Smoky Hill silicified chalk, a type of chert that outcrops in western Kansas and north into Nebraska.

Alternately Beveled Knife from the Lundeen Site, 14MD306
Date: 1237-1435 CE
This alternately beveled knife was recovered during excavations at the 1998 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school in Meade County at the Lundeen site. It is made of Smoky Hill silicified chalk, which outcrops in western Kansas and Nebraska. Archeologists believe that knives shaped like this would have been used for butchering bison and other large game animals. Repeated sharpening on alternate sides created bevels. Knives with this general diamond shape are also called Harahey knives. The site is a Middle Ceramic period camp that is part of the Wilmore Complex.

Alternately Beveled Knife from the Tobias Site, 14RC8
Date: 1400-1700 CE
This alternately beveled knife was recovered from excavations during the 1977 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school at the Tobias site in Rice County. The knife is made of Smoky Hill silicified chalk, a good quality knapping material that is exposed in linear beds in northwestern Kansas and western Nebraska. Repeated sharpening on the knife's alternate sides created the bevels. 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.

Alternately Beveled Knife from the Tobias Site, 14RC8
Date: 1400-1700 CE
This alternately beveled knife was recovered from excavations during the 2019 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school at the Tobias site in Rice County. The knife is made of Smoky Hill silicified chalk, a good quality knapping material that is exposed in linear beds in northwestern Kansas and western Nebraska. Repeated sharpening on the knife's alternate sides created the bevels. 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.

Alternately Beveled Knife from the Wells Site, 14BT404
Date: 1650-1750 CE
This alternately beveled knife was collected from the Wells village site in Barton County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2007. Repeated sharpening on the knife's alternate sides created the bevels. The knife is made of Smoky Hill silicified chalk that outcrops in western Kansas and Nebraska. The village site had an abundance of artifacts that reflect not only a Dismal River aspect occupation (1650 - 1750 CE) but also a historic component.

Alternately Beveled Knives from 14BT413
Date: 1500-1800 CE
These alternately beveled knives were recovered from a Late Ceramic period archeological site in Barton County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2021. Repeated sharpening on alternate sides created the bevels and at least some were likely hafted to a handle. Two are made of Alibates Agatized dolomite, a silicified or agatized dolomite from the Canadian River valley in the Texas panhandle. The other two are made of Smoky Hill silicified chalk, a type of chert that outcrops in western Kansas and north into Nebraska. Archeologists are interested in what the artifacts can tell about how people used resources, moved across their landscapes, and interacted with other groups.

Alternately Beveled Knives from 14EK318
Date: 1-1500 CE
These three alternately beveled knife fragments were recovered from an archeological site in Elk County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1974 and 1975. Knives with a general diamond shape, as is the white fragment, are sometimes called Harahey knives. Archeologists believe that a knife shaped like this would have been used for bison butchering. The other two knife fragments are alternately beveled on two sides. The pinkish color of one knife fragment is a result of the material being carefully heated before manufacturing to improve the chert's knapping qualities. The remaining alternately beveled knife fragment was made of Smoky Hill silicified chalk.

Alternately Beveled Knives from 14MY316
Date: 700-1500 CE
These five alternately beveled knife fragments were recovered from an archeological site along the Elk River in Montgomery County. Repeated sharpening on the knives alternate sides created the bevels. The three on the bottom are made of Permian chert and the one on the bottom right has been heat-treated prior to knapping to improve the knapping qualities of the chert. The two on the top row are made of an unknown chert. The site had house remains and is considered to be part of the Pomona focus of the Early and Middle Ceramic period. Pomona focus sites are located in eastern Kansas and western Missouri.

Alternately Beveled Knives from Russell County
Date: Unknown
These five alternately beveled knives were found in Russell County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2015. Repeated sharpening on the knife's alternate sides created the bevels. There is one heat treated Florence chert knife (top row, right). All of the other knives were made of Smoky Hill silicified chalk, which outcrops in western Kansas. All of the knives are fragments with the exception of the pink colored one on the bottom row.

Alternately Beveled Knives from the Lewis Site, 14PA307
Date: 1000-1700 CE
These four alternately beveled knives were recovered from excavations in 1966 at the Lewis site in Pawnee County by Kansas Historical Society archeologists. Repeated sharpening on the knife's alternate sides created the bevels. Three of the knives are made of Smoky Hill silicified chalk, a good quality knapping material that is exposed in linear beds in northwestern Kansas and western Nebraska. The fourth knife is made of Alibates agatized dolomite from the Canadian River valley in the Texas panhandle. The Lewis site is multiple occupation habitation site with Pratt Complex (Middle Ceramic period), Smoky Hill aspect (Middle Ceramic period), and Great Bend aspect (Late Ceramic period) occupations.

Alternately Beveled Knives from the Saxman Site, 14RC301
Date: 1500-1650 CE
Shown are four alternately beveled knives that were collected from the Saxman site in Rice County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2017. Repeated sharpening on the knife's alternate sides created the bevels. Three of the knives are made on Smoky Hill silicified chalk, which outcrops in western Kansas. The slight pinkish color of the fourth knife indicates that it had been heat treated, prior to knapping, to improve knapping quality of the chert. The Saxman site, a large Great Bend aspect village, was occupied by the ancestral Wichita peoples.

Arrow Point from 14PH342
Date: 500-1100 CE
This arrow point was recovered from a Keith phase archeological site in Phillips County. The arrow point has corner-notches to aid in hafting the point to the arrow shaft. The Keith phase site would have been occupied sometime between 500 and 1100 CE. The people who lived here were semi-sedentary hunters and gatherers.

Arrow Point from the Tobias Site, 14RC8
Date: 1400-1700 CE
These arrow points were recovered from excavations during the 1977 and 2019 Kansas Archeology Training Program field schools at the Tobias site in Rice County. One arrow point is side-notched and one is triangular. The Tobias site is a Great Bend aspect village that has dense artifact deposits, house remains and numerous deep trash-filled storage pits. The people that inhabited Great Bend aspect sites are ancestral to the Wichita and affiliated tribes. The site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Arrow Points from 14BT406
Date: 1650-1750 CE
These triangular arrow points were recovered from an archeological site in Barton County, and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2021. Manufacturing materials include Alibates agatized dolomite from the Canadian River valley in the Texas panhandle, Flint Hills region chert, and Smoky Hill silicified chalk, which outcrops in western Kansas and Nebraska in addition to unknown chert. This suggests either trade or travel by the people living at the site. The site had an abundance of artifacts that reflect a Dismal River aspect (Apache) occupation.

Arrow Points from 14BT420
Date: 1000-1500 CE
These arrow points were collected from an archeological site in Barton County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2021. All of the points are corner notched. The point on the left is made of Alibates agatized dolomite from the Canadian River valley in the Texas panhandle. This suggests either trade with people further south or travel by the people living here to the Texas panhandle. The two points in the center may be made of Flint Hills region chert that has been heated to improve its knapping quality. The point on the right is Smoky Hill silicified chalk, which outcrops in western Kansas and Nebraska. The site had indications of at least one house and a large midden (refuse) area.

Arrow Points from 14BT424
Date: 1000-1800 CE
These arrow points were collected from an archeological site in Barton County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2021. All are made of Smoky Hill silicified chalk, which outcrops in western Kansas and Nebraska. Shown (left to right) is a side-notched point, a side- and basal-notched point, and a triangular point.

Arrow Points from 14WC408
Date: 1000-1500 CE
These five arrow points were collected from an archeological site near the Smoky Hill River in Wallace County and donated in 2018 to the Kansas Historical Society. All five are corner-notched. The notches aided in hafting the point to the arrow shaft. The three arrow points on the top row were made of Smoky Hill silicified chalk, which outcrops in western Kansas and Nebraska. The two on the bottom row were made of Alibates flint, a silicified or agatized dolomite from the Canadian River valley in the Texas panhandle.

Arrow Points from Harvey County
Date: Unknown
Little is known regarding these four arrow points that were donated in 2012 to the Kansas Historical Society. They were collected from an archeological site in Harvey County, but the location of the site was not recorded. Shown are two contracting stemmed points, a corner-notched point and a triangular arrow point made of Smoky Hill silicified chalk. The other three points were made of Permian chert and two were heat treated to improve their knapping qualities.

Arrow Points from the 102 Steel Point Site, 14MO414
Date: 1847-1874
These arrow points were recovered from an archeological site in Morris County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2020. The side-notched arrow point on the left is made of Smoky Hill silicified chalk, which outcrops in western Kansas and Nebraska. The corner-notched arrow point on the right is made of local Flint Hills chert that was heated prior to its completion to make it easier to knap. The notches aided in hafting the points to the arrow shafts. The site had multiple occupations from the Archaic period (8000 to 2000 years ago) to the late 1800s and may have been one of three large Kansa sites along the Neosho River occupied during the mid-19th century.

Arrow Points from the LeBeau Site, 14NT305
Date: 800-1100 CE
These arrow points were recovered from the LeBeau archeological site in Norton County during the Kansas Archeology Training Program field school in 1983. All are made of local Smoky Hill silicified chalk. The notches aided in hafting the point to the arrow shaft. LeBeau is an Upper Republican phase habitation site with numerous storage pits that dates to approximately 800 - 1100 CE.

Arrow Points from the Lundeen Site, 14MD306
Date: 1237-1435 CE
These arrow points were recovered during excavations at the 1998 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school in Meade County at the Lundeen site. They are made of Smoky Hill silicified chalk, which outcrops in western Kansas, and Alibates agatized dolomite from the Canadian River valley in the Texas panhandle. This suggests either trade with people further south or travel by people from the Lundeen site to the Texas panhandle. The site is a Middle Ceramic period camp that is part of the Wilmore Complex.

Arrow Points from the Malone Site, 14RC5
Date: 1432-1651 CE
These arrow points were collected from the Malone village site in Rice County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2001 and 2005. The two on the top row are triangular points made of Smoky Hill silicified chalk, which outcrops in western Kansas and Nebraska. The three points on the bottom row are side-notched: the one on the left is made of Alibates flint, a silicified or agatized dolomite from the Canadian River valley in the Texas panhandle and the two on the right are made of local chert from the Flint Hills region. The Malone site is a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village that had dense artifact deposits and numerous deep trash-filled storage pits.

Arrow Points from the Schwantes Site, 14MP407
Date: 1000-1500 CE
These arrow points were recovered from the Schwantes site in McPherson County during the Kansas Archeology Training Program field school in 2004. One is a side-notched point made of local Flint Hills region chert. It gets its pinkish color as a result of the flintknapper heat treating the material to improve the chert's knapping qualities. The other point is triangular and made of Smoky Hill silicified chalk that outcrops in western Kansas and Nebraska. The Schwantes site had multiple occupations through time: at least one Smoky Hill aspect habitation that was examined in 2004 and a later Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita and Affiliated Tribes) occupation.

Arrow Points from the Thompson Site, 14RC9
Date: 1500-1800 CE
These arrow points were among the many collected and excavated from the Thompson site in Rice County. The site, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, was a Great Bend aspect village occupied by ancestral Wichita people. The arrow point on the top right was excavated during the 1986 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school. All others were donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1971. The arrow point on the left of the top row is side-notched. The others are triangular or Fresno arrow points. Archeologists identify Fresno arrow points as being unnotched with a triangular shape. Though small and thin, they would have been extremely effective on the hunt.