A Chipped Stone Tool Collection from the Andrew Nudson Site, 14RY392
Date: 1000-1500 CE
These three chipped stone tools were collected from a Middle Ceramic period archeological site in Riley County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1925. Shown from left to right are two drills and a corner notched arrow point. All are made of local Flint Hills chert. Drills were used to bore holes in materials softer than the drill itself, such as hides, shell, wood, or soft stone. The notches on the arrow point, though not well defined, aided in hafting it to the arrow shaft.

Adze or Axe from the Wullschleger Site, 14MH301
Date: 1-1800 CE
This chipped stone tool, made of Florence chert that outcrops in the Flint Hills of Kansas and Oklahoma, may have been used as an adze or axe. Artifacts like this one were likely used for wood working. It was collected from the Wullscheleger site in Marshall County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1961. The site was occupied periodically throughout the Early, Middle and Late Ceramic periods.

Adze or Axe from the Wullschleger Site, 14MH301
Date: 1-1800 CE
This chipped stone tool, made of Florence chert that outcrops in the Flint Hills of Kansas and Oklahoma, may have been used as an adze or an axe used for wood working. It was collected from the Wullscheleger site in Marshall County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1961. The site was occupied periodically throughout the Early, Middle and Late Ceramic periods.

A Lithic Collection from the Elliott Site, 14GE303
Date: 4250-2850 BCE
These eight lithic artifacts were collected from an archeological site in Geary County with a Munkers Creek component. They were donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1925. The artifacts shown here are eight large thick bifaces that may have been used as woodworking tools. The upper left artifact has silica gloss from use on plant materials. The Munkers Creek phase describes a stone tool technology restricted primarily to the Flint Hills. During this time most of North America was in a prolonged drought so severe that some archeologists thought people left the Plains. Munkers Creek artifacts show that people stayed, but they had to adapt by using many different types of animals and plants for food in a less productive environment.

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 14BT418
Date: 1500-1800 CE
This alternately beveled knife was collected from an archeological site in Barton County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2021. Archeologists believe that knives shaped like this would have been used for butchering bison and other large game animals and are sometimes called Harahey knives. Repeated sharpening on alternate sides created bevels. This example is made of Permian chert from the Flint Hills region.

Alternately Beveled Knife from 14CO1502
Date: Unknown
This alternately beveled knife fragment was collected from a Cowley County archeological site and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2018. It is made of local 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. Repeated sharpening on the knife's alternate sides created the bevels.

Alternately Beveled Knife from Archeological Site 14SA415
Date: 1200-1299 CE
This alternately beveled knife was recovered from excavations at archeological site 14SA415 in the 1970s and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2020. 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 the general diamond shape are also sometimes called Harahey knives. The knife was recovered from a Smoky Hill phase lodge at the site occupied during the Middle Ceramic period in Saline County.

Alternately Beveled Knife from the Buresh Site, 14SR303
Date: 1000-1800 CE
This alternately beveled knife was recovered from the Buresh site, a Middle Ceramic village in Sumner County. The knife is made of local Flint Hills chert that had been heat treated to improve knapping quality of the chert. Knives with the general diamond shape are also sometimes called Harahey knives. Archeologists believe that a knife shaped like this one would have been used for bison butchering.

Alternately Beveled Knife from the Hays Lankard Site, 14AD353
Date: 1-1800 CE
This knife was collected from the Hays Lankard site, an archeological site in Anderson County and donated in 1961 to the Kansas Historical Society. The knife get its pinkish color as a result of the material being carefully heated before manufacturing to improve the chert's knapping qualities. Repeated sharpening on alternate sides created bevels. The two notches near the base indicate that the knife was mostly likely hafted. One side is nearly covered with the collector's notes.

Alternately Beveled Knife from the Shrope Site, 14CO331
Date: 1400-1725 CE
This alternately beveled knife was recovered from the Shrope village site in Cowley County. The knife gets its pinkish color as a result of the material being carefully heated before manufacturing to improve the chert's knapping qualities. Repeated sharpening on alternate sides created bevels and the two notches near the base indicate that the knife was most likely hafted. 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.

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 Mulcahy Site, 14AD19
Date: Unknown
These two knives were collected from the Mulcahy site in Anderson County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society. Repeated sharpening on alternate sides created the knife bevels. Both knives are made of Florence chert and the diamond shaped knife has been heat treated to improve its knapping qualities. Knives with this general diamond shape are also sometimes called Harahey knives. Archeologists believe that knives shaped like this were used for bison butchering.

Alternately Beveled Knives from the Radio Lane Site, 14CO385
Date: 1400-1725 CE
These alternately beveled knives were recovered at the Radio Lane site, a large Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village in Cowley County. The knives are made of local Florence chert from the Flint Hills region. The knives get their pinkish color as a result of the material being carefully heated before manufacturing to improve the chert's knapping qualities. Repeated sharpening on alternate sides created bevels. The two notches near the base of two knives indicates that they were likely hafted. Kansas Historical Society archeologists and crew excavated at the site during 1995.

Archaic Projectile Point from 14GR324
Date: 8000 BCE - 1 CE
This Archaic period dart point was recovered from 14GR324, a Native American site in Greenwood County. The chert get its pinkish color as a result of the material being carefully heated before manufacturing to improve the chert's knapping qualities. Dart points would be mounted to the dart foreshaft, which would in turn be connected to the dart shaft. The assembled dart would then be thrown with an atlatl (spearthrower).

Arrow Point from 14CO395
Date: 1-1000 CE
This arrow point was recovered from an Early Ceramic period archeological site in Cowley County. The point is made of local Flint Hills region chert and gets its pinkish color as a result of the material being carefully heated before manufacturing to improve the chert's knapping qualities.

Arrow Point from 14DN302
Date: 1500-1800 CE
This arrow point was collected from an archeological site in Dickinson County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2010. The small, triangular arrow point with a slightly concave base is made of Florence chert from the Flint Hills region. Archeologists identify this projectile point style as Fresno arrow points: unnotched with a triangular shape. Though small and thin, they would have been extremely effective on the hunt.

Arrow Point from Riley County
Date: 1000 - 1500 CE
This arrow point was collected from Riley County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1956. The side-notched point, made of local Flint Hills chert, is typical of the Middle Ceramic period (1000-1500 CE), but can be found later than that time period.

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 14MY316
Date: 700-1500 CE
These four arrow points were recovered from an archeological site along the Elk River in Montgomery County. All are made of Florence chert which outcrops in the Flint Hills of Kansas and Oklahoma. All were heat treated, a method to improve the knapping qualities of a chert which results in a pinkish color. Two of the arrow points are triangular and two are corner-notched. The site had house remains and is considered to be part of the Pomona focus of the Early and Middle Ceramic periods. Pomona focus sites are located in eastern Kansas and western Missouri.

Arrow Points from Archeological Site 14CS401
Date: 1-1000 CE
These arrow points, one side notched and two unnotched, were collected from archeological site 14CS401 in Chase County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2005. All are made of local Flint Hills region chert.

Arrow Points from Archeological Site 14RY395
Date: 1000-1500 CE
These arrow points were collected at an archeological site in Riley County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1881. The two different styles shown, side-notched and triangular, are both made from local Flint Hills region cherts. The site was occupied by people of the Upper Republican phase of the Central Plains tradition during the Middle Ceramic period (1000 - 1500 CE).

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 Bell Site, 14CM407
Date: 1000-1500 CE
These arrow points were recovered from the Bell village site in Comanche County during the 1984 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school. The bottom row shows side-notched points made of Flint Hills region chert. The point on the upper left has a single notch and the upper right point is triangular. Both are made of Alibates agatized dolomite from the Canadian River valley in the Texas panhandle. The Bell site is a Middle Ceramic period Wilmore complex site occupied by people who gardened, fished, and hunted, primarily bison, in south central Kansas and north central Oklahoma.

Arrow Points from the Buresh Site, 14SR303
Date: 1100-1500 CE
These arrow points were recovered from the Buresh site, a Middle Ceramic village in Sumner County. The two arrow points shown in the top row are identified as Harrell points by their single side and base notches. The three Washita points in the middle row are identified by their hafting notches that are generally high on the blade and the two unnotched, triangular arrow points on the bottom are identified as Fresno points. All are made of local Flint Hills region cherts, three with a pink cast indicating they were heat treated during an early stage of its manufacture to improve the chert's knapping qualities.