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.

A Lithic Collection from 14BT420
Date: 1000-1500 CE
These chipped stone tools were recovered by Kansas Historical Society archeologists from an Middle Ceramic period archeological site in Barton County. Shown are an alternately beveled knife, a side-notched arrow point, a corner-notched arrow point and a section of a hafted knife. The latter two are made of Smoky Hill silicified chalk, which outcrops in western Kansas. The site had indications of at least one house and a large midden (refuse) area.

A Lithic Collection from 14CT312
Date: 1-1000 CE
These three chipped stone tools were collected from an Early Ceramic period archeological site in Chautauqua County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1976. Shown from left to right is an alternately beveled knife, a scraper, and a large corner-notched dart point fragment. Repeated sharpening on the knife's alternate sides created the bevels. Scrapers, such as this one would have been hafted onto a handle and used to scrape hides. The scraper would have required periodic resharpening. The dart point and the alternately beveled knife get their 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).

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).

Arrowpoint from 14DP343
Date: 1-1000 CE
This small arrow point was collected from an Early Ceramic period site in Doniphan County. The arrow point is what archeologists call corner notched. The notches aided in hafting the point to the arrow shaft.

Arrow Point from 14PA320
Date: 500-1100 CE
This arrow point was recovered from a Keith phase Early Ceramic period archeological site in Pawnee County. Archeologists consider corner-notched points to be the earliest form of arrow points that are found in the Great Plains. The notches aided in hafting the arrow point to the arrow shaft.

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 Points from 14BT408
Date: 1000-1800 CE
These arrow points were collected from a multicomponent (multiple occupations) archeological site in Barton County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2021. Shown are a double side-notched, a triangular, and a corner-notched arrow point, all made of Flint Hills region chert.

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 14CF1319
Date: 1000-1500 CE
These arrow points were collected from the surface of a camp site in Coffey County. Both are made of Flint Hills region chert and are corner-notched. The site may represent an occupation of people of the Pomona focus during the Middle Ceramic period.

Arrow Points from 14CF416
Date: 1-1800 CE
This assortment of five arrow points was recovered from site 14CF416, in Coffey County, and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2015. The two corner notched points on the left date to the Early Ceramic Period (1-1000 CE). The two side notched points in the middle date to the Middle Ceramic Period (1000-1500 CE) and the Fresno point of the far right dates to the Late Ceramic Period (1500-1800 CE). The pinkish color of two of the points indicates they have been heat treated to improve their knapping qualities.

Arrow Points from 14CK306
Date: 1-1000 CE
These arrow points were collected from a archeological site in Clark County. One arrow point has a corner-notched base, while the other is stemmed. Both would have been hafted to an arrow shaft and shot with a bow.

Arrow Points from 14CS355
Date: 1695-1745 CE
These two arrow points were recovered from 14CS355, a multicomponent (multiple occupations) Native American site in Chase County. Two radiocarbon dates are associated with the site: a hearth that was dated to 500 - 1055 CE and some charcoal dated to 1695 - 1745 CE. The arrow points get their pinkish color as a result of the material being carefully heated before manufacturing to improve the chert's knapping qualities.

Arrow Points from 14CW315
Date: 1-1000 CE
These two small arrow points were recovered from a village site in Crawford County. They are made of Permian chert from the Flint Hills region and get their pinkish color as a result of the material being carefully heated before manufacturing to improve the chert's knapping qualities. Archeologists consider corner-notched points such as these to be the earliest form of arrow points that are found in the Great Plains. The notches aided in hafting the point to the arrow shaft.

Arrow Points from 14JO354
Date: 1-1500 CE
These arrow points were collected from a Johnson County archeological site and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2003. Shown are side-notched and corner-notched points, one with serrated edges. The notches aided in hafting the point to the arrow shaft. The site had multiple occupations from the Archaic period through Middle Ceramic period (4000 BCE - 1500 CE).

Arrow Points from 14LY414
Date: 1-1000 CE
These five arrow points were collected from a multicomponent (multiple occupations) site in Lyon County and donated in 1958 to the Kansas Historical Society. The projectile points date approximately to the Early and Middle Ceramic periods. All five are made of Permian chert. Shown are two corner-notched, two side-notched, and one triangular shaped arrow points. Two of the arrow points get their pinkish color as a result of the material being carefully heated before manufacturing to improve the chert's knapping qualities.

Arrow Points from 14MY312
Date: 1-1000 CE
These two arrow points were collected from an Early Ceramic period site in Montgomery County and, in 1963, donated to the Kansas Historical Society. Both of the arrow points may have been heat-treated prior to knapping to improve their knapping qualities. Both corner-notched arrow points were made of Permian chert.

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 14MY349
Date: 1000-1800 CE
These six arrow points were collected from a multicomponent site in Montgomery County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1972, 1973, and 1975. Shown are side-notched, corner-notched, and triangular arrow points.

Arrow Points from 14PT420
Date: 1300-1500 CE
Shown are two arrow points recovered y Kansas Historical Society archeologists at a Middle Ceramic period Pratt complex village in Pratt County. The complete side-notched arrow point is made of an unknown chert. The corner-notched obsidian fragment was sent for X-ray-florescence (XRF) testing, a chemical analysis that indicates the original source of the obsidian. The flake was found to be from a lava flow in the Jemez Mountains near Taos, New Mexico. This type of analysis helps archeologists learn about ancient trade patterns, suggesting either trade with people further southwest or travel by Pratt complex people to the Jemez Mountains.

Arrow Points from 14SA424
Date: 1-1500 CE
Shown are six of the many arrow points collected from a multicomponent (multiple occupations) camp site in Saline County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2017. Five of the arrow points are corner notched, typically used during the Early Ceramic period. The last arrow point is side notched, more typical of the Middle Ceramic period. Four arrow points get their pinkish color as a result of the material being carefully heated before manufacturing to improve the chert's knapping qualities.

Arrow Points from 14SA424
Date: 1-1500 CE
Shown are six arrow points collected from a multicomponent (multiple occupations) archeological site in Saline County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2017. Five of the arrow points are corner-notched, typically used during the Early Ceramic period. The last arrow point is side-notched, more typical of the Middle Ceramic period. Four of the arrow points get their pinkish color as a result of the material being carefully heated before manufacturing to improve the chert's knapping qualities.

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.