Bone Grassing Needle from the Kermit Hayes Site, 14RC306
Date: 1450-1700 CE
This reconstructed bone grassing needle was used in the construction of a grass lodge. It was recovered from a archeological site in Rice County during the 1981 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school. Bundles of long prairie grass were connected with strong cordage using these needles that were blunt on one end and with a drilled hole at the other end. A small trace of the drilled hole remains on this needle. The site was a small Great Bend aspect, Little River focus grass-covered pit house that included an entryway, storage pits, post molds and a hearth. The people that inhabited Great Bend aspect sites are ancestral to the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes.

Bone Needle and Awls from the Tobias Site, 14RC8
Date: 1400-1700 CE
This bone needle and four awls were recovered from the Tobias site in Rice County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2020. Needles and awls typically were made from bone splinters, then sharpened and polished. They were used to make holes in soft material, like hides, and possibly in basket and pottery manufacturing and applying tattoos. The Tobias site is a Great Bend aspect village that had 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.

Bone Needle End from the Kermit Hayes No. 1 Site, 14RC3
Date: 1500-1800 CE
This bone needle fragment was just one of many bone tools that were recovered during excavation in 1995 at the Kermit Hayes No. 1 site. Though this needle was made from a small animal rib, often needles were made from a bone splinter, then sharpened and polished. The artifacts were donated in 2007 to the Kansas Historical Society. The site, atop a ridge in Rice County, was a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village. It is part of an Archaeological District in the National Registration of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark.

Bone Needles from the Whiteford/Price Site, 14SA1
Date: 1000-1500 CE
These two bone needles were excavated between 1936 to 1940 at the Whiteford (Price) Archeological site, a Middle Ceramic period village in Saline County. The site was occupied by people ancestral to the Pawnee tribe. The artifacts were donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1971. Needles such as these were made of a bone splinter, then sharpened and polished.

Bone Tools from the Booth Site, 14CM406
Date: 1400-1499 CE
These bone awls and needle were recovered from the Booth archeological site in Comanche County during the Kansas Archeology Training Program field school in 1989. Awls such as these are usually made from deer bone. Needles typically were made from bone splinters, then sharpened and polished. Awls and needles were used to make holes in soft material, like hides, and possibly in basket and pottery manufacturing and applying tattoos. The Booth site has evidence of multiple or long term occupations that are part of the Wilmore complex (1000 - 1500 CE) in western Kansas.

Tattoo Needle from the Thompson Site, 14RC9
Date: 1500-1800 CE
This tattoo needle was recovered from the Thompson site in Rice County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1963. The fine tip on this bone tool suggests it may have been intended for use as a tattoo needle. However, the lack of dark stains on the tip indicate it was never used for that purpose. The site, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, was a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village occupied during the Late Ceramic Period.