To order images and/or obtain permission to use them commercially, please contact the KSHS Reference Desk at KSHS.reference@ks.gov or 785-272-8681, ext. 117.
For more information see the Copyright and Permission FAQ.
This crooked knife was recovered from the Blue Earth village site and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1880. Blue Earth village was a Kansa Indian village in Pottawatomie County. Many lodge depressions were still visible on the surface in the 1880s. Archeologists think these "crooked knives" were traded to the Kansa already in their unique shape. They were likely used for woodworking, such as in the manufacturing of bowls or spoons. Three nail holes indicate that the crooked knife once had a handle.
Date: 1795-1830 CE
Item Number: 446215
Call Number: 14PO24 80.21.5 Wells donation
KSHS Identifier: DaRT ID: 446215
Collections - Archeology
Objects and Artifacts - Archeological Artifacts - Artifact Type - Knife
People - American Indians - Tribes - Kanza (Kaw)
Places - Counties - Pottawatomie
Thematic Time Period - Early Peoples, 10000 BCE - 1820 CE - Late Ceramic, 1500 - 1820 CE
Thematic Time Period - Indian Territory, 1820 - 1854
http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/446215