CHAPTER XI

CHIPPED STONE ARTIFACTS

Stone artifacts, for the purpbse of this discussion, will be
considered under the two usual major divisions, i. e., (1) chipped
implements and (2) ground implements, and in this chapter those
artifacts made by the chipping, breaking, or cleavage of stone, will
be briefly discussed. We are using the term "implement" in its
broadest sense to include tools for known purposes, ornaments of
known use, and problematical or ceremonial forms, the use of
which is either wholly unknown or admittedly quite uncertain.
The chipped stone artifacts commonly found in Kentucky
may be roughly classified as follows:

a. Flint blanks g. Hoes

b. Knives h. Scrapers
c. Spearheads i. Celts
d. Arrowpoints j. Disks
e. Drills k. Hammer-stones
f. Harpoons and hooks

This classification does not, of course, include all artifacts of

this type which are known to have been used by prehistoric man
here and elsewhere but lists merely those which we have found
most commonly in this state. Exceedingly rare and unusual
specimens have been omitted from this classification and will be
discussed in a later chapter on miscellaneous artifacts.
The manufacture of chipped implements by primitive man is
inseparably connected with the process of quarrying the material
from which the implements were made. Investigation has shown
that quarrying with very primitive tools was carried on quite
extensively in certain areas in Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and
elsewhere, and that the products of these quarry operations, were
carried hundreds of miles from these quarries, before being
reduced to finished form. While there are numerous quarry sites
on this continent which were used extensively, in general they are
all of one or the other of two types. In one, primitive man obtained
pebbles and bowlders of quartz, quartzite and other similar
material, either from present river gravel beds, or
206 ANCIENT LIFE IN KENTUCKY

from conglomerate strata containing such pebbles, laid down in

geological ages past.
The operation of quarrying was comparatively simple, con-
sisting in the main of gathering such bowlders, on the surface when
exposed, or digging for them in the earth. In some cases primitive
man attacked the strata containing the pebbles, and excavated the
softer strata to obtain them. However, investigation shows he made
use largely of pebbles which weathered out and fell as talus at the
foot of cliffs. Many such quarries have been investigated, and those
reported by Holmes in the Potomac-Chesapeake tide water region of
Maryland are very typical.
After obtaining quantities of bowlder of the desired material,
and proper size, these were assembled at one place, and by striking
with a similar stone used as a hammer, flakes were broken off,
reducing the bowlder to a so-called "turtle-back." That is the flakes
breaking off usually with a conchoidal fracture, were removed by
striking the bowlder at points all the way around, its circumference,
leaving one-half of the original surface of the bowlder on one side. If
desired, flakes could then be broken off so as to cover the other side
of the bowlder, and reduce it to a "blank"—that is the blank was now
rough but fairly thin, and capable of being further worked to the
desired form by further percussion, or by pressure.

FIG. 106. METHODS OF CHIPPING FLINT.

The figure on the left illustrates flaking by direct percussion; that on the right
the method of flaking by indirect percussion.
 CHIPPED STONE ARTIFACTS 207

This process of rough flaking to form blanks was accom-

plished near the actual quarry site, and sometimes within it,
probably to save the labor of transporting useless material. Bowl-
ders which did not break properly, and all material spoiled by the
lack of skill of the artisan, together with flakes broken off were
left on the site as rejects. This partially worked material has
accumulated in vast quantities in these quarry areas, and such
accumulations have been spoken of as "quarry shops." The
products of such shops were rough blanks suitable for trans-
portation to long distances before being finally finished. The two
left hand specimens in figure 108 represent such blanks.
The other type of ancient quarry for obtaining material for
chipping, is well represented by the great Flint-Ridge Quarry of
Ohio, investigated by Mills. Here primitive man attacked natural
deposits of flint in strata a foot or more thick. The quarry
operation consisted in exposing a portion of the strata by digging a
pit. A fire was built and when the strata had been heated, water
was thrown on the hot exposed flint, causing it to crack and
splinter. This process was continual till a hole was worked in the
deposit, and the face of the flint ledge was exposed. Then by the
use of crude tools as picks, the softer material under the exposed
flint ledge was dug out and removed, leaving the flint uninjured by
fire, not only exposed, but actually overhanging. By the use of
large hammerstones, some about the limit of a man's ability to lift,
portions of suitable size were broken from the ledge. These
portions were removed only a short distance from the quarry to the
"shop" where they were worked into blanks of suitable size for
transportation. Again such shops are marked by a great
accumulation of flint chips and by rejects.
The flint blanks from such quarries, as well as quartzite and
quartz blanks from bowlders became an article of trade among the
different tribes, and such supplies were transported long distances.
Often great quantities of such blanks have been found in a single
cache, which seems to indicate that they represent wealth, the
result of labor, trade, or travel, and when procured in quantity
were stored as against a future need.
208 ANCIENT LIFE IN KENTUCKY

While many caches of flint discs or blanks have been found, the
largest was reported by Moorehead as taken from Mound No. 22 of
the Hopewell Group, of Ross County, Ohio. From this mound,
Moorehead reports 7,350 discs taken at one time (1891). Previous
removals by early explorers, in 1845, in this same mound would
seem to indicate the total number to have been not far from 8,500. Of
the cache Mr. Moorehead has to say:
"These discs represent a storage of raw material. The discs were not placed
in that mound as an offering. There were no burials and no altars. Many years
later I discovered the quarries on Little River, Tennessee, 18 miles south of
Hopkinsville, Kentucky, whence I am persuaded this flint was obtained. It was
of the nodular variety, gray-blue in character, and could be, easily worked. The
quarry showed signs of extensive working. After a thorough investigation I con-
cluded that the ancient people had quarried this flint, worked it down to
convenient disc form for distribution, and taking it in canoes down the Little
River to the Cumberland, down the Cumberland to the Ohio, up the Ohio to the
Scioto, and thence to North Fork of Paint Creek, landed it one-half mile from
the Hopewell village. The distance by water would be 700 or 800 miles, as near
as I can judge. If the material was not brought in this manner, it must have been
obtained by trade, and one can scarcely conceive of over eight thousand discs
weighing from ¼ to ⅔ of a pound, each being carried overland on the backs of
Indians from Northwest Tennessee to Central Ohio."

This quotation illustrates the fact that while there are no

extensive quarries known to have been used by primitive man in
Kentucky that will compare to the Little River quarries of Tennessee,
Flint Ridge of Ohio, or the Tidewater quarry of Maryland, yet the
traffic in flint discs, as raw material, did undoubtedly take place in
Kentucky as elsewhere. In the Kentucky caves, there is an abundant
supply of bedded flint deposited in strata quite sufficient in size to
have been worked. There is also to be found over a considerable area
in southern and western Kentucky, the outcrop of limestone strata
containing concretionary flint.
These concretions, being much harder than the remainder of the
limestone strata, are released by weathering, and are to be found in
great quantities on the surface where such strata outcrop. Such
concretionary flint breaks with the typical conchoidal fracture, a
characteristic of the vast majority of flint artifacts in Kentucky.
Again, the concretions being formed in layers about the center, the
successive layers are often of different color. Such circular "eye
spots" shown by flint blanks as
 CHIPPED STONE ARTIFACTS 209

FROM 15TH REPORT. BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY

FIG. 107. AN ABORIGINAL QUARRY WORKSHOP.

A group designed by W. H. Holmes for the Columbian Exposition.

well as artifacts definitely prove the source from which they

come.
The method of quarrying bowlders of quartzite, fracturing by
hammerstones, and reducing the quarry product to "blanks"
suitable for later specialization, is well illustrated in figure 107,
which is a plaster group prepared by William H. Holmes for the
World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago. The figure is copied
from the 15th Annual Report, Bureau of Ethnology.
210 ANCIENT LIFE IN KENTUCKY

Figure 108 illustrates the quarry product. Some of these flint

blocks show the center of the concretion from which they were
split. There are shown beside them several finished arrow points
which also show the form of the concretion.

FIG. 108. QUARRY BLANKS AND ARROWPOINTS.

Rough blanks and finished points made from flint concretions.

The manner of working these blocks into specialized form has

been mentioned in the chapter on bone artifacts. The principal tool
used in this last stage of manufacture was a "bone flaker." This
flaker was about 3 to 4 inches long of very hard, compact bone,
free of grease. When in use it was grasped in the right hand, the
flint block being held in the left, the hand being covered with
leather to prevent cutting by the flint chips. (See Fig. 109.) The
flaker was placed against the edge of the flint blank and upon
pressure being brought to bear with the right hand flakes were
dislodged. This art of finishing the
 CHIPPED STONE ARTIFACTS 211

knife, arrow point, or spear head, by delicate flaking by removing

very small regular chips, reached a very high state of perfection in
Kentucky. Many specimens of the highest art in flint are found in
our state.

FIG. 109. CHIPPING FLINT.

Method of using the "bone-flaker."

Probably the simplest article of manufacture from the quarry

blank was the flint knife. In fact, almost any flint chip was sharp
enough to cut leather or even bone or horn. Many knives were
placed in handles, as their outline shows. These were of the long
slender variety. There were, however, many knives made from
beautiful blanks 6 to 8 inches long and even longer, which were
certainly used without handles, and must have been very efficient
tools in the removing the skin from a deer or bear, but were
certainly much too blunt to be an efficient weapon.
Fig. 110 shows a group of such knives, the form usually
hafted.
Among the most beautiful flint artifacts are the so-called
spear heads. These vary in length from 3.5 inches to as long as 10
inches or even longer. It is not certainly known that ancient man
made use of spears in the true sense. Doubt has been expressed by
some that early man in Kentucky ever used spears and by some
these artifacts are thought to have been
212 ANCIENT LIFE IN KENTUCKY

FIG. 110. FLINT KNIVES.

This form of knife is believed to have been used with a handle.

knives. In most cases they were notched for "hafting" and with a
convenient handle would have been a very efficient weapon. By
some, these "spear points" are thought to have been used largely as
emblems of authority, carried on a long shaft, to be stuck up in the
ground outside of the lodge, to indicate the rank of the occupant,
and in time of battle to be carried as a standard about which the
followers of a chieftain would rally.
In many instances, the "spearpoint" has exactly the distinctive
characteristics of certain type of arrow point, found in the same
locality. This fact would seem to indicate that they were expected
to be used for similar purposes. It is well established that the
historic tribes, especially the western tribes, not only used the spear
as a symbol of authority, but used it as a ready weapon of offense
and defense. Especially was this true of the historic Indians living
on the plains, and accustomed to the use of the horse. The finding
of so many spear points in good condition, many of them showing
a very high order of ability in working flint would seem to argue
that early man actually used these large flint blades as the points of
true spears.
 CHIPPED STONE ARTIFACTS 213

FIG. 111. SPEARPOINTS.

The one on the extreme left is 7¾ inches long. The arrows in the photograph
show the same type of notching and are believed to represent the same design.

Figure 111 shows a number of these large spearpoints. A

number of these have been shown for comparison by the side of
an arrowpoint of the same form, and believed to have been used
by the same people.
To the uninitiated an arrowpoint is an arrowpoint, but to one
who is willing to study their form, and collect data as to their
association and distribution it is a source of never ending delight
to become aware that certain types are standardized as to
manufacture and that their occurrence is limited to certain areas,
and certain definite associations. After having inspected and
compared thousands of arrow points from the State of Kentucky
as to size, material and distribution, it seems reasonable to assume
that every tribe had one or two, or at most only a few types,
recognized by them as standard for a definite purpose. These
forms would naturally occur in this tribe in vastly greater numbers
than those which might be equally good, but which were the result
of some individual design of some arrow maker
214 ANCIENT LIFE IN KENTUCKY

FIG. 112. ARROWPOINTS.

Representative types common to Kentucky.

or the peculiar desire or design of some individual hunter or

warrior.
Certain it is that if one gathers a thousand arrows from any
restricted area in Kentucky, such as a single county or group of
 CHIPPED STONE ARTIFACTS 215

adjoining counties, and begins to sort out the arrow points that are
alike in some distinct characteristic, he will be struck with two
outstanding facts: First, that about 85% or more of all the points
will fall easily into some 4, 5 or 6, or more groups, (see Figs. 112-
113) with considerable varieties of the number in each group. And
second, that the remaining 15% seem to defy classification. This
15% remnant often contains the most beautiful individual
specimens, showing the highest degree of workmanship, and while
probably no two are exactly alike, one form may by gradual
graduation pass into another very different form by steps so small
that it is difficult if not impossible to say to which form the
intermediate specimens belong.

FIG. 113. ARROWPOINTS.

Large flat types showing excellent workmanship.

This experiment has been tried many times upon coming into
possession of a large number of arrowpoints from a given area, and
the conclusion is ventured that, for certain tribes, races, or cultures,
there was one or perhaps at most a very few standardized forms,
each perhaps for a definite purpose. Points of one of these standard
forms, are exactly alike as to size, shape,
216 ANCIENT LIFE IN KENTUCKY

distinguishing characteristics, and generally as to material. In such

investigations it is quite easy to observe that certain type forms
have a wide distribution and form about the same per cent of the
whole number, in one county as in another county, perhaps two
hundred miles away, (see Fig. 114) while other distinctive type
forms appearing as a large percent of the whole in a restricted area
will disappear or be a negligible percentage

FIG. 114. ARROWPOINTS.

A type which is quite rare but which has a wide distribution, being found
scattered over all of central and western Kentucky.

in an adjoining county. It is believed that the plates of arrowpoints

presented will demonstrate this point. If this be true, we have a
basis, however an uncertain one, for distinguishing between those
types of arrowpoints which seem standard over a large area, and
must have found wide usage throughout an extensive Culture from
those types which were perhaps tribal rather than cultural, and
which found only local usage by a smaller group. We have another
form characteristic of Hardin County, Kentucky, while it is
believed that standardization was natural and was actually taking
place, yet on the other hand it had not eliminated individual
specialization as suggested.
 CHIPPED STONE ARTIFACTS 217

It has been suggested by other writers on the subject that the

apparent similarity in form of a large portion of the arrowpoints
found in anyone locality was to be attributed to the skill of
perhaps an individual workman, or a group of workmen whose
technique distinguishes the artifacts rather than a difference in
tribal or racial ability. This idea has been expressed by Moorehead
in his "Stone Age of North America" as follows:
"Little attention has been paid by archaeologists to ascertain an
important feature of prehistoric times. I refer to the presence in most of the
tribes of skilled workmen whose speciality seems to have been the
manufacture of certain kinds of implements. That some men were more
skillful in the making of axes or pipes, and handled bone chipping-tools with
more dexterity than others, goes without saying. If one were asked to state
what proportion of men were skillful in the art of stone-working, no one
could give a definite answer; but the searcher finds in limited areas a
particular style of flint-chipping, or a local form of axe or pipe. These appear
to have been made in the same manner, perhaps with tools of the same
pattern. The guiding hand of the master-workman is seen. Each one is
stamped with individuality, therefore one may conclude that either a certain
person made these objects, or perhaps the men of a given family made them.
"Supposing that a young man who showed proficiency in flint-chipping
should at the age of twenty become so skillful that his works were in
demand. It would follow that if he were given the ordinary span of life, his
period of proficiency would extend for forty years. If he retained his health
and faculties, his activity might reach fifty years. It is also quite likely that
other men, perhaps not so competent as himself, assisted him in his work
and blocked out the forms or reduced them to convenient size for him to
finish. Such a labor division as Catlin and Sellers affirm existed, enabled the
skillful worker in flint to produce a larger number of implements than if he
attempted to work his own material from the initial stage to the completed
form. His people residing in the same village would avail themselves of his
wares, giving him in return food, or implements, or clothing. His surplus
stock in all likelihood was sent to a distance to be exchanged with other
tribes.
"Such a man may have selected flint of a certain color, so that the
product of his labor might be instantly recognized."

Undoubtedly there were individuals in every tribe more

skilled than their fellows, and certainly it is highly probable that
they did leave their individual impress on the product of their flint
shops, as the evidence offered by Moorehead and others proves,
yet if all type forms are to be explained in this manner, the
arrowpoint can have no story to tell of tribe or racial occupancy of
a given area. Where the facts are known from historic times, or
otherwise, however, it must be admitted that there are many
instances of a type form of arrow being characteristic of a special
tribe or culture. In proof of this witness the tri-
218 ANCIENT LIFE IN KENTUCKY

angular arrow with no stem found in New York State and taken
from known rather recent Iroquois sites. Also witness the tri-
angular arrow of Cherokee and pre-Cherokee territory—as re-
vealed by Harrington's work on the Tennessee River.
In further proof of this idea that the type form at least may
reveal a racial or cultural connection there is mentioned the very
serrated triangular arrow of the Ft. Ancient Culture.

FIG. 115. SERRATED ARROWPOINTS.

Believed to be characteristic of the Fort Ancient Culture.

This is generally accepted as typical of this culture, not being

found elsewhere, although it must be admitted that it was by no
means the only form of point used by this culture.
Certain it is that many very beautiful forms of arrow points
representing types commonly found in Kentucky have at present
no known tribal or cultural significance. Whether archaeological
investigation will ever be able to discover such relation, if indeed
it ever existed, is a matter for future determination. In dealing with
this subject it is of course impossible to figure in this report all of
the important types found in Kentucky but a few are shown in the
accompanying figures which we believe will illustrate the ideas
advanced. To undertake to make a systematic study and
classification of such artifacts would lead far beyond the scope of
this work.
 CHIPPED STONE ARTIFACTS 219

Among all the varied problems presented by the great variety

of arrowpoints and their distribution perhaps no problem is more
interesting than that suggested by the very small arrowpoints often
found in graves, commonly called "bird arrows." What was their
purpose? How were they used? Why

FIG. 116. THE SO-CALLED "BIRD ARROWS."

The spear-head shown for comparison is six inches long.

were they made? They seem to be found in exactly similar forms

as the larger arrow points, and generally in association with
graves. When found, they are in groups of six or eight or more,
which seems to indicate they were part of a sheaf of arrows. It is
difficult to understand their purpose—it appears that they were too
small to be effective at any great distance. It has been suggested
they were used to kill birds, hence the name, bird arrows. This
seems hardly reasonable. Again the sug-
220 ANCIENT LIFE IN KENTUCKY

gestion has been made that they might have been used in a “blow
gun.” There seems, however, no actual evidence for this in either
history, or archaeology beyond the finding of these small arrows.
Figure 116 shows some of these small arrows for comparison with
a spear six inches long. Note the similarity in form of the spear,
and the point at the lower right hand corner.

FIG. 117. DRILLED ARTIFACTS.

The first and third specimens were drilled with a reed drill; between them is a
"core." The last three specimens in the first row are "drill-heads" for holding the reed.
The second and third specimen in the bottom row show conical drilling, and the fourth
and fifth are the flint "reamers" used for such drilling.

A very important implement of primitive man was his drill.

Certainly he used it to produce fire, as is well known from historic
records, but in addition it served the purpose of boring holes in all
of the various type of artifacts which required such drilling.
Two quite distinct types of drills were apparently used and
for purposes of description these may be termed the "reed drills"
and the "flint drills," the former being used to bore a hole which
was uniform in diameter and the latter to ream out one which was
conical.
The reed drill consisted of a shaft of reed or cane, held in
place by a drill-head or hand-hold and was rotated alternately one
way and then the other by a bow, or alternately wound
 CHIPPED STONE ARTIFACTS 221

thongs, or other such device. If a solid shaft was used, a cylin-

drical hole was ground into the stone which was drilled, the hole
having straight sides, the same bore all the way down and the
bottom smooth and oval unless the hole was cut entirely through
the specimen. If, however, the shaft was a section of cane, it
would cut a cylindrical hole, with straight sides, but would leave

FIG. 118. METHODS OF USING DRILLS.

The "reed drill' is shown on the left and the "flint drill" on the right.

in the center of the hole an undrilled portion or "core." Many

artifacts left incomplete show this core and prove that the drill was
a cane stalk or equivalent form. At least one such core cut
completely out has been found by the authors.
The other type of drill with which we have more particularly
to do in this chapter is the flint drill. This was perhaps quite
similar to the reed drill, except that the point of the drill was made
of flint, specially formed for this purpose. In general, no matter
how carefully this flint point was worked, it was necessary that the
base of this point should be larger and stronger. The hole made by
such drill points was conical rather than cylin-
 222 ANCIENT LIFE IN KENTUCKY

drical. Occasionally the sides of such holes had so great a slope

that the points which made them were really reamers rather than
drills.
Figure 118 illustrates these forms of drilling and figure 119
shows a collection of drills of similar form but differing in size.
This form is typical of Ft. Ancient Culture.

FIG. 119. FLINT DRILLS.

This type of drill is believed to be characteristic of the Fort Ancient Culture.

In general the drill points show a form having an enlarged

base for attachment to the shaft, and a long slender point. Some
specimens show the result of use, the point having been broken
off, and the drill reworked to a new point. Occasionally the base
of the drill is notched to facilitate attachment, as shown in figure
120.
The height of the art of flaking flint is probably shown in the
manufacture of flint hooks and harpoons. Figure 121 shows a
number of unusual forms. The hook may have been used as metal
hooks are now used to "gig" fish under the ice or in the muddy
bottoms of streams. True fish hooks made of flint are not
uncommon in Kentucky. The harpoons show a single or double
barb and were apparently very insecurely attached to the shaft in
the expectation that they would leave the shaft but carry the cord
attached, and hold the fish by the barb.
 CHIPPED STONE ARTIFACTS 223

FIG. 120. NOTCHED DRILLS.

Showing bases enlarged for the attachment of a shaft.

The cutting and tanning of animal skins occupied a large place in

the life of primitive man. In this process he not only used flint knives,
but made another very convenient tool, the so-called "celt." The celt
was sometimes chipped from a fairly

FIG. 121. CURIOUS SHAPES.

Hooks, harpoons, scrapers and scalers made of flint.
224 ANCIENT LIFE IN KENTUCKY

large and rather thick section of flint and was used much as the
smaller knives are used. In the process of tanning skins, much
scraping was necessary to remove surplus tissue, and to soften the
skin in the curing process. In this work the celt played a large part.
The edge was sharp enough to cut leather if desired, and yet dull
enough to make a good scraper.
When flint celts were first made, they were chipped or flaked out
roughly, but after long use they became smooth, developing an edge
as sharp as is produced by grinding. Figure 122 shows a new celt
chipped out, but little used. The other specimens show long usage, and
a very high polish. Similar implements were made by grinding and
polishing stone, some of which were attached to handles, and used as
hand axes. It is not believed that flint celts were hafted. They were
never notched nor grooved and show no evidence of being hafted.

FIG. 122. FLINT CELTS.

Showing newly made specimens and those highly polished by use. The specimen
in the lower right-hand corner is coated with hematite.

Besides the celt which was a form of scraper, there were several
other smaller forms used for the same purpose. It seems that many
arrows when broken at the point, were reworked to a very blunt edge,
and used as scrapers. Being small they were probably used attached to
the arrow shaft. Scrapers of a size
 CHIPPED STONE ARTIFACTS 225

comparable to arrowpoints were made from original flint flakes.

These scrapers were generally pear shaped or oval in form, and quite
sharp on one side of the large end.
Figure 123 shows a group of these scrapers, and for comparison
a group made from arrow points. These have been

FIG. 123. FLINT SCRAPERS.

Some have evidently been made from arrowpoints and some are believed to have
been used to scale fish.

designated by some as "fish scalers" and seem to be most plentiful in

village sites near rivers.
Besides these scrapers, many others of larger size and varied
form were made from flint flakes. When a flint concretion was
broken, the conchoidal fracture gave considerable curvature to the
flakes; these were often used to manufacture scrapers, as they were
sharp and required but little additional work. Many still retained their
original curved surface. The forms of these scrapers are so varied
that it is difficult to understand how some of them could have been
used. The long, finger-like flint flakes show very careful and
accurate chipping, but it is clear that they must have been used in a
very different way from the broad sharp blades.
Of all the artifacts left by primitive man, perhaps the hoe speaks
most eloquently of village life—a continued occupancy

A. L. K.—8
226 ANCIENT LIFE IN KENTUCKY

of one place—and indicates the beginning of agriculture. This step

in man's development marked a very important stage. By this means
man began to till the soil, and obtain food from the earth by labor,
rather than by fishing and hunting. It is to be supposed that he
would have developed the art of chipping stone to a high degree
before he came to have need for hoes. This seems to be the case, as
the f1int hoe specially shows a high order of workmanship. Stone
hoes were made of both flint and limestone, and used extensively in
certain areas of Kentucky.

FIG. 124. FLINT HOES.

The notched form found in Western Kentucky.

Flint hoes are quite common in the fields of Western Kentucky,

beyond the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, and extend into
Tennessee, as well as on the other side of the Mississippi River in
Missouri and Arkansas. These hoes are generally of three forms, one
notched and two unnotched forms. Figure 124 shows several
notched hoes from the author's collection. These are generally
broader at the cutting edge than at the notch, and were of course
attached to a handle more or less crude. Well made hoes of this type
show that they were first made by removal of large flint flakes from
a large concretion, and then sharpened by fine chipping. As they
were used, they took on a very high
 CHIPPED STONE ARTIFACTS 227

polish. In some specimens this polish occurs not only at the edge
but spreads over the whole surface.
Of the unnotched varieties there seem to be two different
forms. One of these is broad at the edge, the base coming to a
point, and while no notch was made, it show's evidence of
attachment to a handle. These hoes vary in size from 4 to 10 inches
in length. The other type is a general oval in form, the cutting edge
being not nearly as broad as the central portion of the hoe. They
are much longer than the other forms, and have

FIG. 125. FLINT HOES.

Of the unnotched type but well made and highly polished.

been reported as long as 19 inches. They rarely exceed 4½ inches

in breadth. It has been suggested that some of these specimens
show evidence that they were attached to handles which prolonged
their length, and were therefore not used as hoes, but rather as
spades. This may be correct, and may account for their rather great
length, which in such case would be a help in attaching a handle
but which if used as a hoe, would probably make the instrument
rather cumbersome.
Along the Cumberland River in Southern Kentucky is to be
found another type of hoe made by percussion. This hoe is
228 ANCIENT LIFE IN KENTUCKY

made of limestone, and is quite crude. The material did not permit
flaking like flint, and was therefore hammered from a slab of stone of
proper size. Such hoes are never found in the fields, as are the flint
specimens of Western Kentucky, for the reason that being of
limestone, they weather rapidly, so that in a relatively short time all of
the surface polish, and much of their distinguishing form is lost, and if
ever seen again they appear in no way different from any other rock in
the field.

FIG. 126. LIMESTONE HOES.

Some may have had straight handles and have been used as spades.

Primitive man had to go to enough trouble, however, in the man-

ufacture of such hoes to cause him to value them. Where he lived in
caves and cliff dwellings, he carried them to his dwelling and many
have been found in cracks and fissures in the walls of cliffs and caves,
and on shelves of rock, just where they were laid away by their
original owners.
In the Hines Cave, at Mill Springs, Wayne County, investigated
by the authors, some 40 limestone hoes were discovered in the general
digging in the floor of this cavern. While they were generally crude,
some of these hoes showed high polish,
 CHIPPED STONE ARTIFACTS 229

the condition of the cavern being such that the limestone suffered no
weathering within it. With primitive man, labor such as the use of a
hoe involved, was considered degrading, and was therefore left for
women to perform. The hoe was therefore the tool of women, and was
not held in high esteem. This may account for the fact that while flint
hoes are often ploughed up in the fields of Western Kentucky, and the
caves of Southern Kentucky

FIG. 127. HAMMERSTONES.

Smoothed by constant handling and indented by long use.

yield many limestone hoes, such artifacts are not generally found in
mounds, and cemeteries.
Of all the many hoes found in this state, so far as the authors are
aware, only one record exists of hoes being found in connection with
graves. This record is from Mr. I. R. Williams, of Union Town, who
reports that in opening an Indian grave in that vicinity three large flint
hoes were found stuck up on edge about the head of the skeleton.
Certainly this was a most unusual situation, and causes one to desire a
reasonable explanation. Perhaps this individual was during lifetime a
 230 ANCIENT LIFE IN KENTUCKY

master of flint chipping, and a maker of hoes. These specimens

may have been placed in his grave as a sign of his occupation,
rather than as prized possessions suitable for honoring the dead.
Certain it is that hoes were not generally regarded as a proper
offering for the dead, and are practically never found in
association with graves.
In the process of flaking bowlders by percussion, not only
was the bowlder worked by the process of hammering, but the
stone used as a hammer showed the result of such usage. The first
hammerstones used by primitive man were certainly no more than
bowlders or broken pieces of rock of convenient size and form.
However, as he began to specialize the use of the hammer for
various purposes, it became necessary for him actually to
manufacture, by rough pecking, hammerstones of convenient
form. In general they appear in two types. Those used in direct
percussion, and those used in indirect percussion, by hammering a
chisel, or bone flaker. Those used in direct percussion are battered
by use and generally are worn down to a disk form, the edge
being the battered portion. When indirect percussion was used the
chisel or flaker by use wore down the central area of the hammer
faster than the edge and thus the hammer became pitted.
Sometimes these pits were quite deep and often occurred on many
sides of the stone. This modification of form actually was a type
of slow grinding, the the result of flaking by percussion. Figure
127 shows a number of these forms of hammers produced not by
intention, but incident to actual use.
Another type of stone artifacts, made by chipping, is the
stone disk. The use to which such disks were placed is prob-
lematical. They have generally been regarded as possible game
stones. The material may be any stone common to the locality.
Figure 128 shows a number of these chipped disks from the Clay
Mound. These vary in size from 2 to 5 inches in diameter. They
are quite crude, and were left rough, no attempt being discernible
to polish them. They were found scattered through the body of the
mound in the general digging, but were not so far as observed in
association with burials. The authors while investigating the
mound on the Singer farm in Scott County, discovered on the top
of this mound, which had been practically
 CHIPPED STONE ARTIFACTS 231

destroyed by cultivation, a number of these disks. They were all

of limestone, about 3 inches in diameter, and while quite similar
in size and form, were very crude.
Similarly shaped disks were found in the Fullerton site, these
being chipped from flat river pebbles. It has been suggested that
these disks were used in playing a game, similar to

FIG. 128. STONE DISKS.

From the Clay Mound in Nicholas County. These may have been used as
"game-stones."

the game played with the highly polished discoidals, but it may be
that they were only hammerstones. While their use is unknown,
we may at least be reasonably sure that they are always found in
quantity, when found at all. They are found only in mounds on or
near proven village sites, and never in direct association with
burials.
In concluding the discussion on chipped implements of
primitive man in Kentucky, it must be accepted that the chipping
of stone, like every other acquired art, shows a very marked
development from the earlier and very crude implements to the
232 ANCIENT LIFE IN KENTUCKY

later and more highly wrought objects. As a man developed in his

ability to handle stone by this process, the variety of objects made
by him increased, and the more highly specialized forms made
their appearance. As he developed skill in his technique in
handling flint, he necessarily studied the texture of other stones
and their properties of cleavage, and thus developed, perhaps
unconsciously, considerable skill as a lapidary. The knowledge of
stone properties allowed him to select his material to the best
advantage. This knowledge as well as great skill seems to have
been necessary to account for the great variety and beauty of
chipped stone artifacts found in Kentucky.