TRIBUTE
POINT
CRAIG MOUND, SPIRO
SITE
LE FLORE COUNTY,
OKLAHOMA
PRIVATE
COLLECTION
COPYRIGHT
MARCH 31, 2006 PETER A. BOSTROM
ORIGINAL ARTIFACT
ILLUSTRATED
CAST
#M-9
TRIBUTE POINT
CRAIG MOUND, SPIRO SITE
LE FLORE COUNTY, OKLAHOMA
PRIVATE COLLECTION
This Tribute point represents one of the most artistic and finely
crafted arrow points ever found in North America. At least 21 other
Tribute points, of varying sizes, were discovered in Craig mound. This
example is one of the largest, thinnest and most symmetrical in the
group and thought to be the best one in the cache.
The excavation of Craig mound by commercial diggers
in 1933 unearthed large numbers of arrow points. Estimates run as high
as 10,000. Craig mound produced approximately 24 different major point
types plus many "artistic" subtypes. Comparisons have been
made to Mound 72 at Cahokia where approximately 1200 arrow points were
found which include at least 17 different types or sub-types. Some of
them are similar to this point when compared to its style of serrations
and fine craftsmanship.
Tribute points date to the early Caddoan period sometime around A.D.
1100. All known examples are reported to have been found with a single
burial in Craig mound. This Tribute point is made of blue-gray Boone
flint and measures 2 5/16 inches long.
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