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"Bone arrow points are rare and are only
found in small numbers on a few sites."---1985, Gregory
Perino, "Selected Preforms, Points and Knives of the North American
Indians," p. 40.
Over the years, Mound 34 has been surface collected and excavated by collectors and archaeologists. This mound dates to about 1200 A.D. and it's considered to be a place where rituals were once being performed. This area has produced some of the most exotic artifacts ever found at Cahokia. A sharks tooth war club was the most "exotic" artifact found there. Two or more bone arrow points have also been reported to have been found there.
Many archaeological sites only produce artifacts made of stone. The more fragile organic materials like antler, bone, ivory, shell or wood often do not survive. This is especially true the farther back in time you look and the conditions under which the artifacts lay. Excavations at Cahokia Mounds have produced important discoveries of artifacts that were made of organic materials. Many of them were only poorly preserved but quite a lot of them are found in perfect condition. Some of the rarest artifacts ever found on the Cahokia Mounds site are the arrow points made of bone. |
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The Mississippian people who were living at Cahokia Mounds between 1200 and 500 years ago were making projectile points out of bone and antler. If the cache of hundreds of antler arrow points that were found in Mound 72 is any indication, they were making antler arrow points in great numbers. But for all the years that farmers, collectors and archaeologists have been retrieving artifacts from the Cahokia Mounds site only a single handful of bone arrow points have been recorded. The antler arrow point cache that was found in Mound 72 was found in very poor condition. Only one or two examples were recovered. |
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Although there have only been a few bone points discovered at Cahokia Mounds, it is surprising how many different style variations there are. This article illustrates sixteen bone points that represent a large percentage of the known complete examples from the Cahokia Mounds area. Within this group there are at least five different style variations, which seems remarkable for such a small number. |
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"REFERENCES" 1912,
Frederick Webb Hodge, "Handbook of American Indians North of
Mexico," p. 159. |
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