PAGE 1
PLAINS INDIAN
WAR CLUBS
WESTERN U.S. PLAINS TRIBES
LATE PREHISTORIC AND HISTORIC PERIOD
PAGE 1 OF 2 PAGES
COPYRIGHT DECEMBER 31, 2006 PETER A. BOSTROM
Two Plains Indian war clubs.
PLAINS INDIAN WAR CLUBS
GENERALLY, FROM TEXAS NORTH TO THE DAKOTAS

Abstract image of Plains Indian war clubs.

ABSTRACT
PLAINS INDIAN WAR CLUBS
WESTERN PLAINS STATES
GENERALLY, FROM TEXAS NORTH TO THE DAKOTAS

   This article illustrates and describes several examples of plains Indian war clubs from the western U.S. plains states. They all have stone heads and are attached to long handles with rawhide. The handles are also covered with rawhide. Long handled war clubs with stone heads represent some of the last primitive weapons of war that were made by Stone Age cultures in North America.

     "Every Plains warrior carried some kind of club when he went raiding or to war."---------1972, Thomas E. Mails, "The Mystic Warriors of the Plains," p. 464.

     "The warrior selected the club head with great care, choosing smooth and colorful stones from stream beds that would not split on impact."---------1972, Thomas E. Mails, "The Mystic Warriors of the Plains," p. 465.

    "Every tribe in America used clubs, but after the adoption of more effectual weapons, as the bow and the lance, clubs became in many cases merely a part of the costume, or were relegated to ceremonial."---------1912, Frederick Webb Hodge, "Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico," part 1, p. 313.
 

Abstract image of Plains Indian war clubs.
WAR CLUBS
WESTERN PLAINS STATES

   One of the most common weapons used by humans for as long as there have been disputes between people are clubs. It's a good bet they were even used by Homo erectus hundreds of thousands of years ago. They are even used today in modern societies by police forces around the world. Museum collections exhibit an endless array of  clubs that represent a wide diversity of cultures who once lived on small islands or large continents. More varieties of clubs have been made than there are visible stars in the sky. The Plains Indians of the central United States made several different styles of stone-headed clubs. War clubs with double pointed stone-heads, like the examples in this report, represent classic plains Indian weapons. They are easy to recognize and stand out as a style all their own.

12 Plains Indian war clubs.
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE
 FLOYD RITTER COLLECTION
PLAINS INDIAN WAR CLUBS
WESTERN PLAINS STATES
GENERALLY, FROM TEXAS NORTH TO THE DAKOTAS

    These twelve plains Indian war clubs represent one of three basic types of plains stone-headed war clubs. The stone heads have, in varying degrees, a double pointed shape that was produced by pecking and grinding a creek or river pebble into the desired shape. They were then hafted by a rawhide strap wrapped around the center of both grooved and ungrooved stones. The handles were also covered in leather. Most of these clubs have long handles and they were probably used to fight on horseback.

    Every Indian tribe in America used clubs. They were produced in a wide variety of styles. Some types were hafted with metal knife blades, horns or stone.  Others were carved from single pieces of wood or bone. The examples illustrated in this article show one of the classic varieties that were used by the plains Indians. The majority of these have double pointed stone heads that were hafted onto long handles.

Three double pointed Plains Indian war clubs.
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGE TRIPLE IMAGE
FLOYD RITTER COLLECTION
PLAINS INDIAN WAR CLUBS
WESTERN PLAINS STATES
GENERALLY, FROM TEXAS NORTH TO THE DAKOTAS

   These three plains Indian war clubs represent very good typical examples of this double pointed style of stone club head. They all have long handles that are completely wrapped in leather.

    The earliest war clubs had stone heads with short handles and were carried on foot. After the introduction of the horse the handles were lengthened. The longer handle gave the weapon a longer reach. A short handled club had less of an advantage on the battlefield if the attacker was mounted on horseback and could strike from farther away. The larger weapon was easier to carry on horseback. They were carried under his belt or, when fitted with a wrist strap, hung from a saddle.

Double pointed Plains Indian war club.Double pointed Plains Indian war club.
 FLOYD RITTER COLLECTION
PLAINS INDIAN WAR CLUBS
WESTERN PLAINS STATES
GENERALLY, FROM TEXAS NORTH TO THE DAKOTAS

    These two plains Indian war clubs illustrate the long handles that began to be used along with the introduction of horses on the prairie. The longer handles gave the extra reach that was needed when fighting from the back of a horse. Before horses the handles were shorter and easier to carry. Handle lengths range up to 30 inches long.

     Stones for clubs were carefully selected. People making the clubs were choosing stones that do not break easily, like quartz and granite. Many club heads were also made from colorful stones.  Creek and river beds were a common source for ready-made smooth surface stones. Club heads generally weigh between two to eight pounds.
CONTINUE ON TO PAGE TWO

"REFERENCES"

1912, Hodge, Frederick Webb "Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico," part 1, p. 313.
 1972, Mails, Thomas E., "The Mystic Warriors of the Plains," pp. 464-465.

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