TED'S INDIAN ARROWHEAD & ARTIFACT COLLECTION

My interest in collecting arrowheads started many years ago. All of my hunting activity has been in Comanche County Texas where there has been an abundance of Indian artifacts to be found on the surface of the ground in the fields and along the draws in the pastures. I am retired now and have moved back to Comanche County where I still hunt for artifacts when conditions are right. Unbroken "perfect" points are getting harder and harder to find but we still find one now and then. I am fortunate to own farm property that borders the South Leon River where there is plenty of evidence of several Indian campsites. I am not an archaeologist but I am intensely interested in the prehistoric presence of the American Indians.

I am displaying and describing some of the specimens in my collection which I hope will interest you. Please sign my guestbook at the end of this page and let me know what you think.




Above is a selection of Pedernales points




Some typical "Texas" points are shown above


Here is a good size pile of "Bird" points
Shown here are two exceptionally large "bird points". They are 2-1/4" long and very thin. The term "bird point" is a misnomer. They were probably true "arrowheads" since they have been found in deer and bison remains and were probably used for both hunting and warfare. The bow and arrow is believed to have been introduced in the Late Prehistoric period (700 AD to historic times.) Prior to the bow and arrow the atlatl spear (or dart) and the lance, both employing larger lanceolate points, were used. Shooting a bird on the wing with a bow and arrow seems unlikely - a turkey or prairie chicken on the ground - well, maybe.



On the left is a nice Clovis with distinct fluting
On the right is a "Split-tail" Ensor



The two top points are Montells.
The center point is a Marshall.


Left to right:
Midland, Golondrina, Plainview, Eden, Clovis
These are all Paleo points.


Top: Big Cornertang
Lower right: Mid-back Tang
Lower left: Cornertang drill



A neat little cornertang drill.


Cornertangs
The light tan point is unusual because the edge is bevelled.

If you want more information on the use of cornertangs click here.



Harahey Knives

These knives are sometimes referred to here in Texas as "Snakehead" Haraheys because of their appearance.

Notice that the direction of bevelling is the same on each of these double-pointed knives. Were the knappers all right-handed ?



I have noticed that many well made Indian artifact tools have a "human engineering" feel to them. The scraper above has finger notches on the worked side, has a concave unworked side, and just seems to fit the hand when grasped.


I traded for this *Kerrville Knife* because it is such a distinctive Texas artifact. They are generally found in central and south Texas. Sometimes called a *fist axe* the rounded base, or handgrip, has the original rind of the cobble material. The cutting blade is quite sharp and would be well suited to butchering tasks. The blade is too thin and delicate for heavy chopping but could certainly be used for breaking joints or cutting meat or soft plants.


These two points are typical of artifacts called "stunners" or "blunts". The "stunner" name implies that they were used to stun rather than kill animals. They were probably made by rechipping broken arrow points and were likely hafted to be used as knives or scrapers.


Shown above is a group of flint tools. On the left are three drills and on the right are several "scribers" or "gravers". The "scribers" are irregular shaped uniface tools with sharp, pointed projections probably used for puncturing, incising, tatooing, etc.


Shown here are two unusual stone tools.

On the left is a uniface scraper with a well-worn groove in the upper right hand corner which I think could have been used to smooth or finish arrow shafts. To me the most unusual feature is the series of ground oblique grooves on the face which have quite sharp file-like edges.

On the right is a small celt made from a hard stone material which shows considerable usage wear.


Shown here are several small uniface scraping tools.

Waco Sinkers - the actual use of these artifacts is not determined. They may have been used as "sinker weights" or as "bola" stones. They are made from quartz material and are chipped and ground to have worked notches in the ends. Used as a bola, lengths of leather tied to the notches would be brought together to form a handle. The weapon would be used by hurling it at a running animal or flying bird where the balls would wrap around animal and throw it to the ground.

This is not an indian artifact but is a fossilized dragon fly I found in a limestone outcropping in my goat pasture. The wings and body are distinctly visible to me--how about you?

These artifacts are quite common in our part of the country. The grinders (manos) are found in many shapes and sizes. The plates (metates) are made of thin sandstone and finding a complete unbroken one is pretty rare. Most have not survived the many years of plowing of the fields where they are usually found.

Here are two complete metates with associated manos but you can see plow marks on the metate at the right. They were used to process and grind wild plant foods and in later cultures for grinding agricultural plants such as maize.

These irregular fragments of sandstone exhibit distinct wear patterns from use as abrasive tools. They may have been used for smoothing the edges of bifaces during the tool making process or to shape, sharpen, or smooth a number of different implements, such as bone awls and needles.
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I would be happy to hear from you
Ted Dunnegan
Email: teddun@itexas.net

To purchase Indian Arrowheads and Artifacts go to:
Pat's Authentic Indian Arrowheads


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Copyright © 1997 - 2008, Ted Dunnegan, Gustine, Texas.
All rights reserved.

73 CUL