Tools & Weapons

These are some of the tools the Mississippian Indians made. A Madison point was used as an arrowhead. A Madison point is about 1 inch long. The Madison point is found all around Illinois. They are triangular in size and have straight sides. The Madison point did not have notches in it. A knife is another tool made of chert. A knife is about 3-4 inches long. The knife blade is made by flintknapping. Scrapers are another tool. They can be about 3 inches long . Scrapers are made of flaked stone. Usually, they are used to scrape off animal hides and bark off of sticks and limbs.
Arrowheads are made of chert. Bows and arrows were invented by the Late Woodland Indians. Bows were made by shedding off bark and sinew for the string. They made an arrow by taking a stick and cutting a notch in it. Then they put an arrowhead in the notch. Arrows have one end that have feathers. This method made hunting easier for the Indians. They killed lots of wild game with bows and arrows.