Native American Arrowheads - Artefacts
Native American arrowheads are referred to as artefacts in the archaeological sense meaning an object made by human work for simple or practical purposes. The manufacture of arrowheads was extremely important as they were indicative of the progress and technical advances made by groups of people. Experts have stated that:
"Hunting with a bow and arrow requires intricate multi-staged planning, material collection and tool preparation and implies a range of innovative social and communication skills."
Pictures of different Types of Arrowheads
Native American Arrowheads
Larger points are regarded as spearheads, dart points, lance points or knife blades and are associated with Arrowheads and spear throwing Atlatl weapon. Larger points are regarded as spearheads, dart points, lance points or knife blades and are associated with Arrowheads and spear throwing atlatl weapon. Arrowheads were fixed to an arrow, were smaller than spear points and penetrated skin more deeply than when fired by a bow.
Making Stone Arrowheads
The early arrowheads was made of a hard stone such as Flint that was sharpened into a projectile point by the process of Flintknapping. To make a projectile point, like an arrowhead, the piece of flint was directly struck with a hammerstone to remove large sharp flakes and break it into usable, thinner pieces of stone. The next step in making stone arrowheads is called pressure flaking. Pressure flaking was achieved by placing a pointed tool, such as an antler horn, on the edge of the stone, and applying an inward pressure to the tool to remove a small, thin flake from the stone. The objective of pressure flaking was to shape and refine the projectile point - the arrowhead. Notching was the final step in making arrowheads. The notches were made using a combination of pressure flaking and abrading (grinding) to carve out the gaps that allow the arrowhead to be bound to an arrow shaft.
Types of Arrowheads - Clovis, Archaic, Woodland and Mississippian arrowheads
Identifying Different types of Arrowheads
The following chart helps to identify the different types of Arrowheads made by early Native Americans.
Chart Identifying Different Types of Arrowheads |
| Type of ArrowheadsClovis / Fluted Point | | A Clovis / Fluted Point used for Spears 14,000 years ago
Characterized by its slim vertical shape and vertical flute up the center. Flutes are 'grooves' appearing in the central face of the Clovis
| |
| Type of ArrowheadsArchaic Side Notch | | Archaic Side Notch 10,000 years ago
Characterized by its symmetrical shape and large side notches | |
| Type of ArrowheadsArchaic Bifurcate | | A Bifurcate Point 9,000 years ago Characterized by its large divot in the center of the base and square or round lobes at the base | |
| Type of ArrowheadsArchaic Dovetail | | Archaic Dovetail 7,000 years ago Characterized by its base that flairs out like the tail of a dove | |
| Type of ArrowheadsArchaic Pentagonal | | A Pentagonal Point 6,500 years ago Characterized by its small base with straight sides that cut in to meet each other at the tip | |
| Type of ArrowheadsDiagonal Notch
| | Archaic Diagonal Notch 6,000 years ago Characterized by its straight base and deep narrow notches chipped at 90 degree angles. | |
| Type of ArrowheadsArchaic Bottleneck
| | A Bottleneck Point 5,000 years ago Characterized by its thin stemmed base and leaf shaped blade | |
| Type of ArrowheadsArchaic Ashtabula
| | Ashtabula arrowhead 4,000 years ago Characterized by its shoulders that flair up and out - found only in Ohio and Pennsylvania. | |
| Type of ArrowheadsWoodland Early Adena
| | Early Adena 3,000 years ago Characterized by its round stemmed base that flairs out to the shoulders | |
| Type of ArrowheadsWoodland Late Adena
| | Late Adena 2,000 years ago Characterized by its broad blade and squared stemmed base that flairs out to the shoulders | |
| Type of ArrowheadsWoodland Hopewell
| | A Hopewell Point 1,900 years ago Characterized by its rounded bases and corner notches | |
| Type of ArrowheadsWoodland Intrusive Mound
| | A Woodland Intrusive Mound 1,500 years ago Characterized by for being narrow and having a flat straight base with sharp barbs at their notches | |
| Type of ArrowheadsMississippian Triangle
| | A Mississippian Triangle Point 1,000 years ago Characterized by its triangular shape and small size | |
Chart Identifying Different Types of Arrowheads |
Arrowheads
- Chart, Description and definition of Arrowheads
- Materials required to make Arrowheads
- How to make Arrowheads - method of construction
- Interesting chart, facts and information about Native American Arrowheads for kids and schools
- Native American Weapons and chart
- Pictures of Arrowheads Chart
Arrowheads - Pictures and Videos of Native Americans
Native American Weapons - Arrowheads. Discover the interesting facts and information which relate to the History of Native Americans and the weapons they used such as Arrowheads. The pictures on this site show the weapons and tools that were used by various Native Indian tribes that can be used as a really useful educational history resource for kids and children of all ages. All of the articles and pages can be accessed via the Native Indian Tribes Index - a great educational resource for kids providing an unusual insight into their culture. We hope you enjoy watching the videos - just click and play - a great resource for gaining facts and information about the life of Native American Indians.