Native American Tools

Stone Age Tools and Implements

Native American tools

Discover interesting facts and information about Native American Tools used by Indian tribes.

  • Types of Native American tools
  • Description, names  and definition of Native American Tools
  • Making a Native American Tools - method of construction
  • List and chart of Native American Tools
  • Interesting facts and information about Native American Tools
Native Indian Weapons and Tools
Native Indian Tribes Index

Native American Tools
Description and Definition of Native American Tools: Native American Tools were made of stone, primarily Flint, the process was called Flint Knapping and the weapon and tool makers were Flint Knappers. The tools were used to make weapons for fighting and hunting including Axes, Arrows,
Spear, Knives, Tomahawks. Native American tools were also used to make every other useful implements for scraping and cleaning animal hides, drilling holes in hide, wood or leather and engraving stone, bone, or carving wood. Native America tools were used to make weapons for fighting and hunting, fishing, clothing, transport such as canoes and travois, shelter and decorations and for creating art such as rock pictures. Stone receptacles were also made to hold household items and war paint pigment.

Native American tools
Native American Indian Tribes came from a variety of different regions across the continent of North America had varied surroundings and raw materials to work with, and their environment necessitated different types of tools and weapons. The tribes made whatever they needed to survive their particular climate and lifestyle. Tribes living close to the sea valued the ribs of whales which were already the perfect shape to make into excellent bows. These tribes would also require ivory harpoons whereas plains tribes used many tools and weapons were made of wood and buffalo parts. Many Native American tools were made from a combination of items and materials. An arrow or spear had a stone or bone Arrowhead or point which was attached to a shaft or handle made of wood and arrows would also have feathers attached, all of which were held together with a cord usually made from animal sinew or with a type of glue. For additional information refer to
Stone Tools.

List of Native American tools
The following list of Native American Tools provides the names of the tools and their purpose and function. Flakes or Flaking: Flint knapping involved a process in which the original stone of flint to be reduced in size. Flakes of stone were broken off the of the original piece of flint to produce Native American Tools.

 

Chart of Native American Tools

 Adze
 
An Adze was a stone tool with a curved blade used like a chisel to work wood making items such as canoes.

Adze Tool
 

 
 Awls
 
Awls were bone or stone tools tapered to a point and used to pierce holes.

Awl

The following awl hand tool was also used for shredding plant fibers  for sewing thread and fishing nets.

 
 Arrow Straightener The Arrow Straightener was an extremely useful tool made from an antler.

Arrow Straightener
 

 
 Axe
 
A large, cutting tool with a heavy bladed head mounted across a handle

How to Make a Stone Axe
 

 
 Billet A Billet was a bone or antler tool, shaped like a small club, used for flaking Native American Tools

Bone Billet
 

 
 Burin A burin was a tool flaked into a chisel point for inscribing or grooving bone, stone, wood, leather  or antler.

A Burin

A Burin Tool
 

 
 Borers Borers were small pieces of flint made into tools for piercing holes
 
 
 Celts A Celt is a term used to describe long thin stone adzes or other axe-like tools
 
 
 Crescent A 1/4 moon shaped tool used as a type of scythe or scraper
 
 
 

Core
 

 A piece of flint from which flakes are removed from the core to make other stone tools and weapons such as knives, scrapers, spear pints, drills etc.

Core to make tools
 

 
 Drift A drift was a tool usually made of antler, which was used in the indirect percussion flaking process in which flakes were removed through impact
 
 
 Drill A drill was an oblong tool made of flaked stone and used in drilling holes in hide, wood or leather
 
 
 Flaking Tool  A flaking tool, such as an antler billet or drift, used in removing flakes during the making of Native American Tools tools and weapons
 
 
 Ground stone tools These tools were usually made of basalt, rhyolite, granite stones whose coarse structure made them ideal for grinding other materials, including plants and other stones. They were used in conjunction with other tools to make adzes, celts, and axes
 
 
 Graver A graver was a small tool with a sharp tip that was used to engrave stone, bone, or wood
 
 
 Hammerstone A hammerstone was a hard, often oblong or rounded stone, used in flint knapping.

Small Hammerstone
 

 
 Jawbone The jawbone of a buffalo or a horse was used by the Plains Native to create a weapon called the jawbone club. The hitting edge of the weapon would be sharpened and the teeth inside the jaw bone were left intact.


 

 
 Knives Tools which were flaked to form one or more cutting edges. Knives were essential tools used for cutting meat, hides, wood and food.
 
 
 Microliths Small, narrow blades used in combination for various tools where they are attached to wooden shaft to make arrows, reaping tools, harpoons, drill bits
 
 
 Microblade A long, narrow blade, usually less than 2 inches long
 
 
 Needles Small sewing needles made of bone with punched eyeholes. Used together with thread made from plant fibers or animal sinew.


 

 
 Saws Flakes  of flint were worked to create a toothed edge used to make a saw-like tool
 
 
 Sharpening stones  Sharpening stones, water stones or whetstones: These stones were used as tools to  are used to grind and hone the edges of knives and implements
 
 
 Scrapers Scrapers were tools made from a flake of flint that has small flakes removed from one side to create a working edge. Suitable for scraping and cleaning animal hides

An End Scraper was a heavy duty tool that was used for scraping fur from animal hides and removing the fatty tissue from its underside.

End Scrapper

End Scrapper
 

 
 Tranchet A tranchet was a stone Tool used for cutting
 
 

Chart of Native American Tools

 

Native American Tools - Terms relating to making tools
There are other terms and names relating to making Native American Tools:

Materials used to make Native American Tools
The materials used to make Native Indian tools were from the natural resources available to the Native Indians. The stones used to make Native American Tools included those on the following list. Each type of stone had different properties, some were hard, some were brittle, some were heavy and each were used and chosen to produce the required tool. An example of this is that flint, a hard kind of stone that splits into sharp splinters called flakes when struck by another hard object, or tool.  The tool used to smash flint was called a hammerstone which made with a hard, oblong or rounded stone.

  • Flint
  • Chert
  • Jasper
  • Chalcedony
  • Granite
  • Basalt
  • Sandstone

The other materials used to make Native American tools included:

  • Antlers
  • Bone
  • Wood
  • Shells

Native American Tools - Stone Age Culture
The Stone Age life style of Native Americans ranged from nomadic, semi-nomadic to static across the vast continent of North America and despite this many of them shared similar culture and Native American Tools. The basic component of the majority of their their tools were stone.

Native American Tools

  • Native American Tools
  • Description and definition of Native American Tools stone tools and weapons
  • List of Native American Tools
  • Making a Native American Tools stone tool - method of construction
  • Interesting facts and information about Native American Tools for kids and schools
  • Native American Tools

Pictures and Videos of Native Americans
Native American Tools. Discover the interesting facts and information which relate to the History of Native Americans and the tools and weapons they used. The pictures on this site show the tools 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. We have included pictures and videos to accompany the main topic of this section - Native American Tools. The videos enable fast access to the images, paintings and pictures together with information and many historical facts. 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.

Native American Tools - Native American Indians - Weapon - Battle - Native American Tools - Hunting - Fighting - Use - Materials - Description - Make - Making - Native American Tools - Culture - Kids - Info - Information - Native American Weapon - Tribe - Tribes - People - Early - Children - Facts - History - Pics - Video - Native American Culture - American Indian - Indian - Native American - Life - Teaching resource - Native American Tools - Teachers - Kids - Native American Tools - Written By Linda Alchin

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