Stone Tools

Stone Tools. Aztalan National Historic Landmark. Tools made of stone, as well as the by-products of making stone tools, are the longest lasting and most common artifact types archaeologists encounter. Tool production was a specialized craft by this time and Mississippian stoneworkers created utilitarian and ritual artifacts characterized by extraordinary craftsmanship and consistency of form., Stone tools such as drills, knives, arrow, and spear points were made by chipping fine-grained chert and other rock. Stone pipes, grooved and ungrooved axes (celts), gaming pieces and pendants were made by pecking, grinding, drilling, and polishing raw stone., The people of Aztalan used local stone to produce many items, but some tools such as hoe blades were made from cherts only available in southern Illinois. These tools may have been acquired by trade or brought to the site by Aztalan's Mississippian immigrants., Photo caption (left): Mississippian type arrow points recovered from Aztalan (top and bottom) and drill tips (middle); not to scale, Photo caption (right): Celts and Mill Creek chert hoe (bottom); not to scale