11KBP
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Seeing the recent post concerning the abrading tool I thought I would make a post specifically describing the Late Prehistoric arrow shaft abraders:
Shaft Abraders - Plains matched pair style
Arrow Shaft Abraders
Central Plains Tradition:
Circa A.D. 1100 to 1450
The distribution range of this type of arrow shaft abrader, sometimes called arrow shaft smoothers (not to be confused with straighteners), is primarily in the Great Plains region consisting of the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma but have also been found in neighboring states. They appear to be most common on Central Plains Tradition sites. These abraders are always made of sandstone with one of the common sources being Dakota sandstone which outcrops in both Nebraska and Kansas.
The shaft abraders shown in the images below were made and utilized by the same Late Prehistoric cultures that made the Fresno, Washita, Harrell and Huffaker arrow points as well as the distinctive Plains Harahey Knife.
The first image is a group of damaged arrow shaft abraders, many of these are found in this condition as oftentimes the sandstone used was not very durable and therefore the abraders will break fairly easy.
The second and third images are of a matched set of shaft abraders found in 1976 by Merle Stevens, a Nebraska collector. The arrow shaft is held in one hand and sandwiched between the two sandstone abraders which are held together with the other hand. The shaft is then drawn back and forth through the paired abraders to obtain the desired evenness and smoothness.
As can be seen in the next two images the shaft abraders vary in length and there can also some variance in shape, some having more rounded boat-shaped surfaces and some with more squared surfaces. The bottom example has had the groove etched in but has seen very little use or possibly not used at all.
Shaft Abrader Preforms:
The two pieces in the below images are shaft abrader preforms for making matched pairs of arrow shaft abraders. The sandstone preforms can vary somewhat in shape. They were first formed into a shape similar to these two examples shown here.
The below picture is of another preform (found in several pieces) and this one was in the process of being cut in half. This example was generously given to me by Lyle Nickel, an Oklahoma collector who knew of my interest in these unique tools.
The last image is of a replication I did after a well-know Plains/High Plains authenticator told me that the pieces I was calling preforms was not likely correct and was the reason I decided to attempt a replication.
After photo-documenting my experiment he decided I had a good point and apologized.
Shaft Abraders - Plains matched pair style
Arrow Shaft Abraders
Central Plains Tradition:
Circa A.D. 1100 to 1450
The distribution range of this type of arrow shaft abrader, sometimes called arrow shaft smoothers (not to be confused with straighteners), is primarily in the Great Plains region consisting of the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma but have also been found in neighboring states. They appear to be most common on Central Plains Tradition sites. These abraders are always made of sandstone with one of the common sources being Dakota sandstone which outcrops in both Nebraska and Kansas.
The shaft abraders shown in the images below were made and utilized by the same Late Prehistoric cultures that made the Fresno, Washita, Harrell and Huffaker arrow points as well as the distinctive Plains Harahey Knife.
The first image is a group of damaged arrow shaft abraders, many of these are found in this condition as oftentimes the sandstone used was not very durable and therefore the abraders will break fairly easy.
The second and third images are of a matched set of shaft abraders found in 1976 by Merle Stevens, a Nebraska collector. The arrow shaft is held in one hand and sandwiched between the two sandstone abraders which are held together with the other hand. The shaft is then drawn back and forth through the paired abraders to obtain the desired evenness and smoothness.
As can be seen in the next two images the shaft abraders vary in length and there can also some variance in shape, some having more rounded boat-shaped surfaces and some with more squared surfaces. The bottom example has had the groove etched in but has seen very little use or possibly not used at all.
Shaft Abrader Preforms:
The two pieces in the below images are shaft abrader preforms for making matched pairs of arrow shaft abraders. The sandstone preforms can vary somewhat in shape. They were first formed into a shape similar to these two examples shown here.
The below picture is of another preform (found in several pieces) and this one was in the process of being cut in half. This example was generously given to me by Lyle Nickel, an Oklahoma collector who knew of my interest in these unique tools.
The last image is of a replication I did after a well-know Plains/High Plains authenticator told me that the pieces I was calling preforms was not likely correct and was the reason I decided to attempt a replication.
After photo-documenting my experiment he decided I had a good point and apologized.
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