Dating between 11,300 and 10,900 years ago, Clovis points are the earliest well-documented artifacts from North America. Originally named after the town in New Mexico where this type of spear point was first identified, they have now been recorded across much of North America. A number of specimens have been discovered in farm fields and along riverbanks in Indiana.
Despite their great age, these spear points are some of the most skillfully crafted stone tools ever made. The surfaces are finely pressure flaked and a long flute or bladelike flake is struck off of the base. This flute is the most distinctive feature of these points. It reduced their thickness and increased their efficiency as a stabbing weapon.
The primary function of these stone tools was to tip hunting spears, although they could also be detached from the spear and used as knives. Prey species during this time period included a wide variety of now extinct Pleistocene Megafauna, including mammoth, mastodont, musk-ox and stag-moose; as well as animals we are more familiar with, such as bison, deer and elk.
Unfortunately, none of the Clovis points discovered in Indiana have been directly associated with other materials, such as the bones of extinct animals.
The Indiana State Museum is interested in recording the location of any sites where similar fluted spear points have been discovered. If you have found a point similar to those shown, contact the museum's Curator of Prehistoric Archaeology. Please do not disturb materials at any archaeological site. It is legal to collect surface artifacts, however, state law protects buried archaeological materials. If you have made a significant discovery, you should contact a professional archaeologist at the Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology or the Indiana State Museum.