A Madison Traditional Arrowhead

Author's note: The fundraiser for Battle Buddy Service Dogs of Kansas City mentioned in my last column, "River Bottom Ruck,” raised more than $5,000 for Battle Buddy, enough to pair two rescue dogs with two veterans diagnosed with PTSD. The event promoted awareness of veteran suicide and PTSD.

A couple years ago, I was walking in a Cape County feeder creek on private property — basically a ditch — and noticed a worked Indian artifact stuck in the near-vertical clay bank. It was probably a primitive tool or a preform, and every time I visit that ditch with my chocolate Lab, Abbie, I look for other signs of ancient life.

Steven Bender

Last January, we were walking that same area after a recent rain, and I took great care to look over as much of the bank as I could but found nothing. To my surprise, however, there was an arrowhead laying right in my walk path, as it had washed down the ditch bank. (See in-situ photo).

My newly-found Madison (triangular) point measured exactly 7/8 inch and appeared to be made of Burlington chert, which was often mined from areas like the Crescent Quarry west of present-day St. Louis.

This perfect Madison point has a notched base, a characteristic of the style, and archeologists consider the Madison a traditional Indian arrowhead. It was used from around 900 A.D. to about 200 years ago during the Late Woodland to Mississippian eras. Madisons can be found from the Mississippi River Valley to the eastern seaboard to Canada. It derives its name from the county in Illinois.

The Madison projectile point would have been hafted to an arrow shaft and shot from a bow, marginalizing the atlatl that had been used for millennia before. A point of this size is sometimes called a "bird point" because they would have been the size one could use to shoot a bird such as a duck, pheasant, quail or pigeon. Truth is, though, an arrowhead this small could take bigger game like squirrels, rabbits, beavers and even deer, if the shot placement were accurate.

Of the ancient artifacts I've found these last six years, this Madison is my smallest complete piece. I found another Madison just weeks before, and it measured 1 inch.

Finding artifacts locally and placing them in display cases is a pleasant education. Finding any Indian artifact and understanding the context in which it was used gives greater appreciation to those who lived in these hills centuries before, the skill it took to create these artifacts and the knowledge it took to use them.