CLOVIS POINT
BOONE COUNTY, MISSOURI
DAVE ROE COLLECTION

   This fluted point was obviously well used by its original owner. From the jagged edge and rounded point it appears that it functioned as a knife before it was discarded rather than as a projectile point. The break on one side near the base is an old break. It may have gotten damaged from use while it was still hafted on a handle or fore shaft. The handle was probably made of either antler, bone or wood. The edge break near the base may be the reason it was finally discarded.

   This Clovis point is made of an especially colorful material. Clovis people are known to have used the best stone available to make their tools. These early nomadic people had no competition in locating all the especially good outcroppings of good tool making material. The best stone was much more accessible at that time than it was in later periods when the population began to expand and settle into different regional cultures.

   This Clovis point is made of chert from the Burlington Limestone Formation. One person that has seen it believes it is Bowling Green chert that comes from an area in Missouri northwest of St. Louis. Another person has called it "Burlington Creek" chert, which means it was collected in a creek somewhere near the Mississippi River either on the Missouri or Illinois side. This Clovis point measures 3 3/8 inches (8.5cm) long.