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War club with a ground stone head / Native American; Plains

Essay/Description

War Club, Skull Cracker type -- Associated with the Plains region, this is a war club with a ground stone head. The stone head is ground into a pointed-egg shape. It is securely attached to a wooden handle with rawhide wrapping, and the handle is wrapped with rawhide. A rawhide loop is attached to the butt end of the handle.

Many Plains tribes used stone-headed clubs in warfare. These clubs often had a wooden handle, which would attach to the stone head with rawhide thongs. The handles of war clubs were often decorated with beads or quills and hair.

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Title(s): 
War club with a ground stone head
Culture: 
Native American; Plains
Date: 
19th century
Period: 
Historic
Place: 
Great Plains, United States of America
Materials/Techniques: 
stone, wood, leather
Classification: 
Object Type: 
Accession No: 
84.1064
Department: 
Not On View

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