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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. The rawhide band attaching the stone head is ringed with copper tinklers which contain animal hair and red wool fabric. Rawhide fringe 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: 
leather, wood, copper, tin, stroud cloth, horse hair, fur, stone
Classification: 
Object Type: 
Accession No: 
84.1067
Department: 
Not On View

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