Arrowhead
Arrowhead, or Arrow Point, the striking end of an arrow, usually made separately from the arrow shaft. Modern arrowheads are discussed in Archery. This article discusses ancient arrowheads, which were generally made of flint, obsidian, or other stones that are easy to chip. However, wood, bone, horn, shell, and, later, copper and iron were also used.
Most ancient arrowheads were less than two inches (5 cm) long. They were usually triangular, oval, or shaped like a slender leaf. Some had barbs or notches. Although nearly all arrowheads had a pointed tip, some, called bunts, had a round or square tip and were probably used for stunning birds or small game.
Arrowheads were fastened to the shaft in a number of ways. Most North American Indians fitted the arrowhead into a slot at the end of the shaft. They glued it in place or tied it with cord, sinew, or rawhide. The notches on some arrowheads helped to keep the cords from slipping. The heads of Indian arrows used in warfare were often loosely attached to the shaft so that they would remain in the wound after the shaft was withdrawn.
Stone arrowheads—like other stone cutting tools such as spearheads, knives, scrapers, drills, and hoes—were made by knocking flakes (chips) from a lump of stone. After a flake was split off, it was chipped into the rough shape of an arrowhead. The arrowhead was given the desired shape by removing small flakes from around its edges. Stone arrowheads differed from spearheads only in size, spearheads generally being more than two inches (5 cm) long.
It is difficult to tell the age of an arrowhead from its size or shape. Archeologists date arrowheads by finding the age of other man-made objects or bones found with them.