Prehistoric chert hoe

Description:	As early as 11,000 years ago, the first people to inhabit the Americas were making tools to hunt for food. Tools were chipped from stone, called chert. Over time, people learned where the best sources of chert were located and traveled or traded to obtain the material for making many different things, including tools, game pieces and decorations. This large, flaked chert tool is a hoe. It would have been lashed to a stick with fiber or sinew (animal tendons) and used to dig the soil for planting and cultivating crops. By 1500 BC, many people had settled into permanent and semi-permanent settlements and villages, often in areas conducive to raising crops. Over time, indigenous plants, such as sunflower, squash, corn and beans were domesticated and cultivated on a large scale to support large, permanent villages or settlements of people. Examples of such settlements include the Mississippian Culture of the southeast and the Pueblo (Anasazi) of the southwest.
Source:	http://www.digitalindy.org/cdm/ref/collection/tcm/id/442
Collection:	The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
Rights:	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/;
Copyright:	Creative Commons (CC By-SA 3.0);
Subjects:	Paleo-Indians Paleo-Indians -- Implements Indians of North America -- Implements Indians of North America -- Antiquities Implements, utensils, etc.

Further information on this record can be found at its source.