Flint points are perhaps the most popular of all Mississippian artifacts. These small, finely crafted arrow points were commonly made from a variety of flint, bone and wood. By Mississippian times, the bow and arrow had been developed and was in widespread use, and local flint knappers soon developed some very distinctive styles of flint arrow points.

Native archer from Florida. By John White, 1585. Courtesy the British Museum.

No discussion of Mississippian arrow points would be complete without some mention of the bow itself. One of the great technological achievements of the prehistoric Native Americans was the development of the bow and arrow. Prior to its invention, native peoples of North America used darts launched by atlatl throwers. The atlatl was used to increase the throwing range and velocity of a dart beyond the normal distance that a man could throw the dart without the aid of any mechanical device. The first Spanish travelers to North America witnessed the late Mississippian people using the atlatl dart, and its use was recorded by de Soto's chronicler following a battle between the Spanish and Mississippians. The typical darts measured approximately 50 to 60 inches long and a half an inch or more in diameter. Although the dart and atlatl thrower was still in use by late Mississippian times, the Mississippians' weapon of choice seems to have been the bow and arrow.

Although the bow and arrow had been developed in other parts of the world as early as 6,000 years ago, its development in North America seems to have occurred in late Woodland times. The earliest bow yet discovered in North America was found at the Mounds Plantation Site, an early Caddo site, in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. Its estimated date of manufacture is 1050 to 1070 AD. The bow was made from a very hard wood called Osage Orange and measured 66 inches in length. Early European drawings show that the Mississippian bows were nearly as tall as the Mississippian warriors themselves. The Mounds Plantation bow is consistent with the dating of early arrow points made by the late Woodland Coles Creek people in present-day southwest Arkansas. The bow could be used to shoot arrows over much greater distances and at a greater repetition than achieved with the dart and atlatl thrower. The use of a bow and arrow made its user much more lethal in hunting and battle.

From the first European drawings of native peoples in the present-day southeast United States, the typical native archer was equipped with a bow with sinew string and a leather quiver containing 10 or more arrows. The quiver was carried by leather straps so that the native archer could move without having to carry his arrows in his hands. At excavations at the Bowman Site, a Caddo site in Little River County, Arkansas, graves revealed ten to twenty arrow points found in such a way to suggest that they had been attached to arrows and placed in a leather quiver during burial. Only the flint points remained when they were eventually excavated in the 1960's.

Agee Point. Pink Novaculite. L: 2" Pike Co., AR.	Agee Point. Pink Novaculite. L: 2" Pike Co., AR.	Agee Point. White Novaculite. L: 1.75" Pike Co., AR.	Agee A Point. Grey Novaculite. L: 1.25" Hot Springs Co., AR.

The Coles Creek people from present-day Miller and Pike Counties, Arkansas made some of the earliest styles of arrow points. The best of these early Coles Creek points are called Agee points. Agees were also made by the later Caddoan Moundbuilders that occupied many of the same sites previously occupied by the Coles Creek people. These beautiful points were often made from local novaculite flint which is both translucent and colorful. Agees are most often found in pearly white, pink, red, gray and black. The best of these colorful Agee points are among the finest of North American prehistoric arrow points. Agees have been found in caches of several hundred points at the Crenshaw Site in Miller County, Arkansas (a Coles Creek and Caddoan occupation) and at the Kidd Site in Pike County, Arkansas (a Caddoan occupation). They range in length from half an inch to over two inches. Agee points are occasionally found as surface finds but most are cache points.

The Caddoan Moundbuilders also produced other beautiful arrow points from local novaculite and other local flints. These other Caddoan point types include the Agee A, Harrell, Haskell, Hayes, Homan, Howard and Huffaker points. Each point type ranges in size from a half an inch to over two inches long, but the majority are an inch and a quarter to an inch and a half long. Apparently these native archers found that arrow points that were too long reduced the accuracy of their arrow flights because the arrow had to maintain a certain weight balance. If the arrow point was too long and heavy, it would not travel as far and as straight. If the point was too small, then the front of the arrow would not be able to carry the feather fletching on the rear of the arrow shaft with sufficient guidance.

The Mississippians at Spiro Mounds were prolific flint knappers. Located in present-day LeFlore County, Oklahoma, these Mississippians marked the western boundary of the great Mississippian world. The artisans and flint knappers of Spiro fashioned some of the finest artifacts of the Mississippian world. When the large Craig Mound at Spiro was searched in the early 1930's, the six diggers that had leasing rights to the mounds estimated that they had found from 2,000 to 5,000 arrow points, and the points were usually found in caches of ten to twenty five points per cache. Since these six diggers made up nothing more than a depression-era commercial enterprise, they did not take careful field notes of their discoveries. The size of these wonderfully crafted Spiro points is consistent with the Caddoan arrow points. Although Spiro points ranged in size from a half an inch to over three inches long, the highest volume of points fall within the inch and a quarter to an inch and a half range. Made from a mixture of local flints of mottled grays and tans, these finely crafted Spiro points are of exceptional quality. The point types most often found at Spiro were the Collier, Harrell, Morris, Reed, Scallorn E, Washita and Washita Peno points. Some ceremonial Spiro points were knapped and notched in such a way to strongly infer that there was a Spiro/Cahokia trade connection. The Spiro Tribute points shown above are notched in the same way as some Mound 72 points found at the Cahokia complex. The best of these Spiro Tribute points are as exceptional as any in public or private hands.

The Mississippians also produced triangular arrow point called Madison, Dallas and Hamilton points. These triangular points were used throughout much of the Mississippian world. Their greatest concentration seems to be in Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee. However, they are not commonly found at Caddo sites in southwest Arkansas or eastern Texas. Nor are they commonly encountered at Spiro. Some spectacular translucent triangular points, known as Dallas points, have been found in caches in eastern Tennessee and northern Georgia. Another early southeastern cache point is the Hamilton point which is another variant of the triangle point. Commonly found in the southeastern United States, the Hamilton point is often found with a concave base.

In Illinois, the flints of choice were Burlington and Kaolin. Triangle points range in length from half an inch to over two inches for the best cache points.

One of the most popular and sought after Mississippian points are the Cahokia notched points. These rare and highly collectible points are variants of the Mississippian triangle points, and they are often made from local Kaolin and Burlington flints. The best are known as gem points. These Cahokia gem points often have between two and nine side and back notches. The points with two side notches are called "double notchers" and the points with two side notches and a rear notch are called "triple notchers". Cahokia gem points have been found in a variety of colored Kaolin flints including pearly white, pink, yellow, orange, red, brown and combinations of two or more of these colors. Some of these very rare gem points are so well known by local collectors that they have been given individual names such as "old red tail" and "the Perry Parker point". The finest white and gray Burlington notched points are also considered gem points. Although some spectacular Cahokia gem points are in private hands, the finest Cahokia gem points were found in an excavation at Mound 72 in the Cahokia complex. These Mound 72 points are among the most beautiful of any flint points made by Stone Age man. They are often very long (some are three inches long), highly serrated, deeply notched and very colorful.

Nodena Cache Points. L: 2 to 2.5" St. Francis Co., AR.

The last Mississippian arrow point worthy of mention is the Nodena point. The Nodena, also known as the Willow Leaf point, is a regional style found mostly in northeast Arkansas and to a lesser extent in southeast Missouri. The name Willow Leaf comes from the point's similar profile to the willow tree leaf. Although often found while surface hunting, the finest of these points were found in caches many years ago at Mississippian excavations in Arkansas. The best are long, slender, very thin and finely flaked. Willow Leaf points range in length from a half an inch for some field finds to over three inches for the best cache points. A cache point measuring over two inches long is a rare point. Made from a variety of local flints, they are found in white, black, tan, pink, deep red, and gray. Because this point type is limited to present-day northeast Arkansas and southeast Missouri, it is an uncommon type. Their long and slender profile and wide color variations are two reasons why Willow Leaf points are very popular with collectors.