The Mississippians were great Stone Age toolmakers. Although the Mississippians on rare occasion made some of their tools with native copper, most Mississippians tools were made from flint and stone. This section highlights the Mississippian’s use and manufacture of tools made from stone. The Mississippians were more than just farmers. They were also builders. There is ample evidence to show that the Mississippians built and used wooden structures. Most stone tools were made for strictly utilitarian use, and they must have been used for the cutting and shaping of wood and other building materials. Other stone tools were likely made for ceremonial use as symbols of power and authority.

Perhaps the most recognized Mississippian stone tool is the celt. Although more accurately called an ungrooved axe head, the celt was used throughout the Mississippian world. Hafted in a wooden handle, the stone material used to make celts had to be strong and durable because they were often used for cutting down trees and shaping wood. Perhaps some of the smaller celts were hafted and used as war clubs. In the Midwest, the favored stone material was a black or dark brown hard stone material known as diorite. The Mississippians in the present-day southeast United States used a beautiful green hard stone commonly known as greenstone. Celts come in many shapes and sizes. Some celts were made with specialized shapes to perform different tasks. Those with more narrow sides are called chisels, and those with one flat face are called an adze. Although there are subtle shape differences, each are hand tools and all have a sharpened bit on one side and a butt or pole on the other end. Mississippian celts from the Midwest tend to have a flat and rather wide pole; whereas, the celts from the southeast tend to have a more rounded or thinner pole. Some Mississippians celts have accentuated flared bits.

The Mississippians also produced many versions of ceremonial celts. These are referred to as ceremonial because they tend to be made from very choice materials, they are usually finely made and they do not tend to show actual use. The three most recognized ceremonial celt varieties are the southern drilled spud or spatulate, the rattail or long handled spud, and the monolithic axe.

Drilled Spatulate. H: 5.4" Southeast US	Spatulate. H: 5.6" Lee Co., AR.	Spatulate. H: 6.25" Mississippi Co., AR.

The drilled southern spud is primarily a southern artifact. This ceremonial spud type is so named because most have either one or two drilled holes in the stone handle. The classic drilled southern spud has been found in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. Most were made from Tennessee greenstone that, over time, have turned to a dark blackish green color. Some of these spuds have also been found in Northeast Arkansas and southeast Missouri. The Arkansas variety is not drilled or only partially drilled, and it is usually made from a very dense hard stone materials referred to as ironstone. Other materials used in making these ceremonial axes are steatite, slate, quartzite and fine-grained sandstone. This ceremonial axe is the thinnest of all the ceremonial hard stone axes. They are seldom more than one half an inch thick. It has been suggested that the drilled southern spud was made throughout most of the Mississippian period as they have been found in mounds

Rattail Spud. H: 12" Southeast US

with only prehistoric objects and they have been found in other mounds with early European trade objects. The largest of the drilled southern spuds are over six inches long. This artifact is a favorite among southern collectors.

The second variety of ceremonial celt or axe is commonly called the long handled spud or rat-tailed spud which is so named because of its thin and elongated handle. These spuds also tend to be from thesouthern states such as

Monolithic Axe. L: 13" Spiro Mounds Le Flore Co., OK (Courtesy of the Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK)

Tennessee and Georgia, but some of the finest have been found at the Spiro Mounds in eastern Oklahoma. Some long handled spuds have been found in deep burials at Caddo sites in southwest Arkansas. Most of these ceremonial spud types were made from Tennessee greenstone, but some were also made from slate. These elongated spuds were finely made and hardly show any signs of use. Perhaps they were made merely as symbols of chiefly power within the community. Most spuds of this type range in size from just over five inches long to nearly twelve inches. However, there is one documented greenstone spud from Spiro that measures nearly 24 inches long.

The final and rarest ceremonial celt form is the monolithic axe. The normal Mississippian utilitarian celt was mounted in a wooden handle. By contrast, the monolithic axe is made into the shape of the utilitarian celt with wooden handle except that it is made entirely from one stone. There are about seven authentic monolithic axes recorded. Three were found at Spiro. The Spiro varieties were made from a black hard stone. Two were made with a long and slender handle and bit. The same two have an effigy pecked and polished into the opposing end of the handle. None of the Spiro monolithic axes show any signs of use. There have also been at least two other monolithic axes found in Tennessee. These Tennessee samples are finely made from Tennessee greenstone. The Tennessee examples also tend to be shorter and thicker than their Spiro counterparts. Of the few authentic monolithic axes that have been recorded, they range in size from ten to fourteen inches long.