Native American Arrowheads

Native Americans crafted the first arrowheads more 10,000 years ago. These arrowheads were made of a variety of materials, including slate, quartzite, flint, jasper, agate, and petrified wood. When working with flint, an arrowhead maker would first expose the material to heat in order to make it easier to flake off pieces. He would then strike hammer stones and other tools against the flint to shape it into a point, which would be modified even more finely using the tips of antlers. Each arrowhead is unique, but a few general shapes and features are most common—some have grooves down the center, others have notches on the sides or corners so they could be tied to arrows or spears, and so on.