ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN MISSOURI 55 



scars following the long axis. A few have very finely retouched edges. 

 This retouching is occasionally so fine that in casual scrutiny of the 

 pieces this feature may be overlooked. The majority lack such sec- 

 ondary work. All these specimens would have made very effective 

 cutting implements, since they are usually made from the most readily 

 worked grades of chert and have, or must once have had, fairly sharp 

 edges. Some of the smallest are but little larger than chips such as 

 might have been struck off in the manufacture of large blades or other 

 cMpped products, and might represent rejectage. However, these 

 specimens are considerably larger than any of the other flakes found 

 in caches. The larger specimens, as well as those with retouched or 

 worn edges, are in all probability knives. It is possible that all were 

 so used, since the entire group tends to be set apart from all other 

 flakes, spalls, etc., from the site. 



Perhaps the finest example of flint working from the Renner site 

 is the large blade shown in plate 16, a. It measures 26.7 cm. long, 

 8.4 cm. wide, and 1.6 cm. thick. The material, otherwise compara- 

 tively scarce at the site, is brown jasper, mottled with darker, almost 

 chocolate-colored areas. Both surfaces are characterized by primary 

 chipping only, with a low ridge left along the medial axis. The edge, 

 slightly irregular on one side, shows fine secondary flaking. The 

 wider end is slightly polished and the flake scars show more evidence 

 of wear than does the opposite extremity. Such a polish might result 

 from use in a soft yielding material, as loose earth. None of the edges 

 are battered or nicked and, except at the wider end, are not worn or 

 blunted. There is no indication that the piece was ever provided with 

 a haft. Its function is problematical. The care that went into its 

 shaping suggests a possible ceremonial use. On the other hand, it is 

 heavy enough to have served as a spade, hoe, or similar implement 

 for working the soi], or, what seems less likely, as a cutting tool. 



The upper right hand specimen in plate 16 was found in pit 13. 

 It is 122 mm. long by 55 mm. in greatest width, the latter lying near 

 one end and just above a curved cutting edge. The sides are straight, 

 tapering evenly to a narrow squared butt. Secondary chipping occurs 

 along the edges. The curved end, as well as portions of the broader 

 surface, is highly polished, though not sufficiently worn to have 

 obliterated the flake- scars. Better made is a spudlike artifact from 

 pit 22, shown in plate 16, c. This is 123 mm. long, with a maximum 

 width of 62 mm. It is made of a grayish-white chert finely speckled 

 with red and clouded with pink. The retouched edges at the rounded 

 butt and on the sides have been rubbed, worn, or ground down, 

 whereas the wide curved blade still retains a sharp slightly polished 

 cutting edge. Perhaps this specimen was originally haftecl but in 

 what manner cannot be determined. Like the preceding, it could 

 have been used in skinning or skin-dressing. When speculating on the 



