Stone Tools from the Bevans Rockshelter

By: Jessica Cieslewicz

Prehistoric hunters used projectile points such as the one on the left, for hunting. They would have attached the point to a wooden shaft with sinew (animal muscle fiber). This specimen was most likely used as a spear, as it is too large to be an arrowhead. Processing the animal hides required a scraper, the tool located on the right. The left side of the object is the working edge. It was used to scrape clean the insides of the hide or remove the fur from the outside without ripping the hide.

Late archaic stone tools from the Bevans Rockshelter site in Sussex County, New Jersey. NJSM #s AE102 & AE107.17.

Projectile Point                                                    Scraper

Late Archaic                                                        Late Archaic
3000 B.C. – 1000 B.C.                                      3000 B.C. – 1000 B.C.
Delaware Indians/Lenape                               Delaware Indians/Lenape
Bevans Rock Shelter,                                        Bevans Rock Shelter,
Sussex County, New Jersey                             Sussex County, New Jersey