Clasp Knife   Save
Undocumented Artifacts from the First Ohioans Exhibit
Description: This bone-handled clasp knife is in the closed position. The handle has narrow, diagonal grooves running lengthwise and three nails holding it together. The visible portion of the blade has a deep curvature at the proximal end. This piece is from the Historic Period. The Historic Period in North America began in the late 1400s when Europeans wrote down accounts of their experiences in the New World. It did not begin in Ohio, however, until 1650 when French map makers first depicted the southern shore of Lake Erie on their maps. Although nearly two centuries had passed before Europeans arrived in the Ohio area, their presence on the east coast greatly affected the Indians of the interior. The Indians of the Historic Period used many European-made tools. Still, they did not immediately give up all their traditional crafts, such as chipping flint arrow points. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: A4786_000138
Subjects: Indian metal-work; Indians of North America; Knives;
Places: Undocumented Artifacts from the First Ohioans Exhibit