Badland Knives

By Dick Eckles, Editor, NAS

These are thin, irregular flat knives, having angular, or curved/angular edges. They are made on chalcedony plate formations. The pieces of chalcedony plate used were usually about one fourth inch thick and did not need further bifacial thinning. Only edge sharpening was necessary leaving the semi-rough, dull looking cortical surface on both faces. Specimens are found with all edges worked, however broken chalcedony plates were oftentimes sharpened on one edge only (example on the right hand side in image), leaving the opposite edge flat to be used as a pressure point similar to what is called a Backed Knife. (Perino Vol. 2, 1991)

The two badland knives in the above image were found in south central Nebraska at a distance of just a little over 300 miles from the nearest plate chalcedony source located in the northwest corner of the Nebraska panhandle. Evidence points to the use of this material from Paleo cultures on into the Late Prehistoric time period.

The material is called White River Group Plate Chalcedony and is found in the White River Badlands of Nebraska and South Dakota. The below image is an example of what the plate chalcedony looks like in situ at its source. On a number of my visits to the Badlands I would come across numerous locations nearly identical to this picture. All of the flat grayish colored pieces in this picture are plate chalcedony pieces that have broken off from the vertical laying veins like those the arrows are pointing at.