Williams Gallery West - Artifacts - North America

Artifacts - North America - points, tools, pottery, beads

Ramey Knife Mississippian Culture SOLD dimensions: approx 8 1/2" long x 1 1/4" wide	Marked " Monroe County Ill. " in fine black pen. Labels ( one applied label, one vendor tag ) read; " Ramey Knife 8 1/2 x 1 3/8 Circa AD 900 to 1300 Mississippi area, Cahokia related, Mississipi River, Monroe County Il. Harrisonville Ill. #05-ESXSDC 32190 "
Nice Native American Indian Mound Builder point / knife blade. Piece is marked and double tagged.	Excellent Condition. Typical wear from age. No chips or cracks. No repairs. Traces of red clay overall. Cleaner on basal end.

Ramey knives were used in several different ways, both utilitarian and ceremonial. In addition to their use as trade items, they were also used in funeral ceremonies, and may have represented a human being or a vessel for the human spirit. According to the tag, the piece is related to the Cahkia Mounds site, pictured below.
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Park, as it may have appeared in 1100 AD *http://www.cr.nps.gov/worldheritage/cahokia.htm*
HISTORICAL NOTE: Cahocia Mounds was inhabited by Indians of the Late Woodland culture about AD 700. The site grew during the Mississippian period and by AD 1050-1150, the Cahokia site was the regional center for the Mississippian culture. After AD 1200, the population declined and the site was abandoned. The Cahokia Indians (of the Illinois confederacy) came to the area and it is from them that the site derives its name. Architectural and cultural developments of the earlier Indians that make this site significant. They constructed more than 120 earthen mounds over an area of six square miles. These industrious people moved over an estimated 55 million cubic feet of earth in woven baskets to create this network of mounds and community plazas. Monks Mound, covers 14 acres, rises 100 feet, and was topped by a massive 5,000 square-foot building another 50 feet high.
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