Ohio History Journal

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A STUDY OF THE OKLAHOMA ECCENTRIC FLINTS

A STUDY OF THE OKLAHOMA ECCENTRIC FLINTS

By H. HOLMES ELLIS*

Since March, 1936, when they were first called to the at-

tention of the general public,7?? the Oklahoma eccentric flints have

presented a puzzling archaeological phenomenon. Dr. Forrest E.

Clements,1 collaborating with Mr. Alfred Reed, Jr., wrote the

only satisfactory account of the find and the circumstances sur-

rounding it, but due to lack of time and facilities he was unable

to carry out a detailed analysis of the specimens themselves. In

June, 1939, the Lithic Laboratory for the Eastern United States at

the Museum of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical

Society, at the request of Dr. Clements, began this analysis, the

results of which are embodied in the present paper.

Before these results are presented, the history of the find

itself should be reviewed briefly. In the summer of 1921, Mack

Tussinger, a half-breed Indian, is said to have uncovered a cache

of some 3,500 perfect and a number of broken, very intricately

notched flint specimens. The cache was in a mound in the

northern part of Delaware County, Oklahoma, on the north side

of the Elk River about six miles above its junction with the

Grand River. Tussinger claims to have sorted the specimens

according to size and re-buried them in his yard. During the next

few years about 800 of the smaller ones were sold to Dr. W. C.

Barnard, a collector in Seneca, Missouri. Some were also sold by

Tussinger to Tom Fleetwood of Wyandotte, Oklahoma. In

1931, Tussinger, seeking a wider market for his material, began

to dispose of his remaining specimens through J. A. Robertson

who operates a gasoline station and roadside stand near Baxter

Springs, Kansas. After Robertson's appearance on the scene the

* The author is deeply indebted to H. C. Shetrone and R. G. Morgan for the

assistance which they rendered during the course of this study.

?? The arabic numerals refer to corresponding numerals in the bibliography

appended.

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