Steel Awls for Stone Age Plainswomen: Rock Art, Religion, and the Hide Trade on the Northern Plains

Abstract

Archaeological, ethnographic, and historic data suggest the presence in Protohistoric times of a women s ceremonial tradition among Dakota and Lakota groups. The tradition involved creation of distinctive rock art, including deeply ground ungulate tracks, vulvas, and hand-and footprints, along with numerous abraded grooves commonly referred to as tool-sharpening grooves. Production of this rock art was related to vision experiences involving Double Woman, women s crafts, and reproductive concerns. The rock art tradition was largely abandoned as the hide trade placed new demands on women to mass produce hides for trade with outsiders. Women increasingly chose to use imported metal tools instead of creating their own awls at the Double Woman sites. Use of the more durable, but less sacred, metal tools resulted in increased status for hide-workers and their families, while preventing powerful quillwork designs from leaving the family and community.