We are not artifact collectors, but we do have an artifact, shown here actual size, which we thought would be of interest to the readers of the Central States Archaeological Journal. One day a friend noticed our artifact and suggested we attend the Illinois Archaeological Society's Indian artifact show at Collinsville, Illinois, in March 1998. This we did, and I can tell you this point caused quite a stir. We had the pleasure of showing this piece to several well-known collectors and plenty of interested onlookers. We would like to thank the members of the Illinois Archaeological Society and the staff of this journal for their kindness and attention.

Not really being collectors, we had no idea what we had. We thought it was just a knife blade or perhaps a spear point which was a couple hundred years old. Thanks to the ISAS members, we now know we have a Clovis point that is about 12,000 years old.

You can imagine our surprise when we found out that we had an extremely old and rare artifact. The thought of its being used during the end of the last ice age to hunt woolly mammoths or

mastodons just blew us away.

What we do know about this point's most recent history is also quite interesting. It has been an heirloom in the Bromley family for at least four generations. This Clovis had been tossed into a box with 40 to 50 other points and stored in an old smoke house for as long as we can remember.

As children we played with these artifacts on several occasions. It is a miracle that the Clovis survived all of the handling over the years. Without knowing exactly which one of our ancestors actually found this Clovis point, we are fairly certain that it was found in the area of Mt. Sterling in Montgomery County, Kentucky. This is where our branch of the Bromley family originated. We have been told this Clovis point was made from Kentucky hornstone, a type of chert commonly used by the Native Americans of Kentucky. It is now in the collection of Ryan and Cole Bromley, thanks to the generosity of our cousin John Heneberry. We will continue to take very good care of this piece of Native American and our family's history. Photo by Paul Welton.·