Piscataway points and drill

Stone could be a scarce resource in the Coastal Plain and Virginia Indians did not waste it. Archaeologists working in the area have recovered repurposed tools, indicating that Indians sought to keep broken or old implements functional, rather than manufacture new ones. Originally a projectile point like the one to the left, the artifact in the middle was refashioned into a drill.  Another example of a drill can be found on the right.  

At some sites, broken or reused lithic tools are the only types of stone tools archaeologists will find, suggesting that Native peoples used tools until the items were broken to the point of being unusable.