In archaeology, most studies of artifacts focus on lithics and ceramics, while bone artifacts are often neglected in our intense study of the past. This thesis takes a step in the opposite direction by focusing on a bone tool known as the beamer. This thesis tests the hypothesis that the beamer, used for processing animal hides, is only used during the Late Woodland and Mississippian time periods. If the hypothesis is supported, the beamer would be unique among bone artifacts, acting as a chronological marker similar to projectile points. The thesis also studies how the hypothesized appearance of the beamer at the beginning of the Late Woodland affected the use of lithic scrapers, another tool used for hide processing. Information gathered for this thesis was used to create a large database of Midwestern prehistoric archaeological sites. While the original hypothesis did not hold up, a new hypothesis was created based on the data. / Department of Anthropology