Skull cracker Plains, United States H. 59 cm - W. 19 cm Wood, leather and stone Provenance : - Private collection, France This refined skull cracker-type club has a cylindrical wooden handle covered with leather. At the top of the handle, a carved stone is attached with a skin ring and tapered at both ends. The practice of combat was an integral part of the daily life of Plains Amerindian societies, the honor and prestige of the tribe being the key to battle. Warfare thus played a fundamental role in the social organization and ritual activities of the various human groups in the region. In the pre-Western contact era, the polished stone club was the most common fighting weapon of Plains warriors. It was used as a throwing club in battle and as a weapon for hand-to-hand combat. The distribution of weight at the level of the stone allowed a good control of the trajectory during the throw by the rotation of the club on itself.