Samples of microdrills, microblades, and microcores from the powell Mound and the Dunham tract of the Cahokia site near St. Louis and a small number of faketown perforators from the Poverty Point site, Lousiana, were examined for microwear traces, using the mthods outlined by L. H. Keeley. Many archaeologists have assumed that the microdrills in the Cahokia microlithic industry were used by craft specialists to produce drilled disc beads and other ittems made from marine and freshwater shell. Microwear analysis of the Cahokia microdrills showed they were specialized tools, used almost exclusively to drill shell material, while the jaketown perforators were used to drill a variety of materials.