Handbook of Alabama Archaeology: Part I Point Types Part 16

FORM: The cross-section is biconvex. Blade edges may be straight or excurvate. The distal end is acute. The hafting area consists of an area with incurvate side edges that may be ground and may be auriculate with expanded pointed or rounded auricles. The basal edge is usually incurvate but may be straight and is usually thinned.

FLAKING: Deep to shallow random flaking was employed to shape the faces.

Retouching on all edges is usually evident.

COMMENTS: The type was named for the Nolichucky River. The type site is Camp Creek Site at the confluence of Camp Creek with the Nolichucky River (Lewis and Kneberg, 1957). The ill.u.s.trated example is from Level A of this h.o.m.ogenous site.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

"An early Woodland type a.s.sociated with Greeneville and Camp Creek types. These three types represent 50% of all points from Camp Creek Site." (Kneberg, 1957). A radiocarbon date of 2050 250 B.P. was obtained from Level C at this site (Lewis and Kneberg, 1957). One example was recovered from the upper level of Stratum I (Woodland and Mississippian) at Flint Creek Rock Shelter (Cambron and Waters, 1961).

At Flint River Mound one example was taken from Zone A. Greeneville and Camp Creek points were more numerous at this site. This evidence indicates a spa.r.s.e late Woodland a.s.sociation in north Alabama. Three examples appear in the University of Alabama surface collections from Guntersville Basin of the Tennessee River.

OSCEOLA, =Ritzenthaler= (Ritzenthaler, 1946 and Bell, 1958): A-65

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: This is a large, parallel sided point with deep, narrow side notches.

MEASUREMENTS: Bell (1958) gives the size as ranging from 3 inches to 9 inches in length with most examples measuring between 4 inches and 5 inches. The ill.u.s.trated example provided the following measurements: length, 97 mm.; width of blade, 32 mm.; width at base, 27 mm.; thickness, 7 mm.; depth of notches, 7 mm.; width of notches, 5 mm.

FORM: The cross-section is flattened. Blade edges are usually near parallel for most of the length of the blade, then slope rather abruptly to an acute distal end. Local examples may be spa.r.s.ely serrated along the blade edges. "The hafting area is notched from the side edges near the base and may be either squared or rounded. The stem base is either straight or incurvate with the incurvate base being more typical."

(Bell, 1958). The base of the ill.u.s.trated example is ground.

FLAKING: Bell (1958) describes the flaking as well done, first by rather large percussion flaking and then by finer flaking along the edges and base. Long, shallow, random flaking was usually employed. Local materials were used.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

COMMENTS: The type was named for the Osceola Site in Wisconsin. The ill.u.s.trated example is from Cambron Site 19, Morgan County, Alabama. A somewhat similar type is described by Ritchie (1961) as Otter Creek points a.s.sociated with the Archaic cultures of Vermont and New York.

Bell (1958) states that the type is a.s.sociated with the Old Copper Culture of Wisconsin where radiocarbon dates suggest an age of 7000 to 5000 years ago. He also lists distribution as Wisconsin, Illinois and Missouri. Alabama examples usually appear on early Archaic sites. The type is probably related to the Big Sandy Complex.

PAINT ROCK VALLEY, =Mahan= (Cambron, 1958a): A-66

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The Paint Rock Valley point is a medium sized, broad, triangular point with incurvate base and excurvate blade edges.

MEASUREMENTS: Fourteen plesiotypes, including the ill.u.s.trated example, from Cambron Site 48, Lincoln County, Tennessee, provided the following measurements and traits: length--maximum, 58 mm.; minimum, 35 mm.; average, 46 mm.: blade width--maximum, 31 mm.; minimum, 25 mm.; average, 28 mm.: width at base--maximum, 30 mm.; minimum, 18 mm.; average, 25 mm.: thickness--maximum, 10 mm.; minimum, 6 mm.; average, 8 mm.: depth of basal concavity--maximum, 3 mm.; minimum, 1 mm.; average, 2 mm.

FORM: The cross-section is biconvex. Blade edges are usually excurvate, rarely straight. The distal end is usually acute but may be broad. The hafting area consists of an indeterminate basal portion of the blade that is usually slightly contracted. The base is usually incurvate, rarely straight, and may be thinned or beveled.

FLAKING: Broad, sometimes deep, random flaking was used to shape the blade and hafting area. Rather long secondary flakes were struck off along the edges, with a minimum of fine retouch having been carried out.

Short flakes struck from the basal edge often resulted in a beveling of the basal edge. Local materials were used.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

COMMENTS: This type was named from points found on sites in the Paint Rock River Valley in Jackson County, Alabama. The ill.u.s.trated example is from Cambron Site 48, Lincoln County, Tennessee. It resembles several Texas types (Suhm, Krieger and Jelks, 1954): Kinney, with an estimated age of 4000 years ago, which is shorter and broader; Matamoros with an estimated age of 500 A.D., which is smaller and usually beveled; Tortugas, estimated age 6000 years ago, which is beveled and has no contraction of the base. At the University of Alabama Site Ms 201 in Marshall County, Alabama, two examples were recovered from Level 11 and one from Level 9. Other types from these lower levels include c.u.mberland, Quad, Dalton, Wheeler and Big Sandy I points. One example was recovered from Burial 8 at Stanfield-Worley Bluff Shelter (DeJarnette, Kurjack and Cambron, 1962) in a.s.sociation with Morrow Mountain, Crawford Creek, White Springs and possibly Eva points, as well as bone points and other artifacts. These a.s.sociations indicate an early Archaic to transitional Paleo-Indian connection. At the Hardaway Site (Coe, 1959) points similar to Paint Rock Valley points were recovered from Stratum IV along with Dalton and Quad points.

PALMER, =Coe= (Coe, 1959): A-67

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The Palmer point is a small corner notched point with a straight, ground base and p.r.o.nounced serrations (Coe, 1959).

MEASUREMENTS: Coe (1959) lists the following measurements: length--maximum, 60 mm.; minimum, 28 mm.; average, 35 mm.: width--maximum, 25 mm.; minimum, 15 mm.; average, 20 mm.: thickness--maximum, 12 mm.; minimum, 5 mm.; average, 8 mm.: average width of notches, 3 mm.: length of notches, measured along stem edge, 5 mm. to 7 mm. The ill.u.s.trated example provided the following measurements: length, 46 mm.; width at shoulders, 25 mm.; width of stem, 21 mm.; thickness, 7 mm.; width of notches, 3 mm.; depth of notches, 6 mm.

FORM: The cross-section is biconvex. Shoulders are barbed. Blade edges are usually straight, but may be slightly incurvate or excurvate. Most examples are serrated, some quite deeply. The hafting area is corner notched. Side edges of the stem are usually incurvate. The basal edge is usually straight but may be slightly incurvate or excurvate. It is thinned and ground.

FLAKING: "These points were made by pressure flaking upon a prismatic flake of the proper proportions. The serrations apparently were made at the time when the point was finished, since the flake scars produced by the serrations were long and overlapped toward the center of the blade."

(Coe, 1959). The notches were formed by the removal of deep broad flakes. Local materials were used.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

COMMENTS: The type was named from points recovered from the Hardaway Site in Piedmont, North Carolina. The ill.u.s.trated example is from Cambron Site 92 in Madison County, North Carolina. Concerning the type at the Hardaway Site, Coe (1959) states, "Following the Hardaway occupation, the style of projectile points changed to a small corner-notched serrated variety with extensive grinding along the base.

Along with this the use of the small hafted snub-nosed sc.r.a.per increased considerably." He gives distribution as "Camp Creek Site in Tennessee and northward along the Atlantic Coast into New England." He further states, "On the basis of excavated data, this type must have an antiquity of nearly 8000 years." Two examples are listed by Cambron and Waters (1961) from the bottom of Stratum II (Archaic) at Flint Creek Rock Shelter. Three Palmer points were cla.s.sified by Cambron from the surface collection of the University of Alabama from Guntersville Basin on the Tennessee River. The type is also found on western North Carolina sites.

PEDERNALIS, =Kelley= (Suhm, Krieger and Jelks, 1954): A-68

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: This is a medium to large point with bifurcated stem.

MEASUREMENTS: Suhm and Jelks (1962) list some measurements in mm., as follows: "Length, max. 130, min. 30, av. between 60 and 90; average width 30 to 50; stem width 15 to 30; stem length 15 to 20." The ill.u.s.trated example provided the following measurements: length, 87 mm.; width of shoulders, 32 mm.; width of stem, 28 mm.; stem length, 25 mm.; thickness, 6 mm.; depth of basal concavity, 8 mm.

FORM: The cross-section may be biconvex or flattened. Shoulders may be horizontal or barbed. "Blade edges are usually straight or excurvate, but occasionally incurvate, recurved, or narrowed to a slim needle-like tip." (Bell, 1958.) The distal end is usually acute. The stem is usually straight, but may be slightly contracted with straight or excurvate side edges. The basal edge is incurvate, usually deeply so, and may be thinned by removal of large flakes, and may be near beveled on some examples. Grinding of basal edges is seldom present.

FLAKING: Broad, shallow flakes were removed to shape the blade and stem.

Deeper shorter flaking was used to finish all edges. On many examples large broad flakes were removed to form the shoulders, especially on barbed examples. The thinning of the bases of some examples was accomplished by removal of one or several large thin flakes. Local materials were generally used.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

COMMENTS: The type was named from sites in central Texas where it is regarded as a diagnostic type of the "Round Rock Focus" (Kelley, 1947a).

The ill.u.s.trated example is from the Helen Womack collection of Bedford County, Tennessee. Suhm, Krieger and Jelks (1954) list Pedernalis as "very common over all of central Texas." It is listed as a common point found with the Edwards Plateau aspect of the Archaic period with an estimated age of 4000 B.C. to 500 or 1000 A.D. (Suhm, Krieger and Jelks, 1954). An example of the type appears in unknown provenience at Stanfield-Worley Bluff Shelter (DeJarnette, Kurjack and Cambron, 1962).

A broken example from the middle of the Archaic Stratum II at Flint Creek Rock Shelter (Cambron and Waters, 1961) appears to have been reworked on one blade edge to a burin. Two examples were recovered from Zone C (upper Archaic) at Flint River Sh.e.l.l Mound (Webb and DeJarnette, 1948a). A suggested a.s.sociation for Alabama is late Archaic or early Woodland.

PICKWICK, =DeJarnette= (DeJarnette, Kurjack and Cambron, 1962): A-69

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: This is a medium to large, expanded shoulder point with recurvate blade edges and tapered stem.

MEASUREMENTS: Twelve cotypes from the Tennessee River Valley of North Alabama provided the following measurements and traits: length--maximum, 117 mm.; minimum, 71 mm.; average, 85 mm.: shoulder width--maximum, 48 mm.; minimum, 37 mm.; average, 44 mm.: stem width--maximum, 24 mm.; minimum, 15 mm.; average, 19 mm.: stem length--maximum, 12 mm.; minimum, 9 mm.; average, 10 mm. The ill.u.s.trated example provided the following measurements: length, 76 mm.; shoulder width, 41 mm.; stem width, 19 mm.; stem length, 13 mm.; thickness, 9 mm.

FORM: The cross-section is biconvex. Shoulders are usually tapered, but may be horizontal, and are always expanded. About one-half of the measured examples had asymmetrical shoulders. Blade edges are recurvate and may be slightly serrated. The distal end is acute. Stems are thick and tapered, rarely straight. Side edges of the stem are usually incurvate and may be ground. The basal edge may be excurvate or straight and rarely ground.

FLAKING: Broad, shallow flaking was used to shape the blade and stem.

Short, deep, regular flaking was used to finish the blade edges, often resulting in fine serrations. A minimum of retouch was used along the stem edges. Local materials were utilized.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

COMMENTS: The type was named from points found on sites in Pickwick Basin of the Tennessee River Valley. The ill.u.s.trated example is from Cambron Site 48 in Lincoln County, Tennessee. It is similar to Ledbetter Stemmed points (Kneberg, 1956), but both blade edges are recurvate. At the Stanfield-Worley Bluff Shelter (DeJarnette, Kurjack and Cambron, 1962) five examples were recovered from Zone A, one from Level 2, two from Level 3 and one each from Levels 4 and 7. At Little Bear Creek Sh.e.l.l Mound (Webb and DeJarnette, 1948b) examples were recovered from levels as follows: Levels 1 and 2, 1 each; Level 3, 13; Level 4, 3; Level 5, 4; Levels 6 and 7, 1 each. Levels 1 and 2 are Woodland, the other levels contained Archaic materials. At Flint River Sh.e.l.l Mound (Webb and DeJarnette, 1948a) one each was recovered from Zones A and B (Woodland), four examples from Zone C, one from Zone C-D and three from Zone D. Zones C, C-D and D are Archaic. The above evidence indicates a beginning in middle Archaic and a climax in late Archaic for the type.

PINE TREE, =Cambron= (Cambron, 1956): A-70