Handbook of Alabama Archaeology: Part I Point Types Part 9

FORM: The cross-section is flattened. The blade is excurvate. A slightly serrated appearance is found on some examples as the result of retouching along the blade edge. The distal end is acute. The hafting area includes an undetermined basal portion of the blade which is more or less parallel along the basal edges. The basal edge is usually straight but may be slightly incurvate; it is thinned and, rarely, ground.

FLAKING: Large shallow flakes, removed to shape the faces, were followed by shorter deeper flaking along all edges. The secondary flaking along the basal edge is usually broader and longer than that used along the blade and hafting area edges. Some retouching along the blade edges results in a finely serrated appearance.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

COMMENTS: This point is named after the Frazier Site in Benton County, Tennessee. The ill.u.s.trated example is from Cambron Site 389 in Limestone County, Alabama. No examples were recovered from control sites in the Tennessee Valley. The type is comparatively rare in Alabama and the cultural a.s.sociation is not known, but it usually appears in surface collections from early Archaic sites. Kneberg (1956) suggests a late Archaic a.s.sociation in Tennessee and a "probable time period from about 1500 B.C. to early centuries A.D." The point is similar to Paint Rock Valley points but is narrower. The base is not as incurvate and the flaking is usually better controlled.

GARTH SLOUGH, =Cambron= (This Paper): (Formerly cla.s.sified as Catahoula)

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: This is a small to medium, expanded-barb point.

Barbs are prominent and usually obtuse.

MEASUREMENTS: The measurements of eight plesiotypes (including the ill.u.s.trated example) from which descriptions were drawn are: length--maximum, 47 mm.; minimum, 33 mm.; average, 40 mm.: shoulder width--maximum, 33 mm.; minimum, 26 mm.; average, 29 mm.: stem width--maximum, 13 mm.; minimum, 8 mm.; average, 11 mm.: stem length--maximum, 7 mm.; minimum, 5 mm.; average, 5 mm.: thickness--maximum, 7 mm.; minimum, 4 mm.; average, 6 mm.

FORM: The cross-section is biconvex. The shoulder barbs are usually expanded and broad; the barb ends may be obtuse or straight. The blade is usually incurvate; rarely, recurvate or straight. Most examples are finely serrated with an acute distal end. The stemmed hafting area is formed by diagonal notches. The stems of the measured examples are straight. The base may be straight or excurvate, thinned, and may be ground on some examples.

FLAKING: Remnants of blade scars may be evident on the faces. Random, secondary flaking may leave a median ridge on some examples. This flaking, along with some fine retouch produced fine serrations along the blade edges. Broad flakes were removed to form the basal notches.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

COMMENTS: The type was named from examples from surface sites in the Garth Slough area in Morgan County, Alabama. The ill.u.s.trated example is from Cambron Site 76 (Pine Tree) in Limestone County, Alabama. The type is found on Transitional Paleo and Early Archaic sites in North Alabama.

One example was recovered from the bottom of Stratum II (Early Archaic) at Flint Creek Rock Shelter (Cambron and Waters, 1961). What appears to be a smaller variant of the type was recovered from level V at Danger Cave, Utah (Jennings, 1957) and listed as type W37. Radiocarbon dates from this level range from 6863 500 B.P. at the base of the level to 3893 240 B.P. in the topmost part of the level. One example was recovered from Cave Spring, Level 9, Stratum III, in a.s.sociation with Big Sandy, Cave Spring, Colbert Dalton, Decatur, Frazier, Greenbrier Dalton, Jude, Lerma Rounded Base, Paint Rock Valley, and Stanfield points. The Garth Slough point was formerly but incorrectly, cla.s.sified as Catahoula.

GARY, =Newell and Krieger= (Suhm, Krieger and Jelks, 1954): A-41

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: This is a medium sized point with contracted stem.

MEASUREMENTS: Bell (1958) gives the size range as about 40 mm. to 80 mm.

Suhm, Krieger and Jelks (1954) note that the stem length is more consistent than the length of the blade. The ill.u.s.trated example measures 57 mm. in length, 26 mm. in shoulder width, 18 mm. in stem width, 14 mm in stem length and 9 mm. in thickness.

FORM: The cross-section is biconvex. Shoulders may be horizontal or tapered and are occasionally rounded or expanded barbed. The blade is usually straight to excurvate, but may be incurvate or recurvate (Suhm, Krieger and Jelks, 1954). The distal end is acute. The stem is usually contracted, with straight or excurvate side edges and a rounded to pointed basal edge.

FLAKING: The blade and hafting area are shaped by broad random flaking.

The blade edges are retouched by the removal of deep short flakes. The stem may be retouched.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

COMMENTS: The type was named after points found in Texas and was formerly called Gary Contracting Stem. The ill.u.s.trated specimen is from Cambron Site 76 in Limestone County, Alabama. There is considerable variation within the Gary type, and further study may lead to cla.s.sification into separate types (Bell, 1958, quoting Baerreis, Freeman and Wright, 1958). Several Gary points were recovered from the Stanfield-Worley Bluff Shelter (DeJarnette, Kurjack and Cambron, 1962).

Most of the examples were in the upper half of Zone A, which would indicate a late Archaic to Woodland a.s.sociation. Flint Creek Rock Shelter (Cambron and Waters, 1961) and Flint River Mound (Webb and DeJarnette, 1948a) also produced Gary points from both Woodland and Archaic strata. Jenkins (1975) has demonstrated Gary as the dominant projectile point type for Middle Woodland in the Central Tombigbee area (Miller I and II).

GREENBRIER, =Kneberg= (Lewis and Kneberg, 1960): A-42

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The Greenbrier is a medium to large point with expanded auricles and shallow ground side notches.

MEASUREMENTS: The ill.u.s.trated example measures in length, 63 mm.; in shoulder width, 25 mm.; in stem width, 25 mm.; in stem length, 12 mm.; in thickness, 6 mm.

FORM: The cross-section is usually flattened but may be biconvex.

Shoulders are tapered and may be weakly barbed. The blade is usually parallel, with fine serrations, and may be beveled on each side of both faces. The distal end is acute. The hafting area displays broad side notches, created as the shoulder tapers in to the expanded stem. Notches on the ill.u.s.trated example are 4 mm. deep and 14 mm. wide. Side edges of the hafting area are usually heavily ground. The base is incurvate, thinned and lightly ground.

FLAKING: Flaking used to shape the blade and hafting area is broad and thin. The short flaking which was used to bevel the blade edges and create fine serrations may occasionally appear on the shoulder edges of the hafting area. The notches were formed by the removal of one or more fairly large flakes, followed by secondary flaking. Most Alabama examples were made of Ft. Payne chert or other good material.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

COMMENTS: The type was briefly described by Lewis and Kneberg (1960), who point out that several examples were ill.u.s.trated from the Nuckolls Site (Lewis and Kneberg, 1958). Good examples ill.u.s.trated in that paper are Figs. 24-30, 37, and 48-49. The ill.u.s.trated example is from Hulse Site 53, Limestone County, Alabama. Its general appearance is somewhat similar to that of the Pine Tree point and it often appears on the same sites. At the Stanfield-Worley Bluff Shelter (DeJarnette, Kurjack and Cambron, 1962) one example was recovered from Level 11 of R-4 trench, one from Zone C, one from Level 1, Zone D, and two from Level 2, Zone D.

At Flint Creek Rock Shelter (Cambron and Waters, 1961) one example was recovered from the center of Stratum II (Archaic). One example was recovered from upper Zone C (Archaic) at Flint River Mound (Webb and DeJarnette, 1948a). This evidence indicates a sh.e.l.lmound Archaic a.s.sociation at Flint River, early Archaic at Flint Creek and early Archaic to transitional Paleo-Indian at Stanfield-Worley. A suggested age is from 5000 years ago to about 9000 years ago.

GREENEVILLE, =Kneberg= (Kneberg, 1957): A-43

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: This is a medium sized trianguloid point with parallel to excurvate basal edges.

MEASUREMENTS: Kneberg (1957) lists the range as 1.5 inches to 2.5 inches. The nine plesiotypes, including the ill.u.s.trated example (Lewis and Kneberg, 1957), from Cambron Site 284 (Camp Creek Site) are: length--maximum, 40 mm.; minimum, 29 mm.; average, 33 mm.: width--maximum, 25 mm.; minimum, 18 mm.; average, 20 mm.: thickness--maximum, 9 mm.; minimum, 6 mm.; average, 8 mm.: width at base--maximum, 25 mm.; minimum, 16 mm.; average, 19 mm.

FORM: The cross-section is biconvex. The blade is excurvate or straight above the hafting area. The distal end is acute. The hafting area usually has parallel sides but may taper slightly towards the blade. Of the nine measured examples, seven have a basal concavity 1.0 mm. deep and two examples have a straight basal edge. The basal edge is usually thinned.

FLAKING: The blade and hafting area were shaped by random flaking. Most examples show some secondary flaking along the blade edges. This flaking ranges from narrow to broad, but usually fairly deep flake scars are exhibited. Points that have secondary flaking may not be flaked on all blade edges. Basal thinning appears, accomplished by broad flaking along the basal edge which is often followed by some secondary flaking. Of the nine measured examples, seven are made of black to gray local flint, one is quartzite and one chalcedony.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

COMMENTS: The type was named (Lewis and Kneberg, 1957) after the Camp Creek Site (Cambron Site 284), which is near Greeneville, Tennessee.

While the ill.u.s.trated example is from the plough level of this site, examples were recovered from all levels. A radiocarbon date of 2050 250 B.P. was secured at this site. At the Stanfield-Worley Bluff Shelter (DeJarnette, Kurjack and Cambron, 1962) Level 1 produced five examples; Levels 2 and 3, two each; Levels 4, 5 and 8, one each. All were from Zone A. Four examples, one from Level 1, two from Level 2, and one from Level 5 were recovered at University of Alabama Site Ms 201, in Marshall County, Alabama. Three examples were recovered from upper Stratum I (Woodland) at Flint Creek Rock Shelter (Cambron and Waters, 1961). At Flint River Mound (Webb and DeJarnette, 1948a) 19 examples were recovered from Zones A and B (Woodland) and three from Zone C (upper Archaic). This Woodland point is scattered along the western edge of the Appalachians from Greeneville, Tennessee, to South Alabama as well as in the Tennessee River Valley and other areas.

GUILFORD, =Coe= (Coe, 1952): A-44

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: This is a medium to large, lanceolate point with incurvate base.

MEASUREMENTS: Bell (1960) gives the range of the length from about 60 mm. to 135 mm. Measurements listed by Coe (1959) range as follows: length--maximum, 120 mm.; minimum, 50 mm.; average, 90 mm.: width--maximum, 35 mm.; minimum, 20 mm.; average, 30 mm. The ill.u.s.trated plesiotype measures 84 mm. long, 24 mm. in width, 11 mm. wide at the base, 12 mm. thick, 1 mm. deep in basal concavity.

FORM: The cross-section is usually biconvex and thick but may approach median ridged. The blade is usually excurvate but may be nearly straight. The distal end may be acute or apiculate. The hafting area is contracted with short, rounded auricles, incurvate base and some basal thinning. Side edges of the hafting area are usually lightly ground. The hafting area may be defined by a break in the contour of the side edges or may be described as extending to somewhere near the widest part of the blade.

FLAKING: The blade and hafting area are usually shaped by well controlled, random flaking. Coe (1952) describes some flaking as being transverse-oblique. Careful secondary flaking in the form of short, often deep, flaking appears along the side edges. The basal concavity is formed by the removal of broad flakes. A variety of local materials including quartz, quartzite, porphyritic rhyolite, andesite and varieties of argillite or novaculite were used (Coe, 1959).

[Ill.u.s.tration]

COMMENTS: The type was named after the Guilford focus of the Carolina Piedmont. The ill.u.s.trated example is from Cambron 326, Buncombe County, North Carolina. The type was described by Bell (1960). At the Doerschuk Site Coe (1959) recovered Guilford points above Morrow Mountain and below Halifax types. He suggests a date of around 6000 years ago in the Carolina Piedmont area. He gives the distribution as widespread throughout the Piedmont of North Carolina but points out that they "do not have a distribution much north of Virginia or south of Piedmont, Georgia." Examples appear on several sites in western North Carolina.

Examples were ill.u.s.trated by Miller (1962) from Sites 44Mc66 and 44Mc75, Mecklenburg County, Virginia (Plate 39 W and X, Plate 40 N, Plate 44 P, T and V, Plate 45B). An early Archaic a.s.sociation prior to 5000 years ago is suggested. Recent evidence from Randolph County indicates that the Archaic Guilford complex may extend into the Alabama Piedmont (O'Hear and Knight, 1975).

GUILFORD ROUNDED BASE, =Cambron= (This Paper): A-44-a

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: This is a medium sized lanceolate point with a rounded base.

MEASUREMENTS: Ten plesiotypes from Cambron 326 (Harwood 98), Buncombe County, North Carolina ranged in measurement as follows: length--maximum, 72 mm.; minimum, 53 mm.; average, 61 mm.: width--maximum, 28 mm.; minimum, 17 mm.; average, 23 mm.: thickness--maximum, 13 mm.; minimum, 8 mm.; average, 10 mm. The length from base to widest point of blade ranges from 21 mm. to 35 mm. and averages 28 mm. The ill.u.s.trated example measures about 63 mm. long, 23 mm. wide, 14 mm. thick and 25 mm. from base to widest point of blade.

Coe (1959) ill.u.s.trated an example 30 mm. long.