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  • Micro Points

    Here are some pics of micro points made of Oregon jade, obsidian, chalcedony, jasper, agate, and unknown whitish-grey material from Willamette Valley, Oregon. I'm amazed at how small some are! I know the Calapooyan hunted a lot of waterfowl and small game, but I joke with friends - what were they hunting with these tiny points- mice or bugs?! lol. The Oregon jade partial was probably the heart breaker of the year for me. True color did not come through on multiple photos, it is a bright jade green. I thought it was a small piece of green plastic at first and almost did not pick it up! How did they make such small points? I know the Calapooyan Indians were generally small in stature (5 feet or less), but must have had fingers like tweezers to handle and knap such small points! Why didn't they just use a sharp stick to kill small game, instead of going to the trouble to make such small points? One reason may be that layered bird feathers can be pretty tough to penetrate. Another reason could be that scarcity of raw material contributed to smaller points- as well as reworking larger broken points to be smaller whole points. Do any of you folks find micro points, dime size or smaller? Any other thoughts on this subject would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!





    In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. -John Muir

  • #2
    Great thread! I love the little guys and you have some nice ones. I need to get some good pics of mine.
    Like a drifter I was born to walk alone

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    • #3
      It's clear who has great eyesight here! Nice birdies, that Jade Point would have been nice whole like ya said...that's how it goes though. Cool points, thanks for showing them.
      Southern Connecticut

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      • #4
        My smallest point which I do not have a picture of is 3/16" wide by 1/4" Here is a picture of one a little bit bigger than your showing but in the same realm. Thanks for sharing.

        Look to the ground for it holds the past!

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        • #5
          Nice points all. Thanks for the show. Chris your right on about the eye-site too. mine has been getting bad since I turned about 48. Get them while your young is all I can add.
          TN formerly CT Visit our store http://stores.arrowheads.com/store.p...m-Trading-Post

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          • #6
            Nice points, Dallred. Most of those are classic Calapooya style arrow points.  Calapooya points generally have very exaggerated serrations and are known for being miniscule.
            Chase - Impressive little Sierra! I love the small arrow points, we find quite a few here as well. I may see if I can post pics of a few of them.
            Here's a picture of a TINY Sorter's Bluff arrow point that my wife found in our garden the other day. It hurt when she done it.  I just turned on the sprinkler to water the garden, she bent over to wash her hands in the sprinkler and found this right beside it - right where I was just seconds ago.

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            • #7
              Sweet little birdie point.  It is either very small, or you have giant neanderthal fingers. lol.  Yeah they are hard to see.  I find myself stooping to see little chips.  My friend who showed me these Calapooyan camps, has been collecting in the area for 30 years, and has some even smaller, and one tiny "Christmas Tree" made of obsidian, about 1/4 inch long.  I don't know how he saw it...
              In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. -John Muir

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              • #8
                Would love to see pic of your tiny 1/4 inch long point with good size reference.  The white one you showed is awesome, but could not tell size, as I couldn't recognize size reference.  Thanks!
                D
                In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. -John Muir

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                • #9
                  Would love to see your nano points, with size reference in pic.  Thanks!
                  D
                  In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. -John Muir

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                  • #10
                    I had posted this earlier. It is a personal find from Cimarron Co. In the Oklahoma Panhandle. Cream colored Alibates.

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                    • #11
                      Here are some of my little ones
                      Like a drifter I was born to walk alone

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                      • #12

                        Like a drifter I was born to walk alone

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                        • #13
                          Dallred wrote:

                          Sweet little birdie point.  It is either very small, or you have giant neanderthal fingers. lol.  Yeah they are hard to see.  I find myself stooping to see little chips.  My friend who showed me these Calapooyan camps, has been collecting in the area for 30 years, and has some even smaller, and one tiny "Christmas Tree" made of obsidian, about 1/4 inch long.  I don't know how he saw it...
                            A little bit of both!   :laugh:

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                          • #14
                            Enough microlithic points have been found in association with kill sites of big game – including bison – to establish the likelihood that they were used to hunt large animals. Experimental archaeology has shown that points less than half inch in length are easily lethal enough to kill a deer or even a larger animal when used on an arrow. They would certainly have been effective in warfare. You might find this video informative:
                            Stone point penetration test on a deer (warning: dead fluffy animals!):
                            http://primitivepathways.com In ancient times hunters often tipped their arrows with very small stone points. Oddly these points are found all across North ...

                            A better understanding of likely usage comes from a knowledge of archery and its technology. It’s all about arrow weight, bow-pull and penetration. A big point that fails to penetrate to the vital organs does less damage than a small point which pierces the heart or lungs.
                            The maximum penetration for a broad head comes from the use of an arrow weighing 12-14 grains per pound of bow-pull. Native American bows were generally slow versus modern compound bows, so we’re probably at the bottom end of the range. For a typical native bow with a 45lb pull, the best arrow weight would be about 540 grains. A wooden shaft could easily account for 450-500 grains and that then means you need a small point to compensate.
                            In areas where willow was used for bow-making the bows were generally D-shaped to prevent “overdrawing” and breakage, since willow is a fairly weak wood. A pull of around 30lb might be typical and that means lighter arrows were needed. This was achieved in part by either shorter-and-broader or longer-and-thinner arrowheads in combination with lightweight shafts. Reeds and the arrowweed stem (Pluchea sericea) were preferred materials and you could make a shaft weighing only about 200 grains. In areas where stronger wood such as juniper was available for bow-making, heavier arrowshafts with bigger heads could be used.
                            Also, after the horse became established among native tribes, the bow was generally shortened (the “horse bow”) and so was the arrow… again leading to the use of smaller points.
                            There are also accounts of tiny points in hollow reed shafts being used for close-range bow-hunting of duck and waterfowl (such as for the Lutuami or Klamath Lake Indians in southern Oregon). Hunters would float out on rafts made from reed bundles and lie in wait
                            [Acknowledgement to: contributors Keith (Hummingbird Point) and Philip (philflintstone) on Palaeoplanet for some very helpful information included here]
                            I keep six honest serving-men (they taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who.

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                            • #15
                              Nice little bird points a lot of the points I find are small birds .

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