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  • need help identifying point

    my ex and i were heading last year and she stumbled upon this point. dont know if its a paleo era point or not. im not even sure what it is! lol but i was really supprised when she made the find and said, "is this an arrowhead?"
    the order of the pictures is as followed, back view, front view, top view, side view, and other side view. please disregard the date in the pictures because they are not accurate! lol

  • #2
    This point is confusing in the fact that it looks alot like a cumberland style which is surely paleo, but the thickness of it says no. There is also a point known as an orient fishtail in the NE which could compare. I am no specialist but I would say that you definately have a point there without a doubt, but I do not think that it is paleo. Hope that helps get you started anyhow.

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    • #3
      Its a resharpened cumberland nice find....Somewhat crudely reharpened but very cool...

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      • #4
        OK, found this picture after I went back and read some of your blogs in the forum. First question I'd ask is where was it found? Looks like a Texas chert but your from Tenn. so that can't be. Bad thing about it is that it appears from the photos that it has a broken basal edge. From all appearances there is no basal thinning, fluting or grinding. From the top view it appears to have a twist do to a number of resharpening's. If this is not an optical illusion the repeated sharpening resulted in a bevel to the right side. Would tend to believe that it is Archaic retouch of an older point. Possibly unfluted Cumberland or depending on where you found it maybe a Beaverlake. More than likely an older point from this family that was picked up by later Indians and reworked.

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        • #5
          He's from New York state, not TN. That point is absolutely not a Cumberland or paleo in the least. It has random Woodland flaking, rounded shoulders, and is very crude and thick, and is probably an Orient fishtail as Bill suggested. You absolutely cannot go by the outline of these points to type them.

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          • #6
            I don't know where I got the idea he was from TN. That is why it is crucial to know where a point is from. At least generally speaking when trying to type a point. If he found it in N.Y. then it could not be a Beaver Lake. The base is key in determining most all types not the outline. However, I've seen points with their bases so completely reworked that it did not resemble the point of the original maker. That's why I hesitated to answer this with without having it here in front of me or knowing where it was found or worse assuming it was from somewhere else. Material is the next determining factor. We may never know what this is but as you indicated I can see where it could be an Oriental Fishtail from its base and now knowing it was a N.Y. find. However this point is so beat up and reworked that several points might be suspects. Yadkin Eared, the Oriental Fish Spear and a heavily reworked Archaic Rowan are all suspects. To much can be assumed by the outline of a point but can be a starting point. Just knock off any tapered barb and clip off part of the basal edge and it becomes something else. One thing to look at is that this has a beveled edge which is an Archaic trait not a Woodland trait. There could have been an impact fracture forcing the reworking of the edge and making it look Archaic from the top view. Also, random flaking can be observed in most cultures. Especially on reworks.. This is a spent point that obviously was made into some kind of tool possibly for leafing branches or cutting fiber. It has definitely been abused and reworked a number of times. If it had been found in Western TN. like I originally assumed it could have been a heavily damaged and reworked Beaver Lake. They tend to be chubby and with the broken basal edge and reworking it would be one avenue to pursue. But being from N.Y. then it does have the characteristics of an Oriental Fish Tail. My mistake was in thinking he was from TN. You will have to forgive my ignorance on this one as I am new to this forum and I just snapped to the fact that I could profile a blogger and see his origin in the right hand column. I really don't know where the TN. idea came from! I usually refrain from making a call on a point by viewing a picture unless it is from another authenticator. To many variables and not enough substance can give the viewer the wrong impression. Without the facts all we have is what we know and the material and the material is deceiving in many cases just by viewing a photo.  Regards,  Bob

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