IV. TYPOLOGY
General. When you find an "arrow head" or other type stone tool,
The first thought that enters your mind after the initial admiration of the item
is usually "What kind is it?". If you are in a group, there will probably be
several suggested names for the item. Attempting to identify a point, other than
one that is a complete point, or one of the common types such as the Friley,
Evans, or Scotsbluff, may be a challenge. There are many reasons why your point
may not fit into any previously identified type. One of the major causes of
difficulty is if the point was once damaged and then reworked. The tip of points
often break from impact with a hard object. Reworking the point results in a
change in design. If a barb also is damaged, the knapper, reworking the point
and balancing both barbs, unknowingly creates a "new design". The modern day
collector later enters upon the scene with an identification guide and adds to
the problem. To accurately identify a point that has been reworked requires an
understanding of many areas, one of the most important is breakage patterns.
1. Breakage. Breakage type classification is based on two types of breakage,
manufacture breakage and use breakage. Associated with these are two criteria;
where the break initiates and the compression ring pattern related to the break.
a. Manufacture Breakage. This type results when the knapper makes an error.
Interpretation of the compression rings (where they initiate and where and how
they terminate) distinguishes the manufacture breakage from the other - the use
breakage or high-impact breakage.
b. Use Breakage. This type results when the point strikes a hard object such
as an animal bone, tree limb/trunk, or a rock. There will be a burin or a
hangnail on the point where the piece was removed and compression rings. These
rings may be large or so small that you need the aid of a microscope to identify
them and their relationship to the burin/hangnail.
2. To add to the confusion, both of these may appear on the same point. Being
able to locate and identify old flake scars may assist in the identification.
3. With dart points the earliest breaks tend to be in the tip area. As these are
resharpened, the tip angle increases and it becomes harder to break the tip. The
later breaks occur in the haft area and ears (barbs). Entry into a target places
maximum pressure on the barbs, causing these to snap off. The result is a burin
break in the notch area. After a point breaks, the knapper may repair the point,
and unknowingly creates a different “type”.
4. Points produced by the earliest cultures are generally the easiest to
identify. The later cultures, beginning with the Middle Archaic, began to
produce points that had many similar features such as stems, side or corner
notches. These are often very difficult if not impossible to positively
identify. Some of the common points can be identified with reasonable accuracy.
Many others are "one of a kind" that have several obvious I.D. features, but
still do not fit a specific type. Using known identification features and
knowledge of points common to your area you may be able to make a good
scientific guess. Many times you may have to be satisfied with an identity such
as a side notch, or corner notch, or a stemmed point, never being able to place
the point in one of the cultural periods.
Briggs 9/02