Favorite Point Type or Hypothetical Point?

[QSVC]

Mine is a high quality Cumberland. Based on looks plus functionality. Of course as far as finding a point I'd like to find the oldest one in the US because I think the current archaeological record/human record of occupation stretches back a lot further than we think it does now. We'll see how that goes I'll let y'all know.

Hypothetical point would be a long and narrow Bolen variant made of obsidian. Hypothetical because I believe all of the Big Sandy/Bolen sub types don't stretch into areas where obsidian is available-although I think Big Sandys are found farther west than Bolens. Of course I'm sure there's an equivalent type out west or in Mesoamerica. I just use the Bolen term from a SE frame of reference. In "The Conquest of New Spain" Bernal Díaz del Castillo, a soldier under Cortes, describes the Aztecs pinning the Spanish down from 100 yards or so with atlatl darts. I bet that was fun. That's what made me think of an obsidian Bolen.

I ordered some obsidian online and have been trying to make this hypothetical to haft on an atlatl dart I have. Slow going. Not as easy as the experts make it look. I'll post it here if I don't bleed out first.

 

[Nicodemus]

A Cumberland is probably the most difficult point to make without breaking it. I`d consider a Calf Creek the second most difficult. I could make a nice Clovis but on my best days I would never even attempt a Cumberland.

My favorite point types would be Clovis, Cumberland, Boggy Branch, Simpson, Hardin, and Lost Lake.

 

[Nicodemus]

Agate Basin, Hernando, and Hillsborough rank in there too.

 

[lagrangedave]

Pictures please...….

 

[QSVC]

I don't know how big this will display but here are a bunch of Cumberlands

 

[QSVC]

Nick I take you're talking about the huge hafting flake that goes down the middle. Yeah I don't know how they consistently pulled that off. Makes is pretty secure so those super wide mammoth ribs don't take it off it's hafting. I imagine in boreal forest weather conditions trying to throw an atlatl dart at a mobile mamoth's sweet spot would take a few tries.

I also like the theory that they had a fore shaft and could be used as knives. Like a tapered hardwood fore shaft that could be fitted into a river cane dart body-then pulled out when needed. Primitive modular tool.

 

[Nicodemus]

Nick I take you're talking about the huge hafting flake that goes down the middle. Yeah I don't know how they consistently pulled that off. Makes is pretty secure so those super wide mammoth ribs don't take it off it's hafting. I imagine in boreal forest weather conditions trying to throw an atlatl dart at a mobile mamoth's sweet spot would take a few tries.

I also like the theory that they had a fore shaft and could be used as knives. Like a tapered hardwood fore shaft that could be fitted into a river cane dart body-then pulled out when needed. Primitive modular tool.

A Clovis point can be fluted "in hand" relatively easily, but a Cumberland and most likely a Folsom had to be lashed in a jig and pressure fluted. However it was done it was for making the transition from foreshaft to point smoother and smaller.

An idea a couple of us have talked about over a cold night campfire, was that a Paleo hunter had his atlatl, a couple of feathered shafts, and as many foreshafts as he could fit in a "quiver". Materials for a foreshaft would be wood, antler, ivory, or bone. A few I`ve seen actually had crisscrosses ground into the contact surface where it touched the point, to help hold with the adhesive that they used.

Those hunters and knappers knew what they were doing. If you were going to go head on with a Colombian mammoth, you better have good weapons.

 

[NCHillbilly]

Most of my favorite types are the Paleo and transitional Paleo points like the Clovis, Hardaway, Dalton, and Eden/Scottsbluff. There are also some Archaic and Woodland points that I really admire the workmanship, such as Hillsborough, Pine Tree, Calf Creek, Hernando, Newnan, Lost Lake, Thebes, Turkey Tail, Stanley, and Cahokia.