Help with Projectile Points

[Digger99]

Hello! New here, first time posting! I have been trying to identify these three points from a private collection. I know they were found along the James River in Virginia. I have been going cross-eyed looking at characteristics of points, stemmed vs. notched etc. Any tips would be welcome! Do you recognize the material etc. THanks for any thoughts in advance!

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[DCMatt]

You'll have better luck posting them here:

North American Indian Artifacts

 

[Digger99]

Ok, thanks! I will try that!

 

[A2coins]

Great artifacts Welcome to tnet

 

[jewelerguy]

very cool. I love arrowheads but know very little about them. As DCMatt said, the Indian artifact forum is the best place here on Tnet for questions about points

 

[Reanm8er]

Welcome Digger,

It's been pretty well established that a major tsunami hit the east coast 10-12 thousand years ago. Archeologists have found
the remains of habitats out on the continental shelf. Dating points from before and after that era can be tricky. The points
you show look like quartzite to me which indicates they were made post that event. The ones on the left show a distinct
lack of sophistication. This event would have killed most of the toolmakers, buried the sites where the preferred types
of media (chert, flint and types of volcanic glass) were mined and totally destroyed the trade network. The point on the
right is likely to be much later than the others as it shows, obviously, more sophistication. When relic hunting in the
tidewater and piedmont areas look for pieces of green glass. When the Europeans came here they brought wine in
glass bottles that became a major source of media for small tools and points.

Best wishes and good hunting.

 

[Discrimination Dave]

Welcome Digger,

It's been pretty well established that a major tsunami hit the east coast 10-12 thousand years ago. Archeologists have found
the remains of habitats out on the continental shelf. Dating points from before and after that era can be tricky. The points
you show look like quartzite to me which indicates they were made post that event. The ones on the left show a distinct
lack of sophistication. This event would have killed most of the toolmakers, buried the sites where the preferred types
of media (chert, flint and types of volcanic glass) were mined and totally destroyed the trade network. The point on the
right is likely to be much later than the others as it shows, obviously, more sophistication. When relic hunting in the
tidewater and piedmont areas look for pieces of green glass. When the Europeans came here they brought wine in
glass bottles that became a major source of media for small tools and points.

Best wishes and good hunting.

if you are suggesting that more recent artifacts are of higher quality or “sophistication“ I’d suggest you crack a book on the subject. Typhoons and erosion may cover flint or vitreous stone quarries, they’ll uncover others at the same time.

Late archaic on the projectiles.

Classification of stone artifacts is difficult at best. You have to be able to connect them to a known culture. Forget the known tribes. Unknown native Americans cultures rose and fell in the tens of thousands of years before Europeans and recorded history.