Light Rain yesterday reveals a nice Quartz

Edgychris1

Sr. Member
Mar 13, 2021
260
715
South East New England
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hi folks,

Today I found a great quality Quartz. It's quite wide and large for a bird point, but maybe. I found this 3 feet from the Beekman Triangle I found recently. I will attach a photo of that as well. It's a spot that is car out and only have been there 4 times. The seaweed covered most of the land, but pockets here and there. Amazed at quality. Not quite clear quartz, but nice.

Thanks for each and every comment and any Info.
 

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Upvote 0
Very nice. I really think it took a special skill to work quartz. Nice post of finds sir.
 

The first point looks like a Wading River, which we now know spanned a huge time range, from Late Archaic through Late Woodland. A type that is part of the family of types collectors and pros alike still refer to as the “small stem tradition”. And, as Jeff Boudreau pointed out, in a essay “Rethinking Small Stem Points”, included in his expanded typology, usage analysis indicates very few of these “small stem points” were ever used as projectile points. Instead, analysis indicates such points were instead used in cutting, graving, boring, or scoring operations. Honestly, prior to Boudreau’s revised description of these points, I would not have guessed they were not projectiles. But, my own examination demonstrates that Boudreau was right, IMHO. Nice quartz finds.
 

The first point looks like a Wading River, which we now know spanned a huge time range, from Late Archaic through Late Woodland. A type that is part of the family of types collectors and pros alike still refer to as the “small stem tradition”. And, as Jeff Boudreau pointed out, in a essay “Rethinking Small Stem Points”, included in his expanded typology, usage analysis indicates very few of these “small stem points” were ever used as projectile points. Instead, analysis indicates such points were instead used in cutting, graving, boring, or scoring operations. Honestly, prior to Boudreau’s revised description of these points, I would not have guessed they were not projectiles. But, my own examination demonstrates that Boudreau was right, IMHO. Nice quartz finds.

Good post. I think the Gary type from down here falls right in. My opinion on the usage is that the point was hafted on a dart. It would have been used as a knife or fitted into the spear and thrown with the atlatl. Since the need to gouge or cut was many times more frequent than the need to throw it, most of the use wear indicates just what you deduced.
 

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Hey guys,
Yes, I do believe it was used as a knife. Edges are sharp as the Dickens and if you look closely it sort of resembles a knife of today's day. Although I know they can be any style of knife. If you invert the photos 90 degrees it really does resemble a fixed blade knife from today.
Thanks again
 

It appears to be quite sharp and well made. Wide for Wading River. Can you tell if the stem is ground?
 

Mamucker,
The stem is definitely a lot smoother and doesnt appeared knapped that much. However, smooth is relative as I have seen some like glass smooth. So I really do not know. I'll post the stem close-up, maybe you came tell me?
Thanks
 

Here's some stem photos.
 

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Stem appears to have grinding present. It was done to dull sharp edges to facilitate hafting. The idea is to prevent the sharp edges from cutting through the hafting material (sinew, rawhide, plant fiber, etc..). Sounds sort of crazy but you can sometimes identify grinding with your tongue. Compare what it feels like to the known cutting edge(s).
 

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