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Projectile Point Classification

The native peoples of North and South America were hunting game and occasionally warring against one another for many centuries before Europeans entered the scene. The natives were at a considerable disadvantage because, unlike the newcomers, they never developed gunpowder and firearms. They used darts, spears and arrows both for hunting game and for warfare. Modern archaeologists study the types of projectile points employed by different tribes during different time periods.

Projectile Point Parts
- There are seven primary features on a projectile point. These are; the blade, the main body of the point; the stem, if present, where the point attaches to the shaft of the projectile; the base, which is the very bottom of the point whether or not a stem is present; the edges, which can be serrated or beveled; the tip, the pointed apex of the projectile point; the shoulder, the wide portion just above and on either side of the stem and notching, which are small indentations near the base of the point.
Lanceolate Points
- Points with no stems are lanceolate points. Points of this type may have a generally triangular shape, or they may shaped more like an elongated pentagon, with sides tapering in slightly near the base and more sharply toward the tip. If the point has an indented groove in the area just above the base, that's a fluted point, dating from as far back as 9500 B.C. or more. Some shouldered lanceolate points have been dated as far back as 13,000 years ago, but lanceolate point types are seen as recently as about 1000 years ago.
Stemmed Points
- Projectile points with a thin stem at the base where the head is attached to the shaft of the projectile but which are not notched on either side of the stem, fall into this category. They are further categorized based on whether or not the edges have serrations, the presence and size of notches at the base and the width of the point.
Notched Points
- Arrow and spear heads with small notches on either side of the stem where it connects with the shaft of the projectile make up the category of notched points. This represented a major advance in projectile point technology, as notched points were easier to attach to the shaft of a spear or arrow. The size, shape and orientation of these notches varies and is used in identification. Overall size of the projectile point and the presence or absence of serrations is also used to classify these points.

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