Need Help with Arrowhead ID

[scepter1]

Here are some examples of an arrowhead type that I'm trying to ID and age. All come from the Puget Sound beach area of Washington State. The books I have cover the USA, but all neglect Washington's coastal areas (?)

The one on the left is black obsidian, which must have been brought in, as there is no local material; the middle one is (carnelian) agate, and the one of the right is basalt. With my limited knowledge , they all have what appear to be 'contracting stems'.

Thanks, Rich.

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[mamabear]

I'm on the way up to Fort Warden. would love to find one like that up there. use to find carnelian down in Centralia area, but never any that clear.

[flintdigger]

Nice points that middle one is a beauty.

[tmodel]

at first look i though they were morrow mountain a tennessee point, then i looked at your state and they look like a variant of what is called a rabbit island AKA pismo, on projectile points .com. Terry

[scepter1]

Thanks Terry. I didn't find it with the .com name, so I googled 'projectpoints' and found it at --> http://www.projectilepoints.net

That site helps a lot ! I also have found some other types of points on Puget Sound beaches - so far, they all appear to be variants of types defined on that site, with 'triangles' being the most common .

Rich.

[unclemac]

Yes, those types would be called "rabbit island". They are very nice examples. The lithic material of the PNW is some of the most varied and beautiful around. Since you found them on the Puget Sound the obsidian source is most likely the San Juan Islands, time was when those beaches were ripe with obsidian points. The carnelian one is very nice...I am assuming a bit shy of one inch? Notice how smooth the surfaces are....long time being washed on the beach, can't fake that.

[wheelerite]

The obsidian ones were probably traded with the central wash Indians. you can find obsidian arrow heads on the coast also. Most of the obsidian matches the obsidian from eastern oregon.
ksmith

[scepter1]

Most points here seem to be around 1", with these examples being a bit larger than what I've been finding.

The black obsidian one is 1 1/8", the carnelian is 1 3/8", and the basalt one is 1 1/4".


Rich.