Decatur Point

[dognose]

I have found three Decatur points over the past years.

This one, while broke, has the most amazing flaking and symmetry.

Made of Harrison County Flint, I found this in the winter of 1985.


This show the basal flaking well



This is the break area, while it appears "relatively" recent, I have not found the other sections.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[lairmo]

It is beautiful....

 

[arrow86]

That is a sweet point ...... 1985 hmm what was I doing in 1985 .... not born yet lol

 

[Relicgrubber]

Sweet! I'd send that one to Dr. Gomer for sure if it was mine.

 

[willjo]

Nice one

 

[GaRebel1861]

That material is awesome!

 

[BobTheDigger]

Very nice piece. I does have amazing flaking.

 

[joshuaream]

That would have been one of the best ones I have seen were it complete.

 

[Tony in SC]

Really nice piece!! Dumb question, is the small base standard for that type point?

 

[old digger]

That material is really cool. And what a heartbreaker.

 

[sandchip]

That is such a cool and unique point type and yours is such a great example of one. The removal of those flakes on the base had to take some skills, for sure, not to mention that long ribbon-like flake from the left barb travelling up and to the right over halfway across the point. Hellacious!

 

[dognose]

The decatur point typically has that sort of base, which is fractured. You also hear them referenced to as a fracture base point. The fracture is accomplished by a blow inward from each corner of the stem. You also hear them referenced to as a fracture base point.
The fractured accomplished by a blow inward from each corner of the stem.

This decatur is made from a high grade harrison county flint, also known as wyandotte chert - one of my favorite material. It obtains a nice chocolate to tan patina over time. Look closely at the barbs and the shape/form of them. Similar to a ross point.





In the past I have found two points made of harrison county flint close to each other, one patina'ed a nice tan, while the other, right next to it has no patina. strange.

Also I have found points made of harrison county flint where only one side has patina'ed tan and the other still looking more natural as if recently knapped.

Cant explain why other than possibly minerals in the earth altering differently on a microscopic level.

Decature and Ross points are not a common find. I have only found 4 in 50 years. This one being the bast workmanship, even while broken. The others are more complete examples.

 

[justonemore]

An unusual point with the base being so small. Would like to see how they hafted these. I have yet to find one on this end of the state.