Atlatl points

[magua]

I don’t believe I’ve ever shared this but it’s a really nice example of a Humboldt type atlatl point made from black obsidian and it was found in Oregon. A friend who does digs knew I mess with Atlatls and sent it to me. It measures 1 1/8 inch

Nice little addition to my shelf.

Anyone else have some nice atlatl points to share

 

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[CreekSide]

Nice little point. I’ve found bigger ones with the tip showing a impact fracture so I would think most of the ones I find are in that category but none as nice as the one you showed

 

[magua]

Thanks. This one actually has a small chip on the very tip, barely noticeable but it was noticeable enough that my friend's group chose not to display because of the "flaw". Besides...the other items they found were really clean and nice.

I've never found those type of points myself. Everything is always well used. lol.

I'm holding out to find that cache.

 

[Older The Better]

Here’s a few probably dart points, never known a sure fire way to tell one from a knife… also out of curiosity is it at-latl or atl-atl… I know I could google it but where’s the fun in that.

 

[CreekSide]

I would assume anything over 2 inches would be too heavy. But I have a Savannah River that displays an impact fracture it’s probably right at 2 inches. No pictures I reduced my picture inventory in hopes of finding some new ones

 

[RGINN]

I always wondered how I could differentiate between an atl-atl point and maybe a knife. Only thing I could possibly come up with was to be able to date site.

 

[magua]

I always wondered how I could differentiate between an atl-atl point and maybe a knife. Only thing I could possibly come up with was to be able to date site.

Someone once told me, you can take weight into account, but I don’t think that’s correct unless you’re using different material. If you’re using same type of material, and it’s the same size, it is generally going to be similar in weight. I’ve tend to see the knife blades slightly , and I mean slightly larger, and thinner. But I’ve also seen them that look identical and are just hefted slightly. I believe many points and blades were just repurposed.

 

[pepperj]

I don’t believe I’ve ever shared this but it’s a really nice example of a Humboldt type atlatl point made from black obsidian and it was found in Oregon. A friend who does digs knew I mess with Atlatls and sent it to me. It measures 1 1/8 inch

Nice little addition to my shelf.

Anyone else have some nice atlatl points to share

I have wondered if this description is true or false.
Reason for asking is I often see the 2 descriptions used in describing the material.

"Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock. It is usually black in color and has a glassy luster. Black obsidian, on the other hand, specifically refers to obsidian that is black in color."

Here is your point which the above quote stated it would be "Obsidian"

Here are two I collected from the Interior of BC 50+ yrs ago.
Going by the above quote they're be made from "Black Obsidian"

For all I know is maybe your point has been cleaned and mine haven't, or are they different Obsidian materials.
Maybe somebody can shine some better knowledge onto this query.

 

[CreekSide]

I have wondered if this description is true or false.
Reason for asking is I often see the 2 descriptions used in describing the material.

"Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock. It is usually black in color and has a glassy luster. Black obsidian, on the other hand, specifically refers to obsidian that is black in color."

Here is your point which the above quote stated it would be "Obsidian"

View attachment 2125495

Here are two I collected from the Interior of BC 50+ yrs ago.
Going by the above quote they're be made from "Black Obsidian"

View attachment 2125497

For all I know is maybe your point has been cleaned and mine haven't, or are they different Obsidian materials.
Maybe somebody can shine some better knowledge onto this query.

Yours is a chert which falls in the quartz family same color I find comes in many different types of black

 

[pepperj]

Yours is a chert which falls in the quartz family same color I find comes in many different types of black

Growing up I never heard the term used for these Kamloops points.
Always Obsidian was used when they referenced.
I'll have to research if quartz was ever used.

 

[magua]

Good points! *pun intended

Your black obsidian and my obsidian are the same. The one I posted is anlmost certainly cleaned and polished. I’m not certain but my friend probably did that for me before sending. That’s the problem with not finding it yourself. In my opinion. It’s altered from it’s in situ form and looks cool and could be made into a nice necklace, etc.

There are so many different colors of obsidian! I went to this moqui cave side road attraction place in kanab, Utah and the different colors they had on display was impressive. I know obsidian comes in many colors but I think it is the same as just plain obsidian. There’s just a mix of iron oxide, bubbles, and other chemicals that get mixed into it to give it the color differentiation.

I’m sure someone with more geo knowledge would be able to tell us if there’s different chemical composition that forms different compounds of obsidian but they’re sensitive to the word type. lol. I work with a geologist and he’s always avoiding using the term type unless describing the same rock but different “colors and looks”. I always slip up and say type and get a side glance.

 

[magua]

Yours is a chert which falls in the quartz family same color I find comes in many different types of black

Creekside knew!

 

[unclemac]

I have wondered if this description is true or false.
Reason for asking is I often see the 2 descriptions used in describing the material.

"Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock. It is usually black in color and has a glassy luster. Black obsidian, on the other hand, specifically refers to obsidian that is black in color."

Here is your point which the above quote stated it would be "Obsidian"

View attachment 2125495

Here are two I collected from the Interior of BC 50+ yrs ago.
Going by the above quote they're be made from "Black Obsidian"

View attachment 2125497

For all I know is maybe your point has been cleaned and mine haven't, or are they different Obsidian materials.
Maybe somebody can shine some better knowledge onto this query.

yours is dacite, I find a lot of those in the PNW

dacite arrowhead - Google Search

 

[CreekSide]

yours is dacite, I find a lot of those in the PNW

https://fwww.google.com/search?sca_...AB&biw=1368&bih=751&dpr=2&safe=active&ssui=on

Thanks for spelling it l can’t ever remember how.

 

[pepperj]

yours is dacite, I find a lot of those in the PNW

dacite arrowhead - Google Search

Thank you so much for clarifying this for me.
It certainly is the right material and gleaming the link it seems to confirms the material to the locals that we found them.
It's always a great day when we learn something new.

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[dognose]

Nice points. How thin is the Humboldt atlatl point?

 

[magua]

Nice points. How thin is the Humboldt atlatl point?

That’s a dime in the pic.
About 5 mm at the widest point