Fish effigy...Opinions welcomed.

tchaire · May 6, 2019

The following point was found by my brother. He believes it's a fish effigy. To many "coincidences" (the gill, dorsal fin, base shape,etc.) What do you think? If not an effigy, any idea of point type?

Thanks,

T.

tchaire · May 9, 2019

quito said:
Cool!

Just wondering, do you ever attend the artifact auctions south of Fargo, at kindred?

Lots of knowledgeable people at those.

Yes I have. Have never purchased anything but I'm always amazed at the quality and quantity of artifacts. And yes, a lot of good information shared.

quito · May 9, 2019

Yes it’s amazing the quantity and quality of what comes out of North Dakota.

Maybe I’ll run into you at the next one.

RedRiver · May 9, 2019

It's not an effigy. There are lots of that type around the US. Brazo Fishtail, Cumberland, or Quad type. Depends on the area you found it.

RedRiver · May 9, 2019

Cool point.

georgia flatlander · May 10, 2019

tchaire said:
The following point was found by my brother. He believes it's a fish effigy. To many "coincidences" (the gill, dorsal fin, base shape,etc.) What do you think? If not an effigy, any idea of point type?

Thanks,

T.

Do you have a picture of the other side, and something more 2D? The shadow on the ground is causing some distortion of the "dorsal fin". I would agree with Joshua Ream in that grooving the gill and gouging the area for the eyeball would be a stroke of luck.
Unless the other side is done in a similar fashion, it's a point that resembles a fish.
I have one that is similar, and has some fishlike characteristics.

MAMucker · May 12, 2019

We all see it. But it’s incidental to the design of the point.

I like it!

Try posting more pictures that show close-up details, to assist us with identification.

Jerry McGuire, “Help me, Help you!”

Now, regarding identification: I doubt the Cumberland designation as we can see that your point is missing the full length flute.
There is a point called a CARTER found in the North Central Region. Some of these have the slightly fanned tail (An Expanding Convex Base). A Narrowing waist at the stem (Extremely Wide Notches). Arched Dorsal Fins (Rounded Shoulders), and a Rounded oblong body (Convex Blade Edges). With fish shaped nose (Obtuse Tip).