I’m calling it a Clovis. I found this crystal quartz point in April 2013 in Plymouth

[MAMucker]

I’m calling it a Clovis. I found this crystal quartz point in April 2013 in P...



It’s 3/4” wide, 1-1/4” long

Fluted through on one side, 2 short narrow flutes on the other.

Both Sides of base are ground

Small basil ears (auricles)

 

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[arrow86]

It’s unfortunate that quartz points show so poorly in pics so I’m sure you will get a lot of doubters of it being Clovis ... maybe try pics in different lighting or adjusting the contrast / settings to show the base and flute better

 

[SportsmanAll]

I can see what your talking about.

 

[sandchip]

Could be. Whatever it is, I like it!

 

[filmiracl]

It's hard to see in the photos, by no fault of your own... Just the material makes it hard to see. It might be hard to date it conclusively without other finds. Is the base really ground or is it a faint stem? It could be a Fox Creek point. For your sake, it would be a nice clovis.

 

[Quartzite Keith]

I like it. Certainly would not be out of place for a Clovis site down here in Virginia. The fluted on one side and kind of BSed on the other side is common for the "second string" type materials.

 

[MAMucker]

I like it. Certainly would not be out of place for a Clovis site down here in Virginia. The fluted on one side and kind of BSed on the other side is common for the "second string" type materials.

I like it too! Second String Material —-we are loaded with it here.
So I’m going to add a bunch of new photos here and hopefully you all can see what I can see and can feel.

 

[Coosakid2]

You can really tell on picture 11 how much it's fluted

 

[smokeythecat]

Yes, it's a clovis. I have one similar to yours I found in Maryland 40 years ago. These little ones were generally resharpened down from bigger ones.

 

[A2coins]

Thats really cool great find

 

[arrow86]

Those pics are are better I think Smokeycat is right it looks like it has been resharpened/ reused quite a few times , it seems that not many quartz Clovis are found that’s a sweet point . Was this a shoreline or field find?

 

[MAMucker]

I’m calling it a Clovis. I found this crystal quartz point in April 2013 in P...

Found on a dirt bike path 2 miles (as a crow flies) from Plymouth Harbor, MA

 

[ToddsPoint]

I found a small Clovis so I know they made them small. Big flint, big Clovis. Small flint, small Clovis. Gary

 

[CaptEsteban]

NICE point, especially since it is quartz !!

 

[dognose]

That quartz made beautiful points. Very nice

 

[Charl]

In southern New England, true miniature fluted points have been found, of both the Bull Brook variety, and the Barnes( aka Neponset) variety. At the Templeton site in western Ct., an intact Barnes fluted point only 3/4" long was recovered.

Most New England fluted points were made of exotic lithics from distant sources, often Hudson Valley cherts, or cherts from northern New England, but there were exceptions. The Sugarloaf site near Deerfield, Ma. produced nice rhyolite Bull Brook fluted points, along with those made from NY Normanskill chert. The base of a quartz crystal fluted point was recovered from the Sands of the Blackstone site, near the RI border. Years ago, my wife and I found a miniature fluted point, made of quartzite, and probably of the Bull Brook variety, on Narragansett Bay.

Miniature fluted points may be more common then folks realize, at least here in New England. And fluted technology seemed to persist longer here, perhaps because caribou migration persisted later here....

 

[southfork]

Beautiful old fluted point great find .

 

[joshuaream]

That is a beautiful relic, and very nice quality pictures of a notoriously difficult material to photograph.

If it were mine, I'd like lean towards some post-Clovis. The resharpening doesn't look Clovis like to me (specifically the needle point tip and the slightly off center point from resharpening), those are more common traits on other later paleo points that are Dalton age.

As Charl mentioned, New England was a bit of a unique area where you likely had fluted point users hanging on later hunting Caribou while other parts of the US were using solidly late paleo/early archaic methods. I guess there were some cross over of technologies at times.
​

 

[arrow86]

Yes, it's a clovis. I have one similar to yours I found in Maryland 40 years ago. These little ones were generally resharpened down from bigger ones.

What part of MD ? Would love to see it

 

[MAMucker]

That is a beautiful relic, and very nice quality pictures of a notoriously difficult material to photograph.

If it were mine, I'd like lean towards some post-Clovis. The resharpening doesn't look Clovis like to me (specifically the needle point tip and the slightly off center point from resharpening), those are more common traits on other later paleo points that are Dalton age.

As Charl mentioned, New England was a bit of a unique area where you likely had fluted point users hanging on later hunting Caribou while other parts of the US were using solidly late paleo/early archaic methods. I guess there were some cross over of technologies at times.
​

Josh and Charl,
Thank you for your insight and knowledge. I appreciate the years of study and hard work you have invested in this area of Archeology. I’ve been reading your posts and responses for many years, while silently learning from people like you on this forum.
It is very much appreciated!