Is this a Guilford Yuma point?

[DigIron2]

Well, got skunked again this evening,we are finally starting to get a little rain,at least something good is going on here ,I just hope it last's,"for like a week or two "Anyways, this point I found a little while back, I think it is a early archaic Guilford Yuma type?, from what I have seen so far It looks to have all the characteristics of one,but I wanted to ask you guys to know for sure.joe

 

[Charl]

That is the base!I was just looking at the Yuma point NCfieldhunter posted,are both base types considered a concave base?

Orients can have straight, concave, or convex bases. They are part of the so-called Narrow Point Tradition in the Northeast. Many archaeologists consider them to be a response to the intrusion of the Broad Point Tradition into the Northeast. Take a Susquehanna Broad Point, make it narrow and soften the shoulders, and the result looks like an Orient. They were named for Orient, Long Island, where they were found in Terminal Archaic cremation burials, with broken or sacrificed soapstone bowls. Before the advent of modern archaeology in the East, the Terminal Archaic or Transitional Archaic was referred to as the "Stone Bowl Age", and steatite vessels were widely utilized at that time, before the introduction of pottery. So, on sites where you find Orients and Broadpoints, you will also usually find steatite or soapstone sherds as well. They are a simple, but elegant, style, and I've always counted them among my favorites.

 

[GatorBoy]

If I found it I would consider it Savannah River that had been extremely resharpened.... But that's not saying much because its so hard to tell with a piece of quartz like that one
The cross section of the blade makes it look like it was much wider at one point to me.
The base looks like a classic Savannah River base and it was found in an area you would expect to find Savannah River points.
What other points have you found at that particular spot?

 

[Charl]

DigIron2, here's an excellent typology guide for your state:

http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/arch_DHR/Points/psumm.xml

Orient Fishtails:

Orient Fishtail

Savannah River forms:

Small Savannah River

Savannah River

One of the better online typology guides.......

Both Orient and Savannah River are found in Virginia. I knew an old timer who used to find quite a few Orients in fields along the Nottoway River. In New England, the morphological/temporal correlate of the Savannah River point is the Atlantic Phase broad blade. But, Atlantics seldom have the concavity of a Savannah River point. The very slight side notching on your point, and, in particular, the narrow proportions of your quartz point, led me to think Orient as a very close match. Generally speaking, Savannah Rivers are a broader style then Orients, but there are narrow variants that can make separating the two types a tough call at times. Some small Savannah Rivers, as described above, do have narrow blades like Orients. In comparing all the Savannah River examples at the above links with the Orients at the NY typology link above, plus the photos I posted, I did seem to note that Orient side notching is distinctly shallower then Savannah River, for the most part.

While the Orient Fishtail was in part the Narrow Point Tradition's response to the intrusion of a broad point tradition, the style itself is perhaps the most graceful of all the narrow point forms from the East coast. Here are three more of our better examples from Ma. And RI.

 

[SCrocks]

Your area I guess you couldn't go wrong either way. Does look like the Orients that Charl posted . Further south it looks like what GB said, a heavily reshapened SV or a Stanly stemmed. Nice find either way.

 

[DigIron2]

If I found it I would consider it Savannah River that had been extremely resharpened.... But that's not saying much because its so hard to tell with a piece of quartz like that one
The cross section of the blade makes it look like it was much wider at one point to me.
The base looks like a classic Savannah River base and it was found in an area you would expect to find Savannah River points.
What other points have you found at that particular spot?

All the pieces that came out of this site are quarts,and mostly all side notched.I found a couple Stanly's,a couple bifurcated points,one being a Lecroy,one broken, corner notched piece "not sure what type"and a broken base of what looks to be a Dalton,the others I am not sure what types.I would post a pic but I don't have my camera right now.

 

[DigIron2]

Thanks for the help guys!I appreciate it.