Loaded question on points

[autographcollector11]

Is it possible to ID a point with the base missing? Just a general question-no pics to post at the moment. Are there flaking patterns that one looks for to determine age?

 

[Tnmountains]

Yes sometimes it is possible with research and especially if you know the age of the site. Post a pic be fun to guess.

 

[Buckleberry]

Yes and yes, a big help is the condition and especially the type of point it is, say you had the majority of the tip of a Thebes, with the highly pronounced and opposing double bevels, nothing much else would look like that.

 

[old digger]

Yes, some points do have characteristic flaking and shape.

 

[Mark Todd]

I'd certainly agree, but would emphasize "sometimes" as "Tnmountains" said and
" Thebes" points (knives) were the first type that came to my mind even before "buckle berry" mentioned them. They are very identifiable without their stems but most blades are not as much so. Here are some examples that I have found,but notice the varying degrees of refinement. I think all pictures below are of "Thebes" knives of various material and workmanship but a couple could be questionable...

 

[Mark Todd]

Here are 4 more blades I've found, anyone want to take a stab at what type they are? There's no ( not to many) wrong answers since you'll just be speculating. They were all found in central Illinois where there's a strong Archaic presence.

 

[Mark Todd]

The pictures...

 

[rock]

If there is enough of the flaking showing you can tell the period it is from not always can you know what it was. Interesting question

 

[joshuaream]

It's easier for early points to do it with a high degree of confidence. It gets harder the later you go.

Some fluted points can be obvious. (Easy to tell a Clovis from a Cumberland from a Folsom if the base is missing.)

Others early points are pretty easy to identify. Many Edens have a particular by the cross section and flaking, Agate Basin and Scottsbluff also tend to be pretty identifiable if they aren't too beat up. You can often identify some of the Early Archaic points in the Midwest when they are resharpened and you know where they were found (Dalton, Thebes, Ohio Beveled, Dove, Pinetree, Lost Lake, etc.)

The later you get, the more generic the upper portion of the biface becomes. A couple of exceptions might be points like Etleys, Steiners, Evans and other points which have some identifiable features on the upper portion of the biface (notches, serrations, width to thickness ratios.) Aftons and Jacks Reef points have an odd pentagonal shape, if you have that and know the material, they are easy to identify. Snyder points are usually broad with flat flaking and heat treated, if you are in the are where they are found a piece of one can stick out like a sore thumb.