Stark look alike but not quite. Super fragile.

Edgychris1

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Hey folks,

I was just looking through a box I have had and forgot I had this piece. It does look similar to a Stark, but I do not know what is up or down with this peice.

I found it months ago, were I also found some late paleo peices and old Nevilles and such.

It appears to have two pointy ends. Hard to tell, but it's super fragile, which makes me think its extremely old. Their is no way you could knap this without out it disentgrating in your hand.

Any ideas of that this is and/or how it was used.
Not the prettiest of peices, but quite unique to me.
I found it on wampanoag ground, RI.

I know you cannot judge based off of fragility, however something gives me the impression this is a very ancient peice.

Thanks in Advance
 

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No expert on Stark here but if it is one, it is worn down dramatically. Plus it's cross section is not elliptical and I can not see the knapping scars.

Stark Projectile Point
 

Looks like usage/damage at the tip end. The stem is on the right in your 4th photo. I’m not sure of the lithic. What you have is a Poplar Island point. The stem is similar to Stark, and sometimes the shoulders are barely defined. You can see a point with virtually no shoulders on this page of Poplar Island points from Maryland. Please also look at the examples on page 80 of Boudreau’s expanded New England typology. You will recognize your point immediately by looking at page 80. Basically, the stems tend to be much longer than the stems in a Stark point. The photo is a Poplar Island from my own collection, from central Ma.....

https://apps.jefpat.maryland.gov/di...nails/LateArchaic/thumbnails-poplarisland.htm

D83A044F-A200-41B5-B8B3-ACA9019B26F7.webp
 

BTW, as you will see in Boudreau, in New England, Poplar Island points date to Transitional Archaic, roughly 3700 years old....Although I would favor Poplar Island, you might also notice a similarity to the much later Rossville Point, page 115 in Boudreau, and dating Middle-Late Woodland.
 

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