Making Sense of the Variation in Folsom Projectile Point Technology

Summary

Analyses of Folsom projectile point technology generally focus on the making and use of the classic bifacially fluted form. Often some mention is made of Midland or unfluted points, but formal technological analyses of these types are rare. Utilizing a sample of 989 points and preforms from Folsom and closely related technologies, this research explores the variation that is present in Folsom point production. Points from Folsom contexts are divided into five types: Folsom, Midland, unifacially fluted, pseudo-fluted, and miniature. These types are then compared based on the following variables: width, thickness, basal width, and edge grinding to determine whether they share similar hafting characteristics. Flaking technology is also compared to explore overlaps in production techniques between the point types. Results indicate that overlapping reduction techniques do occur between all the point types, reinforcing the idea that Folsom, Midland, and the other forms were made and used by the same groups. However, slight differences in morphology between Folsom and Midland points may indicate that they were hafted differently.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• New Perspectives in Folsom Archaeology

Keywords

Spatial Coverage