# Shark tooth...Nope



## Usnslacker (Feb 6, 2012)

Found this arrowhead /  projectile point yesteday on a sandbar while looking for bottles.  At first I thought it was a fossilized shark tooth, but when I got home I noticed it was "chipped" into its current shape.  Any good links for helping to id this to a certain tribe or what it is called?


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## AntiqueMeds (Feb 6, 2012)

looks like it might be a small drill rather than a projectile point


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## surfaceone (Feb 6, 2012)

Hey AMCS,

 Could'ya take some more photos, please?

 Is it obsidian? It looks to me like an awl. What tribes used the sandbar?






 " Indian Points - Knife - Awl" From.






 " Fossilized Shoulder Blade Hoe - Awl" From.


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## Usnslacker (Feb 6, 2012)

Im at work right now so I can't get you any pics until I get home this afternoon.  I dont know what absiden is nor how to id it, so I'll hit google here in a minute and try to get a bit smarter on that.  I thought maybe a drill as well, but its tiny.  This area of VA had several tribes, Powhatan, Kecoughtan and others, but specifically where this spot is I dont know.


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## Usnslacker (Feb 6, 2012)

Sorry, I forgot to hit spellcheck.  Obsidian.


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## AntiqueMeds (Feb 6, 2012)

its not always possible to associate prehistoric items with historic cultures.
 drills can be fairly small. It may have been longer originally and worn down.
 I have never found one that small.
 I see a few on this site.
 http://sracenter.blogspot.com/2009/11/srac-stone-drills-101.html


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## Usnslacker (Feb 6, 2012)

The size of it is intrigueing.    It does not appear that it was worn down, rather it seems to be made to that size.


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## AntiqueMeds (Feb 6, 2012)

sometimes it hard to tell since items were often re-worked as they were worn/broken.
 it could also be a small bird/fish point  or an awl like surf mentioned. Not always easy to judge from a photo.


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## Dugout (Feb 6, 2012)

It is a drill or an awl,  Not an arrowhead! And a beauty at that!


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## Usnslacker (Feb 6, 2012)

So is finding something like this one of those instances where if there is one there should be more?   Or are finding these types of things far and few between, kinda like hitting the lotto.


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## AntiqueMeds (Feb 6, 2012)

tools and pottery are always good indications of camps/villages.
 If it was on a sand bar in a river it could have come from anywhere up river.


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## Dugout (Feb 6, 2012)

In my opinion you should find more, but maybe not another drill. Possibly a hide scrapper or an arrowhead next. You'll just have to look and see what reveals itself to you.  Happy Hunting!


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## Usnslacker (Feb 6, 2012)

here is a few more pics.  Thanks for all the great information.  I emailed the local university musem curator for help iding a possible tribe, but she didnt know and was going to fwd my email on to another department.


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## Usnslacker (Feb 6, 2012)

better focus


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## Usnslacker (Feb 6, 2012)

d


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## Poison_Us (Feb 6, 2012)

My anthro book is in the garage buried.  It covers all sorts of different styles of points.  It looks familiar...but it wont be dug out today...


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## RedGinger (Feb 7, 2012)

That is neat, whatever the final verdict is.  It's fun to research the tribes in your area.  The problem is that other tribes would come through and there would be wars.  So, there is no way to be certain who's point, drill, etc. it is.  The couple I found were most likely from the Susquehannocks, I found out from research.  They were a very interesting, fearsome tribe who reportedly had thighs as big around as a man's chest.


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## rpinkham (Feb 7, 2012)

East coast obsidian?  Thought that was more of a western thing...came a long way maybe


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## AntiqueMeds (Feb 7, 2012)

more likely a black flint, not uncommon in western VA


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## Usnslacker (Feb 7, 2012)

Waiting on a reply from the College of William & Mary PaleoIndian Archaeologist.

   Apparently Obsidian is found locally here in VA, and VA was called out on a website I was reading as the only East coast state that has it.  Not sure if that is true, but we do have it.


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## Road Dog (Feb 7, 2012)

Probably Black Chert.


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## AntiqueMeds (Feb 7, 2012)

flint and chert are basically the same thing, generally chert is considered flint if it has finer more uniform microcrystals.

 Obsidean can be found anywhere there were ancient volcanos or disruptions of the earth's plates.


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## Road Dog (Feb 7, 2012)

I was thinking Kanawha since alot of that material is found in West Virginia and Virginia.


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## Usnslacker (Feb 10, 2012)

Here is what the PaleoIndian archeologist from the College of William & Mary had to say:  "It looks like you have found a Small Triangular projectile point that has been re-sharpened. It was probably a true arrow point (as opposed to a spear point). Small Triangular is a generalized type that encompasses several named types (Levanna, Yadkin, Caraway, etc.) that are all small and triangular. Because this one appears to be re-sharpened, it is difficult to assign one of the more specific types. In any case the date range of small triangular points for this area is roughly 300-1700 AD. 
Since you found the point in Hampton, it may be associated with a Kecoughtan occupation or may have been discarded by their ancestors."  

 He asked if I found more stuff and if I wanted to donate it for display. Probably will.


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## AntiqueMeds (Feb 10, 2012)

sounds like one additional opinion.[]


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## AntiqueMeds (Feb 10, 2012)

here is probably the smallest point I have.  made out of quartzite which is tricky to work.


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## surfaceone (Feb 10, 2012)

Hey Matt,

 That is very tiny and beautifully worked. Thanks for showing it. 

 Where I grew up, we always called the tiny ones, "Bird Points." I first heard the term from the local self taught archeologist and Rock Shop owner. Don't know if it's a true "technical term" or a regionalism...


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## AntiqueMeds (Feb 10, 2012)

bird point is probably as good a name as anything else.
 The early Eastern North American aborigines ate just about anything they could find.  Big game like deer was great but like most hunter/gatherers the bulk of their game food was whatever they came across ... birds, frogs, turtles, squirrels, insects, fish, grubs, oysters ... you name it.  It required a lot less energy to collect than hunting down large prey.
 Large game probably got hunted out of areas pretty quick with larger villages.
 Stone was only one of the materials for points. Here is a carved antler point I found. They were used a lot but dont normally survive because rodents chew them up. Tip is damaged on this one.


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## lexdigger (Feb 12, 2012)

I would say it's a small drill from of a Madison or Ft. Ancient point type. It's not uncommon to see drills of this size. Small or Tiny hole... small or tiny drill! LOL A lot of drill forms were recycled from arrowheads that were chipped or dinged. 
 If it's Obsidian it should be Translucent when held up to a bright light. Try a bare light bulb or the sun on a clear day. It is most likely Kanawa Black which is a type of chert commonly found in W. Va and Va. 
 Where there is one, there are Always more. You will find them time and time again if you continue to frequent the same spots over time.


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## AntiqueMeds (Feb 12, 2012)

The stone age people used small drills to drill mother of pearl to make ornaments amoung other things. THey used fresh water mussels from the rivers around here.  I volunteered at a dig in VA where they excavated a burial that had about 12000 shell beads. 
 It was a site they were bulldozing to make room for high end tract mansions. Sort of reminded me of the Poltergeist movie with the houses built on an indian burial ground. Wonder if they ever told the furture home owners?


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## Plumbata (Feb 13, 2012)

I was thinking that it was a drill as well. The dynamics of flesh-entry of such a narrow point with a fat sinew/fiber-bound hafting right below would not have been ideal. I didn't make and use it though. Very nice find.

 I really like that antler point Matt, but the damaged tip exposes a zone which has the porous appearance of bone. Are you sure it is made of antler? Either way it is very nice.

 Back in MD quartz/quartzite points were rather prevalent, but rarely were they attractive or very effective looking. Difficult to work indeed. It's hard to see, but considering the fracture angles and indiscernible grain, that birdpoint looks like what I'd call chert. Maybe it's just a super cryptocrystalline variety of that material.


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