Reader's Guide
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Projectile points are the most easily recognizable stone tools in Minnesota. Produced by Native Americans between about 12,500 years ago and early European contact in the seventeenth century, they are found in abundance in all regions of the state. Since many people find points and have collections of points, this guide provides simple steps to their identification and study.
Recent studies of projectile points demonstrate that they were often used for a variety of purposes, such as cutting and scraping, besides penetration. Although the uses to which points were put is an important area of contemporary research, we are primarily interested in this guide in their use as cultural/historical markers, that is, in who made them, when, and where.
There are four parts to the reader's guide. In the first, you learn that points used to penetrate were either attached to spears or attached to shafts - dart shafts or arrows - that were hurled by other pieces of equipment. It is useful to know in looking at points how these different delivery systems influenced their size and shape. Part two introduces a terminology for points and basic point measurements, and part three a system - the cluster system - for identifying different kinds of points; part three contains simple instructions for placing your points in the correct clusters. Part four briefly describes the history of point clusters in the state.
- Spears, Darts, and Arrows
- Point Terminology and Measurements
- The Type Cluster Approach
- Who Made Them and How Old Are They