From: Tom Klatka (Department of Virginia Resources)
To: Fred Childress
Subject: RE: Projectile Points
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2014

Hi Fred,

 

Hope your trip was enjoyable.  Thanks again for contacting me about your collection and inviting me to take a look at it. 

 

Your “oversized” hafted blade is unusual.  There is no question it is historically and culturally significant.  I sent a picture of your blade to Bill Childress and we independently concluded it is similar to Kirk Corner Notched points that are radiocarbon dated to 7400-6800 BCE of the Early Archaic Period.  The normal size ranges for Kirk Corner Notched points is 40-100 mm (1.6-3.9 inches) in length is 20-45 mm (.8-1.8 inches) in width so there is no question that your example is huge.

 

I join the camp of archaeologists who interpret oversize Dalton points (8700-8200 BCE) not as tools but as identity markers that signify a group’s membership in a larger political and/or social movement.  The same goes for oversized blades in other periods of time.

 

Incidentally, I looked at a Floyd County collection last week and it contained three oversize hafted blades.  The hafting elements fit the descriptions of Morrow Mountain I projectile points, but none showed any evidence of use.  Morrow Mountain I points date to the Middle Archaic  (5100 – 4700 BCE) and are not usual, but the oversized examples are the first that I have seen.

 

Your example is the oldest oversize blade I have seen in my 25 years of work in SW Virginia.  Your example together with those in the Floyd collection increases the number of oversized blades that I have seen in my life from 5 to 9.  That tells me that there must be more of them in various collections or in the ground. 

 

Unfortunately, oversized blades capture the attention of people so they often change hands, move to different states and their place or origins becomes forgotten during their journey.  This means we will never know how many oversize blades have been found in a region.  It is very fortunate for our understanding of the past that some collectors like you and the brothers in Floyd County realize the importance of their collections and keep the collections intact and in Virginia.

 

Thanks again for everything, Fred.  I have copied Bill on this email so you will have his email address.  He is looking forward to meeting you in the future

 

Sincerely,