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Name Details:
Named By: Wilfred M. Husted
Named For:
Date Identified: 1969
Type Site: Bottleneck Cave
(48BH206), Big Horn Canyon, Big Horn County, Wyoming
Pryor Stemmed
Cluster:
Commonly Utilized Material:
Locally available cherts and quartzite
Date:
Cultural Period:
8,400 - 7,800 B.P.
Mountain Paleo
Middle Holocene
Glacial Period:
Culture:
Outline is Representative of Size and Shape:
Description of Physical Characteristics and Flaking Pattern:
This is a medium stemmed lanceolate point with an elliptical to parallelogram cross section. The blade is excurvate with a continuous arch from the rip to the shoulders. The blade is
commonly beveled on alternating right (tip up) edges. Beveling
may extend to the shoulders, or the full length of the point and
forms fines serrations on the blade. The shoulders are weak to absent and at an upward angle. The stem is short and varies from straight to slightly expanding
and is beveled on opposite edges than the blade. The base is
slightly concave with rounded basal corners, heavy grinding and
smoothing is present on the hafting regions. This point has a flaking pattern that may vary from parallel oblique to random.
Size Measurements: Total Length - 36
to 82 mm (average 45 to 55 mm), Stem Length - typically 1/5 to
1/3 the total length, Blade Width - 11 to 22 mm,
Waist Width - 8 to 17 mm, Basal Width - 13 to 20 mm,
Thickness - 6 to 8 mm
Distribution:
Distribution Comments:
Originally thought to be isolated to the
Pryor and Bighorn mountains and foothills. It is now recognized to
be found in the southern Rocky Mountains and into the Great Plains. The heaviest concentrations of this type are the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming and Montana.
Additional Comments:
Points found at the Fourth of July site were originally types as Pryor stemmed, but the radiocarbon dates provided at this site were 6,045 +/- 120 and 5,800 +/- 120. The Fourth of
July type has been identified as a different newer type than the Pryor Stemmed.
Similar types have been found in Utah and into the Great Basin, except the points found in this area tend to lack the beveling that is characteristic of this type. Lovell Constricted, which is similar but lacks
the beveling, has been reported into the Great Basin, being found at Danger Cave in Utah.
This type is similar to the Lovell Constricted except that this type have right hand beveled blade edges while the Lovell type lacks any beveling (Pitblado, 2003).
Other points in this Cluster:
Point Validity: Valid Type
Husted was a respected
archaeologist who serves as Archaeologist for the National Park Service and published research on Mummy Cave. This point was named in a professional publication and has many professional references. This is considered a valid type.
.
Age Details:
At Bottleneck Cave Wyoming, radiocarbon provided dates of 8,160 +/- 180 and 8,40 +/- 200. Dates at Medicine Lodge Creek, Wyoming provided dates of 8,340 +/- 220, 8,320 +/- 220, 8,160 +/- 220 and 8,050 +/-
240. Dates at Painted Rock Wyoming are 8,140 +/- 140 and 8,340 +/- 160, and radiocarbon dating at Schiffer Cave Wyoming provided dates of 8,360 +/- 160 and 8,500 +/- 160. (Pitblado, 2003).
References: (See Reference Page, Entry Number):
2, 23, 30, 176, 180
Pryor Projectile Point, Pryor Arrowhead
