ARROWPOINTS, SPEARTTEADS, AND KNIVES. 



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Fig. 181. 



PECULIAR FORM OF 

 ABROWPOINT, WITH 

 BEVELED EDGES. 



Tennessee. 



Division IV, Class A. 



SixlixJ. 



Cat. Nu. S2:i9, r.S.N'.M. 



a rapidly inoviiin cuirent of air would have the same effect as an 



ariowpoiiit shot tVoni the bow. ]\Iost of the speciiiiens of bevel-ed<4ed 



arrowpoints and si)earheads are chamfered one way, so that the 



movement usually Avas from right to left, contrary to 



the motion of the sun. All specimens of this kind 



employed in onr e.xperiments had that rotary moticm 



from right to leit A few specimens, however, aie 



made with the bevel the other way, and when they 



were i)resented to the current of air their rotary 



motion was in the opposite direction. 



It is proper to add that these experiments were 

 l)ushed to such extent and in such number, with 

 such repetition of the same result, as to be conclusive 

 that, whatever may have been the intention of the 

 maker of the ariowi)oints, the fact was that in their 

 tlight through the air the beveled 

 A edges i)roduced the rotary motion. 



.: '^ While it would appear that this 



■\ rotary motion must have been in- 



i^^M tended bv the arroM' maker when he 



' •<- ' ' • made the beveled edge, yet the diffi- 



culty of solution of tlie problem why he made it thus 

 is iiinch increased when we consider the greater ease, 

 the less labor, and the increased facility with which 

 he might have accomplished the same rotary motion 

 by twisting the feathers on the arrow shaft. Yet we 

 find t his exceeding rare ; out of a thou- 

 sand arrow shafts in the U.S. i^atioual ^ 

 iMnseum not more than a dozen have /"^v 

 been found with twisted feathering. 

 The bevel-edge^l arrowi)oint is i)e- 

 culiar in its distribution. It is con 

 fined to the interior and southern United States. 



Fig. 180 (Cat. No. ISSOO, U.S.X.M.) is one of these 

 bevel-edged arrowpoints, vrhich, on account of its size, 

 form, and definitely beveled edges, has been chosen 

 and is here rei)resented full size as a (diaracteristic 

 bevel-edged weapon. It is of light-brown flint and 

 comes from Elkton, Giles County, Tennessee. Its base 

 is convex and smoothed, as usual. It is notched, 

 shouldered, and l)arbed and, but for the i)eculiarity 

 of its beveled edges, would be i)la('ed in Class C, 

 Division III. 



Fig. 181 is the size of the average arrowpoint. It is 3^^ inches long, 

 1^ inches wide, and from this size they descend to the smallest. The 

 edges of this specimen are nearly straight, the base is concave, and the 



Fij:. 182. 



PECULIAR FORM OF 

 AKROWrOINT, WITH 

 BEVELED EDGES. 



Point Lick, Ken- 

 tucky. 

 Division IV, Class A. 

 2ixljxj3,. 



Cat. No. 18084, U.S.N.M. 



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«»ii*^., 



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Fig. J S3. 

 TECULLAR FORM OF 

 ARROWPOINT, WITH 

 BEVELED EDGES 



Louisville, Ken- 

 tucky. 

 Division IV, Class A. 

 2ixlixg. 



Cit. .No. IVM«, I.S.X.M. 



