l8 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 94 



most logical is that they were to facilitate hafting the head to the shaft 

 of the spear or arrow. Other interpretations are that they were to 

 reduce the weight, to improve the penetrating qualities, to permit the 

 point to break off in the animal, to allow the head to slip out of the 

 fore-shaft, and to promote bleeding. It is possible that a number of 

 such ideas were contributing factors in the perfection of the type. 



With the exception of two specimens, all the points or portions of 

 points found at the Lindenmeier site are of one or the other forms of 

 the true Folsom type. One variant is an extremely thin example which 

 would not have permitted the removal of such flakes (pi. 5, i; 6 i). In 

 its general outline and style of chipping it indicates a relationship to 

 the group, but nevertheless, it cannot be considered a Folsom point. 

 It probably represents a different type, because similar points have 

 been found at Clovis and other sites. A single example is not sufficient 

 for definite conclusions, but there may be some significance in the fact 

 that this specimen was found on top of the old soil layer — not down in 

 it as were most of the true forms. The other point that does not con- 

 form was made from a scrap flake not primarily intended for such use, 

 and hence was not properly shaped in the beginning (pi. 7, h; 8, h). 

 This object came from the deep deposit and was in association with 

 typical Folsom material. It is too indeterminate in character to be con- 

 sidered other than an aberrant form. Furthermore, since the base 

 edge is chipped in a fashion suggestive of a scraper rather than a pro- 

 jectile point, it is possible that it was one of the former. 



From the time that the Folsom type and its longitudinal grooves 

 first attracted attention there has been considerable discussion about 

 the technique employed in the removal of the long flakes. Some have 

 insisted that they must have been dislodged before the blades were 

 worked down to their characteristic shape. The writer has maintained 

 from the beginning, as have several others, that the major part of the 

 shaping constituted the initial stage, and that the long flakes were 

 then removed." The final touch was the secondary chipping between 

 the lateral ridges and the edges. ^ This was suggested by the fact that 

 the longitudinal channels cut through the smaller cross grooves left 

 by the primary shaping process. Another indication was the " hinge 

 fracture " on the ends of broken specimens. This resulted from a 

 reverse action on the part of the flake. Instead of turning out, it 

 turned in and went through the blade, breaking off the tip and leaving 

 a smooth, rounded end on the butt. There are several examples of 



'* Cook, 1928, p. 40. 

 ^ Renaud, 1934 b, p. 3. 



