NO. 8 MANAHOAC TRIBES IN VIRGINIA BUSHNELL 4/ 



discovered away from the camp and village sites, among the hills 

 and valleys where they had probably been lost by hunters when in 

 quest of game. 



Arrowpoints found in the region now being studied vary greatly 

 in age, and when attempting to ascertain the period to which a speci- 

 men should be attributed and the tribe or group of tribes to which 

 its maker may have belonged, three factors must be considered : the 

 shape, the material of which it was made, and the condition of the 

 surface. 



As stated on a preceding page, the crudely flaked specimens made 

 of a dark diabasic rock, now altered and changed to a brownish color 

 through long exposure to the natural elements, are thought to be the 

 earliest form of axlike implements or weapons encountered in the 

 Rapidan-Rappahannock area. They have been discovered throughout 

 the region, and without exception are so deeply weathered that it is 

 often difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish the surface from which 

 flakes had been removed. They are assumed to have belonged to a 

 culture that preceded, possibly by centuries, the coming of the historic 

 Siouan and Algonquian groups who claimed the country in 1608. 



Arrowheads and spearheads made of the same diabasic rock as the 

 preceding, crudely flaked and equally weathered, have been found 

 on sites with the axes, and it is reasonable to assign them to the same 

 early period. The axes and points should be attributed to the same 

 culture. Six examples of the points are illustrated (pi. 4, a), and 

 other specimens in the same illustration, although made of chert, 

 quartzite, and argilite, may likewise be of very early origin. Certain 

 of these resemble in form and size pieces found by Harrington 

 in the upper Tennessee valley " and ascribed by him to the earliest of 

 three distinct periods of occupancy, the last being that of the historic 

 Cherokee. Some specimens were made of flint, others of quartz 

 and quartzite. and typical examples were figured by Harrington, 

 plate 48. 



Points are often discovered on the surface that differ in shape and 

 material from the characteristic specimens of the region. They had 

 probably been made in some distant locality, to be carried by hunters 

 or warriors and lost near where they are now found. It is impossible 

 to determine, even approximately, the place of origin of many 

 specimens thus encountered. l)ut later, when greater attention is 



" Harrington, M. R., Cherokee and earlier remains on Upper Tennessee River. 

 Mus. Amer. Indian, New York. 1922. 



