94 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 182 



enough, in view of knowledge of the present time, to serve as horizon 

 markers or index fossils, since they are either much too rare or their 

 distribution through time is much too widespread. 



In nearly all of these stemmed varieties one shoulder is dominant 

 while the other is recessive or nonexistent. Only a few of these forms 

 have been found in context, as far as the writer knows, and only a few 

 have been dated by means of radiocarbon methods. The best said 

 about their antiquity is that they belong to components of Early Man 

 and range up to the archaic, which indicate that these types persisted 

 over long periods. Such evidence as this would suggest that there 

 were other cultural entities than those now recognized and that they 

 will be recognized by distinctive projectile forms, examples of which 

 are included within the present collection. 



TECHNIQUES 



Manufacturing methods are not consistent nor can they be accu- 

 rately dated. A number of specimens show that percussion flaking, 

 pressure chipping, and a process termed as "rapping or nibbling," or 

 a combination of all were used to fashion the artifact. In contrast 

 to percussion flaking, where the blow is dealt at an angle to cast off 

 the flake, rapping is brought about by dealing short, well-directed 

 blows directly downward and vertical to the long axis of the artifact, 

 resulting in crushing hinge fractures rather than a clean chipping or 

 casting off of the unwanted portions of stone. Single projectile points 

 may display all three techniques. One side will show that percussion 

 flaking was used to outline the object and later the edges were re- 

 touched by means of pressure chipping. On the reverse side, rapping 

 was used and the edges may or may not show secondary chipping. 

 Some projectile forms display well-controlled pressure flaking in that 

 the flakes either carry across transversely or at an obtuse angle. This 

 type of flaking in Virginia and North Carolina is distinctive and 

 appears to be as well controlled as any utilized by Eden and Folsom 

 technicians of the western sections of the United States. 



Practically all the artifacts under consideration were initially 

 fashioned by percussion flaking. This is also true of the smaller and 

 some of the better made tools. Finally, pressure flaking was used not 

 only to trim but to sharpen some of the edges. This combination of 

 techniques not only accounts for the thinner, finer flakes but for the 

 larger, coarser chipping used to smooth and to thin down the faces 

 of some of the artifacts. This combination of techniques is not 

 always predictable. 



Percussion was used to first cast off flakes of various sizes and thick- 

 ness from nonpolyhedral cores. These flakes were taken and altered 

 sufficiently to bring into being projectile points, as well as other 

 utilitarian tools. 



