Pap No" 25T J0^f3^ H- KERR RESERVOIR BASIN — MILLER 119 



of this particular specimen are finely retouched and the point could 

 easily be taken for a type of "Folsoni." 



A few microlithic triangular points "are much too small for arrow- 

 heads and may have been used as points of poison blowgun darts" 

 (Ray, 1934, p. 108). Swanton (1946, pp. 585-586), after a perusal 

 of the literature as to the use of blowgmi darts and their use by the 

 American aborigines, has noted a number of instances where either 

 blowgims were alluded to or actually noted among the Indians of 

 the Southeast. The blowgun, itself, is usually made of a section of 

 cane about 7 feet long and cleared of its inward divisions at the joints. 

 The dart is a small arrow "feathered" with either wild cotton, the silk 

 of thistledown, or some similar material. The Indians were so adept 

 that they were able to bring down, with ease, small game within a 

 range of 15 to 20 yards. 



Several typical archaic points from the Bluestone Creek sites are 

 characterized as being rather large, both as to length and width, hav- 

 ing straight or slightly convex sides and surmounted with parallel- 

 sided stems, terminating in either a square or slightly concave base. 

 Most of them are crudely fashioned by j)ercussion usually, but there 

 are a nmnber of exceptions that indicate that great care was exercised 

 in their finishing. 



Comparable points have been found at both the Stallings Island 

 (Claflin, 1931) and Lake Springs sites (Miller, 1949 d) on the Savan- 

 nah Eiver in eastern Georgia and western South Carolina. The typical 

 Stallings Island stem is characterized as being square based, while 

 those with a concave base form a variant of the type. A slightly con- 

 tracting stem terminating in a rounded base, which occurs quite fre- 

 quently, may be considered as a second type of this form. 



Blade shape varies somewhat but all are more or less triangular in 

 outline. In most specimens the sides diverge from the tip in a 

 straight line, while in others the sides are slightly convex, a tendency 

 that occurs often enough to be considered as a variant of the type. 

 Blades are thick and lopsided with greater accent placed upon one 

 shoulder, with the opposing member either weak or nonexistent. The 

 lopsidedness of shoulders is one of the chief characteristics of the 

 Archaic forms within the Jolin H. Kerr Reservoir Basin and sur- 

 rounding a.reas. Some of the blades may have functioned either as 

 knives, spearheads, dart points, or even as digging tools. 



The tips on a number of the specimens are fairly highly polished ; 

 on others the tips are complete; while on still others, the tips have 

 been broken off and polished afterward. It is believed that this treat- 

 ment, rather than being intentional, was the direct result of the blades 

 having been used as digging tools. 



Chert, rhyolite, and quartzite were used in their manufacture. 

 Large numbers of the rhyolite and quartzite forms have knobby bulges 



