DESCRIPTION: Brewerton Side-Notched points range in
size from 25 to 96 mm in length, 20 to 40 mm in width, and 6 to
12 mm in thickness. This is a broad, thick, side-notched point,
the majority of which fall into the medium size range. Larger
examples are about twice as long as wide, but most are about one
and one-half times as long as wide. The blade is triangulois in
outline and biconvex in cross section. Lateral edges are slightly
excurvate, sometimes straight, or rarely incurvate, and faintly
serrated the odd time. The stem is boldly side-notched and basally
expanded, sometimes to a pronounced degree, resulting in eared
projections. In most cases the base will be fairly straight, but
does come mildly convex or concave. The bases are ground smooth
on about 66% of all specimens.
DISTRIBUTION: All of New York, Pennsylvania and much of
southern Ontario in Laurentian and Laurentian-like contexts. This
is also a dominant type in the upper Ohio Valley sites atributed
to the Laurentian tradition. The common Archaic side-notched points
were all likely inter-related in one way or another, and referred
to by different type names from region to region. RAW MATERIAL: For the most part, the Brewerton Side-notched
points appear to have been chipped from local cherts. Pressure
flaking to produce a sharp retouched edge is quite common, and
this constant resharpening appears to have resulted in many of
the stubby examples. AGE AND CULTURE: This is about the most common point in
all the Archaic Laurentian conplexes of New York and southern
Ontario. These points for the most part were likely dart points,
with some of the larger ones falling into the knife or spearpoint
category. Preceding the age of the bow and arrow, this point was
likely in use from about 3,000 B.C. to early A.D. REFERENCES: Ritchie, 1961, pp.19-20, 72. Waldorf, 1987,
pp. 91-92. Justice, 1995, pp. 115-122. Overstreet, 2003, 108-109,
196, 393, 641, 835.
