CRAWFORD KNOLL POINTS
Late Archaic to Early Woodland: 4,000
to 2,500 BP
DESCRIPTION: Crawford Knoll points range in size from
25 to 40 mm in length, 15 to 20 mm in width, and 4 to 8 mm in
thickness. Basal width is 7 to 12 mm. However, most of the points
cluster at the small end of the size range given. In outline these
points have convex lateral edges and bases range from convex to
straight. The hafting element varies from side notched to expanding
stemmed. Cross sections are usually biconvex but in some specimens
they are almost bitriangular. The workmanship is quite variable,
where some points are quite well finished and others are rather
crudely made. Most of them are manufactured with the classic bifacial
reduction technique, while others are just marginally retouched
flakes. At the Crawford Knoll site there are preforms from both
production techniques. The bases are rarely ground.
DISTRIBUTION: This description is based on points from
the Crawford Knoll site near the St. Clair River delta, Kent County.
Little specific information is available about the distribution
of this type elsewhere in Ontario. One reason for this paucity
of information is that Crawford Knoll points are small and rather
variable in form, so they are simply not as conspicuous in surface
finds. There are several other sites in southwestern Ontario that
have produced points similar to the ones found at Crawford Knoll.
At the Knechtel I site in Bruce County J. V. Wright excavated
a Late Archaic assemblage which contained small notched points
of quite variable form. The C-14 dates for Knechtel were 1,740,
1,300, 1,090 and 938 B.C. The available evidence suggests that
Crawford Knoll points and related forms are characteristic of
the indigenous terminal Archaic peoples of southwestern Ontario.
RAW MATERIAL: At the Crawford Knoll site Kettle Point chert
is the predominant raw material.
AGE AND CULTURE: While the type site is as yet undated,
Crawford Knoll points are presumed to belong to the Late Archaic
period. They should date somewhere between 1,500 B.C and 500 B.C.
REFERENCES: London Chapter, Ontario Archaeological Society.
I. Kenyon, 1980. Crawford Knoll Point. KEWA 80-3.