DEWAELE POINTS
Late Woodland: 1,500 to 350 BP
DESCRIPTION: DeWaele points range in size from 29 to
59 mm in length, 14 to 22 mm in width, and 4 to 7 mm in thickness.
Inter-notch width varies from 8 to 16 mm. The blade edges are
convex, and the base ranges from convex to concave in form, with
the modal configuration being convex. Notching varies from side-notched
to expanding stemmed, depending on the size of the notches. The
cross section usually shows a lenticular bi-convex shape.
DISTRIBUTION: In southern Ontario these points are found
from Middlesex and Elgin counties in the west to at least as far
east as the Duffins Creek drainage east of Toronto.
RAW MATERIAL: Primarily made from Onondaga chert. These
Onondaga chert DeWaele bifaces have much in common with the Nanticoke
Notched type, in that they are often reworked as drills and may
have had a wider range of functions than contemporary triangular
point forms.
AGE AND CULTURE: This Glen Meyer point form occurs as
a minority type on sites dating from circa 850 to 1,250 A.D. in
Ontario. While the origin of the DeWaele point form is obscure,
there is little doubt that this Iroquoian notched biface evolves
into the later Middleport Notched and Nanticoke Notched types.
REFERENCES: London Chapter, Ontario Archaeological Society.
W. A. Fox, 1982 DeWaele Points. KEWA 82-3.