PERKIOMEN POINTS
Late Archaic: 5,000 to 3,000 BP
DESCRIPTION: The Perkiomen points range in size from
50 to 80 mm in length, 40 to 50 mm in width, and 6 to 8 mm in
thickness. They are described as very broad, boldly flaked spearpoints
of semi-lozenge shape, with certain characteristic contour detail
often exaggerated. The blade generally approximates an equilateral
triangle with gently convex edges. Blade edges are frequently
assymetrical, with the stem somewhat off centre. Blades are thin,
with rarely any medial ridge, and where one does appear on one
side the obverse face is usually flat. The base is usually small
and bulbous with obvious tangs and a convex to straight base.
The broad shoulders angle upward and curve gently down into the
stem. The tang corners are rounded and not promonent, and never
suggest barbs. All edges of the tang are ground smooth, including
the basal corners of the tang.
DISTRIBUTION: Originating mainly in the Schuylkill Valley
and its tributaries, entering from the north, the eastern borders
of the Susquehanna Valley, the Delaware and Hudson Valleys. Sporatically
distributed in the Mohawk, Seneca, and Genesee Valleys of New
York and lapping into southeastern Ontario.
RAW MATERIAL: These points are found throughout New York
and Pennsylvania, and up into southeastern Ontario. The material
of choice seems to have been Pennsylvania jaspers and Onondaga
chert, with some also being made of rhyolite. They have also appeared
in Ohio chalcedony, Flint Ridge, Deepskill and Normanskill flint
from the Hudson Valley.
AGE AND CULTURE: Seemingly the ancestor of the Susquehanna
Broadpoint of the Transitional period from Late Archaic to Early
Woodland, the Perkiomen suggest more of a regional distribution
rather than a temporal style change.
REFERENCES: Ritchie, 1961. pp. 42-43, 99. Waldorf, 1987.
pp.170-173. Justice, 1995, 169-170. Overstreet, 2003. pp. 158-160..