Archaeological Culture: Late Archaic, Cochise Tradition

Geographical Range: All of Arizona, California and Nevada along the Colorado River, southern Utah, southwest Colorado, and western New Mexico; most common in southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.

Date Range: 4800 – 2500 B.P. (Lyndon 2005).

Size: Largest: approximately 15 cm long (Ballenger 2014:3); typically resharpened until exhausted.  Average stem length: 12.5 mm; average max. width: 18.1 mm; average max. thickness: 4.7 mm (Lyndon 2005:Table 10); Average length: 25 mm; average base width: 20.9 mm; average max. thickness: 5.4 mm (Loendorf and Rice 2004:Table 9).

Shape: Triangular with wide necks and concave bases with rounded ears that are wider than the point blade.

Cross-section: Thick biconvex to thin and flat.

Base: Deeply concave, eared.

Flaking: Percussion and pressure; random.

Notching: Shallow C-shaped side notches; variably placed high or low on the blade margins.

Materials: Obsidian, chert, rhyolite, and basalt.

Other Names: Justice (2002) suggests the name Ventana Side-notched for this type.

Comparisons: San Rafael Side Notched have squared to pointed, rather than rounded ears that are generally not significantly wider than the blade.

Compiled from the following sources:
Ballenger, Jesse. (2014) President’s Message. Glyphs 64(11):2-3.

Justice, Noel D. (2002) Stone Age Spear and Arrow Points of the Southwestern United States. Indiana University Press, Bloomington.

Loendorf, Chris, and Glen E. Rice. (2004) Projectile Point Typology, Gila River Indian Community, Arizona. Anthropology Research Papers No. 2, Gila River Indian Community Cultural Resource Management Program, Sacaton.

Lyndon, Michael G. (2005) Projectile Points as Indicators of Preceramic Occupation of the Coconino Plateau. M.A. thesis, Department of Anthropology, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff.

Sliva, R. Jane. (2009) Common Middle Archaic and Early Agricultural Period Points in Southern Arizona. Archaeology Southwest 23(1):Supplemental Information.

Compiled by:
Meghann M. Vance, Northern Arizona University Anthropology Laboratories