An Archaic Projectile Point Sequence from the Southern Prairie Peninsula

The use of projectile point styles as index fossils, reflecting cultural and temporal ordering of archaeological components, has a long and proven history in archaeological research. However, efforts along these lines often are limited by a lack of projectile point sequences from dated, stratified deposits. This chapter presents the results of work geared toward creation of a stylistic sequence for the preceramic period in the middle Salt River valley of northeast Missouri. ¹ This analysis was undertaken as part of the Cannon Reservoir Human Ecology Project, an interdisciplinary archaeological project formed in 1977 to investigate cultural adaptations on the southern fringes of the midcontinental Prairie Peninsula (O'Brien and Warren 1979, 1980; O'Brien et al. 1982). The term projectile point is used in the traditional sense, referring to lithic artifacts generally displaying symmetry of form, bifacial flaking, and usually some form of hafting modification. Emphasis is placed on visual assessment of gross morphological characteristics used to create unique classes and subclasses.