The Suwannee point is a large unfluted

lanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

type of

Paleo-Indian Paleo-Indians were the first peoples who entered and subsequently inhabited the Americas towards the end of the Late Pleistocene period. The prefix ''paleo-'' comes from . The term ''Paleo-Indians'' applies specifically to the lithic period in ...

projectile point In archaeological terminology, a projectile point is an object that was hafted to a weapon that was capable of being thrown or projected, such as a javelin, dart, or arrow. They are thus different from weapons presumed to have been kept in the ...

that features a recurvate profile with a slightly narrowed waist and a convex base. The point is one of the earliest forms of lanceolate types and is dated between 10500–9500

Before Present Before Present (BP) or "years before present (YBP)" is a time scale used mainly in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events occurred relative to the origin of practical radiocarbon dating in the 1950s. Because ...

. It represents a typical example of the Middle Paleoindian subperiod. Experts are divided over whether the type predates or postdates the

Clovis point Clovis points are the characteristically fluted projectile points associated with the New World Clovis culture, a prehistoric Paleo-American culture. They are present in dense concentrations across much of North America and they are largely restr ...

but have noted that the two share similarities in their construction. Suwanee specimens are generally unfluted, which distinguishes them from the generally fluted Clovis. However, a few rare examples of fluted Suwanee have also been discovered. The largest concentration of Suwanee points appear in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, where the classification was first named in 1968 by Ripley P. Bullen for Suwannee County.

References

Projectile points {{US-archaeology-stub