HAMILTON, Lewis (Lewis, 1955): A-45
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The Hamilton is a small, triangular point with incurvate blade and incurvate base.
MEASUREMENTS: Bell (1960) lists the length range as 22 mm. to 45 mm.; the length mode, 40 mm. The illustrated plesiotype measures 37 mm. long, 18 mm. wide at base, 4 mm. thick, 3 mm. deep in basal concavity.
FORM: The cross-section is flattened. The blade ranges in shape from near straight to deeply incurvate but is usually slightly incurvate. Fine serrations along the blade edges are rare. The distal end is acute. The base is usually incurvate but may be straight and is always thinned.
FLAKING: According to Kneberg (1956) "Exceptionally fine pressure chipping characterizes this type." The faces are worked by broad, shallow flaking with fine retouch along the blade edges. The basal edge is thinned by the removal of broad shallow flakes and is rarely retouched except near the junction of the basal edge with the side edges.
COMMENTS: "The Hamilton Incurvate point and Hamilton culture are named from Hamilton County, Tennessee, where they were first identified." (Kneberg, 1956). The illustrated example is from Cambron Site 27, Limestone County, Alabama. According to Kneberg (1956) the Hamilton is "a late Woodland type associated with the Hamilton culture. This is the culture characterized by dome-shaped burial mounds in eastern Tennessee. It is also found in middle Tennessee with the Decatur and Harmon's Creek Woodland cultures." An example was recovered from Level 1 at the Stanfield-Worley Bluff Shelter (DeJarnette, Kurjack and Cambron, 1962). At University of Alabama Site Ms 201, Marshall County, Alabama, two examples were recovered from Level 1 and one from Level 5. At the Flint River Site (Webb and DeJarnette, 1948a) one example was recovered from each zone: Zones A and A-B (both Woodland), Zone C, and Zone D (Archaic). This evidence indicates a Woodland or possibly late Archaic association at Flint River. Examples are found on Woodland and Mississippian sites in North Alabama. Kneberg (1956) suggests a probable age of about 500 A. D. to 1000 A. D. Bell (1960) suggests a date of about 300 A. D. to 800 A. D.