LERMA POINTED BASE, Termed "Lerma" by MacNeish (Suhm, Krieger and Jelks, 1954): A-54
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: This is a medium to large, lanceolate point with a pointed base.
MEASUREMENTS: Twenty points from 15 sites in the Tennessee Valley (Soday and Cambron, n. d.) provided the following measurements; length—maximum, 104 mm.; minimum, 48 mm.; average, 74 mm.: width—average, 23 mm.: thickness—average, 10 mm. The illustrated example is 110 mm. long, 28 mm. wide, and 9 mm. thick.
FORM: The cross-section may be plano-convex or biconvex. The widest part of the point is usually about one-third of the length of the point from the base. From its widest part to the distal end, the blade is excurvate or sometimes nearly straight. The distal end is acute. The base is pointed and may be broad or acute.
FLAKING: The presence of many hinge fractures on blade faces indicates much of the flaking used to shape the blade and hafting area may be the result of the baton method of percussion flaking. Some secondary flaking appears along the edges. The plane striking area on the basal edge indicates manufacture from a blade. Many examples in the Tennessee Valley are made of Ft. Payne chert.
COMMENTS: The type site is the Canyon Diablo Site of Tamaulipas, Mexico (Mahan, 1955). An example was found with a mammoth near Mexico City. The illustrated example is from Hulse Site 32E, Limestone County, Alabama. Examples are usually found on the same sites as Lerma Rounded Base, but may be somewhat earlier as is the case with the Mexican examples although not with Rounded Base Texas examples. At the Quad Site (Cambron and Hulse, 1960a) an example reworked to a drill was recovered from Stratum III in association with Big Sandy I, Dalton, Crawford Creek, and other points. An early Archaic to transitional Paleo association is suggested.