HAMILTON STEMMED, Cambron (This Paper): A-108
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: This is a medium-sized, expanded-stem point with an excurvate blade.
MEASUREMENTS: Lewis and Kneberg (1946), Plate 65, illustrate two examples of Hamilton Stemmed points. These two are 72 mm. and 76 mm. long respectively. The illustrated example measures 75 mm. long, 30 mm. in shoulder width, 18 mm. in stem width, 12 mm. in stem length, and 9 mm. thick.
FORM: The cross-section is biconvex. Shoulders are inversely tapered, forming short sharp barbs. The blade is excurvate. The rather sharply-acute distal end gives the blade edge a near-recurvate appearance. The stem is expanded with straight side edges; the stem base, thinned and either straight or slightly excurvate.
FLAKING: The blade and hafting area are shaped by broad, shallow-to-deep random flaking. One or all blade edges may be secondarily flaked by the removal of fine, shallow flakes or rather crude deep flakes. The corner notches are formed by strong, broad flaking (usually by removal of one flake from each side of each notch). Stem edges may be retouched, with fine flaking having been employed to thin the base of the stem.
COMMENTS: The type is named after Hamilton County, Tennessee where the Hamilton culture was first recognized. The illustrated plesiotype is from Cambron Site 27, Limestone County, Alabama, which has produced several examples of Hamilton points. It is a late Woodland type associated with the Hamilton culture. Kneberg states (1956), "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." Local examples have been classified as Hamilton corner notched. An example was illustrated by Rowe (1947) as a rare Hamilton culture type from eastern Tennessee.