FLAKING: Broad, sometimes deep, random flaking was used to shape the blade and hafting area. Rather long secondary flakes were struck off along the edges, with a minimum of fine retouch having been carried out. Short flakes struck from the basal edge often resulted in a beveling of the basal edge. Local materials were used.
COMMENTS: This type was named from points found on sites in the Paint Rock River Valley in Jackson County, Alabama. The illustrated example is from Cambron Site 48, Lincoln County, Tennessee. It resembles several Texas types (Suhm, Krieger and Jelks, 1954): Kinney, with an estimated age of 4000 years ago, which is shorter and broader; Matamoros with an estimated age of 500 A. D., which is smaller and usually beveled; Tortugas, estimated age 6000 years ago, which is beveled and has no contraction of the base. At the University of Alabama Site Ms 201 in Marshall County, Alabama, two examples were recovered from Level 11 and one from Level 9. Other types from these lower levels include Cumberland, Quad, Dalton, Wheeler and Big Sandy I points. One example was recovered from Burial 8 at Stanfield-Worley Bluff Shelter (DeJarnette, Kurjack and Cambron, 1962) in association with Morrow Mountain, Crawford Creek, White Springs and possibly Eva points, as well as bone points and other artifacts. These associations indicate an early Archaic to transitional Paleo-Indian connection. At the Hardaway Site (Coe, 1959) points similar to Paint Rock Valley points were recovered from Stratum IV along with Dalton and Quad points.
PALMER, Coe (Coe, 1959): A-67
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The Palmer point is a small corner notched point with a straight, ground base and pronounced serrations (Coe, 1959).
MEASUREMENTS: Coe (1959) lists the following measurements: length—maximum, 60 mm.; minimum, 28 mm.; average, 35 mm.: width—maximum, 25 mm.; minimum, 15 mm.; average, 20 mm.: thickness—maximum, 12 mm.; minimum, 5 mm.; average, 8 mm.: average width of notches, 3 mm.: length of notches, measured along stem edge, 5 mm. to 7 mm. The illustrated example provided the following measurements: length, 46 mm.; width at shoulders, 25 mm.; width of stem, 21 mm.; thickness, 7 mm.; width of notches, 3 mm.; depth of notches, 6 mm.
FORM: The cross-section is biconvex. Shoulders are barbed. Blade edges are usually straight, but may be slightly incurvate or excurvate. Most examples are serrated, some quite deeply. The hafting area is corner notched. Side edges of the stem are usually incurvate. The basal edge is usually straight but may be slightly incurvate or excurvate. It is thinned and ground.
FLAKING: "These points were made by pressure flaking upon a prismatic flake of the proper proportions. The serrations apparently were made at the time when the point was finished, since the flake scars produced by the serrations were long and overlapped toward the center of the blade." (Coe, 1959). The notches were formed by the removal of deep broad flakes. Local materials were used.
COMMENTS: The type was named from points recovered from the Hardaway Site in Piedmont, North Carolina. The illustrated example is from Cambron Site 92 in Madison County, North Carolina. Concerning the type at the Hardaway Site, Coe (1959) states, "Following the Hardaway occupation, the style of projectile points changed to a small corner-notched serrated variety with extensive grinding along the base. Along with this the use of the small hafted snub-nosed scraper increased considerably." He gives distribution as "Camp Creek Site in Tennessee and northward along the Atlantic Coast into New England." He further states, "On the basis of excavated data, this type must have an antiquity of nearly 8000 years." Two examples are listed by Cambron and Waters (1961) from the bottom of Stratum II (Archaic) at Flint Creek Rock Shelter. Three Palmer points were classified by Cambron from the surface collection of the University of Alabama from Guntersville Basin on the Tennessee River. The type is also found on western North Carolina sites.