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Cahokia / Grant Side-Notched
The Cahokia point type is named after the major Middle Mississippian
Cahokia site near St. Louis.
Other Possible Names or Related Points: Grant Side-Notched and
Prairie du Sac Notched in southwestern Wisconsin. Cahokia counterparts
on the Plains are Washita, Harrel, and Reed points. Similar to Huffaker
points, the basic Cahokia preform also resembles the Madison type in
manufacture.
Age: These points represent a horizon marker from 1,000 to 850
B.P., representing Middle Mississippian–Cahokia and related site
complexes (e.g., Steed Kisker, Mill Creek, terminal Late Woodland
[Effigy Mound], and Early [Emergent] Oneota).Distribution: Illinois,
Iowa, southern Wisconsin, Missouri, northern Arkansas, and eastern
Oklahoma.
Description: This type has been segregated into four
subclasses: Cahokia double-notched, triple-notched, multiple-notched,
and serrated. The points are small to medium arrow tips. They are thin
and generally well-made with either straight or triangular converging
sides. This family exhibits multiple notching patterns, but
characteristically they have a pair of relatively deep side notches.
Cahokia double-notched are the most common Cahokia type found in the
Upper Mississippi Valley. Triple-notched points are rare in the Upper
Mississippi Valley. One point, found at the Energy Park site, an Early
Oneota village near Red Wing, has five notches: two on each side and one
in the center of the base. At the blended Late Woodland–Middle
Mississippian Fred Edwards site in Grant County, Wisconsin, side-notched
triangular points were distinguished from Grant Side-Notched on the
basis of the angle of the base. Grant Side-Notched points have a square
base with a 90 degree angle. Other side notched triangular points have
basal angles less than 90 degrees. Both Grant points and side notched
triangular points were recovered in number at the Fred Edwards site,
which is well-dated between A.D. 1050 and 1150. Finney and Stoltman also
isolate the Prairie du Sac Side-Notched variety as having a base that is
narrower than the shoulder. This subtype may be related to Honey Creek
Corner-Notched points; however, only one was found at the Fred Edwards
site.
Length: 1.5–3.5cm/0.7–1.75 in. Width: 1.3–2 cm/0.6–1 in.
Material: Cahokia points are nearly always made of local
cherts. Only a few examples of silicified sandstone Cahokia points are
known for the Upper Mississippi Valley (e.g., the Emergent Oneota,
Diamond Bluff/Mero site), including the northern portion, where numerous
sources of this material exist. Heat-treatment may occur.
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