Morrow Mountain I: Top Row: both quartz; Bottom Row: tuff, quartz, tuff, tuff.
Type Tapering Middle-Archaic
Defining Attributes
The Morrow Mountain I point has a broad triangular blade with a short pointed (tapering) stem.
Chronology
The Morrow Mountain I point dates to the Middle Archaic period, 5100 to 4500 BCE. Coe (1964) noted that at the Doerschuk Site in the Piedmont of North Carolina, the Morrow Mountain I point type occurred stratigraphically higher than the Stanly, and lower than the Guilford. McAvoy (1997) obtained a radiocarbon date from the Cactus Hill Site in Sussex County, Virginia of 4850 +/- 130 BCE for the Morrow Mountain I type. McAvoy suggests a time span of 5100 to 4800 or 4700 BCE for this type.
Description
Discussion
According to Coe (1964) the Morrow Mountain I form has a wide distribution over most of North America, but, with a few exceptions, its age and association are unknown. Morrow Mountain I is the earliest representation of a taping stem point in the mid Atlantic region. Some form of taping stemmed point continued or reappeared over a period of six thousand years, ending with the Rossville/Piscataway of the Woodland period.
Defined in Literature
Coe (1964) originally defined the type based on points recovered from the Doerschuk Site in the Piedmont of North Carolina. .
References
Updated: July 23, 2018