Orient Fishtail: quartzite, chert.
Type Corner Notched Late-Archaic
Defining Attributes
The Orient Fishtail is a slender, medium sized, gracefully formed point, with a characteristically narrow, lanceolate blade which merges into a flaring “fishtail” stem.
Chronology
The Orient Fishtail point dates to the Late Archaic to Early Woodland transition, 1400 to 800 BCE. Ritchie (1971) notes that this point is the characteristic type of the Orient complex on Long Island, New York which was radiocarbon dated to between 1044 +/- 300 to 763 +/- 220 BCE.
Description
Discussion
The Orient Fishtail point has not been found in dated context in Virginia. McAvoy feels that the point may date from a Late Archaic to Early Woodland context along the Nottoway River. The type is commonly found with soapstone vessel fragments and has also been found with early pottery in the Northeast.
Defined in Literature
This type was originally defined by Ritchie (1961 revised 1971) based on points recovered from the Orient complex on Long Island in New York.
References
Updated: July 23, 2018