Normannskill, 6000-3000 B.C., or Brewerton Eared Notched, 2980-1723 B.C. Normannskill, 6000-3000 B.C., or Adena Stemmed, 800-300 B.C. Possible Snyders, 200 B.C.-200 A.D., but unknown since base is broken Snook Kill, 3000-1000 B.C., or Kirk Stemmed, 6900-6000 B.C. Thebes, 8000-6000 B.C. Lowe Flared Base, 200-500 A.D., or Chesser Notched, 300-700 A.D. Meadowood, 1300-500 B.C. Lowe Flared Base, 200-500 A.D. Possible Susquehanna Broadspear, 1700-1000 B.C., or Kirk Stemmed, 6900-6000 B.C. Normannskill, 6000-3000 B.C., or Lowe Flared Base, 200-500 A.D. Normannskill, 6000-3000 B.C., or Steuben Stemmed, 2100-2000 B.C. Possibly Lowe Flared Base, or preform (unfinished projectile point), 200-500 A.D. Possibly Lowe Flared Base, or preform (unfinished projectile point), 200-500 A.D. Jack's Reef Pentagonal, 500-1000 A.D. Meadowood, 1300-500 B.C., or Brewerton Eared Notched, 2980-1723 B.C. Bare Island, 1800-1600 B.C. Brewerton Eared Notched, 2980-1723 B.C. Jack's Reef Pentagonal, 500-1000 A.D., or Brewerton Eared Notched, 2980-1723 B.C. Jack's Reef Pentagonal, 500-1000 A.D., or flake Broken, not identifiable Brewerton Eared Notched, 2980-1723 B.C. Steubenville Lanceolate, 3000-1000 B.C. Steubenville Lanceolate/Drill, 3000-1000 B.C. Possibly Snook Kill, 3000-1000 B.C. Otter Creek, 3500-3000 B.C. Probably a large flake Show the original display, without the numbered labels
The Family of Rosa Anna Abbott and John Joseph LaValle

Prehistoric Stone Artifacts from the Edward Abbott Farm

Indian Arrowheads
Prehistoric Stone Artifacts. The caption reads, "Indian Arrow Points found by Howard H. Abbott on the Edward Abbott Farm, Mt. Lebanon, PA, in 1900. These arrow points were presented to Charles and Howard Page by your Grandpa. Howard Abbott (1966)." Charles Page Collection. Click on any of the projectile points for a larger view and for more information. Click on Howard's message in the photograph to alternate between viewing the projectile points with numbered labels and viewing the plaque as Howard created it. This archaeological site is registered with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission as site number 36AL523 in its Pennsylvania Archaeaological Site Survey.

Two archaeologists briefly reviewed these stone points and tentatively identified them. Click on any of the projectile points above to read these tentative identifications. These projectile points are spear points, not arrowheads. Archaic and Woodland period spear points were usually not used on stabbing spears (lances), but on throwing spears launched from a spear thrower, also known by its Aztec name, atlatl2. Spear throwers are sticks, made of wood or antler, between one and three feet long with a hook on one end and a handle on the other. The butt of the wooden spear shaft fits into the hook. The atlatl is held horizontally with the hook-end facing back over the shoulder and the spear shaft lying on the atlatl. The thrower swings the atlatl over his head like a fly fisherman casts a line, releasing the spear. The atlatl extends the effective length of the thrower's arm. This and other engineering factors enable a spear thrower to achieve a range of 200 yards -- as long as a bow and arrow. The bow and arrow replaced the atlatl, not because of its range, but because it was easier to learn to use and because it did not require as much movement and so is less likely to startle prey3.

A geologist examined the stone points and determined that they are all chert with the possible exception of number (10).4 Chert is very fine-grained quartz, a silicon dioxide mineral. It is generally accepted that most chert derives from volcanic sources and from marine sediments composed of the silicon skeletons of sponges and some plankton. However, one geologist believes that the chert in central Pennsylvania may derive from wind-blown sand.5 Black and dark gray chert is sometimes called flint and red chert is sometimes called jasper. According to one of the archaeologists, most of the projectile points above, including numbers (3), (14), (15), (16), (18), (23), (24), and (26), are made of Onondaga chert. Onondaga chert is originally from New York and was transported to southwestern Pennsylvania by glacial movement and by stream flow. Prehistoric people found Onondaga chert pebbles in local rivers. Projectile point number (6) is from Flint Ridge in Ohio. Native Americans in the Pittsburgh area travelled 140 miles to Flint Ridge to mine flint and they traded with others for it. Projectile point number (7) may be made of Gull Point chert, which was transported from New York by glaciers and streams. You may view overlayed distribution maps of the projectile point styles found on the Abbott farm.

See more information about the prehistoric inhabitants in the Prehistory of the Abbott Land.

Footnotes

1 Witthoft, John, Indian Prehistory of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Historical Museum Commission, 1965, p. 14.

2 Ibid, p. 14.

3 Kurt Kleiner, Atlatl - The Stone Age Kalashnikov, New Scientist, May 15, 1999, pp. 40-43.

4 Steve Hovan, Geoscience Department, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, personal communication, April 2, 2004.

5 Cecil, C. Blaine, US Geological Survey, Eolian Dust and the Origin of Devonian Cherts in the Appalachian Basin, USA, 2004, Northeastern Section (39th Annual) and Southeastern Section (53rd Annual) Joint Meeting (March 25?27, 2004) , Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 36, No. 2, p. 118.

Projectile Points Listed by Position in Photograph

Point NumberProjectile TypeDate RangeCultural PeriodDistribution
(1)Normannskill or
Brewerton Eared Notched
6000-3000 B.C. or
2980-1723 B.C.
Middle Archaic or
Late Archaic
not available or
CT, DE, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA, VT, WV
(2)Normannskill or
Adena Stemmed
6000-3000 B.C. or
800-300 B.C.
Middle Archaic or
Early Woodland
not available or
AL, CN, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, MI, NY, OH, PA, RI, TN, WI, WV
(3)Possible Snyders200 B.C.-200 A.D.Middle WoodlandAR, IA, IL, IN, KY, MI, MS, NY, OH, PA, TN, WI, WV
(4)Snook Kill or
Kirk Stemmed
3000-1000 B.C. or
6900-6000 B.C.
Late Archaic or
Early Archaic
CT, DE, MA, MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, ON, PA, RI, VT or
AL, CN, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, MI, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WV
(5)Thebes8000-6000 B.C.Early ArchaicIL, IN, KY, MI, MO, OH, PA, WV
(6)Lowe Flared Base or
Chesser Notched
200-500 A.D. or
300-700 A.D.
Terminal Middle Woodland or
Terminal Middle-Late Woodland
IL, IN, KY, MO, OH, TN or
KY, MI, NY, OH, PA, WV
(7)Meadowood1300-500 B.C.Early WoodlandCT, DE, IL, IN, MA, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, ON, PA, RI, VT, WI
(8)Lowe Flared Base200-500 A.D.Terminal Middle WoodlandIL, IN, KY, MO, OH, TN
(9)Possible Susquehanna Broadspear or
Kirk Stemmed
1700-1000 B.C. or
6900-6000 B.C.
Terminal Archaic or
Early Archaic
not available or
AL, CN, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, MI, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WV
(10)Normannskill or
Lowe Flared Base
6000-3000 B.C. or
200-500 A.D.
Middle Archaic or
Terminal Middle Woodland
not available or
IL, IN, KY, MO, OH, TN
(11)Normannskill or
Steuben Stemmed
6000-3000 B.C. or
2100-2000 B.C.
Middle Archaic or
Late Archaic
not available
(12)Lowe Flared Base or
preform (unfinished projectile point)
200-500 A.D. or
unknown
Terminal Middle Woodland or
unknown
IL, IN, KY, MO, OH, TN or
unknown
(13)Lowe Flared Base or
preform (unfinished projectile point)
200-500 A.D. or
unknown
Terminal Middle Woodland or
unknown
IL, IN, KY, MO, OH, TN or
unknown
(14)Jack's Reef Pentagonal500-1000 A.D.Middle-Late WoodlandCT, DE, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, ON, PA, RI, TN, VA, VT, WV
(15)Meadowood or
Brewerton Eared Notched
1300-500 B.C. or
2980-1723 B.C.
Early Woodland or
Late Archaic
CT, DE, IL, IN, MA, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, ON, PA, RI, VT, WI or
CT, DE, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA, VT, WV
(16)Bare Island1800-1600 B.C.Late Archaicnot available
(17)Broken, not identifiableunknownunknownunknown
(18)Jack's Reef Pentagonal or
Brewerton Eared Notched
500-1000 A.D. or
2980-1723 B.C.
Middle-Late Woodland or
Late Archaic
CT, DE, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, ON, PA, RI, TN, VA, VT, WV or
CT, DE, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA, VT, WV
(19)Jack's Reef Pentagonal or
flake
500-1000 A.D. or
unknown
Middle-Late Woodland or
unknown
CT, DE, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, ON, PA, RI, TN, VA, VT, WV or
unknown
(20)Broken, not identifiableunknownunknownunknown
(21)Brewerton Eared Notched2980-1723 B.C.Late ArchaicCT, DE, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA, VT, WV
(22)Steubenville Lanceolate3000-1000 B.C.Late Archaicnot available
(23)Steubenville Lanceolate/Drill3000-1000 B.C.Late Archaicnot available
(24)Possibly Snook Kill3000-1000 B.C.Late ArchaicCT, DE, MA, MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, ON, PA, RI, VT
(25)Otter Creek3500-3000 B.C.Late Archaicnot available
(26)Probably a large flakeunknownunknownunknown

Projectile Points Listed Chronologically

Date Range Projectile Type Cultural Period Point Numbers Distribution
8000-6000 B.C. Thebes Early Archaic (5) IL, IN, KY, MI, MO, OH, PA, WV
6900-6000 B.C. Kirk Stemmed Early Archaic (4), (9) AL, CN, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, MI, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WV
6000-3000 B.C. Normannskill Middle Archaic (1), (2), (10), (11) not available
3500-3000 B.C. Otter Creek Late Archaic (25) not available
3000-1000 B.C. Snook Kill Late Archaic (4), (24) CT, DE, MA, MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, ON, PA, RI, VT
3000-1000 B.C. Steubenville Lanceolate/Drill Late Archaic (22), (23) not available
2100-2000 B.C. Steuben Stemmed Late Archaic (11) not available
2980-1723 B.C. Brewerton Eared Notched Late Archaic (1), (15), (18), (21) CT, DE, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA, VT, WV
1800-1600 B.C. Bare Island Late Archaic (16) not available
1700-1000 B.C. Possible Susquehanna Broadspear Terminal Archaic (9) not available
1300-500 B.C. Meadowood Early Woodland (7), (15) CT, DE, IL, IN, MA, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, ON, PA, RI, VT, WI
800-300 B.C. Adena Stemmed Early Woodland (2) AL, CN, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, MI, NY, OH, PA, RI, TN, WI, WV
200 B.C.-200 A.D. Snyders Corner Notched Middle Woodland (3) AR, IA, IL, IN, KY, MI, MS, NY, OH, PA, TN, WI, WV
200 B.C. - 500 A.D. Lowe Flared Base Terminal Middle Woodland (6), (8), (10), (12), (13) IL, IN, KY, MO, OH, TN
300-700 A.D. Chesser Notched Terminal Middle-Late Woodland (6) KY, MI, NY, OH, PA, WV
500-1000 A.D. Jack's Reef Pentagonal Middle-Late Woodland (14), (18), (19) CT, DE, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, ON, PA, RI, TN, VA, VT, WV
unknown Not identifiable unknown (17), (20), (26) unknown