A 2.1 inch long Pryor Stemmed point that was surface found on a private ranch in southern Wyoming. The maker of this point used what appears to be Spanish Diggings quartzite as the material. Spanish Diggings quartzite came from prehistoric quarries in eastern Wyoming. This point appears to be in its original state, i.e. it has never been resharpened or beveled. I will let you read on as to why I believe this. William Husted (1969) named the Pryor Stemmed point type for specimens found in Bottleneck Cave near the Pryor Mountains in Big Horn County, Wyoming. This site is now under the waters of Yellowtail and Big Horn Reservoirs. The Pryor Stemmed point tied to a distinctive archaeological horizon marker in the Pryor and Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming and Montana. Radiocarbon dates indicated that Pryor Stemmed points were 8,350 to 7,850 years old. Originally, archaeologists assumed that the distribution for Pryor Stemmed points was limited to the mountains and foothills of the Pryor Mountains and Big Horn Mountains, but surface finds in other High Plains locales including plains and prairie environments, widened the distribution. A first stage Pryor Stemmed point began life with a lenticular transverse cross section and was usually characterized by parallel oblique pressure flaking. However, as Pryor Stemmed points went through their lives, their users continually reworked the alternate edges, producing steep beveling. In some cases, the beveling produced a serrated edge. Ultimately, through the life of the point, the original lenticular cross section became a trapezoidal cross section. In some examples, the users resharpened the points so many times that the blade edge became narrower than the stem. Projections on the shoulders of these points indicate that the users resharpening the points intact, i.e. while hafted. Reworking was common on broken specimens of Pryor Stemmed points and in many cases deliberate burination was applied using transverse breaks as the striking platforms. Much of this information came from the work of Kornfeld, Frison, Larson, and Perino. John Branney Collection.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 00:50:41 +0000