Name Details:
Named By: Joffre L. Coe
Named For:
County in North Carolina
Date Identified: 1964
Type Site:
Doerschuk and Hardaway Sites, Stanly County, North Carolina
Stanly
AKA: Stanley
Cluster: Stanly Stemmed Cluster
Commonly Utilized Material:
quartz, quartzite, rhyolite, chert
Date:
Cultural Period:
7,800 - 6,000 B.P.
Early to
Middle Archaic
Middle Holocene
Glacial Period:
Culture:
Outline is Representative of Size and Shape:
Description of Physical Characteristics and Flaking Pattern:
This is a
triangular medium (1.5 to 2.5 inches) stemmed point with an elliptical, rarely flattened, cross section. The blade
is primarily incurvate to recurvate, but may vary to excurvate. Recurvate
and incurvate blades are more common on heavily re-sharpened
examples. Many examples have a serrated blade especially towards the base. The shoulders edge may be straight to being flared out. The shoulder ranges from horizontal to barbed. The stem
may vary from straight to slightly expanding. The base is concaved to bifurcated. This point has a random flaking
pattern.
Size Measurements: Total Length - 30 to 80 mm (average 55 mm), Stem Length - 7 to 14
mm (average 8 to 10 mm), Blade Width - 19 to 45 mm
(average 31 to 35 mm), Stem Width at Shoulder - 10 to
25 mm (average 17 to 20 mm), Basal Width - 12 to 20 mm
(average 14 to 16 mm), Thickness - 4 to 13 mm
Distribution:
Distribution Comments:
This point is found throughout the Piedmont and into the Tennessee River basin and Ohio River basin. This point may be found along the east coastal region from South Carolina into New England.
This point has been found as far north as Rice Lake Ontario.
Additional Comments:
Coe (1964) suggest that this point may have evolved from the Kanawha point. He also notes an evolutionary relationship between this point and the Kirk Stemmed point and the Savannah River point.
These points were found above levels containing Kirk points and below levels containing Savannah River points at the type sites (Cambron and Hulse, 1975)
These points were referred to as Stanley points by Cambron and Hulse.
** Many examples of Stanly points found in North Carolina fall outside the
size measurements provided by Coe. The length can extend up to 120 mm
(30 to 54 mm reported by Coe) with a width to 40 mm (19 to 26) and a stem
width of 23 mm (8 to 14).
Point Validity: Valid Type
Coe was a highly respected and
pioneering anthropologist in North Carolina archaeology and a preeminent authority on eastern North American anthropology. This type was named in a professional
publication and has many professional references. This is considered a valid type.
.
Age Details:
Sites in Tennessee had radiocarbon dates of
7,790 +/- 215 B.P. and 7,815 +/- 175 BP (Chapman 1977). McAvoy and
McAvoy (1997) reported dates of 7,420 +/- 160 BP in Virginia.
References: (See Reference Page, Entry Number):
12,
23, 30, 37, 162, 179, 184, W10
Stanly Projectile Point, Stanly Arrowhead
