My ten year old and I were deer hunting and he found this point in the breaks along the Yellowstone, about 40 miles west of the North Dakota border and three hours south of Canada to give you an idea of locality. It’s made of dark brown Missouri River flint but the outside has that white layer you see. I don’t know much about arrowheads, and since I know a few of the members here are avid arrowhead hunters I thought I’d see if anyone could tell me more about this point, like age and tribe maybe. Thanks in advance!

I can’t offer anything, but that’s an awesome find. Good for you. I’m interested to see what the experts say

I am no expert but that looks more like an atlatl or maybe spear point than an arrowhead.

Moosetrot

Truth in this Bob. I have worked all over MT from the Crow Rez east and from WY up to Canada and I have seen literally tons of arrowheads that ranchers, hands, and others have collected and they were not that big. The ones that big and some bigger were explained to me as spear points. Some were longer and elongated and I was told those were the Clovis spear points.
While I have seen tons of arrowheads I saw way fewer spear heads. I believe because the way spears are used more of them were broken rather than lost like arrows.
Terrific find!

Osky

Nice find. Spear points are often considerably older than arrow heads. Spears were used in the US for at least 12,000 years before the bow and arrow was developed here. Spears were used in America to exterminate the megafauna mammals like mammoths, giant sloths and giant cave bears.

Here's some spear heads of mine.




Keith

Here are some that I found here in southeast Texas.

The white colouration is from Patenation, from exposed to the sun +1000years'
The type of fluting on the side was used in the " Late Archaic period" 2500-1500 before present
knife river flint
looks like the tip was broken off after being lost but 1000 years bp
Nice find

Very Cool find

Nice find.

Not an arrowhead but that's what most would call it. Possibly a spear point but more likely a knife. And there is no fluting on that artifact.

P

Thanks for the replies! My son will be very interested to hear all this info about his find!

Very cool find!

Yes I used the wrong word for the side notching the artifact has.
Fluting was used in the earlier projectile points like Clovis and McKean where there is a diffinated flake taken of down the centre of the projectile in their making.
Those points are more common in eastern USA and Ontario zone.
Make sure you write up something of where (Section /range/township or GPS) and keep it with the artifact, memories after 50 years fade away.

Sure bet he will be going out on the next hunt with eyes glued to the ground. Now that he has developed a search image of what they look like.

I would bet it was probably a knife....

[quote=KeithC] Spears were used in America to exterminate the megafauna mammals like mammoths, giant sloths and giant cave bears.

I'll just say....not likely! LOL I know that's repeated all the time but it's pure speculation.

Yes. Google late archaic projectile points Montana and hit images.

Climate Change exterminated the megafauna. (Not the man-made kind of Climate Change...)

52Carl yes.

The megafauna lasted longer in areas of Asia and Europe where it developed with human predation than it lasted in the Americas, even thought the climate was virtually identical. The answer is very likely both climate and human predation played a part in the megafauna's extinction.

Keith

I just know that Ive looked for hours and hours with a friend that is a hunter. Never found one and wont waste any more time doing it! LOL