WHAT IS THE FOLSOM POINT?

A distinctive Paleoindian fluted projectile point with a single flute on each face and fine pressure flaking. Found in association in sites around Folsom, New Mexico from c. 9000–8000 bc (alternately 11,000–10,200 bp), they differ from Clovis points in the length of the flute, which extends over most of the point’s side. Folsom points are smaller, with their widest dimension near the middle rather than towards the base; they are more concave base than Clovis points, and the edges of Folsom points were retouched.

WHAT IS THE FLUTE POINT?

a projectile point with a distinctive longitudinal groove left after the removal of a channel flake; a long, medial channel notched to the base of a flake. The channeled flake is removed from one or both faces by striking the specially prepared base sharply with a piece of wood or bone. The sharp ridges of the flutes were ground smooth near the base of the point, to prevent them from cutting the bindings when the point was inserted into a notched foreshaft. These points have extreme symmetry, careful flaking, and the removal of a long, parallel and shallow flake from one or both sides. Fluted points are characteristic of the Paleoindian peoples of North America such as the Clovis and Folsom projectile points.

WHAT IS THE FLINT KNAPPING?

technique of striking flakes or blades from a large flint stone (core or nucleus) and the shaping of cores and flakes into tools. The most commonly used stone was flint (chert), a hard, brittle stone, commonly found as nodules in limestone areas, that breaks with a conchoidal fracture. Flint knapping began with the simple striking of one stone against another. Later methods include the use of antler and wooden strikers for both direct and indirect percussion, and bone and antler pressure-flaking tools.

WHAT IS THE FLINT CREEK FLAKING?

A characteristic flaking style of the Flint Creek

culture which was accomplished by removing regular, deep, elongate, opposing pressure flakes from the blade edges. The application of this flaking style usually resulted in the formation of very fine biface serrations.