Typology of Projectile Points/Knives from Upper East Tennessee

• Main Author: McLachlan, Zoen
• Format: Others
• Published: Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University 2021
• Subjects: lithics; projectile points/knives; PPK; typology; archaeology; East Tennessee Archaeology; Anthropology; Appalachian Studies; Archaeological Anthropology
• Online Access: https://dc.etsu.edu/honors/643; https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1821&context=honors

Projectile points/ knives (PPKs) are categorized by morphology, also called typology, and associated with cultural periods. A total of 64 PPKs in collections in the Archaeology Lab at East Tennessee State University were curated as untyped and without provenience. They were allegedly collected from ground surveys in Upper East Tennessee, but without archaeological context research had not been prioritized. The importance of such research lies in the fact that few publications exist on the region of Upper East Tennessee and many reference books on lithic typology portray PPKs through illustrations of the ideal morphology of each type. The challenge herein is that the lithic technologies excavated by archaeologists are typically used, worn, broken, or abandoned. A comparative collection of projectile points found in the field from the region of Upper East Tennessee is a valuable research resource. The 64 PPKs yielded 25 typologies that are, indeed, published from Upper East Tennessee and show variability from resharpening, wear, and other means. The comparative collection is curated at the East Tennessee State University Archaeology Lab at Valley Brook.