Courtesy Photo | A Honey Creek Corner-Notched point and a Madison Triangular point that were found at...... read more read more
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The appearance of bow and arrow technology in the archaeological record of Wisconsin occurred approximately 1,500 years ago during a time archaeologists refer to or identify as the Late Woodland cultural period (AD 500 to 1100).
The first “true arrowhead” identified in the Wisconsin archaeological record is commonly referred to as the Honey Creek Corner-Notched projectile point (formally known as Small Diagonal-Notched point by Warren L. Wittry in 1959). The introduction of the bow and arrow alongside the appearance of “true arrowheads” in Wisconsin archaeology signifies the transition from spear points to arrow points, as well as a shift in subsistence (food) acquiring practices.
The adoption of the bow and arrow, as well as other factors, led to a population increase by allowing ease of hunting which led to surpluses of food. Other technological innovations which occurred during the Woodland cultural period (500 BC to AD 1100 or 2,500 to 900 years ago) included domestication of plants such as corn, beans, and squash; horticultural (gardening) practices; and the development of pottery which not only was used for cooking food but also allowed people to store food so it could/would last longer. These innovations mark the beginning of the transition from a mobile hunting and gathering society to a more sedentary farming community.
Honey Creek Corner-Notched points date to between AD 500 and 700/800 which falls within the Late Woodland (AD 500 to 1100) pre-contact Indigenous cultural period. Honey Creek points are described as small “diagonally notched” points (see related photograph with eight representative Honey Creek Corner-Notched points unearthed at Fort McCoy). They are generally 0.5 – 1.5 inches (1 – 3 cm) long and 0.5 – 1 inch (1.25 – 2 cm) wide.
The blade edges and the base of the arrow point tend to be straight but may be slightly convex (curves outward). The corner or diagonal notches extending from the base of the point tend to be small. Most Honey Creek Corner-Notched points were produced from a biface (a stone tool that has been flaked on both sides or faces), while some were expediently made from a flake (a piece of stone struck off a lithic (rock) while flintknapping, also referred to as lithic reduction) which was retouched into a point with corner notches.
The Honey Creek Corner-Notched point name arose from the creek which runs near the Durst Rock Shelter located in Wisconsin. It replaced the Small Diagonal-Notched category used by Warren L. Wittry in 1959.
Per Robert “Ernie” F. Boszhardt’s 2003 book, A Projectile Point Guide for the Upper Mississippi River Valley, other possible names include Klunk, Koster, Scallorn, and perhaps Reed. He also states that they are easily confused with and similar in shape but not size or weight to Preston Corner-Notched and McCoy Corner-Notched/Monona Stemmed/Steuben Expanded Stemmed types. Of note, the Monona Stemmed and the Steuben Expanded Stemmed points are 25 percent larger than, have broader corner notches, and more of a flared base than the Honey Creek Corner-Notched points.
Honey Creek Corner-Notched points are also generally smaller than and lighter than (typically weigh less than 2 grams) the previously mentioned point types.
Honey Creek Corner-Notched points were later replaced by unnotched arrow tips, e.g., Madison Triangular or “bird” points, although both point types have been unearthed from the same depths below ground surface as each other (see photograph for a comparison between a Honey Creek Corner-Notched point and a Madison Triangular point).
Evidence from both the ethnographic and archaeological record indicate that notched arrow tips (e.g., Honey Creek Corner-Notched) were ideal for hunting, while unnotched arrow tips (e.g., Madison Triangular) were designed for warfare, but also still used for hunting purposes.
Madison Triangular points were easier and faster to make than Honey Creek Corner-Notched points so the transition to the unnotched Madison Triangular points made more sense from a manufacturing standpoint. As of 2018, the Fort McCoy artifact collection contains 407 projectile points spanning all cultural periods, i.e., Paleoindian through Upper Mississippian/Oneota. Of the 407 projectile points unearthed on Fort McCoy lands, 25 of those have been identified as comparing favorably to the Honey Creek Corner-Notched points, while 92 are classified as Madison Triangular points.
All archaeological work conducted at Fort McCoy was sponsored by the Directorate of Public Works, Environmental Division, Natural Resources Branch. Visitors and employees are reminded they should not collect artifacts on Fort McCoy or other government lands and leave the digging to the professionals. Any individual who excavates, removes, damages, or otherwise alters or defaces any post-contact or pre-contact site, artifact, or object of antiquity on Fort McCoy is in violation of federal law.
The discovery of any archaeological artifact should be reported to the Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch.
(Article prepared by the Fort McCoy Archaeology Team that includes the Colorado State University’s Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands and the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch.)
| Date Taken: | 09.26.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2024 12:48 |
| Story ID: | 481858 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Hometown: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 14 |
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