Projectile point · Early Archaic
Big Sandy
8000–6000 BCE, Archaic (Eastern)
The Big Sandy point is a side-notched Early Archaic form of the Southeast and Midwest, about 8,000 to 6,000 BCE, named after a site in Tennessee. Early Side-Notched points of this kind are among the first notched forms after the lanceolate tradition. Some researchers separate a later Middle Archaic variety.
| Object | Projectile point |
|---|---|
| Dates | 8000–6000 BCE |
| Period | Early Archaic |
| Cultures | Archaic (Eastern) |
| Regions | North America — Southeast, North America — Eastern Woodlands |
Diagnostic traits
Side-notched with a straight or slightly concave ground base; notches shallow and set low.
Identification
Big Sandy has shallow side notches set low, a straight or slightly concave ground base and a triangular blade, unlike Hardaway with its recurved base and Kirk with its corner notches. Graham Cave and Cache River are related side-notched forms. The base is often thinned.
Reproductions and fakes
Fakes are uncommon but genuine points are frequently misattributed among the many side-notched types. Look for grinding in the notches, which is expected on genuine early examples.
Elsewhere
- Wikidata: Q22430930
Cite this article
Stratum Strata. "Big Sandy" (Artifact type). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/strata/types/big-sandy. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-big-sandy,
title = {Big Sandy},
author = {{Stratum Strata}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/types/big-sandy}},
year = {2026},
note = {Artifact type article, Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum, wikidata. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.