Projectile point · Early Archaic
Cache River
8000–6500 BCE, Archaic (Eastern), Dalton
Cache River was named by Cloud in 1969 for the Cache River of northeastern Arkansas and is an Early Archaic side-notched form of the central Mississippi Valley that emerges from the Dalton tradition. It spreads through Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Illinois, usually on Crowley's Ridge gravel chert, Burlington chert or Pitkin chert.
| Object | Projectile point |
|---|---|
| Dates | 8000–6500 BCE |
| Period | Early Archaic |
| Cultures | Archaic (Eastern), Dalton |
| Regions | North America — Southeast, North America — Eastern Woodlands |
Diagnostic traits
Thin side-notched point with an expanding base, a straight to slightly concave ground basal edge, shallow notches and a triangular, often serrated blade.
Identification
Cache River is thinner and more lightly notched than Big Sandy, and smaller with a shallower basal concavity than Graham Cave. Kessell is similar but confined to the Kanawha Valley. Later Godar and Raddatz are thicker and unserrated.
Reproductions and fakes
Rarely reproduced; look for grinding in the notches and on the base, and gravel-chert patina.
Cite this article
Stratum Strata. "Cache River" (Artifact type). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/strata/types/cache-river. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-cache-river,
title = {Cache River},
author = {{Stratum Strata}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/types/cache-river}},
year = {2026},
note = {Artifact type article, Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum. 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.