Projectile point · Early Archaic
Martindale
6500–5000 BCE, Plains Archaic
Martindale was defined in the Suhm and Jelks handbook from central Texas and is an Early Archaic type of the Edwards Plateau and Lower Pecos, contemporary with Uvalde and Gower. Edwards chert dominates. Its fishtail base makes it easy to recognise and it is a staple of central Texas collections.
| Object | Projectile point |
|---|---|
| Dates | 6500–5000 BCE |
| Period | Early Archaic |
| Cultures | Plains Archaic |
| Regions | North America — Great Plains, North America — Southwest |
Diagnostic traits
Corner-notched point with barbed shoulders and a distinctive fishtail base formed by two convex basal lobes meeting in a shallow central concavity, with a broad triangular blade.
Identification
The bilobed fishtail base separates Martindale from Uvalde, whose base is a single deep concavity, and from later corner-notched Marshall and Castroville, which have straight bases. Bandy is a smaller relative with the same base.
Reproductions and fakes
Reproduced on Edwards chert; genuine examples show a matte patina, slight edge dulling and no fresh scars in the basal notch.
Cite this article
Stratum Strata. "Martindale" (Artifact type). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/strata/types/martindale. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-martindale,
title = {Martindale},
author = {{Stratum Strata}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/types/martindale}},
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.