Projectile point · Middle Archaic

Morrow Mountain

5500–4000 BCE, Archaic (Eastern)

The Morrow Mountain point is a Middle Archaic contracting-stem point of the Southeast and Piedmont, about 5,500 to 4,000 BCE, named after a site in North Carolina. It is extremely common and is typically crudely made in quartz, quartzite or rhyolite. Two varieties, a short and a long-stemmed, are recognised.

ObjectProjectile point
Dates5500–4000 BCE
PeriodMiddle Archaic
CulturesArchaic (Eastern)
RegionsNorth America — Southeast, North America — Eastern Woodlands

Diagnostic traits

Triangular blade with a short, tapering, contracting stem and weak sloping shoulders.

Identification

Morrow Mountain has a triangular blade, weak sloping shoulders and a short tapering stem with a pointed or rounded base, distinguishing it from Gary, later and thicker with a rounded base, and from Adena, which has a long stem. It is smaller and rougher than most Archaic forms.

Reproductions and fakes

Morrow Mountain points are not worth faking but are often misidentified, and many crude stemmed points from the Southeast are lumped under the name. Genuine pieces show the coarse materials of the Piedmont.

Elsewhere

Cite this article

Stratum Strata. "Morrow Mountain" (Artifact type). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/strata/types/morrow-mountain. Accessed 2026-09-21.

@misc{stratum-morrow-mountain,
  title        = {Morrow Mountain},
  author       = {{Stratum Strata}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/types/morrow-mountain}},
  year         = {2026},
  note         = {Artifact type article, Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum, wikidata. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
}

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Sources for this article: Stratum editorial (Stratum editorial);Wikidata (CC0). As of 2026-09-21; Strata pack 2026.09. Data reproduced under the licences shown; text in Stratum's own words unless a section names its source.

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