Projectile point · Late Archaic
Pedernales
2500–1000 BCE
The Pedernales point is the most common Late Archaic point of Central Texas, about 2,500 to 1,000 BCE, named after the Pedernales River. It varies widely in size and quality and armed atlatl darts. It is the type most Texas collectors encounter first.
| Object | Projectile point |
|---|---|
| Dates | 2500–1000 BCE |
| Period | Late Archaic |
| Regions | North America — Great Plains |
Diagnostic traits
Long stemmed point with a deeply concave, bifurcate base and squared to barbed shoulders; Central Texas.
Identification
Pedernales has a long stem with a deeply concave, bifurcate base and squared to barbed shoulders, unlike Bulverde, which has a straight base, and Marshall, which has a short expanding stem. Blade edges are straight or recurved. Langtry has a narrower contracting stem.
Reproductions and fakes
Rarely faked because of abundance; watch instead for reworked or restored barbs. Edwards chert patinates to a white or tan rind that confirms age.
Cite this article
Stratum Strata. "Pedernales" (Artifact type). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/strata/types/pedernales. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-pedernales,
title = {Pedernales},
author = {{Stratum Strata}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/types/pedernales}},
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.