Projectile point · Late Archaic
Savannah River
3000–1000 BCE, Archaic (Eastern)
The Savannah River point is the large Late Archaic broadspear of the Southeast and Atlantic coast, about 3,000 to 1,000 BCE, named after the Stallings Island sequence. It is associated with the first steatite bowls and fibre-tempered pottery. Most are in quartzite, rhyolite or quartz.
| Object | Projectile point |
|---|---|
| Dates | 3000–1000 BCE |
| Period | Late Archaic |
| Cultures | Archaic (Eastern) |
| Regions | North America — Southeast, North America — Eastern Woodlands |
Diagnostic traits
Very large, broad triangular blade with square shoulders and a wide, straight to slightly concave stem; often quartzite.
Identification
Savannah River has a very large, broad triangular blade, square shoulders and a wide, straight or slightly concave stem, unlike Ledbetter, which is asymmetric with a contracting stem, and Perkiomen and Susquehanna broadspears, which have expanding stems. Size and coarse material are the give-aways.
Reproductions and fakes
Large quartzite broadspears are reproduced but rarely aged convincingly, since quartzite does not patinate as chert does. Look for worn edges and the sugary weathered surface of genuine pieces.
Elsewhere
- Wikidata: Q112049963
- Wikipedia: Savannah River point
Cite this article
Stratum Strata. "Savannah River" (Artifact type). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/strata/types/savannah-river. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-savannah-river,
title = {Savannah River},
author = {{Stratum Strata}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/types/savannah-river}},
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.