Culture · Middle Archaic
Plains Archaic
5500 BCE–500 CE, North America — Great Plains
The Plains Archaic covers the foraging and bison-hunting societies of the Northern and Northwestern Plains from about 5,500 BCE until the arrival of the bow around 500 CE. Its sequence runs later than the Eastern Archaic and is anchored by stratified sites such as Mummy Cave and Head-Smashed-In. Collectors hold dart points of the McKean, Oxbow, Pelican Lake and Besant types, along with end scrapers, bison-bone tools and occasional stone circles reported from ranch land.
| Dates | 5500 BCE–500 CE |
|---|---|
| Period | Middle Archaic |
| Region | North America — Great Plains |
| Areas | Northern Plains, Northwestern Plains |
| Typical objects | Projectile point, Scraper |
| Typical materials | Knife River flint, Chert, Quartzite |
Identification
Plains Archaic points are mostly medium-sized dart points: McKean lanceolates with notched bases, Oxbow points with ears, Pelican Lake corner-notched points with sharp barbs and Besant side-notched points. Knife River flint, porcellanite and local quartzite are common. End scrapers, keeled scrapers and grooved mauls accompany them.
Legality
In the United States, prehistoric artifacts may be collected and sold only when they come from private land with the landowner's permission; removal from federal, tribal or most state land is prohibited under ARPA and state statutes. Funerary objects, human remains and sacred items are covered by NAGPRA and are not legitimately traded, and Canadian provinces treat archaeological finds as Crown or provincial property. Much of the Northern Plains is federal, state or reservation land, and Canadian finds from Alberta and Saskatchewan are provincial property.
Reproductions and fakes
Plains Archaic points are less faked than Paleoindian pieces but Knife River flint reproductions of Pelican Lake and Besant points do circulate. Look for natural patina on the dark brown flint, which in genuine pieces is often a lighter, chalky rind on exposed edges. Be wary of pieces sold with campfire-blackened surfaces, which are easy to simulate.
Cite this article
Stratum Study. "Plains Archaic" (Culture). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/study/cultures/plains-archaic. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-plains-archaic,
title = {Plains Archaic},
author = {{Stratum Study}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/cultures/plains-archaic}},
year = {2026},
note = {Culture article, Stratum Study 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.