Culture · Paleoindian
Plano
10000–7000 BCE, North America — Great Plains
Plano is an umbrella label for the unfluted lanceolate and stemmed point complexes that followed Folsom on the Plains and in the Rockies between about 10,000 and 7,000 BCE. It includes Agate Basin, Hell Gap, Alberta, Cody (Scottsbluff and Eden), Angostura and others, all tied to communal bison hunting. Collectors hold long parallel-flaked lanceolates, Cody knives and stemmed points, mostly from the Northern and Central Plains.
| Dates | 10000–7000 BCE |
|---|---|
| Period | Paleoindian |
| Region | North America — Great Plains |
| Areas | Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, Upper Midwest |
| Typical objects | Projectile point, Biface, Scraper |
| Typical materials | Knife River flint, Alibates agatized dolomite, Hixton silicified sandstone, Quartzite |
Identification
Plano points are unfluted, long and narrow, with parallel-oblique or collateral flaking that leaves a ridge or diamond section down the blade. Bases are straight or slightly concave and ground, and Cody complex pieces have a distinct stem with weak shoulders. Knife River flint, Hartville chert and Alibates are the usual materials, and the workmanship is often finer than anything later.
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. Plains states such as Wyoming and Montana have large federal holdings, and material from BLM or Forest Service land cannot be legally sold.
Reproductions and fakes
The precise parallel flaking of Eden and Scottsbluff points is difficult but not impossible to replicate, and skilled modern knappers do sell such pieces as art that later lose their labels. Look for flake scars that are too regular, edges without grinding and an absence of the slight asymmetry that resharpening produces on genuine points. Reworked genuine points shortened by ancient use are common and legitimate, but a complete long example with no wear should be questioned.
Cite this article
Stratum Study. "Plano" (Culture). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/study/cultures/plano. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-plano,
title = {Plano},
author = {{Stratum Study}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/cultures/plano}},
year = {2026},
note = {Culture article, Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum, commons. 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.