Material · lithic
Rhyolite
North America — Eastern Woodlands, North America — Southeast
Rhyolite is a fine-grained volcanic rock used for tools across the Carolina Piedmont, where the Uwharrie Mountains quarries supplied Hardaway, Morrow Mountain and Savannah River points, and in the Northeast and Southwest. It weathers to a chalky rind. Most Piedmont points are in rhyolite.
| Kind | lithic |
|---|---|
| Regions | North America — Eastern Woodlands, North America — Southeast |
Sources
The Carolina Slate Belt of North Carolina, especially Morrow Mountain and the Uwharrie range, has extensive aboriginal quarries; other sources include the Blue Hills of Massachusetts and the Southwest. Quarry debris on the Uwharrie peaks covers hectares.
Identification
Rhyolite is grey, green, tan or black, fine-grained with a dull lustre, often porphyritic with visible feldspar crystals, and weathers to a pale chalky surface that fresh flaking cuts through. It is harder to flake than chert. Banded varieties occur.
Substitutes and fakes
Rhyolite is unattractive to reproducers but Piedmont points are occasionally made. The weathering rind on genuine pieces is difficult to fake.
Elsewhere
- Wikidata: Q190727
- Wikipedia: rhyolite
Cite this article
Stratum Study. "Rhyolite" (Material). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/study/materials/rhyolite. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-rhyolite,
title = {Rhyolite},
author = {{Stratum Study}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/materials/rhyolite}},
year = {2026},
note = {Material article, Stratum Study 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.