Projectile point · Early Woodland
Adena
800 BCE–100 CE, Adena
The Adena point is the Early Woodland stemmed point and knife of the Ohio Valley, about 800 BCE to 100 CE, associated with Adena burial mounds. It is often in Flint Ridge flint and reaches large sizes in cache and burial contexts. It is among the most collected Ohio types.
| Object | Projectile point |
|---|---|
| Dates | 800 BCE–100 CE |
| Period | Early Woodland |
| Cultures | Adena |
| Regions | North America — Eastern Woodlands |
Diagnostic traits
Ovate blade with rounded shoulders and a long, straight or slightly contracting, rounded stem; often Flint Ridge.
Identification
Adena has an ovate blade, rounded shoulders and a long, straight or slightly contracting stem with a rounded base, unlike Gary, which is thicker with a shorter stem, and Robbins, which is broader with a squared stem. Cresap is a narrower variety. Basal grinding is sometimes present.
Reproductions and fakes
Adena points are faked in Flint Ridge flint, particularly large cache-style examples; look for fresh heat-treated gloss, no patina and uniform flaking. Genuine cache blades often show slight surface bleaching.
Elsewhere
- Wikidata: Q138711882
Cite this article
Stratum Study. "Adena" (Artifact type). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/study/types/adena. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-adena,
title = {Adena},
author = {{Stratum Study}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/types/adena}},
year = {2026},
note = {Artifact type article, Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum, wikidata, 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.