Projectile point · Middle Woodland

Bakers Creek

100 BCE–600 CE, Woodland (Eastern)

Bakers Creek is the Middle Woodland expanding-stem point of the Tennessee Valley in Alabama and Tennessee, named for Bakers Creek in Madison County, Alabama, and associated with the Copena mortuary complex. It was made mostly from Fort Payne chert and blue-gray Tennessee cherts and is common on Copena and later Woodland sites. It is the southern counterpart of Lowe, Steuben and Chesser.

ObjectProjectile point
Dates100 BCE–600 CE
PeriodMiddle Woodland
CulturesWoodland (Eastern)
RegionsNorth America — Southeast

Diagnostic traits

Medium-sized, thin point with a triangular blade, weak shoulders and a long, broad expanding stem with a straight to slightly convex base.

Identification

Bakers Creek has a longer and broader expanding stem than Copena Triangular, which has no stem at all, and lacks the barbs of Hopewell corner-notched types. Swan Lake is smaller with a shorter stem; Mud Creek is narrower and older.

Reproductions and fakes

Not often faked; genuine Fort Payne pieces show a soft, chalky patina.

Cite this article

Stratum Study. "Bakers Creek" (Artifact type). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/study/types/bakers-creek. Accessed 2026-09-21.

@misc{stratum-bakers-creek,
  title        = {Bakers Creek},
  author       = {{Stratum Study}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/types/bakers-creek}},
  year         = {2026},
  note         = {Artifact type article, Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
}

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Sources for this article: Stratum editorial (Stratum editorial). As of 2026-09-21; Study pack 2026.09. Data reproduced under the licences shown; text in Stratum's own words unless a section names its source.

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Stratum is the inventory, provenance and certificate system for fossil, mineral and shell collections. Study is its open reference: every fact cites its source, and the credits page lists each one with its licence.