Projectile point · Middle Archaic
Bitterroot
5500–2500 BCE, Desert Archaic, Plains Archaic
Bitterroot was defined by Swanson in 1962 from sites in the Bitterroot Valley of western Montana and the Salmon River country of Idaho, and it names the Middle Archaic side-notched horizon of the northern Rockies. It is closely related to Northern Side-notched and Mummy Cave. Local cherts, obsidian and quartzite are used.
| Object | Projectile point |
|---|---|
| Dates | 5500–2500 BCE |
| Period | Middle Archaic |
| Cultures | Desert Archaic, Plains Archaic |
| Regions | North America — Great Basin & Plateau, North America — Great Plains |
Diagnostic traits
Side-notched dart point with wide notches placed low, a straight to concave base that may form short ears, ground basal and lower lateral edges and a triangular blade.
Identification
Bitterroot's low notches separate it from Northern Side-notched, whose notches sit higher on the blade; Mummy Cave is the same idea on the Wyoming side and is separated mainly by region. Hawken has wider, shallower notches.
Reproductions and fakes
Not reproduced.
Cite this article
Stratum Study. "Bitterroot" (Artifact type). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/study/types/bitterroot. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-bitterroot,
title = {Bitterroot},
author = {{Stratum Study}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/types/bitterroot}},
year = {2026},
note = {Artifact type 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.