Projectile point · Late Prehistoric

Eastgate

700–1300 CE, Desert Archaic

Eastgate is a Great Basin arrow point named for the Eastgate site in Churchill County, Nevada, and grouped with Rose Spring in the Rosegate series, dated to about 700–1300 CE. It is made mainly of obsidian and chert and is found across Nevada, eastern California, Utah and Oregon. The split-stem variety has a notched base.

ObjectProjectile point
Dates700–1300 CE
PeriodLate Prehistoric
CulturesDesert Archaic
RegionsNorth America — Great Basin & Plateau

Diagnostic traits

Small, thin arrow point with a triangular blade, long straight barbs that extend to the base line, basal notches and a narrow expanding stem with a straight base.

Identification

Eastgate has longer, squarer barbs and basal rather than corner notches compared with Rose Spring, which has a more rounded barb and corner notching; the two are often lumped as Rosegate. Desert Side-notched and Cottonwood Triangular are the later types that replace it.

Reproductions and fakes

Small obsidian arrow points are the most reproduced Great Basin artifact; genuine ones show hydration dulling and are never uniformly needle-sharp on both barbs.

Cite this article

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

@misc{stratum-eastgate,
  title        = {Eastgate},
  author       = {{Stratum Study}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/types/eastgate}},
  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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