Projectile point · Middle Archaic

Halifax

3500–2500 BCE, Archaic (Eastern)

Halifax was named by Coe in 1964 from the Gaston site in Halifax County, North Carolina, where it sat between Guilford and Savannah River at the end of the Middle Archaic. It is a Piedmont and Coastal Plain type of the Carolinas and Virginia, overwhelmingly in vein quartz.

ObjectProjectile point
Dates3500–2500 BCE
PeriodMiddle Archaic
CulturesArchaic (Eastern)
RegionsNorth America — Southeast, North America — Eastern Woodlands

Diagnostic traits

Narrow, thick point with shallow side notches, a straight to slightly concave ground base, a narrow blade of lenticular section and coarse flaking, most often in quartz.

Identification

Halifax is thicker and narrower than the Early Archaic side-notched points and has only shallow notches; Guilford has none. Its ground base separates it from later Woodland side-notched forms.

Reproductions and fakes

Not reproduced.

Cite this article

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

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

Found an error? Write to drew@tyr.ac with the article id artifactType:halifax.

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