Projectile point · Late Archaic

Nebo Hill

3000–1000 BCE, Archaic (Eastern)

Nebo Hill is a Late Archaic lanceolate from the lower Missouri Valley around Kansas City, named for the Nebo Hill site in Clay County, Missouri, and dated to about 3000–1000 BCE. Points were made from local Winterset and Burlington cherts and are thick and narrow for their length, with heavy percussion flaking and little pressure finishing. The Nebo Hill phase also produced ground-stone tools and fiber-tempered pottery late in its span.

ObjectProjectile point
Dates3000–1000 BCE
PeriodLate Archaic
CulturesArchaic (Eastern)
RegionsNorth America — Eastern Woodlands, North America — Great Plains

Diagnostic traits

Long, narrow lanceolate point with a thick lenticular to diamond-shaped cross-section, slightly convex edges and a rounded, straight or slightly contracting base.

Identification

The thick diamond cross-section separates Nebo Hill from the thin, broad Wadlow and from Sedalia, which is wider and squarer at the base. Late Paleoindian lanceolates such as Agate Basin are more finely flaked with parallel scars and are usually ground at the base, whereas Nebo Hill is unground and crude.

Reproductions and fakes

Rarely faked owing to its plain form; genuine examples are often heavily patinated and show ploughsoil polish on the high ridges.

Elsewhere

Cite this article

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

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

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Sources for this article: Stratum editorial (Stratum editorial);Wikidata (CC0). 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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