Projectile point · Protohistoric
Sobaipuri
1400–1800 CE
Sobaipuri is the Protohistoric to Historic arrow point of the O'odham-speaking Sobaipuri people of the San Pedro and Santa Cruz valleys of southern Arizona, dated to about 1400–1800 CE and found on mission-period sites. It was made from local cherts, chalcedony and obsidian, often with serrations and a very thin body. It is closely associated with early Spanish contact sites and has sometimes been recovered with glass beads.
| Object | Projectile point |
|---|---|
| Dates | 1400–1800 CE |
| Period | Protohistoric |
| Regions | North America — Southwest |
Diagnostic traits
Small, thin, narrow, unnotched triangular arrow point with straight to slightly convex serrated edges and a deeply concave base with sharp basal corners.
Identification
Sobaipuri is thinner, narrower and more finely serrated than Cottonwood Triangular and has a deeper concave base; Hohokam serrated points are older, longer and often stemmed. Bull Creek lacks serrations.
Reproductions and fakes
Seldom faked, but modern serrated triangles are sometimes offered as Sobaipuri; genuine ones show patina between the serrations.
Elsewhere
- Wikidata: Q138717726
Cite this article
Stratum Study. "Sobaipuri" (Artifact type). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/study/types/sobaipuri. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-sobaipuri,
title = {Sobaipuri},
author = {{Stratum Study}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/types/sobaipuri}},
year = {2026},
note = {Artifact type article, Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum, wikidata. 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.