Projectile point · Middle Archaic

Stanly

6000–5000 BCE, Archaic (Eastern)

Stanly was named by Coe in 1964 from the Doerschuk site in Stanly County, North Carolina, where it lay below Morrow Mountain and above Kirk. It opens the Middle Archaic in the Carolina Piedmont and is found through the Southeast and into the Ohio Valley. Rhyolite and quartz are typical in the Piedmont, chert elsewhere.

ObjectProjectile point
Dates6000–5000 BCE
PeriodMiddle Archaic
CulturesArchaic (Eastern)
RegionsNorth America — Southeast, North America — Eastern Woodlands

Diagnostic traits

Broad triangular blade on a small, squared stem whose base carries a shallow notch, with square to slightly barbed shoulders and a thick lenticular cross-section.

Identification

Stanly's short squared stem with a notched base separates it from Kirk Stemmed, whose stem is long and blade serrated, and from Morrow Mountain, whose stem contracts to a point. Savannah River is much larger with a straight-based stem.

Reproductions and fakes

Little reproduced; rhyolite examples should show weathering rinds and stem grinding.

Elsewhere

Cite this article

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

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