Projectile point · Early Archaic

Uvalde

6500–5000 BCE, Plains Archaic

Uvalde was named for Uvalde County in the Suhm and Jelks handbook of 1962 and is an Early Archaic type of the Edwards Plateau and south-central Texas, part of the same horizon as Martindale and Gower. Edwards chert is nearly universal. It is a common find on Hill Country sites and moderately priced in the trade.

ObjectProjectile point
Dates6500–5000 BCE
PeriodEarly Archaic
CulturesPlains Archaic
RegionsNorth America — Great Plains, North America — Southwest

Diagnostic traits

Broad-bladed point with an expanding stem and a deeply concave to bifurcated base, wide shallow corner notches, and shoulders that are often barbed.

Identification

Uvalde has a deeper, more bifurcated base than Martindale, whose base is a shallow fishtail of two convex lobes, and a wider stem than Gower with its narrow, deeply notched base. Later Pedernales is larger with a straight-sided stem.

Reproductions and fakes

Edwards chert reproductions are widespread in Texas; genuine points show a creamy to tan patina and light grinding in the notches.

Elsewhere

Cite this article

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

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

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

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