Plevna

Name: The Plevna point was named by James Cambron and David Hulse for examples found on the Plevna site in Madison County, Alabama.Cambron and Hulse believed that the Plevna was ancestral to the Woodland period St. Charles points of Ohio that were defined by Robert E. Bell in 1960.

Description: The Plevna is a medium to large corner-notched point with an excurvate basal edge and a beveled blade edge.Nine selected examples from northern Alabama and southern Tennessee measured between 46 and 95mm in length with an average length of 65mm and an average width of 30mm.The cross-section is rhomboid.The blade is shaped with broad, random percussion flaking with short, shallow to deep pressure flaking along the blades left side forming a bevel from its shoulder to the distal end.The blade edges are straight to slightly convex and may be serrated.The distal end is acute.The shoulders are straight to inversely tapered and can be slightly expanded.The hafting area is corner-notched with deep, narrow notches that average 6mm in depth.The expanded stem usually has straight side edges and the basal edge is always excurvate, thinned and ground.

Age: Cambron and Hulse suggest that these blades are ancestral to the unbeveled St. Charles points of Ohio that may be Late Archaic to Early Woodland. The Plevna is suggested to date between 5000 and 7000 B.P.The description of Plevna points as a “early Archaic” type is somewhat misleading.

Distribution: Plevna points appear to be fairly localized to the Tennessee River valley and northern Alabama and southern Tennessee and tend to be fairly rare.