Florida Copena

Name: John Whatley identified these as Florida Copena points using the name applied by Ripley Bullen for similar points found in Florida.The “Florida” name has been applied here to examples recovered below Georgia’s Fall Line and to those with similar characteristics (figures 1,2,&3).Examples of small points with the same cultural affiliation from areas above the Fall Line seem to have more to do with Copena and less to do with Florida (figures 4-9).  These display the recurved blade of the classic and much larger Copena point yet maintain the size range of the Florida Copena.  It might be more appropriate to refer to these simply as small Copena points as the larger more classic Copena point form is rare in Georgia.

Age: Whatley reported that these points are recovered in Deptford and early Swift Creek sites in central and southern Georgia, dating them between 2500 and 1800 BP.  Examples from Dade County share this same cultural affiliation but seem to have a stronger Copena influence. 

Description: The Florida Copena is a small blade form measuring between .75 and 1.5 inches in length.The blades are narrow and blade edges, especially among examples from northwestern Georgia, maintain the typical recurved shape of the larger Copena blades of Alabama.Examples from the Fall Line southward are cruder with less of a recurved shape along the blade edge. The basal edge is flat to slightly excurvate or incurvate.The distal end is acute and the cross-section is lenticular.

Distribution: The Florida Copena points range from from southern Georgia and Florida to Georgia’s Fall Line. Those found north of this line  and bear more resemblance to the classic Copena form seem to cluster heavily in extreme northern counties like Murry and Dade.