Manasota

The name of the previously unreported Manasota point was derived from the Manasota culture that seems to have produced it. Five examples were recovered by Brad Cooley from a coastal shell midden near the DeSoto National Memorial west of Brandon, Florida in Manatee County.

The Manasota is a small to medium sized point measuring from 1.5 to 2 inches in length. It’s lanceolate shape and concave basal edge may be confused with the Beaver Lake point, but close examination will reveal its distinctive characteristics. The narrow blade is developed through random flaking with pressure flaking along the excurvate blade edges. The workmanship is generally good to excellent. The cross-section is bi-convex and the distal and is acute.  The hafting area is waisted and flares out to form auriculate basal ears and eight concave basal edge. Basal and lateral smoothing is not typically evident.

The shell midden site of Cooley’s recovery response to Luer and Almy’s description of a coastal Manasota site complete with plain and sand-tempered ceramics. Luer and Almy (1982) reported the Hernando, Sarasota and perhaps Westo as the primary projectile types recovered in Manasota sites. The coastal site investigated by Cooley contain Duval and Columbia types of a similar period. The shell midden was located “less than a bow shot” from the Weeden Island period Pillsberry mound.

The primary area of distribution lies within the Manasota region. Cultural diffusion or sequential trade may have taken this technology further north as examples have been recovered as far away as Lake Seminole in Jackson County, Florida.