Suwannee

Name: John Goggin applied the name Suwannee to this point type, referring to the Suwannee River in North-Central Florida.[1]

Age: Suwannee points are generally considered to be part of the late Paleoindian period. Some examples have been recovered with beveled edges. They are typically considered to range in age from 10,800 to 10,000 radiocarbon years BP. Their recovery with other Paleoindian point types along the I75 corridor near Tampa, Florida supports their antiquity.

Description: The blade of the Suwannee is usually heavier than that of the Simpson point. The basal edge is incurvate with rounded basal ears. The blade is laterally thinned just above the heavily smoothed basal edge. The blade is normally equal to the halfting area in width and has a broad distal end. Overshot flaking is typical. Twenty-three examples were identified from twenty counties across Georgia.

Distribution: The primary distribution of Suwannee points falls below Georgia’s fall line.

[1] Goggin, John M., Space and Time Perspectives in Northern St. Johns Archaeology, Florida, Academic Press, Inc., Page 64, 1952