Tennessee River

Name: The Tennessee River name was given to this preform to identify its typical location of recovery within the Tennessee River Valley.The name seems to have been applied by local collectors.

Age: There is no known reliable data from a controlled recovery that would suggest a date for these blades with any accuracy.Robert M. Overstreet, whose price guides for a variety of collectable items including comic books, has suggested that these are preforms for a variety of point types including Kirk, Eva and Pine Tree points.Dates for these types vary between Early and Middle Archaic periods between 8000 and 7200 years B.P.

Description: Tennessee River blades seem to be a final stage preform and any indication of use ware and rejuvenation would be absent.The blade is formed by broad percussion flaking with some pressure flaking along the blade edges.The blade edges are convex and the distal end is acute.The basal edge is flat to convex, but is not finished for hafting.

Distribution: As the name implies, these preforms have been recovered without a reliable context along the Tennessee River Valley area.