Evans

The Evans is a medium-sized point that usually displays an expanded stem and a notch flaked into each blade edge above the shoulders. Examples range from 60 mm to 33 mm in length. The cross-section is bi-convex. Shoulders may be horizontal, inversely tapered, or tapered. The blade is usually excurvate but may be straight; blade edges are deeply notched from the shoulders to about 1/3 to nearly 1/2 the length of the blade. The distal end may be acute or broad. The hafting area may include the notched portion of the blade as well as the stem. The stem is usually expanded but may be straight or, rarely, contracted. The side edges of the stem may be straight or incurvate and the basal edge, straight or incurvate. The excurvate stem base edge is ground on Alabama examples.

Broad, irregular, random flaking appears on the blade and stem. Some retouch accomplished by the removal of small, fairly deep flakes is found along the blade edges. Deep side notches are the result of removal of a broad, deep flake from the edges of the opposite faces of the blade. Occasionally limited retouch was employed to broaden the notches after the main notching flake had been struck.

The Evans point was named after examples found at the Poverty Point site in Louisiana. Bell (1958) gives the distribution as the northern half of Louisiana, the adjacent portions of eastern Texas, southern Arkansas and Western Mississippi. On the basis of radiocarbon dates from poverty point and the Jaketown site, Ford and Web (1956) suggests an age of around 2600 to 2800 years ago. Points of similar workmanship, but with three or more notches along each blade edge are found in North Alabama and are classified as eccentric points. These points may or may not be related to the Evans type.

Information for this article was derived from James W. Cambron and David C. Hulse, Handbook of Alabama Archaeology, Alabama Archaeological Society