Hamilton Stemmed

The Hamilton Stemmed is a medium-sized, expanded stem point with an excurvate blade. Lewis and neighbor (1946) illustrated two examples of Hamilton Stemmed points that measured 72 mm and 76 mm in length. The cross-section is bi-convex. Shoulders are inversely tapered, forming short, sharp barbs. The blade is excurvate. The rather sharply-acute distal end gives the blade edge a near recurvate appearance. The stem is expanded with straight side edges; the stem base is either straight or slightly excavate.

The blade and a hafting area are shaped by broad, shallow-to-deep random flaking. One or all blade edges may be secondarily flaked by the removal of fine, shallow flakes or rather crude deep flakes. The corner notches are formed by strong, broad flaking (usually by removal of one flake from each side of the notch). Stem edges may be retouched, with fine flaking having been employed to thin the base of the stem.

The Hamilton Stemmed type is named after Hamilton County, Tennessee where the Hamilton culture was first recognized. Examples have also been recovered from Limestone County, Alabama. It is a Late Woodland type associated with the Hamilton culture. Kneberg states “this is the culture characterized by dome-shaped burial mounds in eastern Tennessee. It is also found in middle Tennessee with the Decatur and Harmon’s Creek Woodland cultures.” Local examples have been classified as Hamilton corner notched. An example was illustrated by Rowe (1947) as a rare Hamilton culture type from eastern Tennessee.

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