Jack’s Reef Pentagonal

NAME: Jack’s Reef Pentagonal points were named for examples from the Jack’s Reef site in Onondaga County, New York. Throughout the Tennessee River Valley, where they have been recovered on Late Woodland sites, they were referred to (more appropriately given the distance) as the Corner Notched Woodland point.

AGE: The pentagonal blades are consistently recovered from Late Woodland sites with a suggested age from 1500 to 1000 BP.[1] This type is easily confused with the Pee Dee point identified by Joffre Coe at the Doertschuk site in Montgomery County, North Carolina. Pee Dee points belong to the Historic period dating between 1500 and 1700 A.D.

DESCRIPTION: The Jack’s Reef Pentagonal point measures from .5 to .75 inches in length but are reported to measure 2 inches long in some Alabama sites.[2] The blade is pentagonal in shape with a flat basal edge. These blades are very thin and are usually made of a high grade chert. Flaking is random with pressure flaking around all edges that becomes the dominate flake characteristic.

DISTRIBUTION: Most known examples are made of Ridge and Valley chert with a center of distribution from the Dade County and the Appalachian Plateau to the Blue Ridge region of Georgia. Pee Dee points are not found in Georgia.