Motley - LITHICS-Net

Picture of Motley Point - 61mm - 23-65-D Picture of Motley Point - 64mm - 478-42-HH Picture of Motley Point - 103mm - 236-163-HH

Point Type: MOTLEY
Also See: Buck Creek Barbed, Crater Flared Base, Cupp, Epps, Hamilton, Normanskill, Smithsonia, Snyders, Tipton, Wade, Weber

Location: Southeastern United States

Associated Dates: 4500 - 2500 B.P. - Late Archaic - Woodland
Morphology: Corner Notched

General Description: The Motley type is a medium to large sized, expanding stemmed, widely corner notched projectile point which may have strong downward projecting shoulder barbs. The corner notching is typically wide and rounded which leaves a narrow stem neck width and wide shoulders. The blade edges and the base are typically slightly convex or straight. The overall blade form is trianguloid and is always widest at the shoulders. Basal grinding may be present although it occurs in low frequency. This point has been found with Wade points in caches. This point is called the Epps (Ford and Webb 1956:116) type in Louisiana and eastern Texas (however the Epps type are rarely barbed). Motley points may be a prototype for wide corner notched Snyders points.

Motley points are found over a large area from the Deep South to the Midwest. It has been found in sites in Mississippi, northern Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Kentucky. They can also occur in the Ohio River Valley, Indiana, eastern Missouri, northeastern Texas and most of mid to southern Illinois.

The size of the Motley point can range from 42 mm to 120 mm in length with the typical point being in the 68 mm range. The average width of the blade is 34 mm with the range being from 25 mm to 46 mm. The average thickness is 6 mm with the range being from 5 mm to 8 mm.

The Motley point type was named by William G. Haag in 1955 for specimens he found at the Motley Place in northeastern Louisiana.

About The Point Above (Left): The average sized Motley point pictured at the top center of this page, was found in northwestern Tennessee. It is made from a satin gray hornstone material which has some cream colored core rind near the base. Overall, the point measures 61 mm in length, is 25 mm wide at the barbs and is 7 mm thick at mid blade near the shoulders. The base measures 16 mm in width and the stem is 15 mm long. There is a slight amount of basal grinding on this point. Catalog Number 23-65-D

About The Point Above (Center): The average sized Motley point pictured at the top left hand side of this page, was found near the town of Dalton in Randolph County, Arkansas. It is made from a mottled tan and brown flint material. Overall, the point measures 64 mm in length, is 28 mm wide at the barbs and is 7.3 mm thick at mid blade near the shoulders. The base which has flairing ears, measures 24.8 mm in width and the stem is 18 mm long. There is a slight amount of basal grinding and notch grinding on this point. The point was once in the Will Burkett and Rocky Hall collections. Catalog Number 478-42-HH

About The Point Above (Right): The large sized Motley point pictured at the top right hand side of this page, was found in Smith Co, Tennessee and is from the Will Burkett collection. It is made from a brown Dover chert material which has satin gloss and has some very dark brown and lighter brown viens. Overall, the point measures 103 mm in length, is 25 mm wide at about 15 mm above the barbless shoulders and is 11 mm thick at mid blade above the shoulders. The base measures 18.7 mm in width and the stem is 12 mm long. There is a slight amount of basal grinding on this point. The blade edges have been resharpened many times resulting in the barbs and shoulders being removed by rework. There are bifacial bevels making the cross section median ridged . Also the large percussion flake scars on the blade face show intrusion by edge retouch pressure flakes. This point has be certified by Tom Davis as a Motley however it also could have some Epps characteristics. The point is nearly perfect in all respects. Catalog Number 236-163-HH

References: Baker, Converse, Davis, Dragoo (f), Fogleman, Justice (1), Overstreet, Perino (1), Waldorf

Use your Browser's BACK Button to return to the LITHICS-Net Index.