Material Classification of Projectile Points Found in Caches at Mound 72, Cahokia. After Ahler in press Appendix E2.
Material Type |
Description |
Source |
Reference |
A |
Opaque white chert with rare pale discolorations of red or green. Luster dull to vitreous. Few visible fossils or inclusions. |
Local, similar to Crescent Hills chert (Missouri) |
Ives, 1975 |
B |
Opaque dark-brown chert with lenticular mottling and irregularly shaped inclusions. Few fossils. Dull luster. |
Nonlocal, similar to Dover chert (Tennessee) |
Pers. ident. |
C |
Opaque lightly mottled gray-and-white or red-and-white chert. Mottling due to fossiliferous inclusions. Red color may be from heat treatment. Luster dull to vitreous. |
Nonlocal, similar to Flint Ridge chert (Ohio) |
J. Porter pers. comm. |
D |
Opaque tan chert. Similar to jasper. Waxy luster. Few fossils or inclusions. |
Unknown |
|
E |
Opaque light greyish-white chert. Occasional brown mottling. Dull luster. No fossils or inclusions. |
Unknown |
|
F |
Translucent chert. Color varies from white to brown, often with large streaks of red. Occasional inclusions, no fossils. Luster varies from dull to vitreous. |
Local, similar to Illinois Kaolin chert |
Parmalee & Harman 1945 |
G |
Opaque grey-and-white-speckled chert with occasional thin red band of inclusion. No fossils. Luster varies from dull to vitreous. |
Unknown |
|
H |
Opaque white, grey-white, or tan chert with occasional mottling or thin tan band. Few inclusions or fossils. Dull luster. |
Unknown, may be variant of Illinois Kaolin chert |
|
J |
Opaque red-and-brown-speckled chert, fading into light grey unspeckled chert. Red or brown speckling may be due to heat treatment. No inclusions. ? fossils. Dull luster. |
Unknown |
|
K |
Opaque grey chert with some very small black speckles. Occasional red cortex shows. No fossils or inclusions. Waxy luster. |
Unknown |
|
L |
Opaque black or very dark grey chert. No fossils or inclusions. Vitreous luster. |
Nonlocal, similar to chert from E. Oklahoma |
Fowler, pers. comm. |
M |
Opaque greyish-tan silicified sandstone. Granular appearance. Luster is vitreous but also glitters. No inclusions or fossils. |
Hixton silicified sandstone (Wisconsin) |
Porter, pers. comm. |
N |
Translucent chalcedony-like brown material. No fossils or inclusions. Dull luster. |
Unknown, similar to chalcedony and thus is probably nonlocal |
|
Fowler, M.L., J. Rose, B. Vander Leest, and S.R. Ahler in press. The Mound 72 Area: Dedicated and Sacred Space in Early Cahokia. Illinois State Museum Reports of Investigation, No. 54. Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL.