Point Type: BOLEN a.k.a.: Bolen Bevel
Also See: Big Sandy, Hardaway, Lost Lake, Rhomboid, Thebes

Location: Primarily Florida, Southern Georgia and Southern Alabama

Associated Dates: 10,000 - 9000 B.P. - Early Archaic
Morphology: Side Notched / Corner Notched

General Description: The Bolen Cluster of point types are a medium to large sized group of dart points or knife forms that have in common a triangular blade shape outline with straight to slightly convex or recurved blade edges. The blade edges may be beveled and/or serrated. A unique and rather confusing attribute of this type or cluster is the fact that the Bolen family has five different stem configurations or shapes or subtypes. In the following descriptions, I will refer to these as subtypes.

The first subtype (Bolen Expanded or "E" Notched) has internally expanded side notches, barbed shoulders and a convex basal edge.

The second subtype (Bolen Side Notched) has regular side notches, a straight basal edge and rounded basal corners.

The third subtype (Bolen Corner Notched) has corner notches, barbed shoulders and a large expanding stem. This subtype may be an Plevna variant and is related to the Lost Lake type.

The fourth subtype has short corner notches, barbed shoulders and a short wide stem.

The fifth subtype (Bolen Recurvate) has side notches and recurved basal edge. This type can be very difficult to identify with total certainty. Overall, the type has many attributes of the Thebes or Hardaway series of points, being heavily beveled and serrated when reworked.

The key for Bolen identification is that the type is primarily found in southern Georgia, Florida and southern Alabama.

No average size data for the Bolen point subtypes is provided. The Bolen point was named by Wilfred T. Neill in 1963 for the Bolen Bluff site in Florida.

About The Point Above: The Bolen blade pictured at the top of this page, is a subtype one or Bolen Expanded or "E" Notch, with expanded side notches and a concave basal edge. The point is highly reworked and does display serrations and unifacial beveling. The point was found near the town of Bainbridge in Seminole County, Georgia. It is made from a dull highly patinated tan chert. One of the basal ears has a chip removed from the edge in prehistoric times. It measures 55 mm in length, 27.5 mm wide across the barbs and is only 8 mm at its thickest point in mid blade with the majority of the blade being 6 mm in thickness. The stem is 15.5 mm wide at the notches and is 14 mm long. The basal edge has been slightly ground and the barbs are diminished in size due to rework. Catalog Number 115-26-D

References: Baker, Dragoo (b,c), Justice, Overstreet, Perino (1), Powell, Puckett (1), Sowell & Nowak, Waldorf

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