Point Type: FOX VALLEY a.k.a.: Clipped Wing Bifurcate / Truncated Barbed
Also See: Catahoula, Frederick, Garth Slough, Jude, Kanawha, Kirk, Lake Eerie, LeCroy, Rice Lobbed, Stanly, Uvalde

Location: Eastern United States

Associated Dates: 9000 - 4000 B.P. - Early Archaic to Mid Archaic
Morphology: Bifurcated

General Description: The Fox Valley type is a small sized, triangular point with flaring shoulders and a short bifurcated slightly expanding stem which ranges in outline from lobbed to nearly rectangular. The shoulders are sometimes clipped winged and have a general tendency to turn upwards towards the distal tip. The blade usually exhibits early parallel flaking and is often asymmetrical. The blade edges are usually incurvate or recurvate and can be beveled or serrated.

The Fox Valley is considered to be a variety of the Lake Eerie type however the Fox Valley has rounded bifurcations. It is most commonly found in west-central Illinois northward and eastward into Wisconsin and Indiana. The Fox Valley was originally known as the Clipped-Wing Bifurcate or Truncated-Barb point. On some specimens, only one barb is clipped and this is usually the thicker or larger shoulder. An almost identical point was found in New York state by Ritchie and was labeled as one of the "untyped" bifurcated base points.

The Fox Valley point can range in size from 24 mm to 50 mm in length, 19 mm to 35 mm wide and 3 mm to 7 mm in thickness. The type first mentioned by Robert E. Ritzenthaler in 1961 and was named by Charles and Harris Palmer in 1962 for examples which were recovered from the Fox River Valley in Illinois and Wisconsin.

About The Point Above: The point pictured at the top of this page, was found near the town of Frederick, Schuyler County, Illinois. It is made from a glossy black flint with light gray inclusions. The barb on the right is larger and is clipped while the left barb is unclipped. The base is lightly ground. The specimen measures 34 mm in length, 29 mm wide across the barbs, and is only 5.5 mm at its thickest point at mid blade. The base tapers down to 4 mm in thickness. Catalog Number 55-10-A

References: Edler, Henschel, Justice (1), Overstreet, Perino (1), Ritchie

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