Jack's Reef Pentagonal

Point Type: JACK'S REEF PENTAGONAL
Also See: Madison , Mouse Creek, Pee Dee

Location: Eastern United States

Associated Dates: 1500 - 1000 B.P.- Woodland to Late Woodland
Morphology: Lanceolate

General Description: The Jack's Reef Pentagonal point is a small to medium sized, broad, stemless lanceolate, very thin, five sided point with a sharp tip. The hafting area is usually contracting with a slightly concave to straight base. The overall outline shape of the point is typically pentagonal with straight sides.

The Jack's Reef Pentagonal point appears in the Brewerton Complex (Middle Archaic) in a much thicker, cruder and larger form. A few smaller but still crude examples appear in the Point Peninsula 2 Complex (later Middle Woodland). It was also present in the Intrusive Mound Culture graves especially at the Mound City Hopewell group in Ross County, Ohio.

The lithic materials used in making the Jack's Reef Pentagonal point were usually New York Onondaga and Deepkill flints. It is also made of brown jasper, black flint, and gray flint. The type is also known as the Pee Dee pentagonal in Virginia.

The Jack's Reef Pentagonal point ranges in size from 25 mm to 64 mm in length with most examples being between 30 mm and 38 mm in length. The Jack's Reef Pentagonal point was named by William A. Ritchie for examples he found at the Point Peninsula Jack's Reef site in Onondaga County, New York.

About the Point Above: The point pictured above is a large sized classical example of the Jack's Reef Pentagonal point. This specimen is made from a light tan colored flint that has a satin sheen. The point measures 44 mm in length, 29 mm at the widest point (across the shoulders) and is 6 mm thick mid blade at the shoulders. The hafting area thins down to 3 mm in thickness and is 13 mm wide. The base slightly concave and is not ground. The point is beautifully knapped and the edges are quite sharp. The non pictured side is a much lighter color probably due to the effects of weathering. This point was a surface find in the tomato fields of the historic Robert Treat farm in the town of Milford, borough of Woodmont, New Haven County, Connecticut. Catalog Number 411-4-B

References: Fogleman, Ritchie

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