Point Type: PANDALE
Also See: Darl, Lange, Nolan, Travis

Location: Southwestern United States especially Texas

Associated Dates: 6000 - 4700 B.P. - Middle Archaic
Morphology: Stemmed

General Description: The Pandale is a small to medium sized, slender, stemmed point that has a leaf shaped blade in general outline. The Pandale's blade edges are usually excurvate but are occasionally straight. The Pandale point is easily recognized easily by the twist or bevel that the maker imparted due to the beveling style used. The twist or bevel is often so pronounced, that the blade has a propeller or screw appearance. The shoulders are usually very weak or are entirely absent. The stem is beveled in the opposite direction of the the blade and usually expands near the basal edge. The base is slightly concave, but may be straight or convex. The tip is often very acute and needle-like in appearance. The Pandale type is also noteworthy in the fact that the type is not especially consistent in stem form or blade outline. New or unreworked Pandale points can be relatively flat and therefore will not have the twist or bevel and thus may not be easily recognized.

In the Texas occupation chronology (which differs from the other geographic timelines) of point types the Pandale would be considered an Early Archaic artifact.

The Pandale usually found in Texas and is most usually found in the area of the Pecos and Rio Grande rivers. The type extends eastward and northward into central Texas but is however more rare in these areas.

The typical dimensions for the Pandale type are as follows - the length range is between 37 mm and 88 mm. The Pandale type was originally named the Pandale Twisted Blade by J. Charles Kelley for examples which he found near the small community of Pandale, Val Verde County, Texas. The name was then shortened to Pandale in 1954 by D. A. Suhm; A.d. Krieger and E. B. Jelks.

About the Point Above: The point pictured above is a medium sized example of the Pandale type. The point is made from a patinated tan, glossy chert. The blade is knapped a distinct twist or bevel. The point measures 54 mm in length and is 19.5 mm at the widest point which is at mid blade. The blade is 8.5 mm thick. The stem is 14.5 mm long, 14 mm wide and 6 mm thick. The basal edge is mildly concave. This point was found in Comanche Co. Texas and is from the former Ms. Willingham collection. Catalog Number 94-21-U

References: Bell (1), Davis, Overstreet, Perino (1), Turner & Hester

© Copyright 1997 - 2008 LITHICS-Net    WWW.LITHICSNET.COM

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