Much has been written about Early Man's projectile points like the Clovis, Folsom, Dalton, and Hardaway types. However, very little, has been written or published concerning the Cumberland fluted point which is very strange. The Cumberland projectile point (classic type) is the scarcest, most beautiful, and exhibits the finest most sophisticated manufacturing technique of all fluted points found in North America (see photos 1 and 2). It was named for the Cumberland River in Kentucky and Tennessee, the major concentration of the projectile point type as shown on accompany map. Also, the Cumberland River is the geographic center of its range in the four cardinal directions.

The major characteristics of the Cumberland fluted projectile point are the well-controlled collateral flaking employed to shape the median ridges on the face of the blade, the indirect percussion fluting technique employed to remove long, narrow flutes as much as five inches in length, sometimes on both faces. The Constricted hafting area are most unique along with the flaring "ears" or barbs, plus the overall craftsmanship employed by Early Man exhibits a jewel of the flintknappers art.


The classic Cumberland fluted point measures from two to five inches in length with an average length of about three inches. Due to the median ridge the sometimes unfluted distal end is rather thick in cross-section, often as much as 3/8 to ½ of an inch, but in most cases this is reduced by fluting to as little as 1/8 th of an inch. The width at the widest portion of the blade averages about ¾ of an inch and the narrowest portion of the blade at the hafting area averages about ½ of an inch. The width of the flaring "ears" or barbs average 5/8 of an inch and in most cases the ears extend backward in relation to the distal end of the blade at about a 45-degree angle. In a few cases the ears might extend outward at an angle of almost 90 degrees. The basal concavity averages 1/8 of an inch in depth. Sometimes the blade if fluted from the base to the tip on both faces, but normally the flute on one face is shorter by one-third to one-half. The makers of the Cumberland fluted points were able to produce longer and narrower flutes than the makers of any other fluted point type. Their techniques and control was vastly superior to all others. This superior fluting was due in part to the skill of the knappers and in part to the high quality of lithic material chosen by the knappers, both of which reflect great knowledge and skill plus pride of craftsmanship, his artistic ability, and the attention to details of the point. The makers of classic Cumberland fluted points had reached the peak of the stonecraftsmans art, unequaled in any other portion of the world-past or present.

The classic Cumberland fluted point of Early Man had it's beginnings in a very basic projectile point, perhaps the "Haw River" (Painter, 1983) or "Hardaway Blade" (Coe, 1964), and progressed very slowly step-by-step up through developing stages such as the "Alamance Point" (Painter, 1963), the "Quad Point" (Soday, 1954), the "Suwannee Point" (Bullen, 1958) or the "Simpson Point" (Bullen, 1962), with no relationship to the "Clovis Point" except common roots many years ago. The classic Cumberland fluted point represents the apex in its chain of fluted points developed by Early Man. Beyond the classic stage the Cumberland starts to decline in both style and quality of craftsmanship.

Currently many archaeologists, state and regional archaeological societies are conducting geographical and statewide surveys of Paleo-Indian projectile points (Clovis, Clovis-like, Folsom, Cumberland's, and other fluted points). It is indeed unfortunate that most of these "fluted point surveys" do not designate or list these fluted points by types or styles, instead they use the generic term "fluted point" to include all points that exhibit fluting or extensive basal thinning in one form or another, such as "unfluted" fluted points.

Alabama for example, counts over 1,660 "fluted points" but does not list them by type. Florida counts over 1,392 "fluted points" and again no type breakdown is given. Alabama for instance, has more fluted projectile points than any other state and also more different types. Florida has few classic Clovis points but a great many variant and classic types of the Suwannee projectile point which is seldom fluted but is listed as a fluted point on surveys (another "unfluted" fluted point). One often wonders how many Cumberland points are found in Florida, Alabama, or any eastern or southeastern state for that matter. Numbers do not tell us much, we also need a breakdown on types of Paleo-Indian points, fluted or unfluted, eared or notched.

Photo 1 A selection of Cumberland fluted points from Kentucky. From the collection of Rodney M Peck, Kannapolis North Carolina.

Photo 2 A selection of Cumberland fluted points from Tennessee. From the collection of Rodney M Peck, Kannapolis North Carolina.

We have learned, however, from articles and site reports published in various states that Cumberland fluted points occur with some frequency in northern Alabama, central and eastern Tennessee, eastern Kentucky, and southern Ohio (see map). These points occur in the rolling hills and river valleys immediately to the west of the Appalachian Mountains. They occur very infrequently in the Appalachians themselves or in the hills and lower elevations of western Tennessee and Kentucky. It is very obvious that the Cumberland people preferred the ecological zone just to the west of the Appalachians and that they moved back and forth in a northeast-southwest pattern perhaps set by the migrations of herd animals they preferred to hunt. It is obvious that Early Nan were exploiting herd animals peculiar to this ecological niche who migrated seasonally following the advance of spring northward and the descent of autumn southward. The Cumberland people may have been exploiting bison or elk but much more logically they were following musk, oxen or caribou. The lithic materials from which their tools and projectile points were made of also bear out this northeast-southeast pattern of migrations. As stated before, the Cumberland people utilized only the finest lithic material available to them wherever they camped. In northern Alabama it was Fort Payne chert, Dover flint in Tennessee and Kentucky, and Coshocton and Upper Mercer flints in Ohio. Cumberland points made of Fort Payne chert have been recorded as far north as Kentucky, while Cumberland points of Coshocton flint have occurred as far south as Tennessee, and Cumberland points of the popular Dover chert, the finest lithic material of them all, has been found in all the four mentioned states. Migration pattern of Cumberland man is clear; however, to our knowledge it has not been pointed out previous in other publications or site reports.

Again we must stress that the classic Cumberland fluted point is the rarest, the most beautifully shaped, contains the most unique traits, and exhibits the most sophisticated manufacturing techniques of any projectile point in North America. It is geographically the most easily traced and readily recognized Paleo-Indian projectile point in North America. This is due to the distinctive lithic materials from which it was made and the unique traits exhibited by the morphology of the point itself. In spite of all that has been mentioned here, the Cumberland point has never been Carbon 14 dated and very little has been published concerning it. We have very little idea how old it is or its chronological placement in order of age. We do not know weather it is older or younger than the Clovis fluted point, which also remains without a Carbon 14 date in the southeastern states. The only dates for the classic Cumberland fluted projectile points are estimates. Cambron and Hulse, 1983; list this point this way, "A Paleo-Indian association, sometime before 10,000 years ago, is suggested". How long must we wait for intensive studies and Carbon 14 dates on this unique Paleo-Indian point? Perhaps sites being currently excavated may contain the answer we seek and time may be running out for more information concerning this most rare and beautiful type of projectile point.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, David G. and Kenneth E. Sassaman

1996 The Paleoindian and Archaic Southeast. The University of Alabama Press. Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Bonnichsen, Robson and Karen L. Turnmire

1991Clovis Origins and Adaptations. Oregon State University. Corvallis, Oregon.
1999 Ice Age People of North America. Oregon State University. Corvallis,Oregon.

Bullen, Ripley P.

1958 "The Bolen Bluff Site on Panes Prairie Florida". Contributions of the Florida State Museum, Social Sciences, No.4. Gainsville, Florida.
1962 "Suwannee Points in the Simpson Collection". Florida Anthropologist, Vol.15, No.3, pp.83-88. Gainsville. Florida.

Cambron, James W. & David C. Hulse

1983 Handbook of Alabama Archaeology, Part 1, Point Types, Alabama Archaeological Society, Huntsville, Alabama.

Coe, Joffre L.

1963 The Formative Cultures of the Carolina Piedmont. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Vol.54, Part 5. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Painter, Floyd

1962 "The Alamance Projectile Point", The Chesopiean, Vol.1, No.2, Norfolk, Virginia.
1983 "Two Basic Paleo-Indian Lithic Traditions Evolving from a Southeastern Hearth (A Revolutionary Idea)."
Archaeology of Eastern North America, Vol.11, Fall 1983. Eastern States Archaeological Federation, Buffalo, New York.
1984 "A New Search for the Origins of Paleo-Indian Lithic Traditions: "A Challenge to Outmoded Theories."
Central States Archaeological Journal, Vol.31, No.1. Missouri.

Peck, Rodney M.

1997 "Distribution and Compilation of Eastern Fluted Points, in Memory of Robert W. Peck." Central States
Archaeological Journal, Vol. 44, No.3. Missouri.
1998 Eastern Fluted Points. Kannapolis, North Carolina.

Soday, Frank J,

1954 "The Quad Site, A Paleo-Indian Village in Northern Alabama." Tennessee Archaeologist, Vol. X, No.1, Tennessee Archaeological Society, Knoxville, TN.

Wormington, H.M.

1957 Ancient Man in North America. Denver Museum of Natural History, Popular Series No.4, Denver, Colorado.

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January 31 2004