Pre-Mississippian Projectile Points in Mississippian Context at Angel Mounds

Abstract

The majority of projectile points found at Angel Mounds are triangular points typical of the Mississippian period. However, Paleoindian and Early Archaic projectile points predate the terrace on which the site is situated. Contemporary geoarchaeological practices were employed to date the landform and confirm that later groups must have brought the ancient points to the site. Evidence of curated ancient projectile points from Angel Mounds may be the result of collecting behavior not unique to the time period; such behavior has been reported at other sites in the region and around the world. Although we may never know the reason Angel Mounds people curated these tools, ethnographic and archaeological evidence suggests that the tools might have been associated with special properties or powers, been seen as curiosities, or presented the practical benefit of easy reuse. The evidence presented reminds us that multicomponent assemblages do not always indicate multicomponent sites.