Agate Basin

Description: Agate Basin points are lancolate in shape and are typically symmetrically flaked, with well executed parallel flaking that often meets along the midline of the point. They tend to be long and narrow, ranging in length from 2 to 6 inches. They are biconvex to flat in cross section and have heavily ground lower edges and base.

Distribution: Agate Basin points are distributed across a wide portion of the Great Plains, Western United States, and the Midwest. This large distribution speaks to the wide ranging environments that people adapted to across the post-glacial landscape. The raw material used to fashion Agate Basin points often comes from far removed sources, such as the two Agate Basin points from Cook County below, one fashioned on colorful Burlington chert from western Illinois, and the other from Hixton Silicified Sandstone from sources near Silver Mound in Wisconsin. This reflects the large seasonal ranges that these groups occupied during the course of a year, likely in pursuit of large game such as White Tailed deer, Elk, and the now extinct Stag Moose.

Age: Agate Basin points occur in stratigraphic contexts above Clovis and Folsom points at several well-known sites in the central and western United States. They have yet to be found in dated contexts in Illinois or the Midwest. Associated dates for the Agate Basin complex are between 12,500-11,400 years ago.