A Cascade point is a
projectile point
In North American archaeological terminology, a projectile point is an object that was hafted to a weapon that was capable of being thrown or projected, such as a javelin, dart, or arrow. They are thus different from weapons presumed to have ...
associated with the
Cascade phase, an ancient culture of
Native Americans that settled in the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...
that existed from 9000 or 10000 BC until about 5500 BC.
The Cascade (Bipointed) point is typically narrow,
lanceolate
The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...
leaf shaped, with either a pointed or rounded base. There are also two other variants, one with a shallow concave base and the other with a sharply contracting basal margin.
Cascade points are generally regarded as poor temporal markers because they are found in early, middle, and even late Holocene contexts. It is unclear whether this broad timespan is a function of prolonged use of the point form, later groups recycling discarded artifacts, or a combination of both. The spatial and temporal distribution of foliate points in the northern
Great Basin and present new data derived from work at a stratified rockshelter in Oregon's Warner Valley have been reviewed. Foliate projectile points have been uncovered there that meet the original definition and more recent refinements of the Cascade point type associated with a late early Holocene and middle Holocene occupation.
[Cascade Points in the Northern Great Basin: A Radiocarbon-dated Foliate Point Assemblage from Warner Valley, Oregon. By GM Smith ; P Carey ; ES Middleton ; J Kielhofer]
A projectile found lodged in the hip of
Kennewick Man
Kennewick Man and Ancient One are the names generally given to the skeletal remains of a prehistoric Paleoamerican man found on a bank of the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington, on July 28, 1996. It is one of the most complete ancient ...
was leaf-shaped, long, broad and had serrated edges.
See also
*
Other projectile points
References
{{Prehistoric technology, state=expanded
Projectile points
History of indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest