Arrowheads and Spear Points in the Prehistoric Southeast: A Guide to Understanding Cultural Artifacts (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Jom Culberson (Illustrator) "Any discussion begins with certain basic assumptions, the most basic being that the participants will be speaking the same language..." (more)
Key Phrases: cooking balls, molar cusp pattern, notched point, New World, Late Woodland, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Seeking to identify through the clues of cultural history, this handbook discusses materials used, the processes of manufacture, and the relationship between the artifacts and the environments, revealing ancient discoveries to be not merely interesting trinkets--but by-products from the once vital societies in the area now known as the American Southeast. Drawings. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Inside Flap

How to identify your fascinating find and understand the culture that produced it --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi (August 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0878056432
• ISBN-13: 978-0878056439
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 7.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,596,371 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not much here...., April 18, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Arrowheads and Spear Points in the Prehistoric Southeast: A Guide to Understanding Cultural Artifacts (Paperback)

This is a very short read. Not including the preface, introduction and appendices in the back (most of which is a list of museums in various states with collections or information you can look at), the content of the book barely takes up 59 pages. And the information is very, very general. She describes the major periods of North American Indian occupation from Paleo to Archaic, Mississipian, Woodland, etc. Each description takes up about 5-8 pages and includes hand-drawn images of a few projectile points, pottery styles, drills, or axe heads associated with that time frame. Frankly, I found the information to be at the level of a freshman 100 level Archaeology research paper. It's good information for a beginner level but hardly worth paying full book price for. It could benefit from maps showing locations of known archaeological sites representative of the times discussed, sketches of dig sites that might show how burial sites were arranged, housing styles and locations and discuss one or two major archaelogical digs for each time period. As it is, I found the information too general and would suggest that someone interested check out your local library for a book that provides more information (and is free). Or continue your search on Amazon!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought it was great if you want to learn some basic info, December 12, 2005

By	Daniel Phelps ([e-mail] Lexington, KY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Arrowheads and Spear Points in the Prehistoric Southeast: A Guide to Understanding Cultural Artifacts (Paperback)

People who only want to collect artifacts might not like this book since it is not a complete identification guide and does not put monetary values on projectile points. However, if you wish to learn the basic information about what scientific archaeologists have discovered this is a well-written introduction.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Indian Point Reference, February 9, 2007

By	Chris Young (East Central Georgia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Arrowheads and Spear Points in the Prehistoric Southeast: A Guide to Understanding Cultural Artifacts (Paperback)

This is a very helpful reference book to Indian Points. This is a detailed work on how the points were made, what designs were from what region, and dating. This book is recomended for beginners and the experienced collector and a good companion book to "Overstreets Indian Projectile Point Price Guide".