Elko Corner Notch Projectile Point: Identification, Age & Range

How to identify a Elko Corner Notch point

Elko Corner Notch points are dart-sized, not arrow-sized. Lengths run 24 to 88 mm, with most examples between about 33 and 51 mm, on blades 15 to 52 mm wide and 4 to 9 mm thick. That heft matters: the feather-light notched points of the same region belong to later arrow types.

The defining features sit at the base. Deep, narrow notches enter diagonally from each bottom corner, producing strong barbs that taper to sharp tips and reach out wider than the small ears at the base. The stem expands toward a straight or slightly concave base that stays clearly narrower than the blade measured across the barbs, typically by 10 to 20 mm. The triangular blade runs straight to slightly convex and frequently carries fine serrations along its edges. Flaking is usually random, though some pieces show a parallel oblique pattern.

Obsidian dominates as the material, followed by basalt and whatever workable stone was locally available, so a glassy black point with this outline is a strong Elko candidate.

Age and where it's found

The type dates to about 3,500 to 1,400 B.P., spanning the Late to Transitional Archaic. It belongs to a family that also includes Elko Eared, Elko Side Notch, and Elko Split Stem. These forms grade into one another: at some sites the eared form shows up earlier and peaks first, while at others, such as Gatecliff Shelter, the two occur together with no clear time difference.

The heartland is the Great Basin, with the range running up the Snake River Plain, into southeastern Oregon as far as the Klamath Valley, onto the northern Colorado Plateau, west to the Sacramento Valley, and south past the border into Baja California and Sonora, Mexico.

Similar and related types

• Elko Eared (3,500 - 1,400 B.P. · Late to Transitional Archaic) — Shares the corner notches but has a deeply concave base that forms pronounced ears; the depth of that basal concavity is the standard dividing line.
• Elko Side Notch (3,500 - 1,400 B.P. · Late to Transitional Archaic) — Notches enter from the sides rather than the corners; some researchers see it as the same technology with notches moved or blades resharpened.
• Gatecliff Stemmed — A Great Basin dart of similar age whose stem narrows toward the base instead of flaring outward, with no true corner notches.
• Eastgate — A much smaller, thinner arrow point of the later Rosegate series in the same region; if the point weighs almost nothing, look there first.