St. Charles Corner Notch Projectile Point: Identification, Age & Range

How to identify a St. Charles Corner Notch point

The base is the giveaway. On a St. Charles point the base is always convex — never straight — and both the basal edge and the insides of the notches are typically ground heavily smooth. Run a fingertip along the notch interiors: authentic examples usually feel worn smooth there, a subtle trait that modern reproductions often miss. The notches enter diagonally at the corners and typically run deep and slender, leaving an expanding stem below barbed (occasionally straight) shoulders. The stem itself is broad — about 24 to 31 mm across the base — which is what creates the fan-like dovetail profile.

Blades are mostly convex-edged, though resharpened pieces can be straight or recurved and may show alternate beveling or serration. These are substantial tools: documented examples range from 45 to 160 mm long, averaging about 65 mm, and 26 to 40 mm wide at only 7–10 mm thick. Flaking is even, controlled percussion with selective pressure work finishing the edges, and the type is known for consistently high workmanship. Heat treatment of the stone was not part of the tradition.

Age and where it's found

St. Charles dates to roughly 10,000–8,000 B.P. in the Early Archaic and belongs to the Thebes Cluster alongside Thebes, Lost Lake, and Calf Creek points. The type has a tangled naming history: early reports placed it in the Late Archaic or Early Woodland, and Early Archaic examples found in Alabama were separately named "Plevna" before researchers realized the two were the same type; some still apply the Plevna label to beveled examples from the Tennessee River valley.

The point occurs throughout the Midwest, most commonly along the Ohio River and middle Mississippi valleys, with less frequent finds reaching northeastern Texas, southeastern Oklahoma, and Minnesota.

Similar and related types

• Thebes Projectile Point — Thebes points are thicker with distinctive angled or dogleg notches, and their bases can be flat or slightly concave rather than always convex.
• Lost Lake Corner Notch — Lost Lake is beveled on one edge of each face with rounded barbs, and its base varies from concave to convex instead of a consistent dovetail.
• Kirk Corner Notched — Kirk points are thinner and lighter, and lack the deep narrow notches and heavily ground convex base.
• Snyders Projectile Point — Snyders is a much later Middle Woodland type with broad, shallow notches and no ground dovetail base.
• Hopewell Projectile Point — Hopewell points are Woodland-era, thinner, and lack the strongly convex ground base of a St. Charles.