By: Natalie Ginez
Object Number: 268.2077
Culture: Late Archaic
Date Made: approx. from 1200 B.C. to 700 B.C.
Place: Elberon, Monmouth County, NJ
Credit Line: Gift of Arthur Sussman
The most striking and unique features of this brownish-green jasper stone is that it is asymmetrical and thick in the middle with a broad, curved bottom. These features allow us to identify it as a Susquehanna Broad Point (named for the Susquehanna Valley in Pennsylvania). The stone was shaped with a hammerstone to remove flakes in a process called flint knapping. This object was one of many tools used by Prehistoric Native Americans to hunt and gather food. We don’t know if it functioned as a spear, dart, or arrow. We do know that deer, elk, fish, and rabbit were hunted during this period. The Late Archaic peoples also used stone tools to fish and process nuts and other plant foods.
new jersey archaeology 