This chert Etley bifacial point is from Missouri.  Etley points date the the Late Archaic period, ca. 3000-6000 BP, and are characteristic of the Titterington Phase of the Lower Illinois River Valley.  They are found in the central Mississippi River region, including Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri.

---

The large size of this point is consistent with its use as a hafted knife.  It is made from Burlington Chert, which outcrops extensively in southeast Iowa and west-central Illinois.

---

People in the Titterington phase moved between base camps in river and stream valleys, and short-tern camps in upland areas at specific food sources.  They apparently did not occupy permanent villages, although some archaeologists dispute this.  People during the Titterington phase also made grooved axes and bannerstones, and copper artefacts are sometimes found with burials.  Etley points were often interred in burials, and an exceptionally large and finely-made Etley point, measuring about 24 cm long, was discovered in a burial at the Airport Site on the Sangamon River in Illinois.  Most Etley points range between about 60 and 120 mm long.  The percussion flaking on Etly points, which created a distinctive central ridge down both faces on many of these points, may have been accomplished with bone or antler punches.  Etley points likely function as both dart points and knives, and many show signs of resharpening.