To be counted possibly among the earliest projectile point types of the
Southwest are what have been called Blanco points, named after the
Blanco River of Central Texas. They were discovered by the writer, along
with other stone and bone tools, in alluvial banks and other formations
which in part may have accumulated during the Late Pleistocene.
Lanceolate-shaped points from type localities are characteristically
desert varnished and have been dulled and battered by being washed about
in stream gravels. Heavily weathered points quite like those of the
Blanco type have been reported in other parts of Texas and also in
central and southeast New Mexico. They have also been recovered from a
number of sites in Mexico and South America under circumstances that
seem to suggest great antiquity. The eminent American archaeologist,
Marie Wormington, has suggested that points much like those of our
Blanco type may well have been the basic type from which later Early Man
points evolved.
[Illustration: _Blanco_]
Blanco points are lanceolate-shaped and are broadest at or somewhat
below mid-section. The cross-section at this point is a flattened oval
shape. Lateral edges are slightly rounded, converging to a point at the
tip, while the base is round. The few known specimens range in length
from about 4.0 to 6.0 cm., in width from 2.0 to 2.5 cm., and in
thickness 0.7 to 1.0 cm. Specimens having dimensions somewhat in excess
of those listed may be expected. Manufacture is by direct percussion and
is not particularly well achieved nor patterned. Initial flake scars on
point faces are irregular; point bases have been thinned by
multi-directional flaking. Pressure working of edges is absent. Due to
intense weatherings, it is not known whether Blanco points were basally
ground.
Blanco points are associated in central Texas with the San Marcos
Complex. They may represent a primary Early Man projectile point type.
Undisturbed San Marcos sites have not been found as yet. Tools ascribed
to this complex have been found only in secondary gravel beds at type
localities along the Blanco River. It is conceivable that some of these
formations may have accumulated during the Late Pleistocene. In view of
all factors, dating of Blanco points relative to other Early Man points
must await future excavations.