Plainview points were first defined on the basis of type specimens
recovered from a bison kill site near Plainview in the Texas Panhandle.
[Illustration: _Plainview_]
Lanceolate shaped, the upper lateral edges of the most Plainview points
are slightly rounded but on some they are straight. Lower lateral edges
are ordinarily straight and parallel-sided up to about one-half or
three-quarters the distance from the base to the tip. They are usually
broadest at mid-section. A variation in shape may include a recurve,
rarely marked, of lateral edges near the base; such specimens are
broadest either at or somewhat above the mid-section (see also the
description of Golondrina points). The base of Plainview points varies
from slightly to markedly concave; the former is typical. Workmanship is
quite fine. Direct or indirect percussion or possibly pressure action is
employed in retouching. Initial flake scars may be at either right
angles or slightly oblique to the point long-axis. Though individual
initial flake scars may be parallel, they are more often irregular.
Dimensions of Plainview points are: length about 4.5 to 8.0 cm., width
1.8 to 2.8 cm. Bases of these points were sometimes thinned by the
removal of the series of relatively large, longish flakes parallel to
the point long-axis in a technique reminiscent of fluting. Others
however, were basally thinned by the removal of flakes from the lower
lateral edges at right angles to the point long-axis. Basal edges are
usually smoothed.
Plainview points are considered by most archaeologists to date around
9,000 to 10,000 years ago. At both the type site and at the Lone Wolf
Creek Site in Texas, they were associated with the remains of extinct
bison.