Browns Valley points were initially discovered at a site near Browns
Valley, Minnesota. They were associated with a human burial.
[Illustration: _Browns Valley_]
[Illustration: _Agate Basin_]
Browns Valley points are broad lanceolate in shape. Upper lateral edges
are slightly rounded. Lower lateral edges are much less rounded,
contracting very slightly to either a shallowly concave or straight
base. These points are broadest at mid-section. Dimensions are: length
7.0 to 8.0 cm., width 3.0 cm. (full range indeterminate since few
specimens known). Workmanship is fine. Initial shaping may have been by
direct or indirect percussion. The initial flake scars are parallel and
run obliquely across the point faces; less often they are at right
angles. Bases have been initially thinned by the removal of a series of
small longish flakes mainly oblique to the point long-axis, to a lesser
extent by the removal of vertical flakes. Basal edges are smoothed.
Browns Valley points are rare and have an estimated age of from 9,000 to
8,000 years. Similar points excavated in Wyoming have a comparable age
of almost 8,000 years.