1 3/4", Fluted, Florida, Osceola Greenbrier Arrowhead

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1 3/4", Fluted, Florida, Osceola Greenbrier Arrowhead

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Sold Date: 03/04/2007
Channel: Online Auction
Source: eBay
Category: Ethnic, Folk & Native American Art

*please, click "view sellers other items for sale" in order to see other Florida arrowheads that I am offering for sale!

Sick, Little, Ancient, Technological Monster!

The true "no reserve" auction of a:

"1 3/4" Osceola Greenbrier Recovered Underwater in a Florida River!"

This ancient artifact is lifetime guaranteed to be authentic. It is absolutely solid and whole with no restoration or rechipping.

"Opinion"

The example offered was legally recovered underwater from a river in North Central Florida. It is an authentic Osceola Greenbrier Point whose length has been somewhat reduced through "paleo" (bifacial) resharpening. This particular point is desirable as a classic example of an uncommon and interesting type. The base has been both well ground and expertly "thinned." You can clearly see the indentation that was left by the thinning nipple after this point was basally thinned. *Of Interesting Note: This fine, little Transpaleo point is made of a Coastal Plains Chert that has patinated an attractive dark mustard brown with pleasing dark brown and white "snowflake" mottling due to exposure to the rise and fall of water within the river and ancient algal blooms!

Greenbrier Typology

The Greenbrier Point was named by T. M. N. Lewis in 1958 for examples which were recovered from the Nuckolls' site in the Greenbrier area of Kentucky Lake, Tennessee.

Greenbrier as a type is especially significant as examples of this type are the first to regularly bear clearly chipped (as opposed to ground) hafting notches which represents a "significant" tool technology innovation -side notching! This (at the time) "new" technology is commonly noted by avocational and professional typologists alike to most likely represent the transition from Paleolithic to Protoarchaic lifeways. The most recent published scientific data suggests a placement of between 11,250-9,750 for Greenbriers and also observes that, Greenbrier as a type was produced no later than 9,500 years ago!

*Of note: The discovery in Florida of an ancient bison skull with a point lodged in it that is possibly an example of this interesting type!

Greenbrier points can be described as medium to large sized, side notched, auriculate points with convex blades. The tip is broad and the stem is expanding. Like other early point types the hafting area (including shoulders and base) is ground. Greenbriers are often basally thinned. This treatment is as a rule well executed and subtle causing some examples to appear to be fluted. Notching can range from shallow to deep producing shoulders that can be tapered to quite prominent. True Greenbriers exhibit "bifacial" beveling (also known as paleo) resharpening and are not alternately beveled. Resharpened examples are thus Bi-convex in profile and blades generally remain convex throughout the life of the blade.

Their exists significant variation within this type (consisting of different basal treatments) and subtypes (as well as varieties) have been noted. Including (for sake of simplicity): Greenbrier (a classic auriculate), Greenbrier-Type II (a blade that retains its basal thinning nipple) and a subtype, "Osceola" Greenbrier (which might be assumed to be a late variant), named by Dr. Jarl Malwin that is observed to have more prominent "notching" and on occassion very well formed lobes that are rounded or squared.

Greenbrier points recovered from Florida are quite uncommon if not actually rare and constitute but a small percentage of the known archeological record. Although examples exist in collections and are available for comparative analysis their seems to be a lack of published scientific data on the exact age, distribution or number of varieties which exists within this type. It undoubtedly remains the responsibility of both avocationals and professionals to assist in the reconstruction of this culture in order to contribute to the fund of cultural knowledge for future gener...