A biology student from Mark Baldwin University in Virginia has discovered a rare Native American spear point while on an ecology field trip to Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The stone tool is about six inches long and is of a type known as a Lehigh/Koens-Crispin point, used by East Coast Native Americans between 3,000 and 4,500 years ago. It is in exceptional condition.
Brooklyn Rolph found the weapon while looking for shark teeth on a barrier island the last day of the trip to the University of Virginia’s Anheuser-Busch Coastal Research Center. High winds delayed the outing, so she only had 40 minutes or so to explore the island.
In the water on the shore of an inlet with the tide coming in rapidly, she spotted a pointy thing she’d be looking for. When she picked it up, she realized there was a lot more of it below the point. She showed it to her professors and they recognized it as an ancient spear point.
Their excitement at the find was tempered by the understanding that Rolph was probably not going to be able to take it home. The island they were exploring is part of a nature preserve owned by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. She showed the point to the research center’s site director and he confirmed that everything found on the preserve was owned by the state.
The point was transferred to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources for further study.
* This article was originally published here
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