A cast of an authentic Dalton projectile point from Howard County, Missouri. Measuring 3 and 5/8ths long, it was masterfully flaked in river stained Chert.   An excellent example of the type, this piece was sent to Occpaleo for casting in 2012 so that it could be used as a reference and teaching collection.
  Daltons date to the early Archaic Period, around 6 to 9,000 years ago.   The classic types are mostly found in Missouri, Arkansas, and Illinois areas.   There are several related types found as far as Oklahoma and Texas that date to similar time periods.   Most Daltons have serrated flaking during most of the production stages, and were also used as knives as well as projectile points.    Many Daltons were resharpened over and over again throughout their life, and often even end up as drill tips in the final end of their use life cycle.  
 
Daltons stand out for their unique hafting base.   More effort seems to go into this section than in most other projectile points.   The deeply concave base offers more surface area for hafting, and most have flute-like flakes up from the base.    These are often several pressure flakes, and are therefore different than a true Paleoindian flute.    Cast copyright Occpaleo 2014(COA Stermer Western Typology 5/15/2013)