PAGE 1
DALTON CACHE
SCOTT COUNTY, MISSOURI
EARLY ARCHAIC PERIOD
1 PAGE
COPYRIGHT JULY 31, 2007 PETER A. BOSTROM
Three Dalton point from the "Gean Dalton cache."
THREE OF FOURTEEN POINTS REPORTED
TO HAVE BEEN FOUND IN THIS CACHE

Abstract image of Dalton points.

ABSTRACT
DALTON CACHE

   This article illustrates and describes a Dalton cache that was recently reported to have been found in Scott County, Missouri.

     "Although many caches have been reported, there must have been an unknown number discovered by farmers and laborers of which no record was ever kept."---------1910, by Warren K. Moorehead, "Cached Flint Objects," The Stone Age In North America, pp. 217-218.

      "In conclusion, spatial analysis of the Sloan-site artifacts indicates that at least twenty-nine discrete artifact clusters (caches) are present. This implies the existence of approximately thirty individual graves within the cemetery."---------1997, by Dan F. Morse, "Sloan, A Paleoindian Dalton Cemetery in Arkansas, p. 92.

      "Large Dalton points were the most common burial offering (found on the Sloan site) in 18 of the 29 defined clusters (caches)."---------2006, by Robert E. Funk and Bradley T. Lepper, p.187.


DALTON CACHE
SCOTT COUNTY, MISSOURI

   The Dalton cache illustrated here is reported to have been found in the Spring of 2007 by a farmer, Wilford Gean. It was found in a cultivated field in Scott County, Illinois approximately three miles west of the Olive Branch site.

Cache pile image of the "Gean Dalton cache."
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE
DALTON CACHE
SCOTT COUNTY, MISSOURI
 PRIVATE COLLECTION

    This cache contains thirteen Dalton points. A fourteenth point is reported to have been broken and discarded. All of the points were made of Burlington chert. They range in size from 6 1/2 inches (16.5cm) for the longest to 4 3/8 inches (11.1cm) for the smallest.

    Caches of Dalton points have been reported from northeastern Arkansas, southeastern Missouri and southern Illinois. This area seems to have produced the majority of all Dalton artifact caches. Twenty-nine caches were reported from the Sloan Dalton cemetery site in northeastern Arkansas. Those caches included all types of Dalton points and tools, such as scrapers, abraders, adzes, bifaces and utilized flakes.

Dalton point from the "Gean Dalton cache."
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGE TRIPLE IMAGE
DALTON CACHE
SCOTT COUNTY, MISSOURI
 PRIVATE COLLECTION

   This Dalton point exhibits fairly uniform parallel pressure flaking that was so typical of these Early Archaic flintknappers. This point is made of Burlington chert and measures 4 3/4 inches (12.1cm) long.

     The "Gean Dalton cache" illustrated here is reported to have once contained 14 Dalton points. The fourteenth point was evidently lost or discarded after it was dropped and broken. The average number of artifacts found in the caches at the Sloan site was eight. The number of artifacts found in the caches numbered between one and 38 artifacts.

13 Dalton points from the "Gean Dalton cache."
 CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE
 DALTON CACHE
SCOTT COUNTY, MISSOURI
 PRIVATE COLLECTION

    This picture shows all the Dalton points that were reported to have been found by a farmer, Wilford Gean. He found it in the Spring of 2007 in a cultivated field in Scott County, Missouri. All of the points are made of Burlington chert. They range in size from 6 1/2 inches (16.5cm) for the longest to 4 3/8 inches (11.1cm) for the smallest.

       Dalton caches are believed to be artifacts that were once associated with burials. However, the bones have not survived except for small fragments reported from the Sloan site. The artifacts on the Sloan site were often times laid out in a linear fashion which suggested they were interred with extended burials.

Dalton point from the "Gean Dalton cache."
 CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGE TRIPLE IMAGE
 DALTON POINT
SCOTT COUNTY, MISSOURI
 PRIVATE COLLECTION

    This is the only extensively resharpened Dalton point found in the "Gean Dalton cache." These points have often been referred to as drills but they rarely show any wear pattern that would result from drilling or punching holes through leather, wood or any other type of material. This Dalton point is made of Burlington chert and measures 4 3/8 inches (11.1cm) long.

     All the Dalton points in this cache are made of Burlington chert. The quality of the material, except for the two largest examples, is fairly grainy and porous. They range in size from 6 1/2 inches (16.5cm) for the longest to 4 3/8 inches (11.1cm) for the smallest.

Magnified view of flaking on Dalton point.
 CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE
 DALTON POINT FLAKING
SCOTT COUNTY, MISSOURI
 PRIVATE COLLECTION

    This picture shows a magnified view of a portion of an edge of one of the Dalton points from the "Gean Dalton cache." The long, narrow pressure flakes represent one of the signature flaking patterns used by Early Archaic Dalton flintknappers.

      Dalton caches represent a conceptual tradition that extends far back in time. Whether it's flowers for the Neanderthal burials at Shanidar or the golden treasures in King Tut's tomb, the theme is the same, which is offering good things to the one who has died. Wouldn't it be interesting to know how far back in time the first human reported seeing the first ghost.

"REFERENCES"

1910, Moorehead, Warren K., "Cached Flint Objects," The Stone Age In North America, pp. 217-218.
1912, Hodge, Frederick Webb, "Cache Disks and Blades," Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, part 1, pp.178-179.
1997, Morse, Dan F., "Sloan, A Paleo-Indian Dalton Cemetery in Arkansas, p. 92.
2006, Funk, Robert E., Lepper, Bradley T., "Paleo-Indian: East," Environment, Origins, and Population, Vol. 3, p.187.
2007, Personal communications with David Menze

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