Besant Point – Arrowhead & Projectile Point Identification

Culture: Besant complex (Northern Plains; period labels vary regionally)

Time period: Dates vary by region; see source-specific chronology

Region: Northern Great Plains

Material: Knife River flint, local cherts

Besant side-notched points are associated with Northern Plains bison-hunting contexts. Regional chronologies and period labels vary. The Saskatchewan Archaeological Society handbook gives 2,000–1,150 years ago for its regional type chronology; NPS gives a broad 3,000–1,500 BP estimate for FOUS 3909. The former catalogue interval of 2,000–1,200 years ago should not be treated as a universal or directly measured specimen date. These source units are retained without calendar conversion.

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