John Baldwin West Olive, Michigan
Northern Indiana and southern Michigan have produced a large number of the classic-shaped Snyder spear points. The Snyder point was named by Edward G. Scully for types found in Illinois on the Snyder farm where these points were excavated. The Snyder point is associated with the Middle Woodland Culture commonly referred to as Hopewell, circa 500 BC to 500 AD. The Snyder point distribution pattern is quite large and follows established Hopewellian trade routes, with major concentrations in the northern Mississippi Valley and the Ohio Valley, including southern Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and as far west as eastern Oklahoma.
The majority of Snyder spear points are made from white flint, probably quarried from sites in Missouri and Illinois. There are examples made from Indiana gray (Harrison County flint), and a number of Ohio Flint Ridge Snyder have been found within the Hopewell sphere of influence. A few examples have been recorded made from chalcedony, quartz and the occasional black flint point made from lithic resources in Ohio, Pennsylvania or Missouri.
Growing up in northern Indiana, I avidly collected all the gray horn-stone Snyder I could get my hands on. These spear points ranged from 2 to 6 inches in length, with the majority falling between 2½ and 4 inches in length. A collected frame of Snyder spear points is very pleasing, as these big wide spear points fill space in an aesthetic way. The old timers called them Sun Fish spears and remarked that a frame looked like wild geese flying through the sky.
The Snyder is a classic form, a true diagnostic artifact from the Hopewell culture. Many of these classic spear points have been recovered from established Hopewell mounds. Many small Hopewell mounds yielded Snyder points as their only remaining artifact. Moorehead’s famous cache of un-notched Snyder preforms, made from Indiana horn-stone found in southern Indiana, numbered in the hundreds. These un-notched Snyder points have officially been named North Points….
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