Alba Point

A small Caddo arrow point with a triangular blade whose edges are usually concave or recurved, seldom straight. Blade edges are sometimes finely serrated. Most are 18–35 mm long.

Shoulders are wide and outflaring and usually barbed. The stem edges are usually parallel, occasionally slightly contracting or expanding, and the base is straight or slightly convex. Stems are 5–8 mm wide and about 7 mm long on average, a quarter to a fifth of the total length.

The maximum width is unusually uniform at about 15 mm, seldom more or less (Suhm, Krieger and Jelks 1954). The key trait is a concave- or recurved-edged triangular blade with wide, outflaring barbs over a parallel-sided stem 5–8 mm wide.

Length 18–35 mm; maximum width about 15 mm; stem length about 7 mm on average; stem width 5–8 mm. (Suhm, Krieger and Jelks 1954.)

All of East Texas and adjacent states, south to the Coastal Plain, and west with decreasing frequency into North-Central and Central Texas.

Identification tips: Look for a short, broad-barbed triangle with concave or recurved edges and a parallel-sided stem about 5–8 mm wide.

Similar types: Bonham has a narrower blade with edges usually straight and a narrower stem, only 3–5 mm wide. Hayes has a bulb- or diamond-shaped stem and often sharply incut tips (Suhm, Krieger and Jelks 1954).

Naming: Krieger (1946) first called it Alba Barbed; the 1954 handbook shortened the name to Alba. Points between Alba and Bonham in form are often recorded as Alba/Bonham.

Dating evidence: A major type of the Alto focus. It appears in the East Texas Aspect of the Archaic shortly before pottery arrives in the region and continues to A.D. 1200 or later.