Points are usually symmetric elongated culturally-diagnostic hunting tools of shock-resistant quartzite or chert, but some are basalt or silicious shale. Used for killing mainly caribou, they may be confused with symmetric lanceolate bifacial knives. Unless retouched away, most points have striking platforms at the haft opposite a sharp tip. Points vary in size from long lanceheads to tiny arrowheads, which were used by Déné Indians until replaced by flintlock guns in the 18th Century. As lances outperform rifles by silently killing large numbers of caribou at water-crossings, they were used well into the 20th Century. The Déné and their Taltheilei ancestors, and their Barrenland predecessors of the ASTt, Shield Archaic and Northern Plano traditions, used a variety of points, most distinct to period. They were not simple tools-of-the-moment, but retained by herd followers between forest and tundra.
Of 1061 points, 301 are stratified and 765 are culturally affiliated surface artifacts. By number and culture, from earliest to latest, points include 147 NP (138 tundra & 9 forest), 79 SA (62 tundra & 17 forest), 101 ASTt (85 tundra & 16 forest and 246 Early (ET; 75 tundra & 171 forest, 333 Middle (MT; 162 tundra & 171 forest & 142 Late (LT; 55 tundra & 87 forest) and 7 Chipewyan (3 tundra & 4 forest). Measurements of some broken points were estimated. NP points are mainly Agate Basin types lanceolates of biconvex section, parallel-sides and tapered ends (although some midsections are rounded), with ground flat and round basal edges. Many have burinated tips and sides, a diagnostic of Northern Plano. Some have also been made into gravers. None are shouldered, tanged, or notched. Most have fine collateral retouch and standard size. SA points are mainly side-notched, rocker-based, and profusely ground. Most are lanceolate of biconvex section with indented notches. A few have flat basal edges, and rarely asymmetric. The point cultural continuity from NP to SA proposed by Wright (1976) exists in general lanceolate plan, biconvex section, and fine retouch and thinning. Unfortunately, the SA points that most resemble NP points are middle rather than late SA; the early SA example short, thick and unlike NP Agate Basin points. ASTt points are mainly triangular in plan, with side-notched ones rare. As sideblades co-occur, some points may be harpoon endblades, with the possibility that caribou may have been harpooned, in addition to the more usual lancing and shooting with bow-and-arrow. Taltheilei points follow a transition from ground tang to ground shoulder to ground stem to unground corner & side-notched and asymmetrically tanged. Earliest Taltheilei points have thick narrow ground tangs and are rare, being present only on the Dubawnt River and mainly at Grant Lake. ET points are wide and prominently shouldered, with square plan hafts, and exist from the Kazan to Great Slave Lake, where they are called Hennessey. MT points are lanceolate, thinner than ET, and ground stemmed, with almost a diamond pattern in some examples. When finely made, they may be confused with NP Agate Basin points. LT points vary more than any other, their main attribute being their deviation from the rest, and their asymmetry. However, some points, especially spadelike varieties, may be finely made and symmetrical. Since hunting at shallow water-crossings results in points broken when rocks are struck, the tipless bases with attached shafts retrieved to camp for point re-attachment result in many discarded bases near hearths. Shouldered ET points are snapped at their weak point below the shoulder, resulting in tapered bases like MT bases. In sum, shouldering changes to stemming from ET to MT, and from right-angled straight bases to straight sides to rounded bases and tapering stems. Transitional single-shouldered stemmed points occur, as do odd points of the other phase in buried levels. Surface points can be phased with a small degree of uncertainty. Early point bases are angular, with almost right-angled corners merging to straight sides. MT bases are more often rounded, with gradual tapering to curving stems. Chipewyan points may be copper, brass, bone and stone and vary considerably.A key of attributes and their values for determining cultural homogeneous points was contructed as follows:
Plan: 0=unknown; 1=lanceolate; 2=rectagular/square/rhomboid; 3=triangular; 4=spadelike; 5=pentagonal.
Section: 0=unknown/absent; 1=biconvex; 2=planoconvex; 3=concavoconvex; 4=biplanar; 5=keeled.
Tip: 0=unknown/absent; 1=sharp; 2=round; 3=serrated; 4=flat; 5=probably intentionally burinated with patterned scars; 6=probably accidentally burinated with a single blow from striking a rock or bone; 7=altered or retouched tip but not burinated (e.g.s, graver,drill, endscraper or wedge).
Middle (taper is judged at midpoint, with maximum length of taper either towards the tip or base): 0=unknown/absent; 1=tapered to tip; 2=tapered to haft; 3=parallel-sided.
Basedge (basal edge): 0=unknown/absent; 1=unground flat; 2=ground flat; 3=unground round; 4=ground round; 5=unground concave; 6=ground concave; 7=unground pointed; 8=ground pointed.
Base: 0=unknown/absent; 1=unground square; 2=ground square; 3=unground taper; 4=ground taper; 5=unground flare; 6=ground flare; 7=parallel tang; 8=tapered tang; 9=unground side-notch; 10=ground side-notch; 11=unground corner-notch; 12=ground corner-notch; 13=unground round; 14=ground round; 15=fish-tailed (mostly ET). (Note: tapered bases or hafts expand less towards the midsection than flared bases).
Oddbase: 1=eared; 2*=almost notched; 3=fully ground; 4=heat-treated or burnt; 5=patinated or weathered; 6=channel-flaked; 7=single side-notched; 8=almost tanged; 9=thinned. (*SA side-notched points usually are eared or spurred, while LT usually is unspurred, but have corners).
Break: 0=absent (possible slight chipping without altering measurements); 1=transverse; 2=diagonal; 3=semi-transverse or semi-diagonal; 4=double diagonal, as in corner-removed midsections or bases; 5=1 & 2; 6=double transverse, as in midsections; 7=longitudinal & transverse, as in halved or split points; 8=intentionally burinated with patterned scars along one or both sides or faces. Accidentally burinated points keep their original breakage code.
Burinated: 0=unknown/absent; 1=one side or face; 2=both sides or faces.
Shoulder: 0=unknown/absent; 1=unground single; 2=ground single; 3=unground double; 4=ground double. (Note: side and corner-notched points are not labelled as shouldered even if they have shoulders, it being understood from their notched plan. However, shoulders are designated in tanged points).
Inferred shoulders: 0=unknown/absent; 1=yes, using point style of particular culture.
Dualtool (double function): 1=wedge; 2=knife; 3=burin; 4=graver; 5=bifacial scraper or skin flexer; 6=gouge; 7=endscraper; 8=chisel; 9=spokeshave.
Substance: 1=quartzite; 2=chert; 3=quartz; 4=silicious shale; 5=basalt; 6=brass; 7=copper; 8=steel; 9=schist; 10=taconite; 11=slate; & 12=bone.