Chipped-stone crescent

Chipped stone crescents are a class of artifact found mainly associated with surface components of archaeological sites located in the Great Basin, the Columbia Plateau, and throughout California.

Although their distribution covers a large portion of the western United States, crescents are often found in similar contexts in close proximity to water sources including playas, lakes, rivers, and mainland and island coast lines.

The exact purpose of crescents is unknown, but scientists suggest they may have been hafted as a projectile point, or used as part of a throwing stick.

[2][6] Of the thousands of crescents documented to date in the western United States, approximately 94 percent of the sites in which they were discovered are within 10 kilometers of large existing or extinct bodies of water including wetlands, marches, rivers, and pluvial lakes.

[5] Similarly, crescent fragments have also been found in subsurface deposits dating to 7,600-8,200 cal BP associated with sites on the shoreline of extinct Buena Vista Lake, also located in the southern San Joaquin Valley.