Golondrina point

Golondrina points were attached on split-stem hafts and may have served to bring down medium-sized animals such as deer, as well as functioning as butchering knives.

The concentration of Golondrina specimens is highest across the South Texas Plains, where the point is the most prevalent of Paleo-Indian types and defines a distinctive cultural pattern for the region.

This classification method sought to describe the relationship between the two types, placing Plainview as the genus, and Golondrina as the species, to highlight key similarities and differences.

[2] Subsequent research and technological analysis determined this type to be separate and distinct from the Plainsview point, and the name was shortened to simply "Golondrina" by Thomas C. Kelly in 1982.

[3][4][5] The type takes its name from a pronounced flaring of the basal corners (stem), which recall the split tail of a swallow (golondrina in Spanish).

The blade edges are slightly serrated with a recurved outline—wide at the bottom, then narrowing before becoming wide and then thin again at the distal end, a so-called "fish shaped profile".

[4][8] By nature of a split-stem haft style, Golondrina points would not need to be deeply set, resulting in a largely exposed cutting edge.

[4] Edwards chert, Alibates agate, and Tecovas jasper were the major materials utilized by Paleo-Indians in the Southern Plains for the manufacture of flaked stone implements.

Later excavations in 1976, at the nearby Baker Cave in Texas, revealed a large hearth in the Golondrina stratum containing a wide variety of small game and plant remains left by early hunter gathers.

The Dalton point, found in the central United States, shares a similar outline and basal corner auriculation with Golondrina, which may imply that they are part of a series.