Arrowhead my friend found

[Jmilbrandt]

One of my friends found this arrowhead on his uncles ranch in arizona. He asked me about it but I really don't know anything about arrowheads so I thought maybe one of you guys would know something about it. He was just hoping someone could tell him something about the type or design of it also maybe how old it is. Thanks.

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[billy]

obviously obsidian, but it looks like the base is snapped off.  not really sure...

[Jmilbrandt]

Yeah it looks like it definitely was snapped off at the base.

[mullet]

 It is definatley an arrow head and not an Atlatl point. That's about the size I use without a base. Nice find. I'll pull out my books and see if I can identify what point it is.

[brian melton]

Please post a side profile

[Coo-wah-chobee]

Looks like a Snaketown or a San Bruno point. Not sure about whether the base is snapped off or not.  The broad serrations are a sign of these points. Either way nice find. Age is well 600 to 800 er so ifn its a Snaketown and 200 to 600 ifn its a San Bruno. Ifn its a San Bruno then the base is snapped off. Had a Snaketown some years ago looks like the one I had..........bob

[mullet]

  I'd like to see a side profile, too. I price points for people in Fl., I'm curious about the flake scar boogers that show up and the lack of patina, that you can see in the points that Billy posted. Also, the tip doesn't really look like an impact break and the base looks more like a pile-up while thinning instead of a snap. Can you show some more pictures? It would be educational for all of us, thanks.

[jcinpc]

would there be patina on obsidian?

[Jmilbrandt]

I don't do knapping could someone tell me what patina is?

[Jmilbrandt]

Here are the pics you requested.

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[jamie]

patina is for the most part a sign of age. sort of like my crows feet

[mullet]

  You can look at the points Billy posted and faintly see a brown, rust color on the flat spopts. That's patina, it's from being exposed to the elements whether buried or in the sun, for a long time. That point sure is thin, though.

[Justin Snyder]

Our obsidian here gets a grey or rust color patina depending on how much mahogany color was in the obsidian. I am more suspicious of the serrated edge. I have seen thousands of points from the Arizona Strip and have never seen one with a serrated edge like that. Almost all of the points I have seen are a similar size and style and chert or petrified wood. I have never seen an obsidian point out there. Justin

[JackCrafty]

Pueblo peoples (in Arizona) made arrowheads from obsidian....that's well known. And there are points called "mission points" that were made from glass and stone that look like your point, so that's what you might have. But the large size of your arrowhead (and lack of patina) makes it seem like a fairly recent artifact.....probably made after 1900. 

Overall, it looks like a broken arrowhead preform or the tip of a saw-type blade that was much longer.  The blade is thin, but the flaking does not indicate a high level of skill.  IMO, it looks like it was made for the tourist trade.

It could also be a very recent reproduction.

[Jmilbrandt]

You can't really see it in the pics but it does have a whitish grey build up on some parts of it there isn't very much of it though. Could that be patina?