Fluted points have a channel (a flute) running from the base of the point.This point is from the Wasden site.
Lanceolate Series
The earliest known projectile points in the Great Basin belong to the "Fluted Point Tradition" (Hester and Heizer 1973) and the "Stemmed Point Tradition" (Layton 1970). These have not figured prominantly in recent typological exercises because of the relative paucity of specimens from secure dated contexts (Hoimer 1986:94). The temporal relationship of the two lanceolate series is unknown, but in North Ainerica as a whole, fluted simple lanceolate points appear to be the earlier.

Simple Lanceolate/Fluted:
Holmer (1986:94) cites Owl Cave (Wasden) as the only site with fluted points from a secure dated context radiocarbon dated at c. 13000-11,000 B.P. (Miller and Dort 1978; Miller 1982), and with obsidian hydration dates averaging c. 11,000 B.P. (Green 1983). Bedwell (1970:180-181) found a slightly fluted lanceolate point on Pleistocene lake gravels dated c. 13,000 B.P. in the Fort Rock Basin of Oregon (cf. Fagan 1975) and Elmer Smith recovered a similar point in the lowest levels of Danger Cave (Jennings 1957:47).

Simple Lanceolate:
Later simple lanceolate forms in the Great Basin cultural area have been classified under a variety of labels: Pinto Shoulderless, Humboldt Concave-base and Humboldt Basal-notched, Triple-T Concave-base, and McKean Lanceolate. Holmer (1986:100) notes that concave-base lanceolate forms often overlap with bifurcate-stemmed points in distribution, but have a far longer time span, and implies that the classification of these forms is far from detailed or complete.

Shouldered Lanceolate:
Shouldered lanceolate point variants in the Great Basin may have a roughly comparable age to fluted lanceolates (Holmer 1986:95). Bedwell (1973:142) recoved a stemmed point from the same occupation level as the fluted lanceolate point dated c. 13,000 B.P. Several bases of stemmed points were found at Smith Creek Cave with radiocarbon dates ranging from c. 12,000--10,000 B.P., and found in direct association with extinct Pleistocene fauna. Swanson (1972) stemmed lanceolate points at Bison Rockshelter the Birch Creek Valley of Idaho dated 10,000 B.P. Sargent (1973) reports recovery Haskett stemmed lanceolate points from Re Overhang in central Idaho dated c. 10,000-9,000B.P. Bedwell found Haskett type points Connley Caves in southeastern Oregon dated 11,000-9000 B.P.

Haskett

Shouldered Lanceolate

Later versions of stemmed lanceolate p. include Lake Mohave and Silver Lake variants. These points are usually recovered as surface finds, but Sargent (1973) reports on a Silver Lake point recovered from a stratum at Redfish Overhang dated c. 8000 B.P. Two Lake Mohave or Silver Lake points were recovered at Danger Cave in Stratum DII, dated c. 10,000-9,000 B.P. One Lake Mohave point at Hogup Cave was dated c. 8,000 B.P.

The actual chronological sequence of lanceolate and shouldered lanceolate point forms is not well described for the Great Basin, but the transition from Paleoindian to Early Archaic is marked in distinctive point styles. There is a dimunition is size, morphology, and use of projectile points at this transition exemplified in the development of variants of triangular outline and highly variable haft treatment.