The Tehuacan Valley is located in South Central Mexico in the states of Puebla and Oaxaca, approximately 180 kilometers southeast of Mexico City. The Valley is 15 kilometers wide at the northern end, 100 kilometers in length, and has an area a little over 2,000 square kilometers. Tehuacan Sequence, a series of cultures, is found here. The Tehuacan Sequence represents nine phases that span from the first human occupation in 10,000 B.C. until the Spanish Conquest of 1521 A.D.. The second oldest phase is known as the El Reigo Phase, from 7,000 to 5,000 B.C. Tools of this phase included scrapers, choppers, mortars, pestles, metates, manos, and a series of projectile points.

In the El Reigo Phase, there were about a dozen points that are characterized by this time period. The Plainview and the Abasolo were both carried over from the earlier Ajureado Phase. The El Reigo, Flacco, Tortugas, Agate Basin, La Mina, Hidalgo, Trinidad, Nogales, Tilapa, and the San Nicholas were all developed in the El Reigo Phase. Of the twelve points that classify the El Reigo Phase, the El Reigo Point is the only one to be used exclusively in that phase. The other points were used in other phases as well.

The El Reigo Point is identified by its long and narrow shape with a deep concave base. They often have parallel or slightly concave sides that taper into a long curved point. The average size of this type of point is 8 cm long by 3 cm wide and 0.9 cm thick with the concave base at 0.5 cm deep. They were made mostly by percussion-flaking with the edges being sharpened or thinned by pressure-flaking or very well controlled flint-knapping. The shape of this point suggests that it may have been derived from earlier types of concave base points like the Plainview point.

There is also evidence showing how the points were attached to the shaft of the weapon throughout the Tehuacan Sequence. During the El Reigo Phase there was two different ways to haft the points. One style was to insert the base of the point into a slot at the end of the shaft and wrap string around both the stem of the point and the shaft to secure the point. The second style is to insert a stem-less point into a slot in the shaft then wrap the shaft very tightly with string to pinch the projectile point to secure it in place.

Written by: Jerrod Roalstad

Muser, Curt. Facts and Artifacts of Ancient Middle America, New York: E.P.Dutton 1978

MacNeish, Richard S., Nelken-Terner, Antoinette, & Johnson, Irmgard W. The Prehistory of the Tehuacan Valley: Nonceramic Artifacts, London: University of Texas Press 1967

Enje, Kjell I., & Whiteford, Scott, The Keepers of Water and Earth, Austin: University of Texas Press 1989