Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology

The diversity of functions proposed for chipped stone crescentics is mirrored by the variety of their shapes. Some crescentics are simply of lunate design (e.g., Tadlock 1966), while others (often called "eccentric crescentics") incorporate notches, "spurs," "legs," and tangs onto an underlying crescent form (Rogers 1966; Jertberg 1978,1986). Malcolm Rogers (1929) believed that crescentics of San Dieguito age served as hunting amulets. Other suggested functions include lateral bird bunts, surgical instruments, skinning or slicing tools, ornaments, specialized scrapers, waterfowl points capable of glancing off water, and tools for peeling and stripping (Davis and Panlaqui 1978:61). Crescentics are generally thought to be of early Holocene age (Wallace 1955; Tadlock 1966; Warren 1968).