McWhinney or McWhinney Heavy Stemmed is a term for a shape of point in prehistoric lithic

Lithic

Lithic may refer to:*a stone tool*Lithic analysis*Lithic stage*Lithic core *Lithic reduction *Lithic technology *Lithic flake *Lithic fragment...

 weapons and tools found primarily in the midwestern United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, dating from the Late Archaic period in the Americas. The McWhinney Heavy Stemmed type has become in some ways a representation of the ambiguous in the field of archaeology

Archaeology

Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...

. The first to describe the McWhinney point type was J.M. Heilman, based on a surface collection from the McWhinney Village in Preble County, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. Kent Vickery (1972:3) has suggested that McWhinney Heavy Stemmed points, “exhibit considerable stylistic variation, and probably represent several varieties.” The points have been found in Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, and Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

.

Typology

McWhinney Heavy Stemmed points represent considerable stylistic variation and have been poorly defined and represented in the archaeological record

Archaeological record

The archaeological record is the body of physical evidence about the past. It is one of the most basic concepts in archaeology, the academic discipline concerned with documenting and interpreting the archaeological record....

 (Vickery 1972). The McWhinney type description is vague at best and is in need of an accurate type definition. Currently, there are a few known points that are similar to McWhinney, these include: Karnak

Karnak

The Karnak Temple Complex—usually called Karnak—comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings, notably the Great Temple of Amun and a massive structure begun by Pharaoh Ramses II . Sacred Lake is part of the site as well. It is located near Luxor, some...

, Lamoka, and Bradley Spike (Justice 1987).