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Quartz Projectile Point Past peoples in the Upper Mississippi Valley crafted lithic tools from many different types of stone, each with its own qualities. A wide range of raw materials were used, including varieties of chert, silicified sandstone (orthoquartzite), rhyolite, and sometimes quartz, like this projectile point from north-central Wisconsin. Multiple factors played into why people used certain types of stone, including availability, how easy they were to work, and the quality and kinds of tools that could be produced. This point has a notch in one edge but not the other. It might have been left unfinished due to issues with the quartz, which tends to break along fracture planes that can complicate knapping and final touches. The small size and general form of the point might indicate a later precontact time frame.