Barnes points were first classified in 1963 by William Roosa, who recognized that apart from using a similar fluting technique to that of Folsom points, they were unique. What made Barnes point unique was that they had a moderate basal cavity followed by divergent sides and the presence of single underflute or Barnes fishing flake. He named them after the Barnes Creek area of Midland County, Michigan, where they were found at a location now known as the Barnes site. The Barnes site is a Paleo-Indian site, located in the center of the lower peninsula of Michigan, which dates to between 12,500 and 10,000 B.P. The site was discovered by Wallace Hill, who lived nearby, and staff of the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology informed of its existence in 1959.
