Miniature points in an exceptional early South American context

Abstract

Miniature points, similar to full-sized types used as hunting weapons, have occasionally been described in North and South America for Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene hunter-gatherer societies. They are explained as toys, practice pieces or ceremonial objects. They are an interesting case to use to reflect on how people materialize abstractions, encode visual communication and develop special practices related to particular places. Here we present six miniature points found at Cerro El Sombrero Cima (Buenos Aires province, Argentina), an early site with an unusual assemblage. Five specimens are fishtail projectile points and the sixth is an undescribed stemmed type. We use relevant theoretical insights and address point life histories according to their techno-morphological characteristics, raw material identification and fatty acids and sterols analyses. Finally, these projectile-point miniatures are considered in the context of discard, and their role among early American hunter-gatherers is addressed.