The Bow and Cultural Complexity of the Canadian Plains

Abstract

The timing and circumstances of the introduction of the bow and arrow into past North American economic and social lifeways have been sources of interest and controversy among archeologists for a very long time. Initial interpretations of the adoption of the bow and arrow generally seem to have been based on the rather straightforward assumption of functional superiority as a hunting tool. That is, the bow and arrow was simply a better instrument than the atlatl-dart technology it replaced. More recently, however, researchers exploring the effectiveness of the atlatl as a hunting tool have responded with studies that challenge the assumed universal functional superiority of the bow and arrow as a hunting device. Social coercion and warfare theory presents an alternative perspective on the adoption of the bow and arrow.