Projectile Points Research Articles

The pleistocene-holocene transition in Southwestern France: A focus on the laborian

During the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, the European archaeological records can be divided into two broad entities – the Epigravettian in the northern Mediterranean Basin and the industries characterized by the return of a well-developed blade technology in northwestern Europe. This large Western European techno-complex comprises several cultural traditions defined essentially by various types of projectile points. One of these cultures, the Laborian, occupies an area at the crossing of northern traditions (Ahrensbourgian) and the Epigravettian techno-complex. Situated between the Azilian and the Mesolithic, the Laborian (ca 12.5–11 Ka cal. BP) is, paradoxically, poorly defined in southwestern France where it was initially defined. In fact, data for this culture is essentially available in the surrounding regions and especially in northern and western France. Revaluation of key Laborian lithic assemblages as well as the discovery of new sites today allow to draw a new picture of the various cultural traditions occupying this large area around 12 Ka cal. BP. Despite the scarcity of data on hunted fauna, we can observe the dominance of the exploitation of large game typical of open temperate landscapes. Osseous industry is also rare but we note the maintenance of bone barbed points in few sites. Artistic.conventions (engraved pebbles or bones) show several symbolic innovations, such as the development of a unique zoomorphic art. Lithic hunting weaponry essentially based around pointed elements, much like during the Azilian, allows to highlight two chronological phases along the Laborian culture: an older phase with straight backed points with truncated bases (Malaurie points) and bitruncated backed blades (“rectangles”) and a recent phase with pointed backed bladelets (Blanchères points) and bitruncated trapezoids. The production of large, standardized, straight blades with flat cross-sections during the Laborian reveals clear similarities with concepts recognized in Belloisian collections from Northern France even if blade lengths rarely reach the standards known on these sites. Finally, the technological study of domestic stone tools and hunting weaponry is an effective means for reconstructing larger scale evolution processes influencing these last Pleistocene societies and the persistence of their traditions into the European Mesolithic.

Geoarchaeology of the Water Canyon Paleoindian site, west‐central New Mexico

AbstractWater Canyon is a rare buried, multicomponent, stratified Paleoindian site in west‐central New Mexico. This paper presents a geoarchaeological assessment of the site as part of a broader interdisciplinary investigation of its paleoenvironmental history and archaeology. The archaeology is associated with ancient wetland deposits (Stratum 6) within an alluvial fan. The fan formed initially through the late Pleistocene. Formation of the fan stopped and wetland deposition began ~11,310 14C yr BP (~13,170 cal yr BP). Stratum 6 evolved via wetland deposition and cut‐and‐fill cycles. The bulk of Stratum 6 dates <10,300 14C yr BP (<12,200 cal yr BP). One, or possibly two, beds of bison bone, likely processing‐stations, were found on the margin of the paleowetland and date to ~9,200 14C yr BP (~10,400 cal yr BP) (lower bone bed) and ~8,200 14C yr BP (~9,150 cal yr BP) (upper bone bed). Farther out in the paleo‐wetland a probable kill site was discovered with an in situ Eden projectile point dated to at least ~8,955 14C yr BP (~10,070 cal yr BP). The wetland landscape returned to an alluvial fan system <8,000 14C yr BP (<8,900 cal yr BP) with two more cycles of fan deposition by ~6,500 cal yr.

The Upper Paleolithic sequence in el Mirón Cave (Ramales de la Victoria, Cantabria, Spain): An overview

El Mirón Cave, located on the northern edge of the Cantabrian Cordillera and 20 km from the present Atlantic shoref, contains a sequence of Upper Paleolithic (Gravettian, Solutrean, Magdalenian and Azilian) levels (ranging in radiocarbon age from 28,000–10,500 BP) atop a minor Middle Paleolithic layer (>46,000 BP) and beneath a long, rich series of Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age deposits (5700–3200 BP). The Upper Paleolithic levels, spanning early MIS3, LGM, Oldest Dryas, and Late Glacial environmental conditions, display alternation between short-term, ephemeral, limited-function human occupations (Gravettian, Solutrean, Upper Magdalenian and Azilian) and repeated, long-term, multi-functional ones (Initial, Lower and Middle Magdalenian). The rich ungulate faunas are co-dominated by ibex and red deer, which is logical since the cave is on a high, steep, rocky cliff-side (ibex habitat), but dominates a broad, low-lying inter-montane valley (red deer habitat). Salmon fishing was also important at times. The lithic artifact assemblages, with abundant evidence of in situ knapping, include mixes of debris and tools made on local non-flint materials and others (including abundant projectile points and backed bladelets) made on high-quality, non-local flints from coastal flysch outcrops and other exotic sources. Domestic tools (scrapers, denticulates, etc.) can be made of either type of lithic material. Osseous artifacts, especially in the early-mid Magdalenian levels, include large numbers of antler points, bone needles and awls, as well as a few distinctive works of portable art. The cave also includes rupestral art of probable Magdalenian age. The Lower Magdalenian levels are particularly rich in hearths and other human-made structures (a wall, pits, pavements) and the first human burial from this period ever to be found on the Iberian Peninsula. The individual was a healthy, robust female of 35–40 years old, buried in ritual fashion with a special ochre from an outcrop located on the modern shore and “marked” by engravings and the same ochre on a large block that had fallen from the cave ceiling soon before the grave was made in a narrow space between it and the rear vestibule wall. Numerous technical studies (e.g., paleoenvironments, DNA, stable isotopes) are summarized in this article.

The early occupation of America

Archaeology The Cooper's Ferry archaeological site in western North America has provided evidence for the pattern and time course of the early peopling of the Americas. Davis et al. describe new evidence of human activity from this site, including stemmed projectile points. Radiocarbon dating and Bayesian analysis indicate an age between 16,560 and 15,280 years before present. Humans therefore arrived in the Americas before an inland ice-free corridor had opened, so a Pacific coastal route was the probable entry route. The stemmed projectile points closely resemble those found in Upper Paleolithic Japan, also supporting the hypothesis of a coastal route. Science , this issue p. [891][1] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aax9830

Late Upper Paleolithic occupation at Cooper’s Ferry, Idaho, USA, ~16,000 years ago

Radiocarbon dating of the earliest occupational phases at the Cooper's Ferry site in western Idaho indicates that people repeatedly occupied the Columbia River basin, starting between 16,560 and 15,280 calibrated years before the present (cal yr B.P.). Artifacts from these early occupations indicate the use of unfluted stemmed projectile point technologies before the appearance of the Clovis Paleoindian tradition and support early cultural connections with northeastern Asian Upper Paleolithic archaeological traditions. The Cooper's Ferry site was initially occupied during a time that predates the opening of an ice-free corridor (≤14,800 cal yr B.P.), which supports the hypothesis that initial human migration into the Americas occurred via a Pacific coastal route.

Obsidian Provenance Data Reveals New Insights into Archaic Lifeways in Chihuahua, Mexico

ABSTRACTArchaeologists know less about how hunter-gatherers and early agriculturists lived during the Archaic period in the Mexican Northwest compared to the U.S. Southwest. To evaluate Archaic period mobility, lithic technology, and regional and temporal patterns in raw material procurement in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico, we characterized the trace elemental composition of 61 obsidian artifacts from Rancho Santa María I, II, and El Peñón del Diablo using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. People predominantly used Los Jagüeyes obsidian procured locally from secondary deposits, but they also used three additional sources from upland and lowland environments in the Mexican Northwest to make dart projectile points and debitage. Also, they reduced obsidian using bipolar percussion, and there is regional and temporal variation in obsidian source use. This study contributes new insights into how mobility, raw material availability, and nodule size affected lithic technological organization in an understudied region.

Las vegas de altura del Valle de El Bolsón (Dpto. Belén, Catamarca) y su articulación a los territorios locales

Recientes prospecciones en las cabeceras de las quebradas de Los Nacimientos, Lampacillo y Yerba Buena, en el valle de El Bolsón, provincia de Catamarca, aportaron relevantes datos relacionadas con ocupaciones pastoriles, correspondientes posiblemente al siglo XIX y XX, así como también a poblaciones cazadoras-recolectoras representadas por fragmentos de puntas de proyectil, principalmente de formas lanceoladas, características del Arcaico y del período de transición hacia sociedades productoras de alimentos. Es llamativa a su vez la escasa presencia de evidencias correspondientes a los períodos Formativo y de Desarrollos Regionales, que son abundantes, en cambio, en el fondo del valle y en sectores intermedios de las quebradas laterales. Nuestro objetivo en este trabajo es presentar los resultados de estas prospecciones, así como también el avance del análisis de los materiales recuperados para evaluar los modos de articulación de las vegas de altura con los paisajes conocidos en sectores más bajos en distintos momentos de la historia de ocupación del valle.

Controlled experiments support the role of function in the evolution of the North American copper tool repertoire

Archaeologists have attributed the decline of North American utilitarian copper tools to changes in demography and social complexity during the Archaic to Woodland transition, ca. 3000 B.P. However, not all utilitarian copper tools disappeared: the copper awl persisted. Given that the copper tool types that disappeared, such as projectile points and knives, have been experimentally shown to be functionally inferior to their non-copper counterparts, we tested whether the copper awl persisted because it was functionally superior to those made of bone. Using replicated copper and bone awls in a controlled punching experiment that utilized an Instron Universal Materials Tester, we demonstrate that copper awls require significantly less force to punch through leather relative to bone awls. These results strongly support the hypothesis that tool function played an important role in the evolution of the North American copper tool repertoire 3000 B.P.

Do projectile points get cold? An experimental approach examining composite and stone projectile technology

Researchers have noted that cold temperatures may have had an impact on hunter-gatherer decisions concerning raw material selection for projectile points. This line of reasoning has been used to ex...

Computer Algorithm for Archaeological Projectile Points Automatic Classification

The manual archaeological projectile point morphological classification is an extensive and complex process since it involves a large number of categories. This article presents an algorithm that automatically makes this process, based on the projectile point digital image and using a classification scheme according to global archaeological approaches. The algorithm supports different conditions such as changes in scale and quality of the image. Moreover, it requires only a uniform background and an approximate north--south projectile point orientation. The principal computer methods that compose the algorithm are the curvature scale space map (CSS-map), the gradient contour on the projectile point, and the support vector machines (SVM) algorithm. Finally, the classifier was trained and tested on a dataset of approximately 800 projectile points images, and the results have shown a better performance than other shape descriptors such as Pyramid of Histograms of Orientation Gradients (PHOG), Histogram of Orientation Shape Context (HOOSC) (both used in a bag-of-words context), and geometric moment invariants (Hu moments).

A blended model of mobility behavior: Clovis period hunter-gatherers at the Gault Site

This paper reviews previous work conducted on Laser Ablation – Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) sourcing 33 Clovis period projectile points from the Gault Site (41BL323) in Central Texas. This paper includes new geochemical data from four new primary geologic sources to increase an Edwards Plateau region chert database to 302 primary geologic samples from 204 samples with which to test against the geochemistry of the 33 Clovis artifacts. These artifacts are then assessed with regards to their form, breakage patterns, and distance to source to suggest a blended model of mobility for Clovis period hunter-gatherers in Central Texas. This data suggests that the pattern of movement across the landscape of the Edwards Plateau for these hunter-gatherers may have been a blended pattern alternating between collector and forager based on changing distribution of resources seasonally. This patterning may have been influenced for the Gault Clovis hunter-gatherers reliant on availability of chert resources as well as ecotonal density and diversity of plants and animals; especially, as gauged by Clovis site types and distribution spread throughout much of the Southern Great Plains.

Microblade technology, obsidian sourcing, and the Cody complex in early Holocene Alberta

Despite being an ephemeral presence in Plains archaeological assemblages, the distribution and technical specificity of early Holocene (Denali complex) microblade technology makes it readily identifiable and comparable to similarly-aged Paleoindian projectile point occurrences. In this paper we review the co-occurrence of Denali and Cody complex materials in Alberta, in particular the obsidian and Knife River Flint (KRF) artifacts of these two early Holocene archaeological complexes, employing both lab-based (EDXRF) and portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analyses. A strong pattern is revealed of southern (Wyoming, Idaho, North Dakota) obsidian sources being limited to southern Alberta microblade and Cody artifacts while northern obsidian sources in British Columbia are only attributed to artifact assemblages from northwestern Alberta and northern British Columbia. Northeastern British Columbia and most of Alberta were ice free at 11,000–10,000 cal BP, and Denali-related artifacts across the deglaciated corridor area indicate southward movement of this technology at a time when the region was also being more broadly and intensively utilized by people using Cody complex technology. We offer scenarios to explain Denali and Cody complexes’ archaeological co-occurrence, while recognizing technical issues in pXRF source identification.

Paleoindian Projectile-Point Diversity in the American Southeast: Evidence for the Mosaic Evolution of Point Design

ABSTRACTPaleoindian projectile points occur in high numbers in the American Southeast, and when compared to other regions of the East, the Southeast has the greatest projectile-point diversity. In this paper, we trace changes in elements of projectile-point design in the region to reconstruct the different evolutionary histories of specific point attributes and how these changes affected Paleoindian point design through time. With this approach, we consider the role of a mosaic pattern of change on the evolution of material culture. We address when and where certain aspects of point design were adopted and how these traits may have influenced point function. By tracing changes in specific technological design elements, we identify some of the social and adaptive processes that resulted in such great point diversity in the American Southeast.

Refining chronology for surface collections: A new adaptation of morphological dichotomous keys for the Plains Typology and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

This paper uses new lithic research with well-dated stratified collections from the foothills of the Absaroka Mountains and adjacent Bighorn Basin to build a dichotomous key for chronologically classifying points in the northern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) as Late Prehistoric (200–1,500 cal BP), Late Archaic (1,500–3,200 cal BP), Middle Archaic (3,200–5,700 cal BP), Early Archaic (5,700–8,500 cal BP) or Paleoindian (8,500–12,000 cal BP). The Plains Typology, which is currently used throughout the GYE, has never been formally based on points with affiliated absolute dates. Further, it has always been unclear how well this typology functions in the mountains of the GYE. Based on detailed attributes from over 600 points, including Mummy Cave (48PA201), a foundational chronology for the region, we build a key intended for use with fragmentary surface collections. We then use this key to consider variation in high elevation projectile points from the Beartooth and Absaroka Mountains.

Technological change and interior settlement on western Santa Rosa Island, California

We use data on site distributions, chronology, and artifact assemblages from a large, flat upland landscape on Santa Rosa Island to better understand the relationship between coastal and interior settlement patterns on California’s northern Channel Islands. This region, Pocket Field, was an important hub of occupation during the late Pleistocene/early Holocene (before 7550 cal BP) and throughout the late Holocene (3600–168 cal BP). A radiocarbon chronology for the region suggests that settlement patterns are consistent with what has been observed in coastal locations, with an increase in site density throughout the late Holocene. Groundstone is an important component of the late Holocene archaeological record, although it decreases in importance following the droughts of the Medieval Climatic Anomaly (MCA; 1150–600 cal BP). Olivella biplicata shell bead production at dense midden sites indicates that occupation of the region was not just for access to terrestrial resources. An increase in sites with projectile points during the MCA may reflect an increase in interpersonal violence and indicate that increasing territoriality that occurred on the coast may have extended into the island interior. Our study demonstrates that interior sites were integral components of island settlement and subsistence patterns, even when diet is heavily marine-oriented.

An Examination of the Role of Miniature Projectile Points at the Lindenmeier Folsom Site, Colorado

ABSTRACTSignificantly smaller-than-average projectile points have been observed in many Folsom weaponry assemblages. However, while several hypotheses have been put forth suggesting the role these miniature items may have played in Paleoindian toolkits, none of these hypotheses have been explicitly tested. To make matters more confusing, a universal definition of what constitutes a miniature point has not been agreed upon. Utilizing morphological data obtained from the Smithsonian’s collection of projectile points from the Lindenmeier Folsom site in northern Colorado, this paper seeks to fill in some of these gaps in knowledge by (a) suggesting an explicit definition based on a statistical analysis of assemblages throughout the Folsom region; and (b) testing expectations derived from the hypotheses that suggest miniature points in the Folsom toolkit represent toys, ceremonial objects, raw-material conservation, or simply variation in the acceptable morphological attributes of Folsom weaponry.

More on Clovis Learning: Individual-level Processes Aggregate to Form Population-level Patterns

ABSTRACTThe Clovis techno-complex has figured prominently in American archaeology since the 1930s, when fluted stone weapon tips and other tools were found alongside the remains of late Pleistocene fauna in eastern New Mexico. Given the lack of fluted projectile points in the Old World, it appears certain that the Clovis techno-complex emerged in the New World, south of the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets. The successful marriage of learning models grounded in evolutionary theory and modern analytical methods has yielded significant results in terms of what we know about the rapid spread of Clovis across North America. As more researchers become involved in applying learning models, however, there needs to be both consistency in how concepts and terms – selection and drift, for example – are used and clarity over how the results of small-scale processes, when taken in the aggregate, can create the population-level patterns seen in the archaeological record.

Early- and middle-stage fluted stone tool bases found near Fox Lake, Wayne County Ohio: Clovis or not?

Goodson Rockshelter in Oklahoma has provided strong chronometric and typological evidence that early- and middle-stage fluted stone tool bases found there date to the Late Archaic. These results indicate that such specimens are not necessarily diagnostic of the late Pleistocene Clovis culture. Here, we present additional evidence that early- and middle-stage fluted bases do not automatically indicate a Clovis presence. The lithic assemblages east of the Fox Lake area in Northeast Ohio consist of debitage and tools, including five early- and middle-stage fluted bifaces. However, of the 20 diagnostic projectile points found in the surrounding area, all can be assigned to the Holocene (Early Archaic to the Late Prehistoric), and none to the Pleistocene. Until chronometric assessments of age can be conducted, the most parsimonious explanation for this pattern is that these early- and middle-stage fluted bifaces east of Fox Lake are Holocene in age, and not affiliated with the Clovis culture.

Biocultural consequences of the Late Woodland transition at Forbush Creek, North Carolina (AD 800-1200)

After several centuries of cultural continuity, the Late Woodland transition (AD 600-1000) in the Southeastern Woodlands involved a significant intensification of existing lifeways. This study examines the biocultural consequences of the Late Woodland transition at Forbush Creek (AD 800-1200), a Yadkin River Valley site from the Piedmont region of North Carolina. Twelve percent of individuals recovered from the site sustained violence-related trauma, including five individuals with healed blunt force trauma, two individuals with perimortem cranial trauma, and a single projectile point injury. Secondary burial individuals exhibited significantly more trauma (n = 10, 42%) and nutrient deficiencies (n = 12, 50%) than primary burial individuals (n = 1, 4%; and n = 5, 19%, respectively). The Forbush Creek remains provide new evidence of the biological impacts of cultural transitions and suggest that uncertainty, scarcity, and conflict arising from changing lifeways contributed to inequality in the Forbush Creek community. Secondary bundle burial inclusion may represent marginalization and an increased vulnerability to morbidity and mortality risks. The emergence of social inequality in the Late Woodland period likely shaped long-term cultural dynamics that preceded the complex sociopolitical hierarchies of the later Mississippian period.

Controlled ballistics tests of ground, percussion-flaked, and pressure-flaked projectile point impact durability: Implications for archaeological method and theory

Ground stone projectile points can be found throughout the global archaeological record, but why they were selected for by prehistoric foragers has received little attention. Additionally, modern archaeological experiments have increasingly used ground points in lieu of knapped ones. Here, we present an experiment testing whether there is a difference between ground, percussion flaked, and pressure flaked points in terms of impact durability. Our three groups were similar in form, raw material, and hafting, only differing in their production. Controlled ballistics tests demonstrated that ground stone points did not break at a different rate than either the percussion flaked or pressure flaked points, nor was post-firing point length (as a percentage of original point length) different. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that impact durability on its own was not likely a motivating factor for forager selection of grinding versus knapping. Instead, researchers should look to other factors, such as skill, demography, time budgets, or raw material selection to explain the emergence of ground stone points in particular contexts. Given our null results, our test also supports the use of ground stone points in modern archaeological experiments.