Plains Paleoindian Projectile Point Penetration Potential

Eren, Metin I.; Bebber, Michelle R.; Knell, Edward J.; Story, Brett; Buchanan, Briggs

doi:10.1086/717831

Cited by 27 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…This phase is not well defined for the Lake Superior region, but it generally includes materials similar to those of the Agate Basin complex or Cody complex, which are both based on Paleoindian cultural materials in western North America. Agate Basin points date between 10,500 and 10,000 RCYBP (Eren et al 2022; Holliday 2000). The Cody complex dates to 10,100–8000 RCYBP and contains both Scottsbluff- and Eden-style projectile points (Knell and Muñiz 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The first Late Paleoindian cultural material in Michigan's Upper Peninsula is closely related to Agate Basin, which is generally associated with Late Paleoindian “Plano” groups from the northern Great Plains and dates to the period of 10,500–10,000 RCYBP (Eren et al 2022; Hofman and Graham 1998). The Agate Basin points found in northern Michigan are generally intact specimens made from exotic lithic raw materials, most often Hixton silicified sandstone, which is the most common raw material used by western Great Lakes Late Paleoindian groups (Carr and Boszhardt 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Optimal Linear Estimation (OLE) Modeling Supports Early Holocene (9000–8000 RCYBP) Copper Tool Production in North America

Bebber

Key

2022

Am. Antiq.

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The discovery and development of metal as a tool medium is a topic of global interest. A fundamental research goal involves establishing the timing of human experimentation with naturally occurring copper ore, which is commonly associated with sedentary, agrarian-based societies. However, in North America, there is well-documented millennia-scale exploitation of copper as tool media by small, seasonally mobile hunter-gatherer groups in the western Great Lakes. Archaeologists have suggested that Late Paleoindian groups may have begun using copper as a tool medium almost immediately after they entered the Lake Superior basin. However, only a few radiocarbon dates support such early use of copper. Here, we use optimal linear estimation modeling to infer the origin date for copper tool production in North America. Our results show that the invention of copper as a tool media likely occurred shortly after the first pioneering populations encountered copper ore during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. The origin dates modeled here (ca. 8100 RCYBP) reveal several important features about the behavior of pioneering hunter-gatherer populations. Moreover, our results suggest that this phenomenon represents the earliest known use of metal for utilitarian copper tool production.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimal Linear Estimation (OLE) Modeling Supports Early Holocene (9000–8000 RCYBP) Copper Tool Production in North America

Bebber

Key

2022

Am. Antiq.

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“…In another hypothesis, Eren and colleagues (2022) suggest that regionalization during the Late Paleoindian period may have resulted in decreased communication and a lower effective population size for communities of toolmakers, possibly resulting in the loss of complex knowledge such as fluting. Fluting certainly requires skill, as evidenced by high failure rates (Sellet 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lycett 2015), proposes that fluting ended due to a shift in perception to viewing fluting as costly. Finally, Eren and colleagues (2022) propose that fluting ended due to knowledge loss as populations became disconnected from one another during regionalization.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using 3D Models to Understand the Changing Role of Fluting in Paleoindian Point Technology from Clovis to Dalton

et al. 2022

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Fluting is a technological and morphological hallmark of some of the most iconic North American Paleoindian stone points. Through decades of detailed artifact analyses and replication experiments, archaeologists have spent considerable effort reconstructing how flute removals were achieved, and they have explored possible explanations of why fluting was such an important aspect of early point technologies. However, the end of fluting has been less thoroughly researched. In southern North America, fluting is recognized as a diagnostic characteristic of Clovis points dating to approximately 13,000 cal yr BP, the earliest widespread use of fluting. One thousand years later, fluting occurs more variably in Dalton and is no longer useful as a diagnostic indicator. How did fluting change, and why did point makers eventually abandon fluting? In this article, we use traditional 2D measurements, geometric morphometric (GM) analysis of 3D models, and 2D GM of flute cross sections to compare Clovis and Dalton point flute and basal morphologies. The significant differences observed show that fluting in Clovis was highly standardized, suggesting that fluting may have functioned to improve projectile durability. Because Dalton points were used increasingly as knives and other types of tools, maximizing projectile functionality became less important. We propose that fluting in Dalton is a vestigial technological trait retained beyond its original functional usefulness.

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“…As such, these results are of little use for studying how hunting arrows actually perform. Foam and clay have also been used to validate TCSA/P as lone predictors of stone point penetration(Sisk and Shea 2009; Sitton et al 2020), but this can lead to a problematic conclusion that smaller armatures are better(Eren et al 2020(Eren et al , 2022Mika et al 2020). Such a conclusion overlooks the greater importance of sharper tips and edges, variable kinetic energy and momentum within weapon technologies, and the general purpose of a cutting armature, to incise a su ciently large opening through skin and a su ciently large wound through vitals (Friis-Hansen 1990; Pettigrew 2021; Wood and Fitzhugh 2018).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

On the (non)scalability of target media used in controlled archaeological projectile experiments

Pettigrew

Bamforth²

2022

Preprint

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When they work, controlled experiments can efficiently and clearly reveal essential characteristics of the functions and performance of ancient hunting and fighting weapons. However, homogenous target media must be carefully validated to ensure that the same variables that made weapons effective in their original application are being captured in controlled tests. Although homogenous flesh simulants have proven effective for studying firearms, the same simulants cannot be assumed to be effective when testing low velocity piercing/cutting projectiles. In fact, we build on past research showing that two flesh simulants that are commonly used by archaeologists, ballistics gelatin and pottery clay, fail to capture how atlatl darts and arrows perform when penetrating living bodies. In accord with forensic research of knife stabbing attacks, polymeric skin simulants may prove effective in future experiments, but this requires further research.

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Plains Paleoindian Projectile Point Penetration Potential

Cited by 27 publications

References 94 publications

Optimal Linear Estimation (OLE) Modeling Supports Early Holocene (9000–8000 RCYBP) Copper Tool Production in North America

Optimal Linear Estimation (OLE) Modeling Supports Early Holocene (9000–8000 RCYBP) Copper Tool Production in North America

Using 3D Models to Understand the Changing Role of Fluting in Paleoindian Point Technology from Clovis to Dalton

On the (non)scalability of target media used in controlled archaeological projectile experiments

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