Variation in North American dart points and arrow points when one or both are present

Lyman, R. Lee; VanPool, Todd L.; O’Brien, Michael J.

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2008.05.008

Cited by 45 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…For example, Lyman and O'Brien (2000) used a variety of data sets, including Schiffer's (1996) radio data, to show the usefulness of clade-diversity diagrams for exploring the origination of novel variants and explaining the history of artifact lineages. Similarly, Lyman et al (2008Lyman et al ( , 2009 and VanPool et al (n.d.) used clade-diversity diagrams to examine the evolution of prehistoric weapon-delivery systems in western North America, beginning with the atlatl and dart and ending with the bow and arrow. which has mainly emphasized diffusion and trade (Lyman and O'Brien 2003).…”

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confidence: 79%

Stimulated Variation and Cascades: Two Processes in the Evolution of Complex Technological Systems

O’Brien

Bentley

2011

J Archaeol Method Theory

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Michael Schiffer's theoretical and methodological contributions to archaeology are substantial. For the last two decades, Schiffer has become increasingly interested in the history of electrical technology, including portable radios, electric automobiles, eighteenth-century electrostatic technology, and, most recently, nineteenth-century electric light and power systems. Schiffer has long held a behavioral view, which focuses analytical attention on interactions between humans and material things, including complex technological systems (CTSs). For Schiffer, two key aspects of the evolution of CTSs are stimulated variation, defined as an increase in invention resulting from changing selective conditions, and cascading, defined as sequential spurts of invention that occur through the recognition of emergent performance problems in a CTS. To attain maximum usefulness, these concepts should be placed in a modern evolutionary framework that correctly identifies, and does not oversell, the role played by cultural selection. Research on individual and social learning provides the critical link between Schiffer's stimulated variation and cascade models and the diffusion of CTSs.

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confidence: 79%

Stimulated Variation and Cascades: Two Processes in the Evolution of Complex Technological Systems

O’Brien

Bentley

2011

J Archaeol Method Theory

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“…We have elsewhere examined artidiversity using metrics of morphological variation within and between artifact types (Lyman et al, 2008). Here we examine typological diversityhow many types are there at any one time?…”

Section: Paleobiology and Biodiversity (And Archaeology And Artidivermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An explanation is sought for replicate patterns, and over time that explanation becomes more rigorous and more firmly theoretically grounded. The same is true for artidiversity (Schiffer, 2001), although evolutionary archaeologists are beginning to reach the point where they can propose general patterns of evolutionary diversity (e.g., Lyman et al, 2008;Neiman, 1995). Much of our knowledge of technological innovation concerns industrial or mechanized technologies rather than primitive technologies (e.g., Schiffer, 1996Schiffer, , 2001Ziman, 2000).…”

Section: Paleobiology and Biodiversity (And Archaeology And Artidivermentioning

confidence: 99%

The diversity of North American projectile-point types, before and after the bow and arrow

Lyman

VanPool

O’Brien

2009

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

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“…Rarely, however, have archaeologists investigated the cause, or causes, that drive the changes that result in the diversification of point forms into different types at the scale addressed here. The research that has been done has focused on proximate explanations that usually invoke modifications, such as those noted in different hafting arrangements (e.g., Musil 1988) or in the innovation and spread of new weapon delivery systems such as the bow and arrow (e.g., Bingham et al 2013;Lyman et al 2008Lyman et al , 2009). These proximate explanations are important, but they do not provide an ultimate explanation for the variation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of technological richness in prehistoric Texas: an archaeological test of the population size and environmental risk hypotheses

Buchanan

O’Brien

Collard

2015

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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This paper reports a study that sheds light on an issue that is important for understanding human behavioral evolution-the factors that influence hunter-gatherers' decisions regarding the number and degree of specialization of their tools. Two primary drivers of technological richness and complexity have been proposed in the anthropological literature: population size and environmental risk. In general, ethnographic studies tend to support environmental risk as the primary driver, whereas the limited number of archaeological studies that have been carried out seem to support population size. These findings are difficult to reconcile because problems exist for both sets of studies. The present study was designed with these problems in mind. We used an archaeological dataset to test which of the hypothesized driving factors-population size or environmental risk-best explains changes in technological richness. More specifically, we investigated whether changes in the number of point types in Texas from the first occupation more than 13,000 years ago to the Late Prehistoric period, around 400 years ago, are better explained by environmental risk or by population size. Bivariate correlations and a generalized linear model indicate that temporal changes in point-type richness in Texas are significantly associated with changes in one of our proxies of riskglobal temperature. We found no relationship between temporal changes in point-type richness and changes in population size. Thus, the results derived from this study are consistent with the environmental risk hypothesis and inconsistent with the population size hypothesis.

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Variation in North American dart points and arrow points when one or both are present

Cited by 45 publications

References 32 publications

Stimulated Variation and Cascades: Two Processes in the Evolution of Complex Technological Systems

Stimulated Variation and Cascades: Two Processes in the Evolution of Complex Technological Systems

The diversity of North American projectile-point types, before and after the bow and arrow

Drivers of technological richness in prehistoric Texas: an archaeological test of the population size and environmental risk hypotheses

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