Projectile Point Sequences in Northwestern North America (original) (raw)
Related papers
Geoarchaeology, 2018
Our understanding of the northern fluted point tradition, a critical early New World lithic assemblage, is constrained by limited data from stratified, datable contexts. Here, we report on the Raven Bluff site in northwest Alaska, where fluted projectile points, microblades, and a well-preserved faunal assemblage have been recovered from datable sediments. Results show that prehistoric inhabitants occupied a stone-sorted polygon where retooling, game processing, and raw material procurement occurred mostly between 12,720 and at least 11,340 cal. yr B.P. We argue that once polygon formation ended, the stratigraphic context remained relatively intact. Further studies focused on the site's lithic and bone assemblages will help shape our understanding of the relationship between fluted point technology, microblades, and caribou hunting in northern Alaska. 1 | INTRODUCTION Key to understanding late-glacial human adaptations to arctic and subarctic environments is discovery of unequivocal archaeological sites in buried, stratified, and ideally, datable contexts. With regard to northern stemmed and lanceolate projectile points, these are rare with fewer than five sites excavated and reported (Bever, 2006; Goebel et al., 2013; Kunz, Bever, & Adkins, 2003). Furthermore, processes, especially those related to permafrost, have altered original spatial associations between the site matrix and archaeological material hampering interpretations about human behavior. To add, common depositional settings on ridgetops, often with very little or slow sedimentation, obscure vertical separation of cultural layers. Research at these sites nonetheless generates important data concerning several key questions in early northern prehistory: How old are fluted projectile points in Alaska? What is their relationship to microblades? Furthermore, having produced such rich fauna, what can we learn about subsistence, seasonality, and other as yet inexplicable topics in northern prehistoric archeology? Although there is still a great deal to be learned from more detailed lithic and zooarchaeological studies, we begin here with the geoarchaeology. Preliminary reporting on Raven Bluff focused on initial dating (Hedman, 2010) and the presence of key artifacts such as the fluted projectile points (Smith, Rasic, & Goebel, 2013, p. 107). In this paper we focus on three issues: (a) the numerical age of the oldest cultural material, (b) depositional environments, and (c) natural formation processes. We also provide basic descriptions of the lithic and faunal assemblages. Ecofacts and artifacts can inform the geoarchaeology for a number of reasons when it comes to understanding post-depositional modification of original spatial associations. Lithic refits, for example, can show vertical and horizontal movement through the profile. Taphonomy, likewise, has important implications regarding matrix integrity and provides insight into post-depositional geological history of the site. Both are factors at Raven Bluff.
Science Advances
Lanceolate projectile points of the Clovis complex and stemmed projectile points of the Western Stemmed Tradition first appeared in North America by ~13 thousand years (ka) ago. The origin, age, and chronological superposition of these stemmed and lanceolate traditions are unclear. At the Debra L. Friedkin site, Texas, below Folsom and Clovis horizons, we find stemmed projectile points dating from ~13.5 to ~15.5 ka ago, with a triangular lanceolate point form appearing ~14 ka ago. The sequential relationship of stemmed projectile points followed by lanceolate forms suggests that lanceolate points are derived from stemmed forms or that they originated from two separate migrations into the Americas.
Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 2024
Crescents are a distinctive component of several terminal Pleistocene-early Holocene (TP-EH) toolkits in the Far West, including the concave-based projectile point techno-complex, as demonstrated by archaeological associations, toolstone preferences, and manufacturing techniques. Archaeological and paleoenvironmental evidence suggests regular association with periods of wetland expansion across this region. Numerous speculative hypotheses have been proposed for the possible function(s) of these tools, but little direct investigation or testing has been conducted. This study uses the method of multiple working hypotheses to investigate these competing propositions. It draws on multiple lines of evidence from morphological and techno-functional patterns of tool damage and rejuvenation developed from a large artifact assemblage; analogs from ethnographic, historic, and archaeological cases; paleoenvironmental and ecological observations; an actualistic experimental program; and applications of foraging and design theories. Results show how morphological variation often reflects original blank form and individual tool life-history. Patterned recycling strategies include occasional manufacture from concave-base projectile points and conversion into gravers. The combined evidence best supports the hypothesized interpretation of lunate crescents as specialized transverse projectile points used primarily for open-water hunting of waterfowl by early foragers of the Great Basin and California, especially during episodic and localized increases in their abundance. These conclusions contribute to the growing picture of diversity and adaptive flexibility among early foragers in the Far West and further indicate waterfowl as a significant but temporally and spatially variable dietary component.
2013
In Great Plains archaeology, differences in projectile point morphologies are used to define typological groups, which are subsequently inferred to reflect unique cultural groups. The goal of this project was to investigate the variability between projectile points dating to the Late Middle Prehistoric period (2,500-1,300 BP) since some researchers associate these cultural remains with one group (Besant phase) while others separate them into Outlook, Besant, and Sonota phases/complexes. Metric and nonmetric attributes of projectile points from six single component sites, Fincastle, One-Eleven, Happy Valley, Muhlbach, Fitzgerald, and Ruby, were statistically examined. The results showed that basal attributes remain relatively constant, while blade aspects vary greatly. Since the base of a point is considered more typologically indicative than the blade, which is connected to functional aspects, it was concluded that, based on the projectile points, these represent one typological group. Two years ago I began another incredible journey in academia. The love and encouragement I received has not gone unnoticed, and here I would like to say thank you, not only to my friends and family who have loved and supported me no matter where I have chosen to venture, but also to the academics that I have met along the way. The artifact assemblages that I examined in my research were spread out between six different institutions. The Fincastle site was readily available to me through the Department of Geography at the University of Lethbridge. The others were located in Edmonton, Saskatoon, Gillette, and Laramie. Thus, I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who helped me access the projectile point collections, and each is acknowledged personally in text, on page 80. Without your gracious help and assistance this project would not have been possible. I would like to send a special thank you to Doug Orr, a Teaching Development Facilitator at the University of Lethbridge Teaching Centre. Without his expertise and assistance in using the IBM SPSS Statistics program I would have remained bewildered. Also, I want to thank Dr. Ivan Townshend for his patience in educating me on cluster analysis and principal components analysis. I also want to express my gratitude to my dear friends, Andy Black Water, Frank Weasel Head, David Striped Wolf, Ray Black Plume, and Noran Calf Robe. You have given me a special name with an inspirational meaning and I only hope I can live up to those expectations. All of your stories, guidance, and encouragement motivated me more than you may realize.
Evidence of an early projectile point technology in North America at the Gault Site, Texas, USA
Science Advances, 2018
American archaeology has long been polarized over the issue of a human presence in the Western Hemisphere earlier than Clovis. As evidence of early sites across North and South America continues to emerge, stone tool assemblages appear more geographically and temporally diverse than traditionally assumed. Within this new framework, the prevailing models of Clovis origins and the peopling of the Americas are being reevaluated. This paper presents age estimates from a series of alluvial sedimentary samples from the earliest cultural assemblage at the Gault Site, Central Texas. The optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) age estimates (~16 to 20 thousand years ago) indicate an early human occupation in North America prior to at least ~16 thousand years ago. Significantly, this assemblage exhibits a previously unknown, early projectile point technology unrelated to Clovis. Within a wider context, this evidence suggests that Clovis technology spread across an already regionalized, indigenous population. One Sentence Summary: Human presence in North America prior to ~16 thousand years ago is confirmed by age measurements from an early occupational sequence at the Gault site.
North American Archaeologist 34(1):71-108, 2013
Early projectile points from Midcontinental North America vary significantly in size and shape. Understanding the functional and stylistic aspects of this variability on a large spatial scale is a precursor to using this class of artifacts to evaluate and refine models of the social interaction of early hunter-gatherers in this region. Metric data from a sample (n = 1771) of Early Paleoindian (ca. 11,050-10,800 RCYBP), Late Paleoindian (ca. 10,300-10,000 RCYBP), and Early Archaic (ca. 10,000-8000 RCYBP) projectile points are analyzed to partition elements of functional and stylistic variability. Changes in the coefficient of variation of specific attributes are compared to expectations about how functional and stylistic variability should be manifest in these tools. Variability in hafting width and thickness appear to be constrained by functional considerations. The mixture of variables most closely related to hafting width shifts during the transition from lanceolate to notched points.
The Projectile Point Sequences in the Puget Sound Region
Projectile Point Sequences in Northwestern North America (Edited by Roy L. Carlson and Martin P.R. Magne), 2008
The research area discussed in this chapter encompasses what is considered to be the traditional territory of the Lushootseed speaking Coast Salish People, who are sometimes referred to as the Puget Sound Salish (e.g., Thompson and Kinkade 1990:38; Suttles and Lane 1990:485-502).1bis area begins at Samish Bay, east of the San Juan Islands, and extends southward to the head of Puget Sound, and includes the watersheds of numerous streams and rivers that drain from the Cascade Foothills into Puget Sound (Figure 1). Comparatively speaking, few systematic archaeological investigations have occurred in this part of the Pacific Northwest, so this paper should be considered a preliminary but much needed synthesis of over 4500 square miles of sheltered "inside" areas between the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges. The chipped stone projectile point sequence we will present covers the known sequence of lithic traditions in the study area, ranging from the Clovis period (approximately 11,000 BP) through to the time of European colonization.
An Examination of the Role of Miniature Projectile Points at the Lindenmeier Folsom Site, Colorado
PaleoAmerica, 2019
Significantly 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.