Edge Abrasion during Biface Manufacture

1973 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Payson D. Sheets
Keyword(s):  
Projectile Points ◽  
Late Horizon

AbstractNance intended to demonstrate that certain small, bifacially chipped obsidian artifacts from the California Late horizon were used for cutting purposes, and were therefore not projectile points. However, both categories of edge abrasion noted by Nance, attrition and striation, may also appear on the edges of bifacially flaked artifacts during the process of manufacture. The purpose of abrading a biface edge is to strengthen the edge preparatory to pressure or percussion flaking. Criteria to distinguish edge abrasion during manufacture from abrasion deriving from use are presented.

Functional Interpretations from Microscopic Analysis

1971 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Nance
Keyword(s):  
Functional Analysis ◽  
Functional Significance ◽  
Microscopic Analysis ◽  
Projectile Point ◽  
Central California ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
Late Horizon ◽  
Binocular Microscope

AbstractFor many years, small, serrated, obsidian artifacts characteristic of late central California cultural manifestations (Late Horizon), have been regarded as projectile points (arrow and dart points). A functional analysis of a number of these tools based on examination with a binocular microscope revealed evidence of wear patterns including striations which makes it quite clear that these artifacts were used for other purposes. This brings the projectile point interpretation up for serious questioning, at least for the area under consideration. It is suggested that further investigation of artifact assemblages, using similar methods, will in all likelihood alter many existing ideas regarding the functional significance of many artifact types. It is further pointed out that many times discrepancies exist between ethnographic accounts and other sources of data relative to the functional significance of artifacts.

Exchange Systems in Late Postclassic Mesoamerica: Comparing Open and Restricted Markets at Tlaxcallan, Mexico, and Santa Rita Corozal, Belize

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 780-799
Author(s):  
Marc D. Marino ◽  
Lane F. Fargher ◽  
Nathan J. Meissner ◽  
Lucas R. Martindale Johnson ◽  
Richard E. Blanton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Action Theory ◽  
Ethnically Diverse ◽  
Market Development ◽  
Economic Systems ◽  
Open Market ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
The Social ◽  
Late Postclassic ◽  
Open Markets ◽  
Social Sectors

In premodern economic systems where the social embedding of exchange provided actors with the ability to control or monopolize trade, including the goods that enter and leave a marketplace, “restricted markets” formed. These markets produced external revenues that could be used to achieve political goals. Conversely, commercialized systems required investment in public goods that incentivize the development of market cooperation and “open markets,” where buyers and sellers from across social sectors and diverse communities could engage in exchange as economic equals within marketplaces. In this article, we compare market development at the Late Postclassic sites of Chetumal, Belize, and Tlaxcallan, Mexico. We identified a restricted market at Chetumal, using the distribution of exotic goods, particularly militarily and ritually charged obsidian projectile points; in contrast, an open market was built at Tlaxcallan. Collective action theory provides a useful framework to understand these differences in market development. We argue that Tlaxcaltecan political architects adopted more collective strategies, in which open markets figured, to encourage cooperation among an ethnically diverse population.

A Workshop Site of Early Man in Dinwiddie County, Virginia

1951 ◽  
Vol 17 (1Part1) ◽  
pp. 9-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben C. Mccary
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Rare Type ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
Fluted Points

David I. Bushnell, Jr., first aroused wide interest in the fluted points found in Virginia. He accomplished this primarily by an article in the June 9, 1934 issue of the Literary Digest, in which he announced the discovery of “two Folsom points” in Virginia. This article and subsequent references to these two “points of recognized Folsom type” (Bushnell, 1935, pp. 35-6, 56) called special attention to the importance and possibilities of such finds in the East. In 1934, only one collector of Virginia projectile points, Arthur Robertson of Chase City, Virginia, could claim “five or more” of these fluted points (Wells, 1935, pp. 1, 14). However, the intense interest which Bushnell created stimulated a search in Virginia for this rare type of point, with the result that shortly after Bushnell's 1934 announcement, sporadic finds of fluted points having a resemblance to both the Folsom Fluted and the Clovis Fluted began to be noted in various parts of the State. Their occurrence seemed to indicate that there actually was a paleo-Indian in Virginia.

scholarly journals Assessing Hafting Adhesive Efficiency in the Experimental Shooting of Projectile Points: A new Device for Instrumented and Ballistic Experiments

Archaeometry ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 465-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Gaillard ◽  
L. Chesnaux ◽  
M. Girard ◽  
A. Burr ◽  
E. Darque-Ceretti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Projectile Points ◽  
New Device

Phylogenetic and morphometric analyses of Eastern fluted-point forms

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Matthew T. Boulanger
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Selective Pressure ◽  
Cladistic Analysis ◽  
Eastern North America ◽  
Character State ◽  
State Change ◽  
University Of Missouri ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
Morphometric Analyses ◽  
The University

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This dissertation constitutes two mutually complementary approaches to the study of Paleoindian material culture in eastern North America, ca. 13,500-10,500 calendar years before present. Archaeologists have long held that the East contains a substantially greater degree of morphological variation in Paleoindian point forms, though precisely why this is the case has rarely been explained. It is also unclear how many of the various point forms relate to each other in an evolutionary sense--which forms are derived from which, and why? Morphological analyses are conducted on a large sample of intact Paleoindian projectile points from across the East. I use paradigmatic classification to establish classes for use in a cladistic analysis to evaluate heritable continuity within the sample. Results of this analysis suggest that shape and form of Paleoindian projectile points changed in a more-or-less stochastic fashion across space, and evidence for strong selective pressure is limited. Findings concerning the process of character-state change suggest that some characters become fixed early in the evolution of points, whereas others appear to change frequently. The results of this study demonstrate that changes in Paleoindian projectile points can be explained within a cultural-evolution framework.

Experimental and Archaeological Verification of an Index of Retouch for Hafted Bifaces

2006 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 743-757 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Andrefsky
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
Stone Tool ◽  
Data Set ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Projectile Points

The relative amount of retouch on stone tools is central to many archaeological studies linking stone tool assemblages to broader issues of human social and economic land-use strategies. Unfortunately, most retouch measures deal with flake and blade tools and few (if any) have been developed for hafted bifaces and projectile points. This paper introduces a new index for measuring and comparing amount of retouch on hafted bifaces and projectile points that can be applied regardless of size or typological variance. The retouch index is assessed initially with an experimental data set of hafted bifaces that were dulled and resharpened on five occasions. The retouch index is then applied to a hafted biface assemblage made from tool stone that has been sourced by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF). Results of both assessments show that the hafted biface retouch index (HRI) is effective for determining the amount of retouch and the degree to which the hafted bifaces have been curated.

Points in Time: Direct Radiocarbon Dates on Great Basin Projectile Points

2013 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 580-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey M. Smith ◽  
Pat Barker ◽  
Eugene M. Hattori ◽  
Anan Raymond ◽  
Ted Goebel
Keyword(s):  
Great Basin ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Projectile Point ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
Primary Means ◽  
Point Types ◽  
Cross Dating ◽  
Age Estimates

AbstractTypological cross-dating is the primary means by which archaeological sites are placed into chronological frameworks. This approach relies on the assumption that artifacts at undated sites—usually projectile points—are coeval with similar artifacts found at Other, dated sites. While typological cross-dating is necessary in regions dominated by open-air lithic scatters, the approach can be problematic when undated and dated sites are separated by significant distances. Here, we present radiocarbon dates on projectile points with organic hafting material still attached or found within organic storage bags. Our results provide unequivocal ages for various morphological projectile point types at several Great Basin locales and should be useful to researchers seeking local age estimates for those point types, which often involves relying on chronological data from more distant sites. The results also highlight potential issues with uncritically applying typological cross-dating using typologies based on metric attributes, and in two cases, suggest the need to revise the age ranges for certain point styles in the western Great Basin.

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