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Spears, Darts, and Arrows: Late Woodland Hunting Techniques in the Upper Ohio Valley

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Michael J. Shott
Michael J. Shott*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50614
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Abstract

The belief that the bow and arrow replaced the spear and/or dart as hunting weapons in eastern North America between 1500 and 1200 B.P. is tested using a classification function that identifies bifaces as either spear/dart or arrow points. Results and their alternative interpretations bear important implications for the timing and nature of the technological transition. Moreover, the economic consequences of the transition are at once subtler and less profound than often supposed. Ethnographic data do not support simple notions of a uniform increase in acquisition efficiency across target species with the adoption of the bow and arrow.

Resumen

Resumen

Arqueólogos creen que la lanza y el dardo fueron reemplazados por el arco y la flecha como instrumentos de la caza entre 1500 y 1200 A.P. en el este de Norteamérica. Se examina esta creencia a través de una función de clasificación que identifica los bífaces como punta de dardo o de flecha. Los resultados y sus interpretaciónes alternativas tienen implicaciónes importantes para la sincronización y la naturaleza de esta transición tecnológica. Además, las consecuencias económicas de la transición son a la vez más refinadas y menos profundas de lo que frecuentamente se supone. Datos etnográficos no respaldan nociones simples de un aumento uniforme en eficiéncia de adquisición de determinadas especies con la adopción del arco y la flecha.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 58 , Issue 3 , July 1993 , pp. 425 - 443
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1993

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