Dataset for Eren et al. (2020), "North American Clovis Point Form and Performance: An Experimental Assessment of Penetration Depth"

Summary

In Late Pleistocene North America colonizing hunter-gatherers knapped and used Clovis fluted projectile points. During their expansion the size and shape of Clovis points changed significantly. Archaeologists know that cultural drift contributed to this variation, but is it possible that this single source could alone generate so much variation so quickly? We present the first of several experimental studies exploring whether Clovis size and shape variation results in performance differences, focusing here on how deeply different Clovis point forms penetrate a target. Our ballistics experiment demonstrates that seven different Clovis point forms penetrated the same target with different effectiveness. Even after tip cross-sectional perimeter is accounted for, there are significant differences in penetration depths between two of the point types. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that Clovis people in different times and places may have chosen specific attributes to provide them with a selective functional advantage.

Cite this Record

Dataset for Eren et al. (2020), "North American Clovis Point Form and Performance: An Experimental Assessment of Penetration Depth". Kent State University, The University of Tulsa, Southern Methodist University. 2020 ( tDAR id: 465789) ; doi:10.48512/XCV8465789

Data Set Structure

Measurement Column
Count Column
Coded Column
Filename Column
Integration Column (has Ontology)

Table Information: Measurements

Column Name Data Type Type Category Coding Sheet Ontology Search
Point BIGINT  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Total projectile mass (g) DOUBLE  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Point length DOUBLE  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Point width DOUBLE  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Point thicknes DOUBLE  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Haft binding length DOUBLE  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Haft binding width DOUBLE  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Haft binding thickness DOUBLE  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Shaft length (cm) DOUBLE  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Shaft diameter DOUBLE  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true

Table Information: Penetration and Velocity Data

Column Name Data Type Type Category Coding Sheet Ontology Search
Shot BIGINT  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Velocity (m/s) VARCHAR  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Penetration depth (cm) DOUBLE  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Shot BIGINT  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Velocity (m/s) VARCHAR  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Penetration depth (cm) DOUBLE  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Shot BIGINT  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Velocity (m/s) VARCHAR  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Penetration depth (cm) DOUBLE  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Shot BIGINT  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Velocity (m/s) VARCHAR  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Penetration depth (cm) DOUBLE  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Shot BIGINT  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Velocity (m/s) VARCHAR  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Penetration depth (cm) DOUBLE  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Shot BIGINT  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Velocity (m/s) VARCHAR  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Penetration depth (cm) DOUBLE  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Shot BIGINT  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Velocity (m/s) VARCHAR  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true
Penetration depth (cm) DOUBLE  Uncoded Value uncategorized none none true

Keywords

Culture
Clovis PaleoIndian

Material
Chipped Stone

File Information

  Name Size Creation Date Date Uploaded Access
Supplementary-Data.xlsx 17.02kb Jun 29, 2020 Sep 27, 2021 5:57:13 AM Public
These data were also used in Sitton et al. (2020), "Tip cross-sectional geometry predicts the penetration depth of stone-tipped projectiles", Scientific Reports