Geographic Distribution Analysis of Elko Series Projectile Points Across the Great Basin

Summary

The Elko projectile point series is diagnostic of the early Archaic period throughout the Great Basin. Within the Elko series, two identified subtypes exist: Elko Eared (EE) and Elko Corner-notched (ECN). While morphologically distinct, both subtypes occur within the same chronological and geographic extents. In this study, I gathered a sample of 37 sites throughout the Great Basin with identified EE and/or ECN points, then developed an index representing the proportion of EE to ECN points in each sampled site. I then created several sets of geographic distribution groups and used Analysis of Variance to look for significant differences in index numbers between tested groups. Each geographic analysis yielded no statistically significant results, indicating no consistent geographic variation in frequencies of EE versus ECN points across the Great Basin. This result suggests that both subtypes were used similarly throughout the Great Basin and observed differences in frequencies at specific sites among these two point types are not indicative of any distinct culture.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21913