Paleoindian Osseous Barbed Weaponry in the Intermountain West: Distribution, Chronology, and Function

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Some have suggested that osseous projectile weaponry preceded that of stone-that bone, antler and even ivory barbed points and sagaie (osseous rods) might have been the hunting and fishing weapons of choice for the earliest peoples. Early technology using meticulously fashioned barbed osseous materials for weaponry takes us back to Katanda, Zaire 95 kya, is prevalent in the Upper Paleolithic of Europe and the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene in North America, and was used into the Holocene on several continents. Unfortunately, however, there are only rare occasions that this organic material survives in the archaeological record. In this presentation we examine the distribution of these osseous weapons in the Intermountain region of North America, focusing on the northern and western Great Basin where the majority of osseous barbed points and rods have been recovered. The few radiocarbon dates associated with barbed technology in the region suggest primary use during the Younger Dryas, while distribution suggests use as hafted fishing/hunting projectiles. In sum, we believe that this industry is quite old in the New World and played an important part in hunting and fishing at the end of the Pleistocene and possibly earlier.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25029