Assessing the Chronological Variation Within the Western Stemmed Tradition

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Current Perspectives on the Western Stemmed Tradition-Clovis Debate in the Far West" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Western Stemmed Tradition (WST) projectile points exhibit considerable morphological variability, which may reflect difference in function, ethnolinguistic affiliation, resharpening/rejuvenation, or age. These ideas represent hypotheses that remain to be tested, and rejecting one or more of them will improve our understanding of the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene. To address questions surrounding the morphological variability of WST points, I evaluate existing radiocarbon assays associated with WST-bearing archaeological components across the Far West and present new dates from five previously excavated sites where good chronological resolution was lacking or absent. These data are poised to inform on technological innovation and spread, population movements, and how and when early groups settled into the Far West.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Current Perspectives on the Western Stemmed Tradition-Clovis Debate in the Far West   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23081