Projectiles or Pikes? Clovis Point Attributes and Braced Weapon Use

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Fluted point weaponry types and the expansion of Indigenous people across North American megafauna habitats 13,050–12,650 cal BP are considered in light of historical polearm use. Confronting megaherbivores such as Proboscidea and Bison or megacarnivores such as Arctodus, Panthera, and Smilodon with thrust or thrown spears was likely less effective than pike (braced lance) impalement using the large animal’s mass and movement toward the pike wielder, whether as charge, lunge, or tusk or horn sweep. Assessing historical accounts of braced weapon use against lions, boars, grizzlies, and warhorses, we consider hunting and defense with lanceolate Clovis points as pike tips, deployed with the long shaft’s base set in the ground. We propose that (1) the sharp, resilient Clovis point increases hide entry reliability; (2) its flute makes possible the thicker shaft needed to sustain massive compressive impalement force; and (3) post-incision the biface may become less critical as mainshaft impalement continues deceleration and injury. Experiments are underway to assess whether the wedge-shaped, incurvate base allows staged hafting collapse and point recession when bone is encountered. Points detaching after hide entry could partially account for high frequencies of Clovis isolates and complete specimens at unbutchered mammoth sites such as Naco.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 35599.0