Exploring 10,000 Years of Variation in Weapon Technologies: A Diachronic Analysis of Lithic Projectile Points in the Puna de Atacama (Northern Chile)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Global “Impact” of Projectile Technologies: Updating Methods and Regional Overviews of the Invention and Transmission of the Spear-Thrower and the Bow and Arrow" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

We present an analysis of the functional design of a collection of 353 projectile points from archaeological sites in the Puna de Atacama (21.9°–24.7° S) that belong to the cultural sequence dating from 12,500 to 2400 years BP, which ranges from the earliest groups to inhabit the area to the emergence of the first agropastoralist societies. The results obtained reveal significant changes in projectile or weapon technologies throughout the sequence. This begins with the predominance of the spear-thrower and dart system during the Early Archaic, followed by the diversification and specialization of these technologies during the Middle Archaic, with a significant increase in the use of throwing and thrusting spears. In the Late Archaic, we contend that the bow and arrow became the prevailing technology for the first time, although older technologies remained in use. However, the debate is ongoing, as it is also possible that the artifacts studied are actually smaller dart points that reflect new designs in projectile technology. Lastly, in the Early Formative period, bow and arrow technology became undeniably widespread, while the prevalence of older technologies was low, and often associated with social legitimation practices and rituals.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)   •
• The Global “Impact” of Projectile Technologies: Updating Methods and Regional Overviews of the Invention and Transmission of the Spear-Thrower and the Bow and Arrow

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38918.0