We propose a new method for differentiating archaeological atlatl darts from arrow points. Our dart-arrow index accurately distinguishes known (hafted) archaeological examples of darts and arrows. We find that ethnographic collections of hafted arrows used by previous researchers are problematic, and should not be used as control samples for differentiating darts from arrows. We use the dart-arrow index to reassess the projectile points described by Ames et al. (2010). The analysis shows that Hatwai Eared (4400–2800 B.P.) and Cascade (8500–4500 B.P.) points were darts, not arrows as Ames et al. argue, and that a major revision of the history of bow-and-arrow technology in western North America is unnecessary.
Smith et al. (2013) provided important new information concerning the ages of a variety of projectile point types found in the Great Basin. Two of their interpretations, however, deserve further discussion. Smith et al. (2013) concluded that the Nicholarsen (or Nicolarsen) Cache contains both dart and arrow points. However, our application of methods developed by Hildebrandt and King (2012) to distinguish dart and arrow points, indicates that the Nicholarsen Cache contains arrow points exclusively. In addition, we suggest that the two ca. 6,800-year-old “Elko-Eared” points identified by Smith et al. (2013) are Large Side-notched points.
P erhaps the largest-scale archaeological study ever undertaken in the Great Basin, the Ruby Pipeline Project included the investigation of 566 prehistoric sites across northern Nevada. A 13,000 year record of human occupation was documented spanning the first pluvial lake settlements at the close of the last Ice Age to the rise of the Western Shoshone and Northern Paiute. This archaeological record is replete with vast obsidian quarries, upland root-gathering sites, major residential bases, specialized hunting camps, and large-scale antelope traps. We are introduced to a prehistoric world of continual change, one marked by transformed environments, shifts in settlement and subsistence structure, and even wholesale population movements. The result is a work that allows us to chronicle the initial colonization of northern Nevada, monitor the subsequent process of population growth and dispersal, document the evolution of exchange systems, and propose a compelling new version of Numic prehistory.
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