The design of hunting weapons: Archaeological evidence from southwestern Wyoming

Projectile point size is generally considered to diminish from Archaic to Late Prehistoric times because of a shift in weaponry from the atlatl to the bow. Did the bow replace the atlatl? Archaeological, experimental, and ethnographic evidence suggests that this question may be difficult to answer: first, because arrow and atlatl dart points overlap in size and function; secondly, because ethnographic hunting tool kits are often composed of many weapons.; It is more appropriate to ask "How do groups of weapons and facilities function together to produce kills?" Ethnographic evidence suggests that projectile weapons for disabling big game are designed for use in at least three ways; and design features of projectile points are likely to reflect these differences in intended functions.; Additional reasons for changing weaponry include changes in prey species and in lithic availability. Paleoclimatic evidence from the study area suggests that climate change did not precipitate changes in big game prey species during the past 2,000 years. Lithic raw materials are widely available in this region, so their depletion was not a factor in weaponry change.; To explore the possibility of changing weapon function, two projectile point assemblages are examined for differences in frequency, raw material, breakage patterns, size, and spatial distribution. Temporal patterns are defined by reference to 14 radiocarbon-dated occupations at the Shute Creek excavations, while spatial patterns are defined by means of density clines of artifact distributions on the Seedskadee landscape.; Results show that Late Prehistoric points have twice the discard rate of Archaic points, tend to be made of sharp materials, are not designed to be resharpened, and are significantly lighter than Archaic points. Differences in raw material size, shape, toughness, and sharpness correlate strongly with postulated differences in weapon function.; Archaic projectile point and chipped stone assemblages from Shute Creek resemble the Seedskadee low-density assemblages, while Late Prehistoric assemblages resemble the high-density assemblages, suggesting differences in the kinds and periodicities of landscape use from Archaic to Late Prehistoric times. Some palimpsests, therefore, are composed of only selected parts of previous assemblages, on some but not all land surfaces.