Experimental Investigations of Eastern Beringian Hunting Technologies

ABSTRACT

This paper presents the results of experimental research investigating variability in projectile-point technologies of late Pleistocene/early Holocene eastern Beringia. An assemblage of projectile points (lanceolate bifaces; composite slotted caribou antler points inset with chert microblades; and unslotted caribou bone points) reflective of the morphological variability observed in the Beringian archaeological record were created and tested as components of three weapon systems (hand-thrusted spear; atlatl and dart; bow and arrow) using an actualistic target. Experimental testing results indicate that robust lanceolate bifaces were most effective when launched from a spear thrower while composite inset points were most effectively deployed as elements of hand thrust spears. Understanding the functions of these artifacts informs on the significance of assemblage variability in Siberia and Alaska, adaptive response to resource fluctuations, and landscape use across the region and through time.

KEYWORDS:

• Beringia
• experimental archaeology
• hunting toolkits
• application spaces
• functional analysis

Acknowledgements

This research owes greatly to many people who were willing to contribute their time, knowledge, and expertise to me. Special thanks to Monty Rogers, Michael Miller, Eugene Gryba, and Richard VanderHoek for their guidance and assistance in the production of experimental projectile points and weapons systems used in these experiments. I am extremely grateful to Heather and Chuck Hardy and Dr. Angela Gore, all of whom were willing to get cold and dirty at a moment’s notice to rigorously collect data during experimental testing. Thank you to George Aguiar at Archipelago Farms, Fairbanks Alaska.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant 1853977.

Notes on contributors

Joshua J. Lynch

Joshua J. Lynch is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Arkansas Tech University and the Director of the ATU Archaeology Teaching Laboratory. His research focuses on experimental and use-wear investigations of the hunting tool kits of Pleistocene Beringian foragers and North American Paleoindians.