North American Clovis Point Form and Performance: An Experimental Assessment of Penetration Depth

ABSTRACT

In Late Pleistocene North America colonizing hunter-gatherers knapped and used Clovis fluted projectile points. During their expansion the size and shape of Clovis points changed significantly. Archaeologists know that cultural drift contributed to this variation, but is it possible that this single source could alone generate so much variation so quickly? We present the first of several experimental studies exploring whether Clovis size and shape variation results in performance differences, focusing here on how deeply different Clovis point forms penetrate a target. Our ballistics experiment demonstrates that seven different Clovis point forms penetrated the same target with different effectiveness. Even after tip cross-sectional perimeter is accounted for, there are significant differences in penetration depths between two of the point types. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that Clovis people in different times and places may have chosen specific attributes to provide them with a selective functional advantage.

KEYWORDS:

• Clovis
• experimental archaeology
• evolution
• projectile technology

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) (Award IDs: 1649395, 1649406, 1649409). M.I.E. is also supported by the Kent State University College of Arts and Sciences. We would like to thank Craig Ratzat of Neolithics (www.neolithics.com) and Bob and Cheryl Berg of Thunderbird Atlatl (www.thunderbirdatlatl.com) for their tireless efforts in producing the specimens used in this experiment, as well as for providing descriptions for the production of the stone projectile tips and how they were hafted.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Metin I. Eren is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Kent State University and a Research Associate at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

Brett Story is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Southern Methodist University Lyle School of Engineering.

Alyssa Perrone received her M.A. in Anthropology from Kent State University and is currently a Ph.D. Candidate at Texas State University, San Marcos.

Michelle Bebber is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Kent State University.

Marcus Hamilton is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Texas, San Marcos.

Robert Walker is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Missouri.

Briggs Buchanan is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Tulsa.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) (Award IDs: 1649395, 1649406, 1649409). M.I.E. is also supported by the Kent State University College of Arts and Sciences. We would like to thank Craig Ratzat of Neolithics (www.neolithics.com) and Bob and Cheryl Berg of Thunderbird Atlatl (www.thunderbirdatlatl.com) for their tireless efforts in producing the specimens used in this experiment, as well as for providing descriptions for the production of the stone projectile tips and how they were hafted.