8/2/2023 0 Comments Projectile point![]() ![]() The temporal and stylistic similarities of Clovis and Fishtail projectile points have led some researchers to reasonably propose that they represent the expression of the same cultural or technological phenomenon 1, 7, 11, 12, and also that both were linked with megafaunal hunting. ![]() Both Fishtail and Clovis points are also often associated with megafaunal remains. Although research in recent decades has shown significant morphological variation among FPP, most specimens share specific design features such as broad and thin blades, and usually fluted stems 7. Fishtail has been traditionally defined as a barbless point with a broad triangular or lanceolate blade, convex edges, and rounded shoulders 6, 7. This archaeological complex became widely known mainly because it is a few centuries later in age and shares some techno-morphological features with North American Clovis points 1, 7, the earliest widespread techno-complex of the whole Americas 8, 9, 10. These points were initially defined as “Fell points” by Junius Bird who recovered a set of them in the late Pleistocene cultural layers of Fell’s Cave, in the southern tip of Patagonia 6. In this paper, we explore the changes in projectile point technology, as well as the body mass of potential megafaunal prey, and show that Fishtails were strongly related to the largest extinct megafaunal species.įishtail projectile points (FPP) represent the earliest widespread lithic tool type in South America 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. If so, this technology must be distinctly different from post-FPP technologies (i.e., early Holocene projectile points), used for hunting smaller prey, in terms of distribution and functional properties. Although the elusive direct evidence of human exploitation of megafauna in South America had kept Fishtails out of the extinction debate, a recent paper showed a strong relationship between the temporal density and spatial distribution of megafauna and Fishtail projectile points, and proposed that this weapon was designed and used for megafauna hunting, contributing to their extinction. Both were temporally associated with late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions. Fishtail projectile points are the earliest widespread projectile type in South America, and share chronology and techno-morphology with Clovis, the oldest North American projectile type. ![]()
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