Plains Paleoindian Projectile Point Penetration Potential.

The iconic Paleoindian projectile points of the northern portion of the North American Great Plains—Clovis, Folsom, Agate Basin, Plainview (Goshen), Hell Gap, Alberta, Scottsbluff, and Eden—span nearly 4,000 radiocarbon years. Here, we apply recent findings from experimental archaeology to a database of 343 Paleoindian points to better understand how well these point types potentially functioned relative to each other in terms of penetration. Given that tip cross-sectional area (TCSA) and tip cross-sectional perimeter (TCSP) inversely correlate with penetration depth, we measured and analyzed these two attributes on each specimen in our database. Our results indicate significant differences in the Paleoindian point types' tip cross-sectional geometries, suggesting that these points were not equally effective at penetration and that there is not a progressive trend in penetration effectiveness from Early to Late Paleoindian times. We conclude with a discussion of hypothetical Paleoindian point evolution and the reasons for the possible selection for or against penetration. The results speak to the assessment of archaeological and ethnographic technologies with full knowledge of their performance potential as gleaned from experimental archaeology. Such knowledge will help anthropologists propose more robust hypotheses involving the evolution of technology and culture, both past and present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]