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Warfare and big game hunting: flaked-stone projectile points along the middle Gila River in Arizona

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 August 2015

Chris Loendorf ,
Lynn Simon ,
Daniel Dybowski ,
M. Kyle Woodson ,
R. Scott Plumlee ,
Shari Tiedens  and
Michael Withrow
Chris Loendorf
Affiliation:
Cultural Resource Management Program, Gila River Indian Community, Sacaton, AZ 85147, USA (Email: chris.loendorf@gric.nsn.us)
Lynn Simon
Affiliation:
Cultural Resource Management Program, Gila River Indian Community, Sacaton, AZ 85147, USA (Email: chris.loendorf@gric.nsn.us)
Daniel Dybowski
Affiliation:
Cultural Resource Management Program, Gila River Indian Community, Sacaton, AZ 85147, USA (Email: chris.loendorf@gric.nsn.us)
M. Kyle Woodson
Affiliation:
Cultural Resource Management Program, Gila River Indian Community, Sacaton, AZ 85147, USA (Email: chris.loendorf@gric.nsn.us)
R. Scott Plumlee
Affiliation:
Cultural Resource Management Program, Gila River Indian Community, Sacaton, AZ 85147, USA (Email: chris.loendorf@gric.nsn.us)
Shari Tiedens
Affiliation:
Cultural Resource Management Program, Gila River Indian Community, Sacaton, AZ 85147, USA (Email: chris.loendorf@gric.nsn.us)
Michael Withrow
Affiliation:
Cultural Resource Management Program, Gila River Indian Community, Sacaton, AZ 85147, USA (Email: chris.loendorf@gric.nsn.us)
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Abstract

Ethnohistorical and ethnographic observations from around the world indicate that projectiles were often made differently for warfare and hunting. Using experiential archaeology and analysis of a thousand years’ worth of data from the middle Gila River in Arizona, the authors argue that side notched arrow points were produced for hunting large animals and were designed to be retrieved and reused, while unnotched points were intended for single use and for another purpose: to kill people. The data suggests furthermore that the region witnessed a steady increase in levels of violence during the period under study.

Keywords

Gila RiverArizonaArchaicpre-ClassicClassichistoricflaked-stone projectile pointsexperimental archaeologywarfarehunting
Type
Method
Information
Antiquity , Volume 89 , Issue 346 , August 2015 , pp. 940 - 953
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2015 

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