Addressing Prehistoric Hunting Practices Through Stone Tool Analysis

Abstract

Although archeologists have approached prehistoric hunting practices by studying “projectile points,” use‐wear analyses of nine components spanning 7,500 years of prehistory in the Lower Illinois Valley have shown that this approach is not accurate. The projectile point type is only one of several kinds of lithic artifacts, including other retouched types and debitage, employed in antiquity to tip projectiles. Assemblage comparisons indicate an earlier adoption of bow and arrow technology than most prehistorians have been willing to accept.