First Americans Used Spear Throwers to Hunt Large Animals

Image Courtesy of livescience.com.

January, 28, 2015.

Joseph Castro,of livescience.com, has written an in-depth article about recent research into the microscopic fractures in Clovis points which empirically proves Paleoindians did utilize spear throwers while hunting.

"But archeological evidence of Paleo-Indian atlatls and darts is lacking because these tools were often made of wood, which doesn't preserve well — the only part of the weapons left in the archaeological record are the stone points, which could have also been used in other types of weapons, such as spears, Hutchings said. In comparison, ancient spear-throwers from Europe were often made of ivory or bone.

The earliest known evidence of Paleo-Indian spear-throwers comes from 11,000-year-old "bannerstones," which are stone objects that may have functioned as atlatl weights, though the true function of bannerstones is debated, Hutchings said."

-Joseph Castro, livescience.com.

To read the full article/post, click here.

For more information,

Visit:

• In Photos: The Clovis Culture & Stone Tools
• livescience.com
• February 12, 2014.
• Earthworks Timeline- Paleoindians in the Great Valley
• 13000 B.C. - 8000 B.C.
• Ancient Ohio Trail
• Paleoindian Period
• Virtual First Ohioans
• Paleoindian
• What's the Point? Identifying Flint Artifacts
• The Clovis Point and the Discovery of America's First Culture
• Smithsonian Magazine
• November 2013.
• When Did People First Discover America?
• Ohio History Connection Archaeology Blog
• January 6, 2014.
• Clovis Points- Paleoindian Boy Scout Knives?
• Ohio History Connection Archaeology Blog
• September 8, 2013.
• Ancient Clovis Elephant-Hunting Camp Discovered in Mexico
• July 30. 2014.
• Genome of America's Only Clovis Skeleton Reveals Origins of Native Americans and Stirs Ethics Debate
• February 24, 2014.