Evidence from historical and ethnographic records indicates the utilization of portable, reinforced shaft projectiles, commonly known as pikes, for both the pursuit of large game and defensive purposes throughout the Late Holocene era across North and South America, Africa, Eurasia, and Southeast Asia. Considering the prevalence of megafauna in Late Pleistocene North America during the period of Clovis point emergence and continental dissemination, spanning approximately 13,050 to 12,650 years ago, it is plausible that reinforced weaponry was employed in the subjugation of megaherbivores and as a bulwark against megacarnivores.
Clovis points with distinctive flute or channel flake scars. Image credit: S. Byram.
“This ancestral Indigenous American design represented a remarkable advancement in hunting methodologies,” stated Dr. Scott Byram, a researcher affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley.
“This distinctive native technology offers invaluable insights into the hunting and survival strategies employed for millennia across a significant portion of the globe.”
The study’s revelations may contribute to resolving a long-standing enigma within archaeological discourse: the precise functional application of Clovis points, which are among the most frequently excavated artifacts from the Ice Age.
Named after the locality in New Mexico where these shaped lithic tools were initially discovered nearly a century ago, Clovis points were expertly fashioned from siliceous rocks such as chert, flint, or jasper.
Their dimensions vary, ranging from the size of a human thumb to that of a moderately sized smartphone, and they are characterized by a uniquely sharp cutting edge and iconic fluted indentations on either side of their base.
Thousands of these implements have been recovered throughout the United States, with some even being found embedded within the fossilized remains of mammoths.
“Often, Clovis points constitute the sole surviving component of a spear,” remarked Dr. Jun Sunseri from the University of California, Berkeley.
“The meticulously crafted bone shafts that terminated these weapons are occasionally unearthed, but the wooden elements at the spear’s base, along with the pine pitch and binding materials essential for their functional integrity as a complete system, have succumbed to the ravages of time.”
“Furthermore, academic specialization frequently impedes a holistic perspective on prehistoric weaponry. Lithic specialists, if not also adept in osteology, may fail to grasp the comprehensive picture.”
“It is imperative to look beyond the singular artifact. A pivotal aspect of this research involves viewing the spear as an integrated system, necessitating diverse sub-specialties within our discipline and beyond.”
The construction of robust, efficient tool systems was likely a paramount concern for human communities approximately 13,000 years ago.
These instruments demanded considerable durability. The inhabitants possessed a restricted array of suitable lithic materials as they migrated across territories.
They might traverse hundreds of miles without access to the appropriate type of long, straight poles from which to fabricate a spear shaft.
“Therefore, it stands to reason that they would refrain from risking their tools by throwing them or causing their destruction without a high degree of confidence in their efficacy against prey,” Dr. Byram commented.
“Individuals engaged in the analysis of historical military metal artifacts are intimately familiar with this phenomenon, as it was employed in cavalry interception during warfare.”
“However, prior to this, and in contexts such as the hunting of wild boar or bears, it was not widely recognized.”
“This concept appears recurrently in scholarly literature. Yet, for reasons yet to be fully understood, it has received limited attention within anthropological studies.”
To rigorously assess their hypothesis concerning the use of pikes, the research team constructed a testing apparatus designed to measure the compressive force a spear system could withstand before the projectile point fractured or the shaft exhibited deformation.
Their simplified, static simulation of an animal assault, employing a reinforced replica Clovis point spear, enabled them to determine the failure points of various spear configurations and observe the response of the reinforcement system.
This methodology built upon previous experimental investigations where researchers propelled stone-tipped spears into clay and ballistic gel – impacts that would likely feel inconsequential to a colossal mammoth weighing nine tons.
“The kinetic energy generated by human musculature is vastly dissimilar to that produced by an attacking animal; the disparity is on an entirely different magnitude,” Dr. Jun stated.
“These spears were deliberately engineered to perform their intended function, thus safeguarding the user.”
“The sophisticated Clovis technology, which emerged autonomously in North America, serves as a testament to the ingenuity and capabilities demonstrated by early Indigenous peoples in their cohabitation of the ancient landscape alongside now-extinct megafauna,” asserted Professor Kent Lightfoot of the University of California, Berkeley.
The research team’s findings are published in the academic journal PLoS ONE.
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R.S. Byram et al. 2024. Clovis points and foreshafts under braced weapon compression: Modeling Pleistocene megafauna encounters with a lithic pike. PLoS ONE 19 (8): e0307996; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0307996
This article represents an adapted version of a press release issued by the University of California, Berkeley.
