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Bebber MR, Buchanan B, Eren MI, Walker RS, Zirkle D. Atlatl use equalizes female and male projectile weapon velocity. Sci Rep 2023; 13:13349. [PMID: 37587181 PMCID: PMC10432391 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-40451-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The atlatl is a handheld, rod-shaped device that employs leverage to launch a dart, and represents a major human technological innovation. One hypothesis for forager atlatl adoption over its presumed predecessor, the thrown javelin, is that a diverse array of people could achieve equal performance results, thereby facilitating inclusive participation of more people in hunting activities. We tested this hypothesis via a systematic assessment of 2160 weapon launch events by 108 people who used both technologies. Our results show that, unlike the javelin, the atlatl equalizes the velocity of female- and male-launched projectiles. This result indicates that a javelin to atlatl transition would have promoted a unification, rather than division, of labor. Moreover, our results suggest that female and male interments with atlatl weaponry should be interpreted similarly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle R Bebber
- Department of Anthropology, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44242, USA.
| | - Briggs Buchanan
- Department of Anthropology, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, 74104, USA
| | - Metin I Eren
- Department of Anthropology, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44242, USA
- Department of Archaeology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Robert S Walker
- Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
| | - Dexter Zirkle
- Department of Anthropology, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44242, USA
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Haas R, Watson J, Buonasera T, Southon J, Chen JC, Noe S, Smith K, Llave CV, Eerkens J, Parker G. Female hunters of the early Americas. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:6/45/eabd0310. [PMID: 33148651 PMCID: PMC7673694 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abd0310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Sexual division of labor with females as gatherers and males as hunters is a major empirical regularity of hunter-gatherer ethnography, suggesting an ancestral behavioral pattern. We present an archeological discovery and meta-analysis that challenge the man-the-hunter hypothesis. Excavations at the Andean highland site of Wilamaya Patjxa reveal a 9000-year-old human burial (WMP6) associated with a hunting toolkit of stone projectile points and animal processing tools. Osteological, proteomic, and isotopic analyses indicate that this early hunter was a young adult female who subsisted on terrestrial plants and animals. Analysis of Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene burial practices throughout the Americas situate WMP6 as the earliest and most secure hunter burial in a sample that includes 10 other females in statistical parity with early male hunter burials. The findings are consistent with nongendered labor practices in which early hunter-gatherer females were big-game hunters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Randall Haas
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA.
- Collasuyo Archaeological Research Institute, Jiron Nicaragua 199, Puno, Puno, Peru
| | - James Watson
- Arizona State Museum, The University of Arizona, 1013 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- School of Anthropology, The University of Arizona, 1009 E. South Campus Drive, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Tammy Buonasera
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA
- Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of California Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - John Southon
- W.M. Keck Carbon Cycle Accelerator Mass Spectrometer Facility, University of California Irvine, B321 Croul Hall, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Jennifer C Chen
- Department of Anthropology, Penn State University, 410 Carpenter Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Sarah Noe
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Kevin Smith
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Carlos Viviano Llave
- Collasuyo Archaeological Research Institute, Jiron Nicaragua 199, Puno, Puno, Peru
| | - Jelmer Eerkens
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Glendon Parker
- Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of California Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA
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Assessment of complex projectiles in the early Late Pleistocene at Aduma, Ethiopia. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0216716. [PMID: 31071181 PMCID: PMC6508696 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2018] [Accepted: 04/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Complex projectiles—propulsion via mechanical aid—are considered an important technological innovation, with possible relevance for the successful Out-of-Africa dispersal of our species. Conclusive evidence for the beginning of this technology, however, is lacking from the early Late Pleistocene (ca. 130 to 70 thousand years ago; ka). Given the extremely limited applicability of relatively robust methods for validating stone-tipped projectile use, such as through fracture propagation velocity, converging lines of circumstantial evidence remain the best way to examine early complex projectiles. We assess here suggestions for an early Late Pleistocene origin of complex projectiles in Africa. Results from both previous and present independent approaches suggest a trajectory in which complex projectiles were likely adopted during the early Late Pleistocene in eastern Africa. At Aduma (Middle Awash, Ethiopia), morphometric, hafting, and impact damage patterns in several lithic point assemblages suggest a shift from simple spear technologies (thrusting and/or hand-cast) to complex projectiles. Broadly dated to 80–100 ka, lithic points from later phases of the Aduma succession represent a particularly strong candidate for projectile armatures most comparable to ethnographically known spearthrower darts, lending support for previous suggestions and warranting further investigations.
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