Study puts North American atlatl use after Clovis hunters

A new archaeological analysis challenges the common image of Clovis hunters using atlatls to pursue mammoths and other large Ice Age animals. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, estimates that the spear-throwing device appeared in western North America about 9,996 years ago, well after the Clovis period.

The atlatl is a handheld launcher that helps a hunter throw a dart with more speed and force. Archaeologists have often treated it as a likely part of the Clovis toolkit, in part because the culture is associated with big-game hunting and because atlatls are known from Paleolithic Europe between 20,000 and 30,000 years ago, according to the study.

Clovis culture in North America dates to roughly 13,340 to 12,710 years ago. The PNAS paper says there is no securely dated, well-documented atlatl evidence from that time, despite earlier claims about possible atlatl hooks.

The authors write that alleged hooks tied to early use are poorly contextualized, undated and may not be atlatl parts or Clovis artifacts. The study also notes that early atlatl evidence has not been found in Australia, Asia or Africa.

Radiocarbon dates point to the Holocene

To test when atlatls likely first appeared in western North America, the researchers assembled 66 radiocarbon dates from directly dated atlatl or dart specimens. They then applied a statistical method called optimal linear estimation to infer a probable first appearance date.

The 10 oldest directly dated atlatl systems in the dataset ranged from about 9,300 to 6,100 years ago, according to the paper. That grouping places the earliest known atlatl-and-dart systems in the early Holocene, rather than in the late Pleistocene era of Clovis hunters.

The modeling produced an estimated first appearance date of about 9,996 years ago. The authors say that timing makes atlatl use unlikely not only for Clovis hunters, but also for later Paleoindian groups such as Folsom culture, which dates to about 10,800 to 10,200 years ago.

The paper says Folsom points may look suited for narrow, flexible atlatl darts, but other weapon systems remain possible. The authors list thrusting spears, javelins and arrows as alternatives that could have shaped hunting tactics and risk.

Independent invention remains possible

The researchers argue that the North American atlatl may not have been carried from the Old World into the New World. Instead, they suggest it could represent technological convergent evolution, with the device emerging independently around 9,996 years ago.

The study points to bow technology as another example of a tool that appears to have arisen independently more than once in prehistory. The authors say similar invention pathways could explain the atlatl’s later North American appearance.

The findings do not prove that atlatls were absent before 10,000 years ago. The authors say one clearly dated Clovis-context find could overturn the model’s conclusion.

Until such evidence is found, the researchers argue that archaeologists should avoid assuming Clovis hunters used atlatls to kill megafauna. They say considering other weapons could change interpretations of how prehistoric hunters approached dangerous prey and organized hunts.

This story draws on original reporting from Phys.org.