Why arrowheads

The reason there are so many projectile points to be found, even after centuries of determined collecting, is that the technology is a very old one: people have been making points to hunt animals for over , years.

Also using experimental archaeology techniques, archaeologists Matthew Sisk and John Shea found that the depth of point penetration into an animal might be related to the width of a projectile point, not the length or weight.

Archaeologists have been studying projectile making and use for at least the past century. Studies have expanded into experimental archaeology and replication experiments, which includes making stone tools and practicing their use.

Other studies include microscopic inspection of the wear on stone tool edges, identifying the presence of animal and plant residues on those tools. Extensive studies on truly ancient sites and database analysis on point types have given archaeologists a great deal of information about the age of projectile points and how they changed over time and function. Bow and arrow hunting is at least 70, years old in South Africa but was not used by people outside of Africa until the Late Upper Paleolithic, about 15,—20, years ago.

The atlatl, a device to assist in throwing darts, was invented by humans during the Upper Paleolithic period, at least 20, years ago. Projectile points are identified to culture and time period on the basis of their form and flaking style. Shapes and thicknesses changed over time, probably at least partly for reasons related to function and technology, but also because of style preferences within a particular group.

For whatever reason they changed, archaeologists can use these changes to map point styles to periods. Studies of the different sizes and shapes of points are called point typologies. In general, the larger, finely made points are the oldest points and were likely spear points, fixed to the working ends of spears. The middle-sized, fairly thick points are called dart points; they were used with an atlatl. The smallest points were used at the ends of arrows shot with bows.

On points excavated from intact archaeological sites, forensic analysis can often identify trace elements of blood or protein on the edges of tools, allowing the archaeologist to make substantive interpretations on what a point was used for.

Called blood residue or protein residue analysis, the test has become a fairly common one. In an allied laboratory field, deposits of plant residues such as opal phytoliths and pollen grains have been found on the edges of stone tools, which help identify the plants that were harvested or worked with stone sickles.

Another avenue of research is called use-wear analysis, in which archaeologists use a microscope to search for small scratches and breaks in the edges of stone tools.

Use-wear analysis is often used in conjunction with experimental archaeology, in which people attempt to reproduce ancient technologies. Lithic specialists who have studied broken stone tools can recognize how and why an arrowhead came to be broken, whether in the process of being made, during hunting, or as an intentional breakage.

Points that broke during manufacture often present information about the process of their construction. Intentional breaks can be representative of rituals or other activities. One of the most exciting and useful finds is a broken point in the midst of the flaky stone debris called debitage that was created during the point's construction.

Such a cluster of artifacts offers copious information about human behaviors. When an isolated point tip is found away from a campsite, archaeologists interpret this to mean that the tool broke during a hunting trip. When the base of a broken point is found, it's almost always at a campsite.

The theory is, the tip is left behind at the hunting site or embedded in the animal , while the hafting element is taken back to the base camp for possible reworking. Some of the oddest looking projectile points were reworked from earlier points, such as when an old point was found and reworked by a later group. Experimental archaeologists have identified the effects of heat treatment on some stone to increase a raw material's gloss, alter the color, and, most importantly, increase the stone's knappability.

According to several archaeological experiments, stone projectile points break in use and frequently after only one to three uses, and few remain usable for very long. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Even so, a large number of the remnants have been found on the Northern part of USA.

Nowadays, Native American arrowheads are significantly gathered by a couple of collectors and archeologists. Archeologists consider these items very important because with these, they are able to learn more about the Native Indians. They are able to distinguish what particular Indian tribe created the American arrowheads as characterized by the distinct points they present.

Moreover, they are able to point out that different tribes settled in a specific area as time passed by due to evidences of several types of arrowheads found in a certain area. The arrowhead is a fitting symbol for our history; it is part of the beginning of the human story of our nation. Most of the stories involving native peoples center on "historically" documented tribes and their interaction with the European and African peoples who came into this area in the mids.

What we usually consider the beginning of the story is actually an ending. The story of American Indians in West Virginia began hundreds of generations before the written history.

The keys to this amazing story are literally found in the arrowheads and multitudes of other artifacts and historic sites left behind by these ancient peoples. The oldest artifacts from New River Gorge are Clovis points. Made more than 11, years ago over much of North America, these intricately-shaped stone spear points were used by ancient nomadic hunter-gatherers, Paleoindians, to kill mammoth, mastodon, and other Ice Age creatures.

Later artifacts found in excavated village sites, such as pieces of pottery, stone and bone tools, seeds, beads, and arrowheads, show the development of thriving agricultural-based permanent communities connected by well-established systems of trails.