Undergraduate Honors Thesis

 

EXAMINING SUBSISTENCE STRATEGIES AND BEHAVIOR THROUGH PROJECTILE POINTS IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST Public Deposited

https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/1j92g901w
Abstract
  • The primary focus of this honors thesis is to establish a methodological framework to assess behavioral patterns in prehistoric projectile use and subsistence strategies. Since projectile points in the American Southwest are under-analyzed, I aim to rectify this gap in analysis while furthering the ability of archaeologists to extrapolate behaviors from lithic assemblages. To that end, this thesis integrates data collected from the Tewa Basin and Pajarito Plateau into a broader dataset from the Southwest to compare the relative abundance of projectile points and large game remains (Arakawa et al. 2013). This work draws on previous research on accumulation and subsistence patterns to distinguish the relative investment in hunting across Ancestral Puebloan societies. Finally, I compare projectile points' physical metrics and morphologies from relatively high and low hunting investment sites to assess their application toward hunting or warfare.

    First, I describe patterns in material selection (primarily based on color), morphology, and breakage resulting from design and cultural behaviors such as hunting by Ancestral Puebloans. I strongly consider Tewa oral traditions. Next, I use the broad intersite analysis of assemblages to discuss subsistence strategies for the early inhabitants of the Tewa Basin: the winter people in the Tewa tradition. The sample size for this broader study includes 61 sites, counts of projectile points, counts of identified faunal bone from large game, and counts of grayware sherds. Finally, I directly compare the projectile assemblages of Castle Rock Pueblo and the Pojoaque Grant site. The results of this thesis benefit the archaeological community by providing an innovative approach for evaluating subsistence strategies in the Southwest and evaluating projectile point use. This work also offers further archaeological perspective on traditional knowledge to the Pueblo of Pojoaque.

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  • 2023-04-19
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  • 2023-04-20
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