Dissertation Research: Explaining Changes in Projectile Point Morphology: A Case Study from Ventura Cave, Arizona

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Under the direction of Dr. Robert Leonard, Mr. Todd VanPool will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will travel to the Arizona State Museum and analyze a series of lithic projectile points which were recovered during the excavation of Ventana Cave, an archaeological site which is located in southwestern Arizona and excavated in the early 1940s. The site is important because of the large amount of material recovered - the excavator, Emil Haury, identified a total of 2,062 projectile points/knives - as well as its extended time span. With the exception of a gap between 600 -300 years before the present, it shows evidence of continuous occupation over the last ca 10,000 years. The long occupational history is probably a result of the presence of a small seep in the cave, produced by water flowing through a geological contact. It is the only known permanent water source for miles and was probably an important resource for both prehistoric and historic residents of this area. Before the advent of metal, prehistoric peoples worldwide depended on stone tools to meet cutting, scraping, hunting and a variety of other needs and because stone is nearly indestructible, such objects and the byproducts of their manufacture constitute the most common class of object recovered at many archaeological sites. Therefore scientists devote a great deal of attention to their analysis. Because different cultural groups often made distinctive types of tools, design variation is often used as a marker to define such entities and `Clovis` and `Plainsview` projectile points are used to indicate the presence of `Clovis` or `Plainsview` peoples. While such an approach is valid, it ignores the fact that such point types served functional purposes and that the details of their form likely can be explained in functional terms. Mr. VanPool will examine the long and rich Ventana Cave point sequence from this perspective. He has developed, he believes, techniques which will allow him to separate function from style and he wishes both to test his approach and to learn how point function changes over time. His methodology, if successful, can be generalized and will be useful for lithic analyses in many parts of the world. The site of Ventana Cave is itself important and this research will increase understanding of US prehistory. It will also assist in training a promising young scientist.