Early Man Projectile Points in the Southwest

MUSEUM OF NEW MEXICO PRESS POPULAR SERIES PAMPHLET NO. 4
The cultures of Early Man in the Southwest, though yet imperfectly known, seem most readily distinguishable by characteristic types of projectile points. The majority of finds, and they are rare, have been made on the surface; much less often at camp or kill sites.
Camp sites were situated on ridges, in sand dunes, or on hills overlooking streams, lakes, or ponds. Occupational features generally include hearths, split and charred food bones, debris from stone tool manufacturing, and a full inventory of stone tools. Seeds, grinding stones, storage and cooking pits are rarely found at such early sites.
Kill sites, by contrast, are usually situated on the edges of streams, lakes, or ponds. Features will include animal skeletons, sometimes partially dismembered, points used in killing game, some stone butchering tools such as scrapers, knives, utilized flakes, and waste flakes resulting from the sharpening of stone tools. Preferred parts of game may be missing, indicating they were carried back to camp. Hearths are occasionally found at kill sites, indicating that part of the game may have been prepared there.
Points used by Early Man were likely thrown at game with a spear-thrower or atl-atl, rather than shot at them with a bow and arrow. Atl-atls were probably of wood, and had a long groove on one side. Into this groove was placed the spear with a point hafted onto one end. The atl-atl was thrust back and thrown forward, releasing the spear on the forward thrust.
On the basis of findings, archaeologists have reconstructed two widespread methods of hunting by Early Man. In the first instance, game was observed, stalked and killed at watering places. In the second, game was driven into an arroyo, stream, lake, or pond, or stampeded over a cliff.
It is a curious fact that Early Southwestern Man most often made his tools of very finely textured stone. Perhaps this custom was induced by the exacting, finely controlled technologies of stone flaking practiced and the kinds of tools made. Indeed, workmanship on many projectile points, knives, and scrapers is so well achieved that one is led to believe that Early Man strove to express some degree of esthetic idealism in his tools.