Agate Basin to Scottsbluff Along the SHADOWS on the TRAIL

Figure One - Development continuum of Paleoindian projectile point types. From left to right, 

oldest to youngest, Agate Basin, Hell Gap, Alberta, and Scottsbluff. All surface finds are from 

private land in Colorado. For scale, the Agate Basin point on the far left is 4.6 inches long. 

John Bradford Branney Collection.  

In my prehistoric adventure series the SHADOWS on the TRAIL PENTALOGY, three Paleoindian tribes clash on the high plains of Colorado. All three Paleoindian tribes lived similar lifestyles as hunters and gatherers but what differentiated them was their stone weapon tips. While the three tribes all used ‘old world’ spearthrower or atlatl technology, their stone projectile points varied in style and technology. Let me guide you on a short journey into the past. Everyone climb aboard my Delorean time machine. Our destination is southern Colorado about 12,600 years ago.  

Figure Two - Delorean time machine from Back to the Future.  

In the first book of the PENTALOGY titled SHADOWS on the TRAIL, warriors from a tribe of people I called the Mountain People brutally attack the village of a peaceful tribe called the River People. When the attack occurred, most River People men were not in the village, but on a hunting expedition. There were not enough spears to defend the village from the brutal onslaught of the Mountain People. The hunters returned and found the complete destruction of their village and the murder of friends and loved ones. The hunters wanted their revenge but they did not know who inflicted that deplorable act upon their people. The only evidence was a spear in the brush left behind by a warrior from the Mountain People. The spear's owner carved a clue for the hunters on the wooden shaft of the spear, and the stone projectile point at its tip was a different kind. The hunter who discovered the spear brought it to his leader, a man named Avonaco and this was what happened; Lights, camera, action:   

Avonaco held the spear in his hands. The spear shaft was the same wood that the River People used, but the stone spear point was different. The stone spear point was thinner and longer than any Avonaco had ever seen and made from a shiny, black rock material. Avonaco ran his thumb down the sharp edge of the spear point and quickly pulled his thumb away.

“Éŝkos!–Sharp!” Avonaco exclaimed, looking down at his bleeding thumb.

He continued to examine the spear point, “I have only seen a spear point like this once made from this black rock. When I was a boy, I found a spear point much like this deep in the mountains. My father told me the black rock comes from the mountains.”

Avonaco then inspected the sinew wrap that connected the stone spear point to the wooden spear shaft. The River People used sinew from deer or bison to attach their spear points.

Avonaco pointed to the sinew and said, “This is too thin, it is not from bison or deer.”

Avonaco ran his fingers down the smooth wood of the spear and noticed it had carvings in it. To see better, Avonaco moved the spear shaft closer to the light of the campfire. Carved into the wood were five green-painted peaks next to two orange-painted suns,   ҉   Ʌ Ʌ Ʌ Ʌ Ʌ   ҉. , Waquini and Vipponah leaned over Avonaco’s shoulders to take a better look.

I wonder if the River People ever got their revenge? If you want to find out, you are going to have to read the second edition of SHADOWS on the TRAIL. CLICK IMAGE BELOW for info on the BOOK. 

CLICK for the BOOK

Now, the rest of the story!

In figure one above, I photographed four different Paleoindian projectile point types, from left to right, the oldest to the youngest; Agate Basin, Hell Gap, Alberta, and Scottsbluff. The cultural adoption of these four projectile point types was widespread from Canada to Texas through much of the Great Plains and the southwestern United States.

We know from archaeological evidence that different Paleoindian cultures used different projectile point types. We know through investigations at single-episode bison kill sites that Paleoindian hunters often used the same projectile point styles. That suggests to me that the specific tribe or culture involved in each bison kill determined the projectile point style and technology used by the hunters who participated in the bison kills. A few examples of High Plains Paleoindian bison kill sites and the respective projectile point types in parentheses are Casper (Hell Gap), Olsen-Chubbuck (Firstview), Hudson-Meng (Alberta), Jimmy Allen (Jimmy Allen), and the Horner Site (Cody Complex). Either that means that everyone in the tribe was flintknapping to the same style of projectile points or perhaps, there were one or two expert flintknappers within the tribe making all the projectile points. 

Figure Three - Agate Basin projectile points and one drill. On some Agate Basin projectile points
the "Hell Gap shoulder" was already developing. For scale, the far left point is 2.2 inches long.
John Bradford Branney Collection.

Based on radiocarbon dating and geologic studies, Agate Basin is the oldest projectile point out of the four artifacts in figure one. Current archaeological evidence proposes that Agate Basin projectile points and knife forms showed up on the high plains around 10,400 years BP, or north of 12,000 years ago in calendar years. Based on radiocarbon dates and geologic studies, the Agate Basin projectile point could have overlapped in time with at least three other projectile point types; Folsom, Hell Gap, and Alberta. We know it overlapped in geographical space! 

Based on stratigraphic evidence at the multicultural Hell Gap site in Wyoming, investigators determined that the Hell Gap culture was younger than the Agate Basin culture, at least at the Hell Gap site. The age most often assigned to the Hell Gap prehistoric culture is around 10,000 years BP or around 11,500 years ago in calendar years. Based on projectile point technology, many investigators believe that Hell Gap projectile points evolved from Agate Basin projectile points. 

In experimental archaeology hunting exercises, Agate Basin proved to be a very effective piece of weaponry, so why did Paleoindians move from Agate Basin to Hell Gap projectile points? One possible explanation could be less time and effort exerted on making Hell Gap versus Agate Basin. If you have ever examined a well-made Agate Basin projectile point, it is obvious that a great amount of time and effort went into its making. In Agate Basin projectile points, fine pressure flaking was used to achieve exceptional point symmetry. Did that extra effort deliver incremental hunting performance? We will never know the answer to that question for sure. Some might call Agate Basin points "flint knapping overkill". The Hell Gap flint knapper usually terminated the finishing process of a projectile point much earlier than an Agate Basin flint knapper (figure four). The Hell Gap flint knapper oftentimes used only pressure flaking on the stems and tips, leaving a rougher and less symmetrical projectile point. And it appears that the Hell Gap shoulders that they introduced made for a better hafting arrangement.  

Figure Four - Hell Gap Projectile Points. The Hell Gap shoulder is fully developed 
on these examples. For scale, the far left point is 2.5 inches long. 
John Bradford Branney Collection. 

Over 11,000 calendar years ago near Casper, Wyoming, Paleoindian hunters used Hell Gap projectile points to kill bison that they stampeded and trapped in sand dunes at what we now call the Casper site. During a similar timeframe in Nebraska, a different group of Paleoindian hunters used what we call Alberta projectile points to dispatch bison they trapped in an ancient arroyo at the Hudson-Meng site. Dr. H. M. Wormington identified and named Alberta projectile points from surface recovered examples found during the dust bowl years of the 1930s in Alberta, Canada. The long stem and abrupt shoulders differentiated Alberta projectile points from both Agate Basin and Hell Gap. We assume that at least some Paleoindians felt the Alberta projectile point design was an advancement in weapon technology over Agate Basin and Hell Gap projectile point designs. When spearing a bison or other game animal, the shoulders and long base of the Alberta projectile point handled much more stress and impact, probably creating a more efficient weapon tip.    

The Alberta projectile point technology and style then gave birth to another projectile point type. The point to the far right in figure one is a Scottsbluff point, a continuation of Cody Complex weaponry and a point design originating from the earlier Alberta projectile points. 

Figure Four - Examples of Cody Complex artifacts, including  Alberta (far left) and 

Scottsbluff (third from left). For scale, the far left point is 2.5 inches long. 

John Bradford Branney Collection. 

The stem and shoulders found on Alberta points existed on Scottsbluff points but what returned was the fine pressure flaking and symmetry of the earlier Agate Basin projectile point.

So, what do you think drove the development continuum of Paleoindian projectile points from Agate Basin to Scottsbluff? Was it technological innovation or were different prehistoric cultures putting their own stamp on weaponry design? Why did Paleoindian cultures adapt the same projectile point type across a wide geographical area? Why did Paleoindians use a specific projectile point type at one bison kill while at a similar timeframe other Paleoindians used a different projectile point type at a different bison kill? Were different people making specific projectile point types? 

Food for thought! 

We can only hypothesize, but isn’t that fun to do?

CLICK for the Journey - SHADOWS on the TRAIL PENTALOGY

The historical fiction novels written by John Bradford Branney are known for their impeccable research and biting realism. In his latest blockbuster novel BEYOND the CAMPFIRE, Branney catapults his readers back into Prehistoric America where they reunite with some familiar faces from Branney’s best-selling prehistoric adventure series the SHADOWS on the TRAIL Pentalogy.

John Bradford Branney holds a geology degree from the University of Wyoming and an MBA from the University of Colorado. John lives in the Colorado mountains with his wife, Theresa. BEYOND the CAMPFIRE is the eleventh published book by Branney.