ATLATL PORTRAYALS IN ROCK ART SUGGEST ROUGH DATING ESTIMATES:

Hunter with atlatl, Jeffer's Site,Cottonwood county, Minnesota. Photograph enhanced, Peter Faris.

Knowing that the atlatl technology for hunting has existed since the Paleolithic in the Old World, it has been long assumed that the atlatl entered the New World across Beringia with the earliest migrants to North America. Given this assumption it was easy to assume that the later Clovis culture dated to roughly 13,340–12,710 years ago possessed atlatl technology. Yet, a study published in 2026 (Metin Erin et al.) questions this assumption and, based on the evidence available today, could find no support for Clovis use the the atlatl.

Rattlesnake Shelter, West of Langtry,  McClennon County, Texas. Photograph by Teresa Weedin, Oct. 1987.

"Late Pleistocene North American foragers assigned to the Clovis culture have long been assumed to have hunted megafauna with the atlatl, which would have provided several advantages. Yet, we chronologically modeled radiocarbon ages from preserved Holocene atlatls and show that Clovis atlatl use is not supported. If Clovis hunters did not use atlatl technology, then its emergence in the Americas during the early Holocene represents a case of technological convergent evolution analogous to atlatls in Late Pleistocene Europe. A further implication is if Clovis hunters used spears, javelins, or bow technology then models concerning megafaunal hunting need to be rethought given the distinct effectiveness, hunting risk, and tactics associated with these weapons." (Erin et al. 2026:1)

Basketmaker hunt panel. Internet photograph, public domain.

Erin and the members of his team compiled dates for known examples of atlatls and their figures suggest a 4,000 year gap between the end of the  Clovis culture and the adoption of atlatl technology in North America. “Researchers turned to the ages of the oldest securely dated atlatls from across the Americas. Their statistical model indicates that the earliest probably appearance of the weapon system was about 9,996 years ago, nearly four millennia after the disappearance of the Clovis culture.” (Raza 2026)

White Dog Cave, Arizona. Internet photograph, public domain.

This suggests that any image which indicates an atlatl in use likely dates from the period between 9,996 BCE and the adoption of the bow and arrow.

John Blitz, in 1988, compiled a comprehensive study of when the bow and arrow first appeared in North America. “The earliest evidence of the bow and arrow in North America is in the Arctic. A prepared core and microblade technology characterizes a number of local Alaskan complexes grouped into the Paleoarctic Tradition from 9000 to 6000 B.C. This technology derives from similar complexes m northeastern Asia with Old World Mesolithic techniques). After 6000 B.C. in interior Alaska and northwestern Canada, the microblade technology is infused with an Archaic technology of more southerly origins to form the Northern Archaic Tradition. These microblades may have paralleled Mesolithic usage as arrow barbs but there is no direct evidence; and a series of lanceolate, leaf-shaped, side-notched, and stemmed large points were used throughout this long sequence. While bow technology may have occurred in these early traditions, clear evidence appears only after 3000 B.C.” (Blitz 1988:127)

Blitz continues with a list of what he considers to be the first certifiable appearance of the bow and arrow throughout North America, leading to the abandonment of atlatl and dart technology in the north.

Arctic, 3000-1600 BC

Canadian Arctic, 2500-800 BC

Subarctic, 500 AD

Plains, 500 AD

Texas, 500-600 AD

Great Basin, 200-500 AD

California, 500 AD

Southwest, 575-750 AD

Southeast, 700 AD

These dates are illustrated in his map (Blitz 1988, Figure 1, page 132)

If the dates given in these studies are indeed correct then this gives us a vehicle for rough estimation of the dates of examples of rock art that shows an atlatl, it would fall between the adoption of the atlatl, and the adoption of the bow and arrow technology that replaced the atlatl in that region.

NOTE: Some images in this column were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below. Additionally, some of the quotations I have included have had citations removed from their text. These can also be acquired from the original texts.

REFERENCES:

Blitz, John H., 1988, Adoption of the Bow in Prehistoric North America, North American Archaeologist, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 123-145.

Erin, Metin I. et al., 2026, Late Pleistocene Clovis atlatl hunting fails a chronological modeling test, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS online, Vol. 123, no. 28, https://www.pnas.org. Accessed online 30 June 2026.

Raza, Hassan, 2026, Clovis Hunters Likely Never Used Atlatl, New Study Shows Weapon Gap Spanned 4,000 Years, BioScience, 29 June 2026, ISSN 2521-5760. Accessed online 30 June 2026.

ANOTHER UNDERWATER DRIVELINE – THE DROP 45 SITE IN LAKE HURON:

About a utilitarian geoglyph for hunting animals.

North American Laurentide ice sheet. Illustration from Pinterest.

Laurentide ice sheet, Illustration from smithsonianmag.com.

Map of the Cordilleran and Laurentide ice sheets. Online image, public domain.

It is easy to overlook, or forget, that the glacial periods had so much water locked up in ice that considerably more territory was available to prehistoric humans. Not only at continental margins, but where large lakes now exist, land was exposed and, no doubt, lived on and utilized by the populations. With the last melting of glacial ice this water was released and raised water levels considerably. This means, of course, that many traces of prehistoric life and activities are now underwater.

“Some of the most pivotal questions in human prehistory necessitate the investigation of archaeological sites that are now under water. The advance and retreat of glacial ice throughout the period of human development and dispersal, and the associated global changes in sea level, repeatedly exposed, and then submerged, significant coastal land masses. As a result, questions as diverse as the origins of early human culture, the spread of hominids out of Africa, and the colonization of the New World all hinge on evidence that is under water. Although the discovery and investigation of such sites presents methodological challenges, these contexts also have unique potential for preserving ancient sites without disturbance from later human occupation. The Alpena-Amberley Ridge (AAR) beneath modern Lake Huron in the North American Great Lakes provides just such a setting.” (O’Shea, et al. 2014:6911)

Diagram of Drop 45 Site beneath Lake Huron. Illustration from O'Shea et al., 2014.

During the last glaciations, before the birth of the Great Lakes, paleoIndian hunters roamed the area and left traces of their existence. “Since 2008, more than 60 stone constructions on the AAR have been identified and visually inspected within two targeted research areas. Targets of potential interest identified during acoustic survey are examined via video provided by a remote operated vehicle (ROV) and, if warranted, are directly mapped and sampled by self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (scuba)-trained archaeologists.” (O’Shea, et al. 2014:6911) These investigations are now made possible by the development of the new technologies.

Blinds and drive lines seen from above. Drop 45 Site beneath Lake Huron. Illustration from O'Shea et al., 2014.

“Underwater archaeologists have discovered evidence of prehistoric caribou hunts that provide unprecedented insight into the social and seasonal organization of early peoples in the Great Lakes Region. An article detailing the discovery of a 9,000-year-old caribou hunting drive lane under Lake Huron appears in today’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ‘This site and its associated artifacts, along with environmental and simulation studies, suggest that Late Paleoindian/Early Archaic caribou hunters employed distinctly different seasonal approaches,’ said John O’Shea, the Emerson F. Greenman Professor of Anthropological Archaeology and lead author of the article. ‘In autumn, small groups carried out the caribou hunts, and in spring, larger groups of hunters cooperated.” (Swanbrow 2014)

Rollins Pass drive line, Grand County, Colorado, 25 July 1987, 1 mile of fence, 174 pit blinds and 184 cairns, ca. 6,000 - 3,000 BC. Photograph Peter Faris, 1987.

Although a low stone wall could have been easily crossed by the game animals, the appearance of such artificial features on the landscape seemingly make the animal uneasy, they tend to turn aside and parallel such a wall instead of crossing over. The high-altitude Rocky Mountain archaeologist James Benedict once told me about watching a deer approach a linear stone feature on Rollins Pass in the Colorado Rockies. Although the stone line is basically only one stone high nowadays the deer turned aside instead of crossing it. (Benedict, Personal communication, 1987)

Diver recording a hunting blind, Drop 45 Site beneath Lake Huron. Illustration from O'Shea et al., 2014.

Drop 45 Site beneath Lake Huron. Illustration from O'Shea et al., 2014.

Diver and underwater drone. Drop 45 Site beneath Lake Huron. Illustration from O'Shea et al., 2014.

“Researchers based at the University of Michigan think the roughly 9,000-year-old structure helped natives corral caribou herds migrating across what was then an exposed land-corridor – the so-called Alpena-Amberly Ridge – connecting northeast Michigan to southern Ontario. The area is now covered by 120 feet (37 meters) of water, but at the time, was exposed due to dry conditions of the last ice age.” (LiveScience Staff 2014)

“Paleoenvironmental analysis indicates that the area was a subarctic environment consisting of sphagnum moss, tamarack larch and spruce trees, along with small lakes, rivers, and wetlands. Radiocarbon dates on preserved wood yielded dates from 8,900–8,640 cal B.P., whereas charcoal recovered from the middle of a circle of small stones yielded a date of 9,020 cal B.P. The environment that emerges from these studies is one that would have been ideal for migrating caribou and for their human pursuers”. (O’Shea, et al. 2014:6911) I find it remarkable that we even have these hard dates for these features. Wonderful work.

NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.

REFERENCES:

Benedict, James, 1987, Personal communication.

LiveScience Staff, 2014, In Photos: Hunting Structure Hidden Beneath Lake Huron, 28 April 2014, https://www.livescience.com. Accessed online 6 May 2024.

O’Shea, John M., et al., 2014, A 9,000-year-old caribou hunting structure beneath Lake Huron, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), 13 May 2014, Vol. 111, No. 19, 6911-15. Accessed online 6 May 2024.

Swanbrow, Diane, 2014, Prehistoric caribou hunting structure found beneath Lake Huron, 28 April 2014, https://record.umich.edu. Accessed online 6 May 2024.