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Why aren't we on the same page?

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JackCrafty:
When you think about primitive archery, if you are a hunter, you think about the performance of your equipment.  If you are an artifact collector, you think about how rare and wonderful the items are.  If you are an archeologist, you think about the technology and how it evolved.

If you try to be all of the above, you will see that people in the different "camps" are not working with the same set of ideas.  This is obvious, of course, but I want to throw out some concepts and see what you guys think.

When I talk to collectors, for example, they will tell me that when projectile points were made, the user had to make sure that it didn't affect the flight of the projectile.  So, the smaller the projectile, the smaller the point. A hunter will tell me that the point size/weight is part of the "system" and doesn't have to be minimized.  On the contrary, sometimes a heavier or bigger point is necessary.  An archeologist will tell me that the point size is determined by a what he considers the maker's intent was.  The intent can be any number of a thousand different things...or sometimes only by one thing... and has to be supported by evidence.

So, what determines the size of a projectile point?

-  Ishi used smaller arrowheads to kill bears than he used to kill deer.  Why?
-  Small "bird points" (the size of a dime) have been found with the remains of buffalo here in west Texas.  Why?
-  Some of the very first true arrowheads in Texas were quite large in comparisson to later arrowheads.  Why?
-  Large, bulky points have been made in areas with very limited rock resources, and tiny points have been made in areas with almost endless supplies of good rock.  Why?
-  A typical "primitive" hunting arrow (and arrowhead) today is much more robust than those made in pre-historic times.   Why?


And there are other areas where people get all funny:

I've heard some people claim that:

-  Warfare was almost unknown in America before the Europeans came.
-  Reproducing ancient technology leads to fraud and counterfeiting that hurts collectors.
-  Collectors are encouraging the trade in "grave goods" and are destroying important archeologic sites.
-  One cannot be truely "primitive" in a modern world and that goes for his equipment as well.

thomas h:
because in today's society  we have been conditioned to think --( bigger is better )----- ;D

mullet:
 Patrick;

 I've been to Artifact shows and listened to people use their sells pitch for whichever point they were selling. When they made up some BS elaborate story to justify something that didn't fit, you knew they didn't know what they were talking about.

 Most Collectors don't hunt, or Knapp. Most of the high dollar collectors don't even look for points in the field, they buy them from people that do.

I have very good friends that are Anthropologist or Archaeologist. It seems that when they find artifacts, even flakes, they want to give it a label. Most of them do not hunt or skin animals and seem to romanticize what a piece of rock could have been used for.

There s also an overlap period when the bow was starting to be used or the larger animals were disappearing and you have to wonder if they were mounted on Atlatl or arrows

Timo:
Well... in reality no one really knows? It's all speculation. Look at our society today, some would never hunt deer with anything other than a 3006 while others think that a 204 is plenty. One can cut a piece of pie with a butter knife while the next person wouldn't dream of using anything other than a their sharpest knife.

I think that ancient man used whatever they needed  to get the job done.

I think mullet summed it up perty well.

Parnell:
Patrick,

-  Warfare was almost unknown in America before the Europeans came.
-  Reproducing ancient technology leads to fraud and counterfeiting that hurts collectors.
-  Collectors are encouraging the trade in "grave goods" and are destroying important archeologic sites.
-  One cannot be truely "primitive" in a modern world and that goes for his equipment as well.


I'd argue "Europeans" were in North America before "Asians".
Screw Collectors.
Again, Screw Collectors.
To borrow from Gump, Primitive is as Primitive does.

Don't let this come across as snippy or something - Rich says it pretty well, I'd figure - Make what you like.  The rest is law and modern stuff. 
Archery Craft is one of the last things that defines man's, or woman's,  nature. 

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