Correlation of regional late woodland triangle projectile point variation and native American ethnic group territories in the central middle Atlantic

Abstract

The shapes and sizes of 983 Late Woodland triangular projectile points from four indigenous Native American different ethnic groups of the central Middle Atlantic region (Unami Lenapi – Lower Delaware Valley, Munsee Lenape – Upper Delaware Valley, Susquehannock – Lower Susquehanna Valley, Nanticoke – Lower Delmarva Peninsula) and one archaeological complex (Shenks Ferry – Lower Susquehanna Valley) were compared using various univariate statistical analytics, including the difference-of-mean and difference-of proportion tests, to see if there were any statistically significant morphological differences among them. There were none, even though earlier studies of small samples with anecdotal observations and comparisons stated that there were observable differences among the projectile points of the various ethnic groups. This study's findings refute the axiomatic assumption of traditional normative culture approaches that there must be identifiable stylistic variation in projectile points among different ethnic groups. In the case of Late Woodland triangular projectile points in the central Middle Atlantic region, the technological prerequisites of shock hunting with bows and stone-tipped arrows limited inter-ethnic group variation in projectile point forms. However, use of poisons may have affected overall projectile point sizes.