Why Did Projectile-Point Size Increase in the Andean Altiplano Archaic? An Experimental Atlatl Analysis

Archaic projectile points from the Andean Altiplano exhibit a curious trend of increasing size over time, in contrast to well-documented reduction throughout North America. Although number hypotheses exist account for decreasing projectile-point size, there are currently no explicit explanations size. We consider several and interrogate two techno-economic hypotheses. posit that point compensated lost dart momentum or accuracy resulted shortening atlatls atlatl darts as wood became increasingly scarce on tree-sparse Altiplano. evaluate these using replicated system ballistic trials. Contrary expectation, results show enlargement significantly reduces penetration depth, allowing us confidently reject hypothesis. Point enlargement, contrast, tentatively correlates positively with accuracy. Our experiment further shows camelid bone is an effective economical alternative production. Despite suboptimal lengths, radioulna have convenient morphology requires low production which helps explain empirically observed highlands. More generally, our observations lead central tendencies archaeologically may reflect trade-off between