Blood Residues on Fluted Points from Eastern Beringia

Blood residues have been microscopically and chemically detected on fluted projectile points from eastern Beringia. From these residues a variety of large mammal species, including mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), have been identified using biochemical and molecular-biological methods. This is the f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American Antiquity
Main Authors: Loy, Thomas H., Dixon, E. James
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1998
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2694774
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0002731600047016
Description
Summary:Blood residues have been microscopically and chemically detected on fluted projectile points from eastern Beringia. From these residues a variety of large mammal species, including mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), have been identified using biochemical and molecular-biological methods. This is the first time a direct association has been made between the use of fluted projectile points and human predation of extinct fauna and other large Pleistocene mammals in arctic and subarctic North America. This suggests the northern fluted-point assemblages are part of the Paleoindian big-game hunting tradition that was widespread in North America at the close of the Pleistocene.