Prehistoric Projectile Points

Projectile points are unique among the classes of prehistoric artifacts found in Baja California: they are both common in their occurrence and relatively elaborate and diverse in their forms. Their diversity has been variously interpreted as being associated with specific time periods, particular geographical ranges, ethnic identities, and tool functions. Several different approaches have been applied to classifying projectile points in order to extract their interpretive value. The links above lead to summaries of the results of several of those approaches. Among the detailed classifications of substantial collections of points from Baja California are studies by William C. Massey (1966), Emma Lou Davis (1968), Eric W. Ritter (1979), Kelli Carmean (1994), Eduardo Serafín Esquivel (1995), Ritter and Julie Burcell (1998), Rubén García (2013) and Erika Moranchel (2014).

References Cited
Carmean, Kelli. 1994. A Metrical Study of Baja California Sur Projectile Points. Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Quarterly 30(1):52-74.

Davis, Emma Lou. 1968. An Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Central Desert of Baja California. University of California, Los Angeles, Archaeological Survey Annual Report 10:176-208.

García Lozano, Rubén Fabián. 2013. Tipología y cadenas operatorias de puntas de proyectil de la costa noroeste de Baja California: Estudio de case del sitio Bajamar-Jatay, Ensenada, B.C.

Massey, William C. 1966. The Castaldí Collection from Central and Southern Baja California. Contributions of the University of California Archaeological Research Facility No. 2. Berkeley.

Moranchel Mondragón, Érika Berenice. 2014. Del paralelo 28o al 32o: puntas de proyectil de Baja California. Unpublished thesis, Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico City.

Ritter, Eric W. 1979. An Archaeological Study of South-Central Baja California, Mexico. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Davis. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

-----, and Julie Burcell. 1998. Projectile Points from the Three Sisters’ Lagoons of West Central Baja California. Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Quarterly 34(4):29-66.

Serafín Esquivel, Eduardo. 1995. Análisis tipológico de puntas de proyectil del área central de la península de Baja California, México. Unpublished thesis, Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico City.