The Archaeological Conservancy

WESTERN NORTH AMERICA—New research is clarifying when and how bow-and-arrow technology spread across western North America. A study published in PNAS Nexus found that the bow appeared in the region around 1,400 years ago, but its adoption varied widely: some communities rapidly replaced the atlatl and dart, while others continued using both technologies for centuries.

Read more: https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/5/3/pgag040/8524400

Rapid adoption of bow technology across western North America ∼1,400 years ago Abstract. The replacement of the atlatl and dart by the bow and arrow marks a major technological transformation in the human past, yet the timing and dyna