'Progressive' Cultures

[Massac]

bigger animals+ longer cold storage= more practice.

[mbrown1833]

Nice input, Dr. Dave. I think this point also brings into prospective the fact that when living isn't so nomadic as Paleo times, life becomes more planned; and therefore the mind and its concrete tools become not so much intensive and quickly adaptable (with premium stone, and matter, quality alike) as they do specific and in number. When groups begin to live in larger numbers in an area, naturally, they begin to adapt to their surroundings and utilize what is at disposition. In that area, then, certain prototypes develop and create styles which we study today. In Texas, that means unreal examples; in the Northeast, lots of limestone (I'm not taking away from my love to search for artfully-crafted limestone). Today with international economics, it means Mercedes keys made in China and Toyota's vehicles made in America- what a beautiful thing?

I hope my rant makes sense. It's been an awful week for me. I've lost a close family member and my cat. I hope you can pardon me if I've fallen off course. Either way, I've enjoyed this thread as it slowly continues forth into much appreciated confluences of thought.

[Hoss]

Heres a thought and just a thought! During the end of the Ice Age animals the size of school buses walked around here. You kill one and store that smoked meat proper you have lots of time before needing to make another kill! They tended to work in groups of ten to twenty people. Life was spent foraging and living off the land. Kill a Bison and you have meat to last for a couple weeks! A Mammoth, well you get the picture. They had time to develop these fine hunting and butchering tool kits. If there was a herd they were following, how fast do you think animals that size could go? Do you think they could sneak off in the night? I am really not thinking so.
As the quarry got smaller during the archaic and had more stealth like a white tail and Antelope the hunting became more difficult. Hence speed of production needed to change in lithic thechnologies. If you look at points from the high plains you will see they are still made in a stunning manner of proficiency during the Archaic, hmmmm maybe they still had time because of the great herds of Buffalo and the areas known for drives out there they could kill enough to feed a larger group and still have time to produce nice points. Here in the North east they didn't have buffalo during the archaic. I am sure a great deal of foraging went on by the entire family unit. Just some thoughts. Take a close look at point types like the Vosburg and the woodland Meadowood these were carefully knapped using pressure techniques thin well made points, Jacks reef pentagonal nothing crude there. My thoughts and theory, resources would dictate time spent hunting/fishing, time spent foraging and time spent making tools, time making shelters, time making clothes.

If we thought in terms of not just diet! How about clothing? Hmmmm, maybe one Mammoth hide = shoes and blankets for half the tribe. Meat for a month! How many white tails would you need for twenty shirts? They couldn't possibly be utilizing time management skills! Or could they?