Beyond the Mighty Projectile Point: Techno-functional Study in a Late Pleistocene Artifact, Pilauco Site, Osorno, Northwestern Chilean Patagonia

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Pilauco site, in northwestern Chilean Patagonia, presents evidence of human occupation in South America ca. 16,500 cal yr BP. This article presents the techno-functional analysis of a unifacial artifact belonging to a 17,300 cal yr BP level, found in association with five other lithic pieces. Artifacts of this type have long been considered expedient rather than formal or curated pieces. These artifacts remain in the shadow of bifacial pieces, particularly so-called projectile points. The results of the techno-functional analysis made it possible to diagnose the unifacial artifact as a plano-convex volumetric structure with two parallel backs, on which two different tools were produced at different manufacturing stages via the technical operations of affordance, debitage, and shaping. The detailed description of this type of artifact is crucial for a more complete definition of the technical phenomena associated with the first occupations in South America.