Hunter-gatherer interaction and alliance formation: Dalton and the cult of the long blade

Patterns of social interaction among hunter-gatherers during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition in North America have received considerable attention in recent archaeological studies. One hypothesis is that territory size decreased as band packing increased when bands, particularly those occupying favored environments, fissioned and multiplied and target game animals changed. One result of this process should be archaeological evidence of intensified interaction among neighboring bands. We investigate this model through the identification and analysis of ceremonial exchange of a specific artifact-the large Sloan type spear point-found in Dalton contexts in the Central Mississippi Valley. Our findings support the contention that alliance networks were established at this time (10,500-10,000 BP) in order to mitigate the effects of resource risk and potential interband discord.