PATTERNS OF TECHNOLOGICAL VARIATION AMONG FOLSOM AND MIDLAND PROJECTILE POINTS IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST

Analysis of a large sample of Folsom and Midland points from locations throughout the American Southwest is used to suggest functional variation in Folsom fluting strategies. Reliance on Edwards chert and unfluted point manufacture on the Southern Plains is argued to result from tool stone conservation practices associated with logistical land use and high mobility. Theories of technological organization and risk reduction are shown to provide a useful framework for the investigation of variation in Folsom fluting strategies.