Fishtailed projectile points in the Americas: remarks and hypotheses on the peopling of northern South America and beyond

Abstract

In order to find out about and discuss the peopling of the Americas, there is evidence that comes from a range of scientific disciplines. In archaeology, stone tool vestiges are one of the main pieces of evidence used for assessing the knowledge and understanding of this topic. One of the most iconic lithic remains from the South American Paleoindian record is the so-called Fishtail, or just “Fell” projectile point, a distinctive artifact that stands out due to its wide distribution from southern Mexico to southernmost South America. Different hypotheses have been proposed regarding its origin, mainly related to Paleoindian points from North America. In order to discuss this issue, special attention has been paid among the existing varieties to a group distributed throughout eastern North America, mainly in states with a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico. This group stands out, because with their narrow or broader blades, their lower portions typically have deeply indented concave edges, forming flaring rounded or pointed ears with fluted and unfluted bases which are reminiscent of the Fishtail. By comparing them from a morphological and technological viewpoint, and because of the observed similarities between North and South American fishtailed points, the hypothesis in this paper proposes that South American Fell points are related to similar ones from eastern North America. A model of the possible route/s followed by the waves of colonizers who peopled northern South America and the lands beyond the equator in the southern hemisphere is also proposed.