Abstract

The function of cylindrical bone and ivory shafts frequently found associated with Clovis fluted points has been the subject of much discussion. Functions as foreshafts, levers for tightening binding, wedges to facilitate butchering, sled runners, and composite flintknapping devices, although appealing, in most cases seem more elaborate than their form suggests. The function as foreshafts or component parts of composite shafts, which may or may not have included stone or wood components can adequately account for the formal variation in most of these artifacts. Ethnographic examples of similar shaft construction in the arctic are considered an appropriate functional analogue.