Press release from the Nevada State Museum:
Talk features rare tools used to hunt mammoth, Nov. 22
Taking down a prehistoric mammoth had to require some special talent and tools. Recent finds from the Great Salt Lake Desert are providing new evidence about projectile points in the Great Basin used for hunting more than 12,000 years ago. Anthropologist Daron Duke presents “New Evidence for Mammoth Hunting in the Great Basin from the Great Salt Lake Desert, Utah” from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22 at the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas.
“The Haskett subtype is arguably the oldest projectile point representative of the Western Stemmed Tradition, a Paleoindian stone tool complex,” Duke said. He will present images and discuss technological attributes for a collection of artifacts including one 22.6-centimeter (about eight-inch) showpiece that is the largest complete Haskett specimen yet documented archaeologically, he said. “The technological evidence supports the interpretation of Haskett points as sophisticated throwing/thrusting spear tips for very large game animals.”
The Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas actively engages people in understanding and celebrating Nevada’s natural and cultural heritage. The museum is one of seven managed by the Nevada Division of Museums and History, an agency of the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs. It is open Thursday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the grounds of the Springs Preserve. Visit the museum at 309 S. Valley View Blvd. or on Facebook. Adult admission is $9.95 and includes entrance to the Las Vegas Springs Preserve. For more information, contact sirvin@nevadaculture.org or (702) 486-5205.
