In this paper, we use GIS and 2D geometric morphometrics to explore landscape use and social interaction among Kirk Cluster populations in the lower Ohio River valley. Using cultural transmission as a theoretical foundation, we develop models for identifying assemblages produced by macroband aggregations. We show that two distinct populations occupied northern Indiana and southwestern Kentucky. Intensively occupied sites in these areas are situated in near-upland settings in close proximity to a variety of resources including chert, higher order rivers, and sinkholes. In contrast, the Butterfield site in central Kentucky lies in the lowlands with the Green River as the only obvious resource. Analyses reveal that Butterfield was a macroband aggregation site visited by populations from Indiana, but groups from southwestern Kentucky only minimally participated in aggregations at Butterfield. Results further show that the Ohio River was not a barrier to social interaction in the Early Holocene.

Fluting is a technological and morphological hallmark of some of the most iconic North American Paleoindian stone points. Through decades of detailed artifact analyses and replication experiments, archaeologists have spent considerable effort reconstructing how flute removals were achieved, and they have explored possible explanations of why fluting was such an important aspect of early point technologies. However, the end of fluting has been less thoroughly researched. In southern North America, fluting is recognized as a diagnostic characteristic of Clovis points dating to approximately 13,000 cal yr BP, the earliest widespread use of fluting. One thousand years later, fluting occurs more variably in Dalton and is no longer useful as a diagnostic indicator. How did fluting change, and why did point makers eventually abandon fluting? In this article, we use traditional 2D measurements, geometric morphometric (GM) analysis of 3D models, and 2D GM of flute cross sections to compare Clovis and Dalton point flute and basal morphologies. The significant differences observed show that fluting in Clovis was highly standardized, suggesting that fluting may have functioned to improve projectile durability. Because Dalton points were used increasingly as knives and other types of tools, maximizing projectile functionality became less important. We propose that fluting in Dalton is a vestigial technological trait retained beyond its original functional usefulness.