A study clarifies the date of an important technological milestone: the adoption of the bow and arrow in western North America. The replacement of older weapons by bows and arrows occurred independently in several prehistoric cultures. Briggs Buchanan and colleagues explore this transition in western North America, where the bow replaced the atlatl and dart as the primary hunting technology. The authors focused on 136 radiocarbon-dated, well-preserved organic weapons, which provide evidence of when and where the weapons were used. The artifacts were primarily found in receding glacial ice patches, dry caves, or rock shelters—situations conducive to preserving their organic components. The authors find that the bow and arrow debuted around 1,400 years ago across all of western North America. North of the 55th parallel, which runs through northern British Columbia and Alberta, the bow and arrow was used alongside the atlatl for more than 1,000 years, whereas south of that line and into what is now Mexico, the atlatl was instantly and completely replaced. According to the authors, the sudden and widespread appearance of the bow suggests a single origin followed by rapid diffusion through cultural transmission networks. As to why northern peoples kept the atlatl in rotation, the older weapon may have had some advantages in colder months or in the hunting of certain prey. Regardless of the specific reasons, the retention of the atlatl fits a well-known pattern, in which hunter-gatherer toolkits are more complex at high latitudes than low latitudes. According to the authors, in harsh and variable conditions with little room for error it pays to have a wide range of tool options.
PNAS Nexus
Rapid adoption of bow technology across western North America ∼1,400 years ago
17-Mar-2026