News From Native California - Spring 2015 Volume 28, Issue 3 | Page 37

and the Bow
and Arrow
of the Sierra Nevada, while views of the valley itself give the
feel of a long-ago place in time, once flourishing and lush but
now mostly uninhabited. At the time of Euro-American contact this area was predominately occupied by the Koso Shoshone, the word koso meaning fire in Northern Paiute, most
likely pertaining to the volcanic nature of the landscape. The
valley contains a combination of Mojave Desert and Great
Basin flora and fauna. Common plants include creosote
bush, salt-bush, and rabbitbrush. Large animals are now rare
but in the past this area supported healthy numbers of bighorn sheep and antelope. Small animals such as rabbits are
still relatively numerous. In the late 1800s, Rose Valley was
one of several main rabbit drive areas; people often traveled
over fifty miles from places such as Saline Valley to participate. Prior to the construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct
in the early 1900s, when the Owens River was still flowing,
fishing was also common.
The introduction of the bow and arrow to eastern California had, without a doubt, a profound effect on the

ancestors of this area. Unlike its precursor the atlatl, the bow
and arrow allowed hunters to remain hidden while launching their projectiles and also afforded greater accuracy. The
arrow’s stone heads also required less material then earlier
darts. The need to obtain large amounts of obsidian was
likely lessened and the use of smaller projectiles allowed
people to recycle or conserve materials.
One archaeological site in Rose Valley, which dates back
at least six thousand years, has provided evidence for the
introduction of the bow and arrow by way of massive lithic
(stone) reduction debris. Discarded by ancestral people, the
lithic debris demonstrates technological development, from
early Elko dart points to the development of the nationally
renowned Rose Spring arrow point, which is the predominate marker for the introduction of the bow to eastern California. This site is certainly one of the earliest in eastern
California, reflecting the introduction of the bow and arrow
about fifteen hundred years ago. The projectile point technology found here represents the earliest form of bow and
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