Beyond “Better Tech”: Bows in North America

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In-Person

Date: January16,2026

Location: University of Michigan School of Education, United States

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= Beyond “better tech”: Why the bow spread (or didn’t) in North America =

Dr. Raven Garvey - Associate Professor of Anthropology, and Associate Curator at UMMAA

The adoption and spread of bow and arrow technology in North America reflects a complex interplay of ecological and social factors: While environmental variables such as wood availability and prey diversity / behavior were surely important, demographic and cultural variables were equally or more influential. Parsing the relative effects of these factors and understanding interactions among them requires a clear view of the timing and nature of bow use across North America’s diverse geography. This talk explores adoption of the bow in North America from two perspectives.

Participants & Organizers

University of Michigan Department of Archaeology(Host, Organizer)

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Our faculty, staff, and students are conducting fieldwork and collections-based research across the globe, spanning periods from half a million years ago to the present. The University of Michigan houses outstanding archaeological collections and offers a range of undergraduate and graduate degrees and programs in archaeology and related disciplines. This site provides an overview of our research, educational programs, collections, and resources that are of interest to students, scholars, teachers, and the general public.