What's the point? A morphological study of small bone points from Nuu-chah-nulth territory, Vancouver Island, B.C.

Small bone points are abundant in midden sites on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island suggesting that fishing was a frequent activity. However, links between point morphology and specific fishing activities are tenuous. This thesis critically examines the functional interpretation of small bone points using ethnographic sources, existing collections, use wear, and morphological data. I use eighteen subjective categories to describe the morphological variation in small bone points. I document the intra-category variation and overlap between categories using quantitative analyses. By identifying and analysing these eighteen morphological categories, I highlight potentially meaningful variations in the assemblages. I conclude that describing and exploring the variation within subjective types will increase the consistency of future typological analyses.