ABSTRACT
The El Gigante point morphology has similarities with approximately contemporaneous and well-known (though not well-dated) late Paleoindian projectile point traditions and reflects important differences that may be consistent with a pattern of diversification of point styles across the Central American region which include the establishment of a related subregional tradition. This study looks at the Paleoindian-Archaic transition at the El Gigante rocksheiter site in Honduras through the somewhat narrow prism of a small collection of projectile points and point fragments attributed to the earliest, well-dated Esperanza levels at the site. With the present available dates, plant and faunal remains, and comparative regional data, the Esperanza phase occupation at El Gigante rockshelter appears to be transitional between its better-known Paleoindian antecedents and a still poorly defined Central American Early Archaic. The El Gigante projectile points exhibit attributes that may have derived from their Paleoindian antecedents as well morphological similarities with point types that have been tentatively assigned to the Archaic.
