Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology

For at least 350 years, remnants of 37 compound arrows made of carrizo (cane) and hardwood have remained in high crevices in a canyon wall in the Colorado Desert of southern California. This paper provides the results of a 2001 study of this phenomenon. Research in museum collections, ethnographic data, early historical texts, and new radiocarbon determinations support the hypotheses that (1) the arrows were shot into the crevices with a bow; (2) the arrows were made by and shot by Kumeyaay people; and (3) the Arrow Site is a result of a single incident rather than repetitive traditional events. Several other instances of arrows placed in out-of-the-way niches and crevices are explored, as well as possible reasons for the creation of the site.