Cumberland and Barnes: Analogous Evolution or Historically Contingent Homology? Elijah C. Ellerbusch and Stephen J. Yerka Department of Anthropology University of Tennessee Abstract: A technological analysis of Cumberland and Barnes fluted bifacial projectile points indicates that a homologous, historically contingent relationship may have existed between the two forager groups. Cumberland and Barnes fluted biface manufacturing processes, including preform production, basal preparation, and fluting methods, are virtually identical. Statistical correlation and regression analyses confirm the similarities in fluted point morphology. Additionally, GIS was used to plot the geographic distribution of known Cumberland and Barnes fluted bifaces, respectively occurring in the Midsouth and Midwest (including the lower Great Lakes) regions of eastern North America, revealing a potential course of travel between the two regions. According to this scenario, Cumberland culture emerged in the Midsouth in the Late Pleistocene and migrated northeast along several major watersheds, including the lower Tennessee, Cumberland, and Ohio Rivers. Essentialist lithic artifact typologies and contemporary regional boundaries cloak the apparent relationship between Cumberland and Barnes archaeological cultures, while an absence of reliable chronometric dates of Cumberland or Barnes Paleoindian deposits inhibits our ability to fully understanding the timing of the historically contingent relationship at hand. Elijah C. Ellerbusch and Stephen J. Yerka Elijah C. Ellerbusch, Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Anthropology, 250 East Stadium Hall, Knoxville, TN 37796, eellerbu@utk.edu Stephen J. Yerka, Datamaster, The Paleoindian Database of the Americas (PIDBA), Department of Anthropology, 250 East Stadium Hall, Knoxville, TN 37796, syerka@utk.edu.