The Comondú Complex is an archaeological pattern dating from the late prehistoric period in northern Baja California Sur

Baja California Sur

Baja California Sur , is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state on October 8, 1974, the area was known as the South Territory of Baja California. It has an area of , or 3.57% of the land mass of Mexico and comprises...

 and southern Baja California

Baja California

Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...

. It is associated with the historic Cochimí

Cochimi

The Cochimí are the aboriginal inhabitants of the central part of the Baja California peninsula, from El Rosario in the north to San Javier in the south....

 people of the peninsula.

The complex was defined on the basis of investigations at rock shelters near the town of San Jose de Comondú

Misión San Jose de Comondú

Mission San José de Comondú was one of the Jesuit missions established early in the 18th century in Baja California Sur, Mexico, west of Loreto on an arroyo flowing to the Pacific coast. "Comondú" was a place name of the native Cochimí, who were the objects of the missionaries' efforts...

 by archaeologist William C. Massey, beginning in the late 1940s. It has been recognized at sites extending from the Sierra de la Giganta

Sierra de la Giganta

The Sierra de la Giganta is a mountain range of Baja California Sur state in northwestern Mexico. The range extends parallel to the coast of the Gulf of California, west of the town of Loreto. The Sierra de la Giganta is one of the landforms in the Peninsular Ranges, which extend from Southern...

 (west of Loreto

Loreto, Baja California Sur

Loreto was the first Spanish settlement on the Baja California Peninsula. It served as the capital of Las Californias from 1697 to 1777, and is the current seat of the municipality of Loreto in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur...

) in the south to Bahía de los Ángeles

Bahía de los Ángeles

' is a coastal bay on the Sea of Cortez, located along the eastern shore of the Baja California Peninsula in the state of Baja California, Mexico...

 in the north.

A key characteristic of the Comondú Complex is the presence of small Comondú Triangular and Comondú Serrated projectile points. These points reflect the introduction of the bow and arrow into the peninsula, perhaps around 500-1000 CE, largely supplanting the earlier atlatl

Atlatl

An atlatl or spear-thrower is a tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in dart-throwing.It consists of a shaft with a cup or a spur at the end that supports and propels the butt of the dart. The atlatl is held in one hand, gripped near the end farthest from the cup...

 and dart

Dart (missile)

Darts are missile weapons, designed to fly such that a sharp, often weighted point will strike first. They can be distinguished from javelins by fletching and a shaft that is shorter and/or more flexible, and from arrows by the fact that they are not of the right length to use with a normal...

. Other traits include grinding basins and slicks

Metate

A metate is a mortar, a ground stone tool used for processing grain and seeds. In traditional Mesoamerican culture, metates were typically used by women who would grind calcified maize and other organic materials during food preparation...

, manos, tubular stone pipes, coiled basketry

Basket weaving

Basket weaving is the process of weaving unspun vegetable fibres into a basket or other similar form. People and artists who weave baskets are called basketmakers and basket weavers.Basketry is made from a variety of fibrous or pliable materials•anything that will bend and form a shape...

, and square-knot netting

Reef knot

The reef knot or square knot is an ancient and simple binding knot used to secure a rope or line around an object. Although the reef knot is often seen used for tying two ropes together, it is not recommended for this purpose due to potential instability of the knot.A reef knot is formed by tying...

. The region's Great Mural rock art

Great Mural Rock Art, Baja California

Great Mural Rock Art consists of prehistoric paintings of humans and animals, often larger than life-size, on the walls and ceilings of natural rock shelters in the mountains of northern Baja California Sur and southern Baja California, Mexico...

may also be associated with the Comondú Complex.