•A landscape learning process focusing on lithic resources.•The geological background for raw materials used for microblade insets has been studied.•An adaptive strategy of diminutization of the ...lithic technology has been found.
In the paper, the authors investigate the relationships between the organization of hunter-gatherer stone tool production, technology, raw material use, as well as social interaction, communication, and mobility. Based on a controlled experiment modeling the use of Mesolithic slotted bone points as hunting weapons from the Mesolithic Motala site in Eastern Central Sweden, their production, durability, efficiency, and repairability are investigated. The experiment also evaluates the function of five different locally available inset lithic materials. Also, a study on raw material use from 51 excavated Mesolithic sites is used to evaluate a landscape learning process in relation to geology for suitable lithic sources for microblade insets. This illustrates the logic of the circulation and use of certain lithic tools and raw materials between and within regions and sites of the prehistoric landscape.
Bone points were one of the major hunting implements in northern European hunter-gatherer societies. They differ in shapes, types, and manufacturing techniques. In this paper, we investigate 22 bone ...points from the territory of Lithuania, by studying their morpho-technological characteristics, direct dates, and adhesive residues. The majority are isolated finds, but four points were selected from excavated archaeological sites dated between the 5th and 3rd millennia cal BC. Most of the points belong to the barbed points category, but six slotted points were also studied. Of the 22, 16 previously undated points were sampled for accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (AMS 14C) dating. The results of 10 successfully dated samples are discussed together with previously published 14C dates of bone points from the same region. ATR-FTIR analysis of adhesive residues from six points suggest that birch bark tar was used to haft barbed points and lithic inserts. The results reveal the diversity of types of Early Holocene bone points in the territory of Lithuania, while the slotted and Kunda-type bone points fall into narrow timeframes.
Las puntas “lengüetas de pájaro” son artefactos óseos frecuentes en los contextos Goya-Malabrigo del Nordeste. Para su manufactura se emplearon preferentemente tibias de Myocastor coypus cuyos ...extremos proximales fueron aserrados y ahuecados con el fin de insertar un astil, mientras que los extremos distales fueron aserrados y aguzados mediante abrasión. Su morfología y proceso de manufactura son similares al resto de las puntas ahuecadas de la región, siendo en consecuencia, una variante de estas. Las características morfométricas y los patrones de microdesgaste observados son compatibles con su uso en actividades cinegéticas. Algunas de las características de su diseño, tales como el espesor de las paredes, los ápices extendidos muy agudos y áreas de encastre poco robustas, sugieren que tuvieron una vida útil relativamente corta y altas tasas de reemplazo. Los umbrales de fractura y/o descarte parecen haber estado en el rango 4-5 cm de longitud total. Es esperable que estas puntas estén subrepresentadas en los conjuntos arqueológicos debido a la dificultad analítica para identificar los pequeños fragmentos fracturados de estos artefactos.
As riverine and lacustrine environments expanded across north tropical Africa during early Holocene times, certain characteristic fishing or “aquatic hunting” strategies became widespread. This paper ...investigates one such strategy and an associated technology: selective fishing and barbed bone “harpoon” points in the Turkana Basin, northwest Kenya. These tools have a geographically widespread distribution across Africa, primarily north of the equator, and can shed light on hunter-gatherer technology and resource acquisition in the face of environmental and social change. Interviews with contemporary Turkana fishers highlight near-shore fishing practices analogous to those of early Holocene hunter-gatherers. For example, Turkana fishers exploiting deltaic “yellow waters” have traditionally employed selective harpoon-like tools to acquire large aquatic fauna like Lates niloticus (Nile perch) and Synodontis sp. (catfish), while using non-selective traps, hooks and nets to catch smaller and deeper-water species. These practices have changed over several decades in response to local socioeconomic and environmental shifts. Today these selective strategies show a marked seasonality and regional variability that the archaeological record of this region has thus far been ill-equipped to investigate. Through carefully constructed analogy, this preliminary work contributes to a better understanding of human technological and behavioral responses to shifting lakeshore environments today and during early Holocene times.
Australian Aboriginal people have been producing pointed bone technologies for at least 46,000 years. Frequently observed by Europeans on their arrival, it was noted that a great range of items, ...produced by both men and women, were used in a wide variety of economic and social tasks. In archaeological contexts too, an assortment of bone implements has been recovered. These, however, have simply been described as 'bone points', thus overlooking myriad morphological and use differences which could provide significant insights to researchers. With no consistent terminology or overarching classification system developed for Australian industries, excavators have largely focused on site-specific descriptions-effectively sidelining a large part of past Australian technocomplexes. This paper proposes a typology for Australian pointed bone technology. Based on examination of both archaeological and ethnographic implements, this new classification system will allow archaeologists to compare collections across the continent and, ultimately, relate them better to various aspects of subsistence, symbolism, and non-osseous technologies.
The political, socio-economic and cultural development of Kashi was never blocked. The history of technological development in Kashi state has been very flourished. The present study is an attempt to ...present historical and analytical studies regarding bone technology and its characteristics used in the region of ancient Kashi. The contribution of bone technology in the wisdom of Kashi and the development of a socio-economic perspective has also been discussed. Various bone tools obtained from Kashi’s archaeological sites and excavations reports have been studied. Archaeological and literary sources revealed that ancient Kashi was very developed in technology. The sources candidly depicted the prosperous societal life of its inhabitants in the backdrop of rich culture. Bone objects remains constitute an essential theme to study the integrated ecological aspect of human life.
The study analyses the findings of writing instrument and its nomenclature through literary and archaeological sources. Certainly, writing instruments and materials were linked to the appearance of ...letters and scripts, but we should remind ourselves that the Harappan people did have their own script and left their inscriptions, which we have yet to decipher. Even prior to the Harappan civilisation we have innumerable findings, like graffiti or decorative designs on potsherds, symbols, incised potteries, multi-grooved designs on pots, stamped decorations, pictographs or art and paintings on various materials. If we consider these to be the primal form of a script or primordial form of writing, then definitely these exhibit some kind of communication. And there must have existed some kind of instrument used for the purpose of marking or incising on various materials, which were later on instrumental in the evolution of a script or writing system. This tool or device or instrument could be made of stone, bone, ivory, horn, copper or iron. Again various archaeological terms have been used for these instruments though no one is certain about the nomenclature of these instruments. Whatever the epithets or name tags used for the instruments, there is a certain kind of correlation between the findings of these tools from the various excavation sites, as evident from the many excavation reports referred to. Although these tools were used for various purposes in diverse ways, still it is not adequate reason to exclude them from the discussion of the writing instrument.
Taking the outset in two finds of bone points in Norway, the distribution and use of the artefact type is discussed. Points of bone and antler are frequent¬ly found at settlements and in wetlands in ...Northern Europe. However, the exact distribution of the artefact type is hard to determine because its modest design makes it easy to overlook. This is also the reason why it is usually looked upon as a sign of poverty and as second rate. It seems the artefact type had more than one area of use; as a tool, as an implement for fishing and hunting, and as a combat weapon. Concerning the latter, it is argued that the points of bone and antler were valued and efficient weapons that more likely served as spears rather than javelins. This is confirmed by ancient written sources.
Many experiments have sought to recreate the types of damage that would be expected in ancient stone and bone weapon tips. This damage is usually presented as visible fractures or microscopic surface ...modification. Fatigue tests conducted on bovine bones, however, show the development of internal micro-cracks that result from stress, prior to actual breakage. In this paper I present the results of an experimental investigation of bone points subjected to a variety of activities. I assess the presence of microdamage using micro-focus computed tomography. The results show that two patterns of micro-cracks develop in bone and are best viewed in longitudinal section. Micro-cracks are a cumulative feature dependent on the amount of load applied and the duration of activity. When subjected to high enough loading rates, micro-cracks will merge together to eventually form a fracture. Although further tests are needed to confirm the exact point at which these fatigue fractures begin to form, micro-focus computed tomography has the potential to reveal whether an individual bone point underwent multiple or prolonged impacts and thus to elucidate the probable function/s of ancient pointed bone tools where no visible damage is apparent. Micro-focus computed tomography is a non-destructive and non-invasive procedure and therefore safe to use on archaeological artefacts.
► Investigates the formation of micro-cracks in bone tools subject to dynamic loading. ► Employs micro-focus computed tomographic imaging. ► Two patterns of micro-cracks are observed and best seen in longitudinal section. ► Micro-cracks are cumulative features dependent on load and duration of activity. ► The method has potential for archaeological application.
Equus Cave, Buxton-Norlim Limeworks, near Taung, North West Province, South Africa, was first excavated between 1978 and 1982. While the site dates to the terminal Pleistocene and Holocene the ...precise age of the different layers is debated, as is the technological assignment of the deepest deposits, which are said to contain both Later or Middle Stone Age elements. While the faunal assemblage and some of the human remains have been published, the archaeology has never been fully analysed or reported. New excavations in 2012 revealed numerous artefacts including ochre, something not previously noted for this site. Comparison of total lithic artefact counts versus faunal NISPs and MNIs shows that the height of human occupation occurred during the Holocene, with preliminary analysis of the >6000 lithic assemblage indicating a dominance of notched artefacts, which, coupled with the presence of 16 bone points, is characteristic of other HoloceneWilton (Later Stone Age) sites in the region. The focus of this paper is the 16 bone points, which include projectile points and link-shafts, and how these items were manufactured and used. The results provide one of the first detailed descriptions of Later Stone Age bone tools, including rare specimens that are mostly complete or still preserve the tips, making an important contribution to our limited understanding of Later Stone Age bone tool technology.
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