Some weapons to take away: The spread of decorated projectile points across Magdalenian societies (original) (raw)
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Pétillon J.M., Dias-Merino M.H., Cattelain P., Honegger M., Normand C., Valdeyron N. (coord.), Recherches sur les armatures de projectile du Paléolithique supérieur au Néolithique, actes du colloque 83, XVe congrès de l’IUSPP, Lisbonne, 4-9 septembre 2006. P@lethnologie 1, p. 220-249, 2008
The most recent research on Magdalenian lithic and bone projectiles allows us to make comparisons between large territories and in this way to confront the regional typological synthesis on which our thinking is based. A comparative study of several lithic assemblages between the Rhone and the Ebro Rivers, and the definition of standard point manufacturing technologies raise many questions concerning the identity of the Late Glacial (Tardiglacial)
Hunting weaponry are perfect for use in social signalling as these artefacts are highly visible to persons both intimately familiar with the individual carrying the implement, as well as those encountered on the landscape during the course of subsistence or social activities. Magdalenian antler projectile points were no exception, being ubiquitous across the Magdalenian territory, carefully crafted, and frequently, beautifully decorated. These last two aspects has understandably drawn the attention of researchers over the past 150 years, and resulted in their use to identify interaction between spatially distance sites (for example). This chapter uses archaeological and ethnographic data to explore whether the iconic Magdalenian bilaterally barbed point, along with the ubiquitous bevel based point performed a functional duality, being both: (1) a subsistent; and (2) a social tool. It will be argued that while regional communities are reflected in the form of the bevel edge, a wider Magdalenian identity may be contained within the bilaterally barbed points.
The Middle and Upper Magdalenian have yielded rich and diverse assemblages of osseous hunting technology, including projectile points (barbed or not), foreshafts, and spearthrowers. Within the Magdatis project, the evolution of this technology at French sites was reassessed by building an extensive dataset of 14C dates on Magdalenian hunting implements, selecting assemblages with good archeological homogeneity and taking into account questions of manufacture, hafting, and use. A finer four-stage chronology was established in coordination with lithic studies. A steady evolution was identified, marked by the intensification of antler exploitation and the increasing diversity and complexity of osseous armatures. This evolution is the continuation of a long-term trend that began in the Badegoulian and Lower Magdalenian and that culminated in the Late Middle/Early Upper Magdalenian, showing a special emphasis on composite projectile tips and evidence of the long-distance circulation of osseous materials and objects. A simplification process then takes place, with much of the technical innovation now centered on barbed implements to the detriment of the rest of the weapon kit, a trait that may announce the Azilian.
Diversity and Evolution of Osseous Hunting Equipment during the Magdalenian (21,000 – 14,000 cal BP)
Osseous Projectile Weaponry: Towards an Understanding of Pleistocene Cultural Variability., 2016
The Magdalenian is largely defined by its diverse array of sophisticated osseous projectile weaponry. Found throughout Western Europe, Magdalenian assemblages include antler points hafted using a variety of technological designs, unilaterally and bilaterally barbed points, self-barbed points, bivalve points made of two half round rods (baguettes demi-rondes), and composite antler/lithic projectile points, not to mention foreshafts and spearthrower elements. As perhaps the richest assemblage of osseous projectile weaponry manufactured during the Pleistocene worldwide, a thorough understanding of this technology is essential for building a cohesive understanding of not only the technological choices made by hunter-gatherers in Western Europe during this period, but the wider economic and social role that osseous projectile technology can play in a Pleistocene age culture. This chapter aims to outline the diversity of Magdalenian osseous projectile weaponry as well as its evolution throughout the period 21,000 – 14,000 cal BP. How these implements were designed, manufactured, used, and maintained is described.
Magdalenian Barbed Points: Harpoons, Spears and Arrowheads
Barbed points from the Magdalenian are still regarded by most authors as harpoons. However some authors have always doubted the general application of the harpoon concept for all barbed points of the Late Glacial (Rust, 1943; Clark, 1936 & 1975; Feustel, 1980). A closer look at the morphology of the Magdalenian material makes clear that there is a great internal variation and differentiation (Deffarge et al., 1974; Kozlowski & Kozlowski, 1977; Jullen, 1982). This internal structure can not be fully understood by archaeological means alone. Therefore I have made an ethnoarchaeological comparison of European Magdalenian barbed points with those from ethnohistoric Northamerican Indian and Eskimo context (Weniger, in press). A sampleof 300 objects of different museum collections from each region is the basis of my analysis.
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2014
Maintenance and discard patterns are a central aspect of projectile point analyses. Unfortunately, while the examination of maintenance and discard patterns for lithic technologies is well advanced, osseous projectile point maintenance and discard analyses remain in their infancy. In the Magdalenian context, a large part of this situation is owing to the fact that the form and proportions of osseous points at the time of initial manufacture have rarely been clearly described, nor particularly well understood, by re- searchers. This paper focuses on uni- and bilaterally barbed points manufactured from antler and dating to the Late Magdalenian. Through examination of 732 barbed point artefacts recovered from 18 sites located throughout France and Germany, along with engravings on portable art, and a brief consideration of ethnographic data, an updated proposal for the original proportions of these iconic barbed weapon tips can be made. Knowledge of these dimensions is essential if researchers are to reconstruct the reduction of these artefacts through use, maintenance and rejuvenation cycles.
Osseous Projectile Weaponry. Towars an Understanding of Pleistocene Variability, 2016
We have focused our study on the projectile points of Cova de Parpalló. The Magdalenian sequence in this archaeological site is one of the most complete in the Upper Paleolithic from the southwest of Europe. We have analyzed 334 pieces from an assemblage that includes well over 2000 fi nished objects, and consider these weapons as a representative sample from two well differentiated Magdalenian phases. The fi rst period studied dates to the Badegoulian (layer 2.40–2.20 m), while the second is Upper Magdalenian (layer 0.80–1.00 m). The main aspects of this analysis are typological evaluation (hafting kinds or bases, sections, mor-phometry) and fracture patterns (position and kinds of fractures , distinguishing between use, post-depositional or recent fractures). These two assemblages are compared before the Upper Magdalenian of Parpalló is contextualized within the rest of the Upper Magdalenian from Mediterranean Iberian Peninsula. The assemblages from Cova de les Cendres and Cueva de Nerja lead us to establish a relationship between the studied sites and create a general vision of the geographic articulation of these cultures, including an evaluation of harpoons and gorges from these archaeological sites.
Under the Magdatis project a new evolutionary model has been proposed for the Middle and Upper Magdalenian based on a review of several lithic assemblages from southwest France. The Lower Magdalenian is not addressed in this article. Single lithic assemblages and stratigraphic sequences have been compared according to several parameters: the origin of the siliceous raw materials, the interconnection between domestic tool production and hunting armatures, and the typo-technology of the microliths. Alongside the new techno-economic data, the geographical distribution of certain practices and particular artefacts in southwest France has led to a discussion of the cultural geography of the different phases of the Magdalenian between 19,000 and 14,000 cal BP. The Early Middle Magdalenian covers an extensive European cultural territory, demonstrating social interactions over vast distances both in the circulation of raw materials and in the distribution of certain morphotypes of lithic armament. The Late Middle Magdalenian appears to correspond to a phase of population contraction in which cultural emulation is observed among lithic tool kits in the socio-economic value placed on large blades. The Early Upper Magdalenian coincides with the renewed settlement of the north Aquitaine plains. Among the technological innovations observed is the development of lithic points on small blades, leading to a first geographical division of the southwest (Aquitaine Basin versus Pyrenees). Finally, the Late Upper Magdalenian confirms this evolution of lithic equipment with new developments in lithic armaments in parallel with some easing off of the technical constraints associated with blade production. This period thus coincides with the progressive dilution of Magdalenian norms. With these four phases of the Middle and Upper Magdalenian, it is possible to gain a clearer understanding of the sequence of technical and economic changes observed in an environment in recomposition. At the same time, population fluctuations over these five millennia can be associated with developing phenomena of regionalism, particularly in the southwest of France.
"In south-western France, between 18,000 and 14,000 calBP, socio-economic changes are evident in several spheres of Magdalenian hunter-gatherer activities which brought with them an array of transformations in osseous and lithic tools. Targeted prey species, although still dominated by ungulates, also show an evolution during a period that was marked by significant climatic and environmental changes that can be correlated with cultural developments. Changes in procurement strategies and new patterns in osseous and lithic weaponry are accompanied by the maintenance of social networks across large regions, while at the same time there appears to be a geographic contraction of groups within regional procurement networks. Ungulates remain the primary prey species but are supplemented by small game. While it is important to evaluate the forces driving behind technological and socio-economic processes through time, cultural evolution within each techno-complex ought to be accounted for as well. In order to evaluate these internal developments, a more precise radiometric framework is necessary, which integrates studies of osseous and lithic technology with available archaeozoological data. This contribution presents the first results of such an undertaking based on a higher-resolution seriation of technological innovations and their implications in hunting activities. The rhythm of change appears to be complex and nonlinear, and it highlights the innovative nature of Magdalenian weaponry. These rapidchanges, with respect to the Upper Paleolithic as a whole, provide insight into the impact of social interactions as cultural stimulation, as well as how resource availability and human demography functioned as factors of changes."