Milic B., Ibáñez J.J., Pichon F., Borrell F., Gourichon L., 2022, Beyond hunting? The use of arrowheads at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Kharaysin (Jordan) in the context of tool recycling in the Levant, AWRANA 2022, Barcelona (original) (raw)
Related papers
Technological change and hunting behavior during the Middle Paleolithic
Actas das IV Jornadas de Jovens em Investigação Arqueológica - JIA 2011, 2012
The hunting behavior in Mousterian times is mainly correlated with Levallois technology and the production of Levallois and Mousterian points. Even if in the archaeological records there are clear indications of hunted animals associated also with other knapping methods, these assemblages lack the production of pointed weapons. This evidence is particularly confirmed in discoid contexts in which the toolkits are composed predominantly of scraping tools. Moreover, in the Mediterranean area the use of Levallois or discoid technology is accompanied by intercept hunting of similar woodland or steppe species. Thus, this paper proposes the examination of potential impact scars on discoid blanks in order to disclose which weapons were associated with this knapping method.
The meaning of projectile points in the Late Neolithic of the Northern Levant
Documenta Praehistorica
Our contribution explores the possibilities of inferring the functions of Late Neolithic projectile points from the settlement of Shir, Syria. Use-wear and metrical values are applied to differentiate between arrowheads, darts and thrusting spears, followed by a discussion of hints for use for hunting or as weapons for interpersonal conflict. Weapons get larger and more visible exactly in the moment when hunting declines as a basis for subsistence. This economical transformation would have produced considerable change for individuals who previously defined themselves as hunters. The social practice of hunting may (at least partially) have been substituted by prowess in interpersonal conflict.
Nicolas C. (2019) - The production and use of archeryrelated items as a reflection of social changes during the Late Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age in Europe, in S. Kadrow & J. Müller (eds), Habitus? The Social Dimension of Technology and Transformation. Leiden, Sidestone Press, p. 115-139., 2019
Dates ranging from 2500 to 1700 BCE are a period of major social and economic change in western and central Europe, with the spreading of the Bell Beaker Culture and the introduction or the development of metalworking (copper then bronze). At that time, archery-related items became peculiarly significant for the Bell Beaker and some Early Bronze Age communities. They include especially specific types of arrowheads and an original item, the stone bracer, thought to have adorned organic wristguards. Technological studies point to the objects that were more or less easily made during the Bell Beaker period, suggesting that each warrior was able to shape his own set, while during the Early Bronze Age, the level of know-how as well the context of production suggests that these items were manufactured by craftsmen for the elite. Use-wear analysis shows that these objects might be commonly worn. During the Bell Beaker period, part of the arrowhead and, to a lesser extent, some bracers were used for shooting. However, in some regions during the Early Bronze Age, these objects were intended for display only. These two types of production and uses of archery-related items illustrate a shift from the object-signs of the Bell Beaker warriors towards items alienated from their primary function or sacred objects of the Early Bronze Age elites. Finally, the wide distribution of Bell Beaker arrowheads and bracers allow considering the relevance of the circulation of ideas, objects and individuals in adopting a European fashion.
Middle Palaeolithic in north-west Europe: multidisciplinary approaches
The point during the Middle Paleolithic: reflection of a specific status in Neanderthal hunting equipment and toolkits La pointe au Paléolithique moyen : reflet d’un statut particulier dans l’équipement de chasse et l’outillage des Néandertaliens During the course of the Middle Paleolithic, Neanderthals produced flakes, blades and points according to wide-ranging operative schemas. Previous research carried out in the north of France has shown the unique aspect of the laminar phenomenon (Révillion, 1994; Locht et al., 2002; Locht et al., 2010), but studies focusing on point production remained rare until recently. However, new studies have shown that the point was not just an anecdotal element of the Neanderthal toolkit, as was generally considered for a long time, but that it was associated with a specific status for these populations (Knecht, 1997; Soressi & Locht, 2010; Goval, 2012; Hérisson, 2012). Although it is universally accepted that Neanderthal Man was capable of hunting large herbivores for food supplies, hunting techniques and tools are often largely unexplained. To date, it is difficult to accurately identify the weapons used for hunting, although hafting and impact marks on points show that this tool must have been part of the hunting equipment (Boeda et al., 1996; Plisson & Beyries, 1998). Other use wear analyses indicate that the point was handheld, like a knife (with the pointed end serving as an apex). The status of the point thus remains enigmatic as the quantity and production methods of these tools vary hugely from site to site. In the north of France, points are produced and/or brought into the production, kill or processing sites by Man, but this phenomenon appears to be limited to certain specific geographic zones. The chronological scope of this communication is the Middle Paleolithic, from the earliest to the most recent phase, encompassing human occupations from the Saalian to the early Weichselian (from 300 000 BP to 70 000 BP). This chronological choice stems from the absence of points in the assemblages in the north of France after isotopic stage 4. This communication focuses on the point as an element of the toolkit of these populations, but also on the production, the function, the mobility and the representation of this object, or, in other words, on its status.