Breakage, scarring, scratches and explosions: understanding impact trace formation on quartz

Taipale, Noora; Rots, Veerle

doi:10.1007/s12520-018-0738-z

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Both lithic and organic artefacts from southern African Middle Stone Age contexts have been interpreted as arrowheads based on use damage e.g. 36 – 38 , with some of the lithic evidence later challenged 50 – 53 . The arguments for attributing the proposed stone and bone weapon tips to bow and arrow are exclusively size-related 36 , 38 .…”

Section: Emergence Of Long-range Weaponry: Current Perspectives and M...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Terminal ballistic analysis of impact fractures reveals the use of spearthrower 31 ky ago at Maisières-Canal, Belgium

Coppe,

Taipale,

Rots

2023

Sci Rep

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The emergence of hunting technology in the deep past fundamentally shaped the subsistence strategies of early human populations. Hence knowing when different weapons were first introduced is important for understanding our evolutionary trajectory. The timing of the adoption of long-range weaponry remains heavily debated because preserved organic weapon components are extremely rare in the Paleolithic record and stone points are difficult to attribute reliably to weapon delivery methods without supporting organic evidence. Here, we use a refined use-wear approach to demonstrate that spearthrower was used for launching projectiles armed with tanged flint points at Maisières-Canal (Belgium) 31,000 years ago. The novelty of our approach lies in the combination of impact fracture data with terminal ballistic analysis of the mechanical stress suffered by a stone armature on impact. This stress is distinct for each weapon and visible archaeologically as fracture proportions on assemblage scale. Our reference dataset derives from a sequential experimental program that addressed individually each key parameter affecting fracture formation and successfully reproduced the archaeological fracture signal. The close match between the archaeological sample and the experimental spearthrower set extends the timeline of spearthrower use by over 10,000 years and represents the earliest reliable trace-based evidence for the utilization of long-distance weaponry in prehistoric hunting.

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Section: Emergence Of Long-range Weaponry: Current Perspectives and M...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Terminal ballistic analysis of impact fractures reveals the use of spearthrower 31 ky ago at Maisières-Canal, Belgium

Coppe,

Taipale,

Rots

2023

Sci Rep

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“…While the flint raw material (Harmignies, Belgium) and the artefact morphology are not exact matches to the Pataud material, the reference collection provides a suitable starting point for interpreting the Level 3 collection. Laterally hafted armatures, on the other hand, are currently less well represented in the reference material [but see 71,105,115], and at the moment morphologies directly comparable to the Pataud artefacts are not available. As artefact morphometrics significantly affect impact fracture patterns [11,14,107,116], this is an important limitation of the present reference collection, and further experimentation is needed to properly address the hypotheses formulated in this study.…”

Section: Experimental Projectile Reference Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why did hunting weapon design change at Abri Pataud? Lithic use-wear data on armature use and hafting around 24,000–22,000 BP

2022

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Projectile technology is commonly viewed as a significant contributor to past human subsistence and, consequently, to our evolution. Due to the allegedly central role of projectile weapons in the food-getting strategies of Upper Palaeolithic people, typo-technological changes in the European lithic record have often been linked to supposed developments in hunting weaponry. Yet, relatively little reliable functional data is currently available that would aid the detailed reconstruction of past weapon designs. In this paper, we take a use-wear approach to the backed tool assemblages from the Recent and Final Gravettian layers (Levels 3 and 2) of Abri Pataud (Dordogne, France). Our use of strict projectile identification criteria relying on combinations of low and high magnification features and our critical view of the overlap between production and use-related fractures permitted us to confidently identify a large number of used armatures in both collections. By isolating lithic projectiles with the strongest evidence of impact and by recording wear attributes on them in detail, we could establish that the hunting equipment used during the Level 3 occupations involved both lithic weapon tips and composite points armed with lithic inserts. By contrast, the Level 2 assemblage reflects a heavy reliance on composite points in hunting reindeer and other game. Instead of an entirely new weapon design, the Level 2 collection therefore marks a shift in weapon preferences. Using recent faunal data, we discuss the significance of the observed diachronic change from the point of view of prey choice, seasonality, and social organisation of hunting activities. Our analysis shows that to understand their behavioural significance, typo-technological changes in the lithic record must be viewed in the light of functional data and detailed contextual information.

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“…TRAIL can be considered representative for a broad range of trace causes, including production (Rots 2010b), hafting (Rots 2002(Rots , 2010a and tool use (Rots 2002;Taipale 2020;Taipale and Rots 2021;Tomasso 2021). TRAIL also integrates a large number of projectiles used with different propulsion modes (e.g., Coppe 2020; Coppe and Rots 2017;de la Peña et al 2018;Lepers and Rots 2020;Taipale and Rots 2019;Tomasso et al 2018) and experimental tools from experiments focused on taphonomic processes (e.g., Michel et al 2019) and post-excavation procedures, such as sieving or storage (Cnuts 2021;Rots 2010a). TRAIL also contains a library for residues, with 500 residue samples and a large number of tools specifically devoted to this topic (e.g., Cnuts 2021;Cnuts andRots 2017, 2018;.…”

Section: Reference Collection Trailmentioning

confidence: 99%

A closer look at an eroded dune landscape: first functional insights into the Federmessergruppen site of Lommel-Maatheide

Tomasso¹,

Cnuts²,

Coppe³

et al. 2021

Peer Community Journal

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The vast Federmessergruppen site of Lommel-Maatheide, which is located in the Campine region (Northern Belgium), revealed the presence of numerous Final Palaeolithic concentrations situated on a large Late Glacial sand ridge on the northern edge of a contemporary lake. This situation offers a unique possibility for a large-scale functional analysis in order to understand the occupation of such a Late Glacial dune landscape. The variable preservation state of the lithic artefacts permitted to evaluate in detail the impact of post-depositional processes on the potential of functional studies. Also, the impact of excavation protocols on the preservation of wear traces and residues was evaluated, in particular the impact of mechanical sieving. The integrated functional research that included the microscopic examination of wear traces, fractures and residues, next to experimentation, permitted the identification of a range of crafting and hunting activities, thereby demonstrating the potential of such assemblages for obtaining innovative insights into Late Glacial site dynamics in spite of a varying preservation state.

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Breakage, scarring, scratches and explosions: understanding impact trace formation on quartz

Cited by 7 publications

References 30 publications

Terminal ballistic analysis of impact fractures reveals the use of spearthrower 31 ky ago at Maisières-Canal, Belgium

Terminal ballistic analysis of impact fractures reveals the use of spearthrower 31 ky ago at Maisières-Canal, Belgium

Why did hunting weapon design change at Abri Pataud? Lithic use-wear data on armature use and hafting around 24,000–22,000 BP

A closer look at an eroded dune landscape: first functional insights into the Federmessergruppen site of Lommel-Maatheide

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