Radiocarbon dating bone and antler artefacts from Mesolithic Hohen Viecheln (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany)

Meadows, John; Boudin, Mathieu; Groß, Daniel; Jantzen, Detlef; Lübke, Harald; Wild, Markus

doi:10.23797/9783529018619-2

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…According to Miller et al (1986), the wooden bow is the simplest and oldest solution to transfer the potential energy of a drawn bow to the arrow shaft; wood is also a legitimate material for arrow shafts and even arrowheads, as wood-tipped arrows were determined experimentally to behave similarly to stone-tipped arrows, with only 10% less penetration (Waguespack et al, 2009). Actual examples have been verified from the Upper Palaeolithic period onwards: fragments of a potential bow made of pine-wood (Pinus sylvestris) at Mannheim (Germany) dated at approximately 17,500-18,000 cal BP (Rosendahl et al, 2006) and a wooden arrow shaft from Stellmoor (Germany) dated to 11,970-11,260 cal BP (Meadows et al, 2018). A growing body of archaeological evidence gathered has confirmed that wood has importantly figured in the making of bows and arrows (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Prehistoric wooden bows and arrows in the Turpan Basin, Northwest China: Wood selection and utilization in a mosaic landscape

Nong

Zhang

Wang³

et al. 2023

Archaeometry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the present study, we analyzed seven wooden bows and 13 arrows excavated from the cemeteries of Subeixi Culture (13th century BCE–AD second century) in the Turpan Basin, northwest China. A total of six taxa, viz. Morus sp., Salix sp., Picea sp., Lonicera sp., Betula sp., and Tamarix sp. were identified. Some of these taxa have been generally accepted to be suitable for bow‐and‐arrow production. All these taxa were local in origin but distributed in different ecotonal zones, including oases, saline‐alkali lands, and mountain areas. Previous archaeological studies have confirmed that the Subeixi populations lived an agro‐pastoral life. By analyzing the possible provenance of these wood samples, it can be hypothesized that these ancient agro‐pastoralists moved between the Turpan Basin and the Tianshan Mountains on a seasonal basis.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Prehistoric wooden bows and arrows in the Turpan Basin, Northwest China: Wood selection and utilization in a mosaic landscape

Nong

Zhang

Wang³

et al. 2023

Archaeometry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Van Klinken and Hedges (1995) observed that humic substance uptake by collagen can be quick (several hours), and only ninhydrin and HPLC treatments could remove the humic contamination in the case of cross-linking. Meadows et al (2019) looked at Mesolithic bone and antler objects, which were consolidated with unknown material. Two types of consolidant with distinct FTIR-ATR peaks were used, one of which showed peaks that suggested cellulose nitrate, while the other consolidant could not be extracted and analyzed separately.…”

Section: Identifying Contamination Using Ftir-atrmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing the Use of Xad Resin to Remove Synthetic Contamination From Archaeological Bone Prior to Radiocarbon Dating

van der Sluis,

Zazzo,

Tombret

et al. 2023

Radiocarbon

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Museum collections are extremely valuable sources of material for ongoing research, although the conservation history of some objects is not always recorded, which can be problematic for chemical analyses. While most contamination is removed using the acid-base-acid treatment, this may not be the case for cross-linked contamination. The XAD resin protocol was implemented at the radiocarbon (14C) laboratory in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, and the setup was tested using known age bone samples and a consolidated Palaeolithic bone. Known age samples were consolidated with shellac or Paraloid, aged for a month, treated with or without the XAD resin and 14C dated. Bone blank results showed that XAD resin was able to remove shellac, which was not the case for the ABA-only method. Results from VIRI I were more variable and VIRI F was possibly too young to show the effects of the consolidants. Two 14C dates on the Palaeolithic bone after XAD treatment are statistically the same, while a sample without XAD treatment was significantly older, suggesting that the contaminant was not fully removed by the ABA-only treatment. This study demonstrates the potential of the XAD treatment to clean heritage bone samples stored in museums prior to geochemical analyses.

show abstract

“…However, discoveries of wooden tools have revolutionised our perspectives on Palaeolithic technologies and hominin behaviours. Noteworthy discoveries include wooden spears and digging sticks that together altered perspectives on Middle Pleistocene hominin diets and hunting [1][2][3], Late Glacial wooden arrows proving bow-and-arrow hunting during the Palaeolithic [4,5] and the Late Glacial Shigir idol, which is the earliest monumental sculpture [6]. In spite of the significance of such objects, and perhaps due to their rarity, methods to analyse wooden finds that do survive are underdeveloped, and particularly so in relation to processes of manufacture and use.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A double-pointed wooden throwing stick from Schöningen, Germany: Results and new insights from a multianalytical study

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The site of Schöningen (Germany), dated to ca. 300,000 years ago, yielded the earliest large-scale record of humanly-made wooden tools. These include wooden spears and shorter double-pointed sticks, discovered in association with herbivores that were hunted and butchered along a lakeshore. Wooden tools have not been systematically analysed to the same standard as other Palaeolithic technologies, such as lithic or bone tools. Our multianalytical study includes micro-CT scanning, 3-dimensional microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, supporting a systematic technological and taphonomic analysis, thus setting a new standard for wooden tool analysis. In illustrating the biography of one of Schöningen’s double-pointed sticks, we demonstrate new human behaviours for this time period, including sophisticated woodworking techniques. The hominins selected a spruce branch which they then debarked and shaped into an aerodynamic and ergonomic tool. They likely seasoned the wood to avoid cracking and warping. After a long period of use, it was probably lost while hunting, and was then rapidly buried in mud. Taphonomic alterations include damage from trampling, fungal attack, root damage and compression. Through our detailed analysis we show that Middle Pleistocene humans had a rich awareness of raw material properties, and possessed sophisticated woodworking skills. Alongside new detailed morphometrics of the object, an ethnographic review supports a primary function as a throwing stick for hunting, indicating potential hunting strategies and social contexts including for communal hunts involving children. The Schöningen throwing sticks may have been used to strategically disadvantage larger ungulates, potentially from distances of up to 30 metres. They also demonstrate that the hominins were technologically capable of capturing smaller fast prey and avian fauna, a behaviour evidenced at contemporaneous Middle Pleistocene archaeological sites.

show abstract

Radiocarbon dating bone and antler artefacts from Mesolithic Hohen Viecheln (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany)

Cited by 4 publications

References 14 publications

Prehistoric wooden bows and arrows in the Turpan Basin, Northwest China: Wood selection and utilization in a mosaic landscape

Prehistoric wooden bows and arrows in the Turpan Basin, Northwest China: Wood selection and utilization in a mosaic landscape

Testing the Use of Xad Resin to Remove Synthetic Contamination From Archaeological Bone Prior to Radiocarbon Dating

A double-pointed wooden throwing stick from Schöningen, Germany: Results and new insights from a multianalytical study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About