Results of utilitarian and accidental breakage experiments on bone points

Bradfield, Justin; Brand, Tyrone

doi:10.1007/s12520-013-0136-5

Cited by 35 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…These fractures occur when already broken pieces of a projectile element are pressed together as a result of kinetic energy stored in the shaft during impact with a target (Yaroshevich et al 2010); several examples of this specific type of fracture were observed on the Kuumbi Cave points. These same experiments also found that hinge termination, step terminating and tip crushing were also common occurrences for points used as arrow heads, with snap fractures occurring less frequently (Bradfield and Lombard 2011;Pargeter and Bradfield 2012;Bradfield and Brand 2015). Tip rounding, which has long thought to constitute another impact trace (e.g.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…The distal (active) tip has an elliptical section, measures 1.56 mm by 1.46 mm and exhibits a bevel fracture with crushing, chipping and rounding of the fracture edge -use wear consistent with piercing soft materials such as hides (d 'Errico et al 2012;Bradfield 2015;Bradfield and Brand 2015) (Figure 4: D and E).…”

Section: Bone Awlmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…As five of the seven artefacts described below are considered to be fragments of projectile points, it is important to note that recent work with replicated African bone points has demonstrated that spin-off fractures measuring more than 6 mm in length are particularly diagnostic when attempting to identify projectile tips recovered from the archaeological record (Bradfield and Lombard 2011;Pargeter and Bradfield 2012;Bradfield and Brand 2015). A spin-off fracture can be defined as a secondary fracture originating from the surface of a bending (hinge or step terminating) fracture.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tyzzer 1936;Arndt and Newcomer 1986;Buc 2010), however, was not recorded in Bradfield and Lombard's (2011) recent hunting experiment. This type of use wear is known to form during other activities such as use as an awl (Newcomer 1974;d'Errico et al 2012;Bradfield and Brand 2015), or as a result of post-depositional trampling (Pargeter and Bradfield 2012). Significantly, experiments have found that multiple fractures on single tools are more often the result of hunting than post-depositional trampling (Pargeter and Bradfield 2012).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Poison arrows and bone utensils in late Pleistocene eastern Africa: evidence from Kuumbi Cave, Zanzibar

Langley

Prendergast

Shipton

et al. 2016

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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Most of our current knowledge of late Pleistocene African bone technology is drawn from southern African sites, with recent discoveries indicating that bone-and stone-tipped arrows (propelled by a bow) were in use prior to 60,000 years BP. Integration of archaeological with ethnographic data similarly suggests that hunting with poison-tipped arrows on the African continent has an antiquity of at least 24,000 years. Unfortunately, similar analysis of material from eastern Africa is largely absent and consequently, with the sole exception of barbed points, we know very little regarding osseous technology in this region and how similar or dissimilar it is to contexts located further south. This paper presents a small assemblage of seven bone artefacts recovered from the late Pleistocene deposits of Kuumbi Cave, Zanzibar. Comparison of the bone projectile points, a bone awl and a notched bone tube with ethnographic and archaeological material from throughout the Sub-Saharan region suggests that, as elsewhere in Africa, bone technology was a central element in the Later Stone Age material culture repertoire of Kuumbi Cave's inhabitants. It also suggests that arrow points coated with poison were in use in eastern Africa around 13,000 years BP.ABSTRAIT Actuellement, la plupart de nos connaissances concernant la technologie des os en Afrique à la fin du Pléistocène dérivent de sites d'Afrique australe, avec des découvertes récentes qui indiquent que les flèches avec des pointes en os ou en pierre, propulsées par un arc, étaient en usage avant 60,000 ans BP. En outre, l'intégration des données archéologiques et ethnographiques suggère que la chasse avec des flèches

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Bone Awlmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Poison arrows and bone utensils in late Pleistocene eastern Africa: evidence from Kuumbi Cave, Zanzibar

Langley

Prendergast

Shipton

et al. 2016

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Such use-wear analyses can be used to build up a body of data that can be used as comparenda when considering the function and life history of archaeological artefacts. Similarly, Bradfield and Brand (2013) used a stereomicroscope to examine macro-fractures and other usewear patterning on bone points. As well as defining parameters for testing wear when the points were used as awls, Bradfield and Brand (2013) included 'accidental' breakage in their experiments, thus enabling further characterisation of the taphonomic processes that can affect an artefact, as a direct or indirect result of human activity.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%