Experimental and Archeological Observations of Northern Iberian Peninsula Middle Paleolithic Mousterian Point Assemblages. Testing the Potential Use of Throwing Spears Among Neanderthals

Garaizar, Joseba Ríos

doi:10.1007/978-94-017-7602-8_15

“…(Lenoir, 2006), some dart and arrowhead of the collections of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) (Thomas, 1978), and finally, the points of the Neolithic sites of Levant (Gopher, 1994). (Rios-Garaizar, 2016).…”

Section: Projectile Physics Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

“…349 except for symmetry, measurement methods are applied that had been used previously to measure the lithic points of sites out of Iran (Groucutt, 2014;Hardy et al, 2013;Rios-Garaizar, 2016;Sisk and Shea, 2011). In addition, The Pearson coefficient correlation was used to determine the relationship between morphological features.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Symmetry and Middle Paleolithic Points: A Case Study of Iran's Middle Paleolithic Points

Feizi

¹

,

Nasab

²

2021

Preprint

0

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The throwing capacity of Middle Paleolithic points has been an important issue since the discovery of the Neanderthals toolbox. In the Middle Paleolithic, hominins (Neanderthals or H. sapiens) made trusting points with limited or no throwing capability. Projectile points as a long-range weapon were replaced the trusting and guaranteed the survival of modern humans. Several attempts have been made to recognize the aerodynamic differences between Middle and Upper Paleolithic Points. However, up to now, far too little attention has been paid to the symmetry and projectile motion rules related to it. In this paper, symmetry and other morphological features, including length, width, weight, cross-sectional area, flatting, and elongation, have been measured on 280 points collected from five Iranian Middle Paleolithic sites. In addition, the Iranian Middle Paleolithic data is compared with several Middle, Upper, and Neolithic sites outside of Iran. The results indicate that the evolution of symmetry alongside increased elongation and proportionality in measurable characteristics was a critical factor in creating projectile points.

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“…There has since been agreement that both Neanderthals and modern humans had the ability to hunt large animals . However, there is no consensus about how each hominin hunted or how to best interpret variability in faunal exploitation strategies . Early modern human sites such as Sibudu Cave and Klipdrift Shelter in South Africa show an abundance of smaller ungulates that may have been acquired through traps or snares, while others show either a preponderance of large ungulates or a shift over time in accumulation patterns of small and large fauna .…”

Section: Faunal Techniques For Identifying Projectilesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The origins and early elaboration of projectile technology

O’Driscoll

¹

,

Thompson

²

2018

Evolutionary Anthropology

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The ability of Homo sapiens to kill prey at a distance is arguably one of the catalysts for our current ecological dominance. Many researchers have suggested its origins lie in the African Middle Stone Age or the European Middle Palaeolithic (∼300-30 thousand years ago), but the perishable components of armatures rarely preserve. Most research on this subject therefore emphasises analysis of armature tip size, shape, and diagnostic impacts or residues. Other lines of evidence have included human skeletal anatomy or analyses of the species composition of faunal assemblages. Projectile Impact Marks (PIMs) on archaeofaunal remains offer an ideal complement to this work, but their potential has been restricted mainly to the later Eurasian zooarchaeological record. A review of current evidence and approaches shows that systematic PIM research could add much to our understanding of early projectile technology, especially in Africa.

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“…As it turns out, the issue is quite challenging. However, the general opinion is that Neanderthals could not make projectile points, although the later experimental and archeological evidence in Abri du Maras, France, and the Northern Iberian Peninsula rejects this view (Hardy et al, 2013;Rios-Garaizar, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Accordingly, several experimental trials have been performed to investigate the throwing capacity of Middle Paleolithic projectile points (e.g., Shea et al 2001;Shea et al, 2002;Sisk and Shea, 2009;Newman and Moore, 2013;Rios-Garaizar, 2016;Clarkson, 2016(. Most researchers generally focused on measuring the cross-section area and perimeter to determine the aerodynamic features of points and throwing power, especially in the Middle Paleolithic (Hughes, 1998;Shea, 2006;Shea and Sisk, 2011;Hardy et al, 2013;Wilkins et al, 2012& 2014, Rios-Garaizar, 2016Clarkson, 2016, Schoville et al, 2016Mika, 2020;Sitton et al, 2020;Mullen et al, 2021). Although there has been much debate about the validity of the morphological impact of these factors on throwing capacity (For example, Clarkson (2016)), recent experimental researches seem to support their credibility (Schoville et al, 2016;Mika, 2020;Sitton et al, 2020;Mullen et al, 2021) (Roustaei, 2010;Javanmardzadeh, 2016 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symmetry and Middle Paleolithic Points: A Case Study of Iran's Middle Paleolithic Points

Feizi

¹

,

Nasab

²

2021

Preprint

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The throwing capacity of Middle Paleolithic points has been an important issue since the discovery of the Neanderthals toolbox. In the Middle Paleolithic, hominins (Neanderthals or H. sapiens) made trusting points with limited or no throwing capability. Projectile points as a long-range weapon were replaced the trusting and guaranteed the survival of modern humans. Several attempts have been made to recognize the aerodynamic differences between Middle and Upper Paleolithic Points. However, up to now, far too little attention has been paid to the symmetry and projectile motion rules related to it. In this paper, symmetry and other morphological features, including length, width, weight, cross-sectional area, flatting, and elongation, have been measured on 280 points collected from five Iranian Middle Paleolithic sites. In addition, the Iranian Middle Paleolithic data is compared with several Middle, Upper, and Neolithic sites outside of Iran. The results indicate that the evolution of symmetry alongside increased elongation and proportionality in measurable characteristics was a critical factor in creating projectile points.

show abstract

Experimental and Archeological Observations of Northern Iberian Peninsula Middle Paleolithic Mousterian Point Assemblages. Testing the Potential Use of Throwing Spears Among Neanderthals

Cited by 19 publications

References 24 publications

Symmetry and Middle Paleolithic Points: A Case Study of Iran's Middle Paleolithic Points

Symmetry and Middle Paleolithic Points: A Case Study of Iran's Middle Paleolithic Points

The origins and early elaboration of projectile technology

Symmetry and Middle Paleolithic Points: A Case Study of Iran's Middle Paleolithic Points

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