Getting to the point: An experimental approach to improving the identification of penetrating projectile trauma to bone caused by medieval arrows

Abstract

The bow and arrow were an important part of medieval warfare, and the study of projectile injuries in skeletal assemblages has the potential to give valuable insight into the nature of conflict in this period. Projectile injuries are often overlooked in favour of sharp force trauma, and as of yet there have been no experiments looking at skeletal trauma caused by different types of medieval arrows, although several studies have examined prehistoric impact marks. The current study addresses this deficiency by examining the lesions left by three kinds of medieval arrowheads: leaf-shaped broadheads, armour-piercing bodkins, and barbed hunting broadheads,when fired from a longbow into cattle scapulae. The results show that the vast majority of impacts are puncture lesions with shapes that roughly conform to the cross-section of the heads used, and many of the defects perforate the bone entirely and have internal bevelling. Based mostly on wound shape, it is relatively straightforward to distinguish between bodkin and broadhead punctures, while the different types of broadheads leave more similar, yet distinctive, marks. Further experiments are required in order to assess the extent to which it is possible to distinguish between projectile trauma and penetrating trauma made by other types of medieval weapons.

3D Imaging as a Public Engagement Tool: Investigating an Ox Cranium Used in Target Practice at Vindolanda

“…Novak (2010) also observed bevelling on the internal table, physical fit between arrowhead and perforation, and an absence of fracture lines in the single arrow trauma site. When shooting replicate flint arrowheads into fresh bone, Smith et al (2007) observed a lack of fracture lines, with bevelling similar to observations by Forsom and Smith (2017). Yeshurun and Yaroshevich (2014) and Duches et al (2016) fired replicate bow and arrows into freshly killed animals, causing internal bevelling and arrow-shaped perforations in most cases (Yeshurun and Yaroshevich 2014), with fragmentation and notches or striations in bones with irregular shapes or thin structure (Duches et al 2016).…”

“…However, experimental studies of arrow trauma show a range of responses that were also present in the Ox cranium. Forsom and Smith (2017) observed internal bevelling in almost all the perforations in their experimental study on trauma caused by different styles of medieval arrowheads. Novak (2010) also observed bevelling on the internal table, physical fit between arrowhead and perforation, and an absence of fracture lines in the single arrow trauma site.…”

Differential diagnosis of the cranial perforations on the Early Iron Age along the Ancient Silk Road in Xinjiang, China

“…Karger et al (1998) suggested that both modern and ancient arrowheads had the capacity to penetrate deeply through soft tissues and flat bones and injure vital organs such as the major vessels, heart, or brain. The experimental studies on both longbows and crossbows suggested iron arrowheads could produce penetrating lesions on bones with internal beveling and no fracture lines (Smith et al 2015;Forsom and Smith 2017). Jordana et al (2009) also reported a case of penetrating injury caused by an arrowhead on the frontal bone among the nomadic group without fracture line.…”

Early evidence of trepanation along the Yellow River Basin in Neolithic China

“…In the current case, neither fragmental deformation nor radial fractures are observed around the occipital perforation, which is not consistent with the characteristics of trauma. In some circumstances, such kind of perforation without fracture line on the occipital could be formed by using a hard, sharp, and pointed implement at a high velocity (Smith et al 2015;Forsom and Smith 2017;Jordana et al 2009). However, in the Neolithic China, only small sharpened stone tools with limited penetrative ability have been unearthed so far (Fig.…”