Neolithic Bow Case from Lenk, Schnidejoch

Junkmanns, Jürgen; Klügl, Johanna; Pietro, Giovanna Di; Hafner, Albert

doi:10.1558/jga.19685

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The same cannot be said in the case of the bracers, although some of the examples accompanying the burials of children are incompletely finished, as occurs with other archery equipment, such as the not fully polished short bows that are attributed to children (Junkmanns et al, 2019: 298). The reused bracer from Humanejos is short and narrow with its side edge left unfinished, although it displays marks from its use in archery (Garrido-Pena et al, 2019: 209).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstructing the Biography of Children's Stone Bracers in the Iberian Peninsula

et al. 2022

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Perforated stone plaques, known as bracers, are found across late prehistoric Europe and many of them have been recovered in Bell Beaker funerary contexts, usually associated with adult individuals. Experimental, technological, and use-wear studies have determined that the bracers were both utilitarian and symbolic objects. Very few are found in children's graves, but examples are known in the Iberian Peninsula, two of which are presented here. The analyses conducted on the two bracers, including archaeological contextualization, raw material identification, and technological and use-wear studies, allow the authors to reconstruct their respective biographies. Although these pieces were associated with young children, they had long lives before their final deposition in the graves. Use-wear marks on one of the bracers suggest that it was used in archery, despite its small size.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstructing the Biography of Children's Stone Bracers in the Iberian Peninsula

et al. 2022

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“…No specific association can be made with braids, although these are also made with crushed esparto. The twist (S2z), measurements, and processing of the fibers are similar to those of the bowstring associated with Ötzi ( 50 ) and with a possible bowstring roll from La Draga ( 21 ). The similarity of the twisted cord to these examples suggests that it could also be a bowstring; several arrow shafts recovered from the same context in the cave confirm that archery was practiced.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

The earliest basketry in southern Europe: Hunter-gatherer and farmer plant-based technology in Cueva de los Murciélagos (Albuñol)

Martínez-Sevilla,

Herrero-Otal,

Martín-Seijo

et al. 2023

Sci. Adv.

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Plant material culture can offer unique insights into the ways of life of prehistoric societies; however, its perishable nature has prevented a thorough understanding of its diverse and complex uses. Sites with exceptional preservation of organic materials provide a unique opportunity for further research. The burial site of Cueva de los Murciélagos in southern Iberia, uncovered during 19th-century mining activities, contained the best-preserved hunter-gatherer basketry in southern Europe, together with other unique organic artifacts associated with the first farming communities, such as sandals and a wooden hammer. We present 14 14 C dates for the perishable artifacts ( N = 76), situating the assemblage between the Early and Middle Holocene (c. 7500 to 4200 cal BCE). Our integrated analysis includes raw material determination and technological and chrono-cultural contextualization of this unique and important set of materials.

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“…In some cases, sinew is identified while some of the other binding polishes are plant related. Although our experiments indicate that sinew is a stronger binding material and led to a lower failure rate during the shooting experiments, vegetal fibres are well documented in archaeology [e.g., 11,65,80]. We also cannot completely rule out that the failure of the hafting bond was intentional.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 69%

The dynamic lives of osseous points from Late Palaeolithic/Early Mesolithic Doggerland: A detailed functional study of barbed and unbarbed points from the Dutch North Sea

Aleo,

Kozowyk,

Baron

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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Osseous barbed and unbarbed points are commonly recovered from the Dutch North Sea and other Mesolithic sites of northern Europe. Interpreted as elements of projectile weaponry, barbed points are considered by archaeologists to be a technological innovation in the hunting equipment of hunter-gatherers. However, debate about their exact use and identification of the targeted prey species is still ongoing. To shed light on the function of these tools, we analysed a sample of 17 artefacts from the Netherlands with a multi-disciplinary approach encompassing morphometric, functional, and chemical analysis. 14C-AMS dating yielded the oldest date for a barbed point from the Dutch coast (⁓13000 cal. BP). The observation of microwear traces preserved on the tools provides solid evidence to interpret the function of barbed and unbarbed points. We show that there were two distinct tool categories. 1) Barbed points hafted with birch tar and animal or vegetal binding were likely projectile tips for terrestrial and aquatic hunting. We provide strong clues to support the link between small barbed points and fishing using wear traces. 2) Points without barbs served as perforators for animal hides. Our results highlight the importance of use-wear and residue analysis to reconstruct prehistoric hunting activities. The functional interpretation of projectile points must also rely on microwear traces and not merely on the association with faunal remains, historical sources, and ethnographic comparisons.

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Neolithic Bow Case from Lenk, Schnidejoch

Cited by 4 publications

References 9 publications

Reconstructing the Biography of Children's Stone Bracers in the Iberian Peninsula

Reconstructing the Biography of Children's Stone Bracers in the Iberian Peninsula

The earliest basketry in southern Europe: Hunter-gatherer and farmer plant-based technology in Cueva de los Murciélagos (Albuñol)

The dynamic lives of osseous points from Late Palaeolithic/Early Mesolithic Doggerland: A detailed functional study of barbed and unbarbed points from the Dutch North Sea

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