Modeling the Deformation of Bone Points: Archaeological and Experimental Data

Modeling the Deformation of Bone Points:
Archaeological and Experimental Data

DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2016.44.3.087-092

A.P. Borodovsky and A.V. Tabarev
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

Bone and antler tools are a highly informative category of artifacts. Variously sized and shaped projectile (spear, harpoon, arrow, and dart) points spanning the periods from the Paleolithic to recent centuries are of special importance. In this article, we review the most noteworthy directions in Western (European and North American) experimental research performed in the 20th and early 21st century, outline the results of our own experiments in using bone points, and discuss parallels among Siberian and Eastern European prehistoric cultures. In our experiments with the use of an archery bow, special attention was paid to fastening the arrowhead to the shaft and to properties of the material (bone and antler). Most experimenters believe that deformation of bone points is a reliable indicator of their artifi cial nature and of the ways they were used in hunting (as projectiles or for preparing animal skins), warfare, or ritual activities. The latter include symbolic shooting at rock drawings before hunting and at landscape features such as crevices and trees, as exemplifi ed by a ritual practiced by the California Indians.

Keywords: Archaeology, experiment, projectiles, bone points, deformation, hunting, ritual.