Abstract
This study presents a historical review of the different types of southern African hunter-gatherer arrows employing a piece of bone situated at or near the tip of the arrow, which I call the apical bone component. The results of an extensive use-trace study of bone points and fragments thereof from twelve archaeological sites spanning the last 18,000 years show that it is possible to identify arrow types based on associated use-trace features. Five possible arrow types are identified from the archaeological sample, all dating to within the last 4000-6000 years. Using use-trace studies it is possible to identify now-missing components of the arrows, such as metal, mastic or stone inserts. Contrary to recent claims, I do not find evidence for bone-tipped arrows evolving along a continuum. Rather, some arrow types may have a much greater antiquity than previously thought.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 135-147 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Journal of African Archaeology |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2015 |
Keywords
- Bone technology
- Bone-tipped arrow identification
- South Africa and Lesotho stone age sequence
- Use-traces
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cultural Studies
- Visual Arts and Performing Arts
- History
- Archeology (arts and humanities)
- Archeology