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Identifying Weapon Delivery Systems Using Macrofracture Analysis and Fracture Propagation Velocity: A Controlled Experiment

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Book cover Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Stone Age Weaponry

Part of the book series: Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology ((VERT))

Abstract

In the last few decades, zooarchaeological studies have demonstrated beyond doubt that the hunting abilities of hominins were quite formidable from quite early on. Unfortunately, direct evidence for the use of weapons in hunting is quite rare and depends heavily on the preservation of organic elements. In particular, in the absence of such evidence, it is notoriously difficult to pinpoint the first appearance of complex, mechanically-assisted projectiles (such as darts and arrows) in the archaeological record. In this chapter, we present data from a controlled ballistic experiment with the aim of establishing patterns in the formation of impact fractures that would allow for the discrimination of thrusting spears, (hand-thrown) javelins , and spearthrower darts and arrows. By controlling for the weapon tip shape, weight, and raw material, impact angle (IA) , as well as target composition, we are able to focus on the key elements that separate the different launching systems: velocity and kinetic energy output. The results show that fracture scar length is proportional to kinetic energy at impact, but only if the impact is perpendicular, as acute IAs reduce the energy requirements for the production of large, typical impact fractures. We also confirm previous results of Hutchings (JAS 38:1737–1746, 2011) regarding the relationship between precursory loading rate and fracture propagation speed, documenting a weak linear relationship between the two in our sample. We conclude by discussing the implications of this study for identifying different weapon armatures in the archaeological record.

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Acknowledgements

This work is part of the research strategy of the MONREPOS Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution. The authors wish to thank Jörg Herbst, Heinz Hertel, Maik Röhr, and Hans-Georg Staats (PTB) for help with carrying out the experiments and speed measurements. Thanks to Jürgen Richter (University of Cologne) for the authorization to make a mold of the original specimen, to Leslie Pluntke (RGZM Restoration Laboratory) for the production of the mold, and to Susanne Greiff (Archaeometry Center, RGZM) for advice with the process. Many thanks to Walter Mehlem (Praehistoric Archery, Kruft, Germany), who designed and constructed the target and to Wolfgang Mehr (and the glass-casters of Meka Glas GmbH, Kaufbeuren, Germany), who produced the glass copies. Thanks to Yvonne Völlmecke (University of Mainz), who sorted the fractured points and prepared them for the microscopic analysis and fracture propagation speed calculations. Funding for this work was provided by the “Neandertal Projectile Technology” (NeProTec) grant from the German Research Foundation (DFG). Finally, the authors thank the anonymous reviewers, whose comments improved the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MONREPOS Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution, Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum (RGZM), Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Archäologie, 56567, Neuwied, Germany

    Radu Iovita & Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser

  2. Altertumswissenschaften, Arbeitsbereich Vor- Und Frühgeschichte, Johannes-Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Schönborner Hof, Schillerplatz 11, 55116, Mainz, Germany

    Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser

  3. Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Braunschweig, Germany

    Holger Schönekeß & Frank Jäger

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  1. Radu Iovita
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Correspondence to Radu Iovita .

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  1. Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution,, MONREPOS Archaeological Research Centre, Neuwied, Germany

    Radu Iovita

  2. University Museum, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Katsuhiro Sano

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Iovita, R., Schönekeß, H., Gaudzinski-Windheuser, S., Jäger, F. (2016). Identifying Weapon Delivery Systems Using Macrofracture Analysis and Fracture Propagation Velocity: A Controlled Experiment. In: Iovita, R., Sano, K. (eds) Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Stone Age Weaponry. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7602-8_2

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