External and Terminal Ballistics of Early Bronze Age Lithic Arrowheads: Experimental Verification

Abstract

Lithic archery projectiles during the short timespan at the end of the Eneolithic period and the beginning of the Bronze Age in Europe have alternately been deemed hunting implements, weapons, or symbolic artefacts. More than 400 projectiles of this period have been analysed in 3D metrics. All but a few are triangular barbed projectiles. Despite differences in size and weight, four types of arrowheads have been identified using 3D shape alone. Experiments to clarify their ballistic behaviour, based on weight, Tip Cross-Sectional Area (TCSA), differences in the shaping of their tips, the height of the cross-section, and cross-sectional asymmetry in distribution of mass were carried out. The 3D data on the projectiles, their wound cavities, and their measured initial and impact velocities were used to verify functional differences and the potential wounding impact.