Experiments in fracture patterns and impact velocity with replica hunting weapons from Japan

Abstract

Recent anthropological and archaeological studies in western Eurasia indicate that long-range projectile hunting was innovated by modern humans, and that complex projectile technology, such as using spearthrowers or bows (Shea and Sisk 2010), was an important component of behavioral modernity. The morphometric analysis of stone tips, including tip cross-sectional area (TCSA) and tip cross-sectional perimeter (TCSP), may facilitate suggestions for an optimum delivery method of stone tips as hunting weaponry. However, the suggested method does not always coincide with the true functions of the stone tips. Thus, this study developed a projectile experiment project to confirm additional indicators for identifying the delivery methods of prehistoric hunting armatures and to detect the emergence of spearthrower darts and bows and arrows in East Asia. Furthermore, macroscopic and microscopic analyses of the experimental specimens reveal a correlation between both the formation patterns of impact fractures as well as microscopic linear impact traces (MLIT) and impact velocities. This paper presents results of the projectile experiments, which provide indices to examine spearthrower darts and arrowheads in archaeological assemblages.