Hamburgian weapon delivery technology

Abstract

The pioneer human re-colonisation of southern Scandinavia after the Last Ice Age began some time around 12,700 calendar years BC and is associated with the Hamburgian techno-complex. These groups were reindeer hunters whose hunting weapons were tipped with the eponymous shouldered points (pointes a cran). Numerous studies have addressed the question of whether these points tipped arrows fired from bows, darts launched with the help of spear-throwers, or some other projectile delivery weapon. This paper approaches the question of Hamburgian weapon delivery technology from a quantitative comparative angle. Lithic metric data as well as information on presumed Hamburgian projectile shafts are used to demonstrate that the bow-and-arrow was the most likely weapon delivery method. This is reflected in the shape similarity with both later prehistoric arrow-points and shafts of the Ahrensburgian culture as well as ethnographic samples. Finally, the lack of wood suitable for building efficient bows during the earl...

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