NEW LIGHT ON PALAEOLITHIC, MESOLITHIC
AND NEOLITHIC PROJECTILE WEAPON ELEMENTS
Jean-Marc PÉTILLON, Marie-Hélène DIAS-MEIRINHO, Pierre CATTELAIN, Matthieu HONEGGER, Christian NORMAND, Nicolas VALDEYRON
Download
Stone or bone, transverse heads or points, barbs, foreshafts, harpoon heads… Projectile weapon elements are found in many forms in prehistoric sites, at least from the beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic. These artefacts first attract archaeologists with their great numbers, often dominating proportions in tool assemblages, but they are also interesting due to their clearly dynamic role in prehistoric material culture: the morphology and/or technical characteristics of many of them vary significantly through time and space, thus constituting a useful tool for archaeologists in the construction of chronologies and the definition of cultures. Researchers often integrate these variations with other types of transformations—such as ecological or economic ones—to build interpretative models of the evolution of societies.
To cite this article
Pétillon J.-M., Dias-Meirinho M.-H., Cattelain P., Honegger M., Normand C., Valdeyron N., 2009 – New Light on Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic Projectile Weapon Elements, in Pétillon J.-M., Dias-Meirinho M.-H., Cattelain P., Honegger M., Normand C., Valdeyron N., Projectile Weapon Elements from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Neolithic, Proceedings of session C83, XVth UISPP World Congress, Lisbon, September 4-9, 2006, P@lethnology, 1, 1-5.
Geometric weapon elements during the Neolithic
in the Eastern Iberian Peninsula:
Typological, Technological and Functional Aspects
Javier FERNÁNDEZ LÓPEZ DE PABLO,
Juan Francisco GIBAJA BAO, Antoni PALOMO
Download
Abstract
In this paper, we present a global view of the principal traits of the evolution of Neolithic geometric microliths in Eastern Spain (principally in Catalonia and the Valencia region). Our discussion addresses two aspects. The first concerns the morpho-technological and functional relations of these pieces, as well as their diachronic transformation. Following this orientation, we present a summary of recent typological, technological and traceological studies. The second aspect concerns the relationship between microliths and their archaeological context with particular focus on economic data, as well as funerary conditions, which permit us to develop new lines of research and hypotheses.
To cite this article
Fernández López de Pablo J., Francisco Gibaja Bao J., Palomo A., 2009 – Geometric Weapon Elements during the Neolithic in the Eastern Iberian Peninsula: Typological, Technological and Functional Aspects, in Pétillon J.-M., Dias-Meirinho M.-H., Cattelain P., Honegger M., Normand C., Valdeyron N., Projectile Weapon Elements from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Neolithic, Proceedings of session C83, XVth UISPP World Congress, Lisbon, September 4-9, 2006, P@lethnology, 1, 328-340.
Archéologie et Sciences humaines
