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Points of Bone and Antler from the Late Mesolithic settlement in Motala, eastern central Sweden
Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies, Osteoarchaeological Research Laboratory.
2016 (English)Conference paper, Oral presentation with published abstract (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Excavations at Motala, eastern central Sweden, have yielded a large and diverse material of osseous tools dating from the Late Mesolithic, c. 6000-4500 cal BC. The assembled collection comprises some 1500 pieces. About half of the identified tool types consist of different types of bone points of which barbed points dominate. The utilized raw material was predominantly red deer (Cervus elaphus) metatarsals and antler but other element do occur, as do bones from moose (Alces alces) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). More than 450 fragments of barbed points have been identified and interpreted as leister points or harpoon heads. The morphology of the barbed points were classified according to the general appearance of the corpus of points (setting of barbs) but more specifically from the morphology of basal ends. Aside from harpoons eight different groups of leister points were defined. The leister points are interpreted as prongs or single hafted points for fish-spears. Plain bone points are the second largest group, and may be sorted into several types, primarily interpreted as projectiles like arrowheads. Small bullet-like arrowheads and some rhombic points as well as club-shaped points of antler are also present. Slotted points appear in two different types either with uni- or bilateral edges. Based on the collection from the site Strandvägen and with help of morphological groups as well as a large number of radiocarbon dates, we have identified a change in the utilization of fishing implements at c. 5000 cal BC. The change is detected as a discontinuation in the use of barbed leister points and a possible shift from bilateral to unilateral slotted points in addition to overall decreasing human activities, despite a continued presence at the site.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2016.
National Category
Archaeology
Research subject
Archaeology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-149447OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-149447DiVA, id: diva2:1161709
Conference
Working at the sharp end at Hohen Viecheln: From bone and antler to Early Mesolithic Life in Northern Europe, Schleswig, Germany, March 14-16, 2016
Note

Unpublished. Reproduced with permission of the editors.

Available from: 2017-11-30 Created: 2017-11-30 Last updated: 2022-02-28Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Points on Production: Taphonomic research on Mesolithic osseous assemblages in Sweden
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Points on Production: Taphonomic research on Mesolithic osseous assemblages in Sweden
2018 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Osteoarchaeological materials are influenced by many consecutive factors, from human hunting strategies, consumption patterns and waste disposal to mechanical and chemical changes in bone structure and shape. Here Mesolithic osteoarchaeological patterns have been examined in relation to the production of bone and antler artefacts. The osseous production in Sweden of the period c. 7000–4500 cal BC shows both similarities and differences between six investigated sites, representing two different geographical regions. These may be seen in both manufacturing techniques and raw material use and may be linked to different traditions, but also to different utilization of different taskscapes. The production is also linked to lithic craft and the theme of e.g. raw material acquisition is also relevant in relation to the production of osseous artefacts. Spatial studies clearly show how different taphonomic processes affect the accumulation of bone material on site, but also how practitioners’ choices associated with the osseous craft affect these patterns. On several of the investigated sites, deposits of raw material have been found in the waters outside the settlements. In the settlement debitage from the production and forming of the artefacts, bone knapping floors have been identified. These are located centrally, in relation to other archaeological structures such as lithic knapping floors and dwellings. The osteoarchaeological record is biased in part due to debitage from osseous production but also from active human selection, transport and deposition of raw materials. These activities and the human choices of production affect the patterns, and through careful taphonomic analyses various accumulative processes may be highlighted.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies, Stockholm University, 2018. p. 133
Series
Theses and papers in osteoarchaeology, ISSN 1652-4098 ; 09
Keywords
Osteoarchaeological patterns, Taphonomic analysis, Osseous craft, Mesolithic, Spatial studies
National Category
Archaeology
Research subject
Archaeology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-149658 (URN)978-91-7797-114-6 (ISBN)978-91-7797-115-3 (ISBN)
Public defence
2018-02-23, De Geersalen, Geovetenskapens hus, Svante Arrhenius väg 14, Stockholm, Stockholm, 10:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Note

At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript.

Available from: 2018-01-31 Created: 2017-12-07 Last updated: 2022-02-28Bibliographically approved

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