Cited by 164Pleistocene-Era Hominins and ArchaeologyArchaeological and Geological StudiesArchaeology and ancient environmental studies

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 49 of the 49 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 3 of the 59 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Design and performance of microlith implemented projectiles during the Middle and the Late Epipaleolithic of the Levant: experimental and archaeological evidence

Open access
Yaroshevich, Alla, Kaufman, Daniel, Nuzhnyy, Dmitri, Bar-Yosef, Ofer, Weinstein-Evron, Mina·2010·Journal of Archaeological Science

Abstract

The study comprises an experimentally based investigation of interaction between temporal change in the morphology of microlithic tools and transformations in projectile technology during the Late Pleistocene in the Levant. Archery experiments with differently designed arrows fitted with various types of microliths representing subsequent Epipaleolithic cultures of the Levant allowed analyzing performance abilities of the arrows, identifying projectile damage types characteristic of particular hafting modes, detecting factors influencing the frequency of projectile damage and estimating the frequency of projectile damage expected to be found in archaeological samples. The data obtained through the experiments applied in the analysis of the archaeological microliths from Geometric Kebaran and Natufian sites in Israel indicate different approaches to the design of projectiles fitted with microliths characteristic for these cultures. The shift in design, associated with such important economic and social transformations as transition to sedentary settlements and a broad-spectrum economy, may reflect a demand for light, flexible and efficient projectile weapons requiring low time and labor investment for preparation and retooling. The use of such efficient weapons in conditions of growing population density and restricted areas available for Natufian hunter–gatherers can be considered as one of the factors that could have affected the subsequent transition to food production that took place in the early Holocene.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

Archery experiments with 102 arrows and 265 microlith replicas show that Epipaleolithic projectile design affects penetration, durability, ricochet frequency, and diagnostic impact fractures. Comparing experimental damage with Geometric Kebaran trapeze/rectangles from Neve David and Natufian lunates from el-Wad Terrace suggests a shift from microliths used mainly as lateral elements to lunates hafted mainly as transversal/oblique tips.

Key findings

  • Arrow performance varied by design: oblique points averaged 23.0 cm penetration, transversal points 22.6 cm, and self-pointed arrows with lateral blades 22.5 cm; straight points averaged 15.0 cm, double oblique points 11.0 cm, the microgravette-plus-four-barb arrow 11.5 cm, and self-pointed arrows with twisted barbs 5.6 cm. Ricochets were most common among double oblique points (50%), followed by transversal points (22%), straight points (11.8%), and oblique points (8%).
  • Diagnostic projectile damage frequencies were highest for single straight points (53.8%) and transversal points (40%), while lateral blades showed only 12.5% diagnostic damage. Among barbs, Helwan lunates remained undamaged in 87% of cases, compared with 46% for lunates with abrupt retouch, 39% for trapeze/rectangles, 33% for Kebara points, and 25% for arch-backed bladelets.
  • Taphonomic analysis estimated that more than 40% of shot microliths would be lost in hunting; projectile damage expected in archaeological assemblages was estimated at 7.9–26.5%. Archaeological samples showed diagnostic projectile damage on 5.3% of Neve David trapeze/rectangles and medial parts and 8.4% of el-Wad Terrace lunates.
  • At Neve David, parallel fractures and fractures along a sharp edge dominated, suggesting trapeze/rectangles were hafted predominantly as side elements/lateral blades. At el-Wad Terrace, 23 of 25 damaged lunates had oblique/perpendicular fractures initiating on a sharp edge, suggesting transversal hafting at the tip, with two exceptions showing parallel fractures.

Methods

  • Experimental archery used 102 arrows incorporating 265 microlith replicas, shot by Dmitry Nuzhnyy with a recurved wooden sport bow of 17.5 kg power. The first session targeted a freshly killed unskinned female goat on Mount Carmel in December 2006 at 13 m, then 10 m, then 8 m; the second session targeted a skinned sheep thorax encased in cardboard at 5 m.
  • Macrofractures diagnostic of projectile impact were classified by initiation location and orientation relative to the microlith’s longitudinal axis; selected experimental and archaeological microliths were inspected with SEM for micro-fractures.
  • Archaeological analysis used all trapeze/rectangles from two 1 m² units at Geometric Kebaran Neve David (N=311, plus 85 medial parts) and all 299 lunates from two 1 m² units at Natufian el-Wad Terrace (182 Helwan, 117 abrupt retouch); three Neve David trapeze/rectangles and seven el-Wad lunates were examined by SEM.

Limitations

  • The paper states that samples of arrows with a particular design fitted with a particular microlith type were relatively small, precluding detailed statistical analyses; it also states that further experiments are needed on lunate durability, Final Natufian small lunates, desert Geometric Kebaran wide trapeze/rectangles, and lateral-blade fracture types, and that the suggested projectile-design shift requires confirmation from additional Geometric Kebaran and Early Natufian samples.
  • Evident from the text: the experiments used animal carcasses/thorax rather than live hunting, and the taphonomic estimate was based on the first session and all microliths without accounting for hafting mode, which the paper notes affects damage frequency.
  • Evident from the text: the archaeological comparison is limited to two sites and two 1 m² excavation units per site, so broader assemblage variability is not captured.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.jas.2009.09.050

Cites

49 of 49 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

3 of 59 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged · accuracy not yet measured

Show all 103 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 22
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 67
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1
85 of 85
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The Late Pleistocene flint assemblages in the Levant do not yield any type of symmetrical points, leaving microlithic tools as the only candidates to function as projectiles.

    “The Late Pleistocene flint assemblages in the Levant do not yield any type of symmetrical points leaving microlithic tools as the only candidates to function as projectiles.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The design of a projectile weapon may affect its performance characteristics.

    “The design of a projectile weapon may affect its performance characteristics.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Projectiles are usually used outside the settlement area, and only a portion of microliths used in hunting activity is expected to be brought back to the site.

    “Projectiles are usually used outside the settlement area.Only a portion of microliths used in hunting activity is expected to be brought back to the site either inside the game or still embedded in the projectile shaft.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Experimental studies with Levantine microliths have not been performed before.

    “Experimental studies with Levantine microliths have not been performed before.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The experimental fracture patterns produced by shooting microliths into a goat carcass are analogous to those produced in prehistoric hunting.

    “Based on the frequency of damage diagnostic of projectile impact among the microliths recovered from the target and from the arrows, and taking into consideration that in a real hunting situation damaged microliths embedded in the arrows could have been replaced, we suggest that projectile damage expected to be found in archaeological assemblages range between 7.9-26.5%.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The experimental sample of microliths and shooting sessions is representative of past projectile use and hafting variability.

    “The experiments have demonstrated that most types of single fractures diagnostic of projectile impact can occur on differently hafted microliths and cannot provide a reliable base for reconstructing mode of hafting.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The archaeological microliths with diagnostic fractures were used as projectiles and their fractures were caused by projectile impact.

    “Damage diagnostic of projectile impact occurred on 5.3% of the microliths from the Geometric Kebaran site of Neve David and on 8.4% of the lunates from el-Wad Terrace.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The taphonomic processes affecting microliths in the experiments are similar to those in prehistoric hunting and discard.

    “Our taphonomic analysis of microlithic implements has shown that more then 40% of shot microliths are expected to be lost in hunting activity.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The performance characteristics measured in the experiments (penetration depth, durability, ricochets) are relevant to prehistoric hunting effectiveness.

    “The analysis of efficiency of differently designed arrows showed a correlation between arrow design and performance characteristics.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The samples from el-Wad Terrace and Neve David are representative of Natufian and Geometric Kebaran microlith assemblages, respectively.

    “Table 7 : Frequencies of diagnostic and non-diagnostic fractures and undamaged microliths in the samples from Geometric Kebaran Neve David and Natufian el-Wad Terrace.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The experimental arrows with microliths accurately represent the actual projectiles used in the Epipaleolithic.

    “Our study was based on experiments intended to represent a wide range of projectile designs and types of microliths.”
11 of 11

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • el-Wad diagnostic lunates are assigned to different types in Tables 7 and 8

    Minor

    Table 7 reports diagnostic damage on 15 Helwan and 10 abrupt-retouch lunates; Table 8 instead labels 14 Helwan and 11 abrupt lunates. Both give 25 overall, but the type-specific counts disagree.

  • Second-session total is labelled with the whole-study count

    Minor

    A row labelled "Total second session" gives 265 microliths, while the paper states that 265 is the total number prepared for the study and separately lists 102 for the first session.

  • Straight-point penetration index does not match the table counts

    Minor

    Index 2 is defined as target penetrations divided by arrows. Table 1 gives 15 penetrations for 12 straight-point arrows, yielding 1.25, not the reported 1.4.

    Reported 1.4 · recomputed 1.25

  • Neve David diagnostic-fracture counts differ between tables

    Minor

    Table 7 reports five diagnostic medial parts and 21 diagnostic microliths in total, whereas Table 8 labels six medial parts and 22 in total.

4 of 4

Citations

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Show all 49 references

Research works printed but not linked: 10

  1. Bar-Yosef, O., 1970. The Epi-Palaeolithic Cultures of Palestine. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
  2. Gvosdover, 1952, A composite point from the Paleolithic site of Talitskij, Scientific Notes of Moscow State University, 158, 207
  3. Kaufman, 1987, Excavations at the Geometric Kebaran site of Neve David, Israel: a preliminary report, Quartar, 37–38, 1989
  4. Liber, N., 2006. The Natufian stratigraphy of El-Wad terrace as seen through a techno-typological analysis of the lunates. Unpublished MA thesis, University of Haifa (in Hebrew).
  5. Marder, 2007, Reconstructing microlith shaping: archaeological and experimental observations on Early and Final Natufian lunates at Einan (Ein Mallaha), Israel, Eurasian Prehistory, 4, 99
  6. Nuzhnyy, D., 1990. Projectile damage on Upper Paleolithic microliths and the use of bow and arrow among Pleistocene hunters in the Ukraine. The interpretative possibilities of microwear studies. In: Proceedings of the International Conference of Lithic Use-Wear Analysis, 15–17th February 1989 in Uppsala, Sweden. AUN 14, Uppsala, pp. 113–124.
  7. Nuzhnyy, 1993, Projectile weapons and technical progress in the Stone Age, Traces et Function: les Gestes Retrouves Colloque International de Liege Editions ERAUL, 50, 11
  8. Nuzhnyy, 1998, The preliminary results of experiments with Aurignacian split based points production, hafting and usage, Préhistoire Européenne, 13, 117
  9. Nuzhnyy, 1999, Microlithic projectile weapons of the Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic hunters of the Crimea, Archeologija, 1, 5
  10. Peterson, 1951, Mikrolithen als Pfeilspitzen. Ein Fund aus dem Lille Loshult Moor Ksp. Loshult, Skane, Meddelanden frn Lunds Universitets Historiska Museum, 4, 123

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Metadata

Authors
Yaroshevich, A., Kaufman, D., Nuzhnyy, D., Bar-Yosef, O., & Weinstein-Evron, M.
Affiliations
  • Israel Antiquities Authority (IL)
  • University of Haifa (IL)
  • National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (UA)
Corresponding author
Yaroshevich, Alla
Venue
Journal of Archaeological Science
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2010-02
Volume
37
Issue
2
Pages
368-388
ISSN
0305-4403 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2103814391
Cited by
164
References
49
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 8
FWCI
17.62
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Archaeological Science (publishedVersion)
  • Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Anthropology › Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology (arts and humanities) › Archaeological and Geological Studies
  • Social Sciences › Archeology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
Keywords
microliths, projectile technology, Epipaleolithic, Levant, Natufian, hafting, experimental archaeology, transition to agriculture, hunter-gatherers, Late Pleistocene

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