Skip to main content

weapon

Simulating Organic Projectile Point Damage to Bison Pelves

Author(s)
Charles A. Speer 1
Publication Date

A large Bison sp. pelvis was discovered eroding out of shoreline sediment at American Falls Reservoir in Bingham County, Idaho in 1953. The ischium section had a unique groove and perforation with a depth of 35 mm and 10 mm in diameter. The pelvis was X-rayed in 1961 for indicators of the origin of the damage, but it could not be ascertained, and human agency could not be ruled out. For the research presented here, the pelvis was CT scanned to look for any foreign material in the perforation and to determine the three-dimensional structure...

A Scheme of Evolution for Throwing Sticks

Author(s)
Luc Bordes 1
Publication Date
Prehistoric wooden projectiles likely have a complex evolutionary story in a similar way to stone tools, depending on their functions, and the cognitive and physical capabilities of hominins who used them. The technologies of some ancient projectiles (e.g., spears, arrows) can be studied more directly because they were equipped with...

The 2,500th Anniversary of the Battle of Plataea, 26-31 July 2022. Recreating the Cavalry

Author(s)
John Conyard 1
Publication Date

Introduction

Delayed by the pandemic, the 2022 event was organised with the support of the local community, the Ephorate of Antiquities, and the re-enactment group ‘Hoplologia’ lead by Christian Cameron.  Using re-enactors to commemorate their Classical history was, for a variety of political and religious reasons, an important step for the Greek authorities to take. Christian gathered around ninety very experienced and passionate re-enactors and reconstructors in Plataea from at least eight different counties, at their own expense.

Evaluation of Mail Horse-Armour

Author(s)
David Jones 1 ✉,
Emma Herbert-Davies 2
Publication Date
This study was undertaken to gain an understanding of the effectiveness of mail armour in protecting horses against arrow shot, and to assess the circumstances in which such armour might play a useful role. Since the protection given by mail is largely dependent on the thickness of the underlying padding, a preliminary step was to estimate the maximum thickness of padding that could be worn by the horse...

Book Review: Native American Blowguns by Douglas S. Meyer

Author(s)
Philipp Schraut 1
Publication Date
Honestly, before I got to know Douglas S. Meyer, I had no idea that blowguns existed in North America. They are well known in South America, particularly for being used with poisoned darts, but the ones from the Southeast of the United States were completely new to me. Meyer is a very experienced expert on primitive skills who studied this weapon for more than 30 years...

An Experimental Study of Lesions Observed in Bog Body Funerary Performances

Author(s)
Tiffany Treadway 1 ✉,
Clement Twumasi 2
Publication Date
The analysis of sharp force trauma has usually been reserved for prehistoric osteological case studies. Bog bodies, on the other hand, due to the excellent preservation of the soft tissues, provide a unique example of visible lesions. This type of preservation of prehistoric soft tissue trauma that would otherwise be predominantly absent from osteological remains allows archaeologists to understand better the ...

Traces of Manufacture, Use, Repair and Modification Observed on Ethnographic Throwing Sticks and Boomerangs

Author(s)
Luc Bordes 1
Publication Date
Throwing sticks and boomerangs are present in the collections of many French and international museums. Collected mainly in the 19th and 20th centuries by travelers, they were mainly analyzed from a stylistic point of view, to relate them to their region of origin. Some of these objects were made by the indigenous populations especially to be exchanged with Europeans and only bear macro-traces of manufacture...

Throwing Stick to Spear Thrower - Study of Ethnographic Artefacts and Experimentation

Author(s)
Luc Bordes 1
Publication Date
Little is known about the process of the invention of the prehistoric spear thrower which appeared around 25,000 years ago in Europe, although it may have emerged earlier on other continents. This innovative weapon had a late arrival in Australia from Papua New Guinea at the end of the late glacial maximum, and probably induced an adaptation in hand throwing spear technology used by local people. But could the spear thrower have also originated independently from older prehistoric technology on this continent?

Embossing Technique between III and II Century BC: Experiments and First Results

Author(s)
Andrea Moretti 1,
Andrea Mariani 1,2,3 ✉,
Livio Asta 1,
Tommaso Gallo 1
Publication Date
11th EAC Trento 2019
***The purpose of this paper is to explain our experience with the process of experimental archaeology, involving the reproduction and field testing of embossed decorations, inspired to archaeological finds. As a re-enactment group focused on Celts and Ligurians of III – II century BC we reproduce items and/or ornaments...

“A Mirror for Men” – Reconstructing a Medieval Polishing Bench and Putting it to the Test

Author(s)
Florian Messner 1
Publication Date
11th EAC Trento 2019
***In the late 5th century AD, the famous Ostrogoth Theoderic the Great received a truly regal gift from the king of the Warini: he was given highly elaborated swords, richly decorated and able to cut through armour. Their fullers (long grooves along the flat side of the blade to reduce weight and to gain stability...