Homo sapiens could have hunted with bow and arrow from the onset of the Early Upper Palaeolithic in Eurasia

The evolution of projectile technology remains a central topic in palaeoanthropological discussions on prey acquisition, subsistence strategies, and interpersonal violence. A linear technological development is tradi- tionally assumed from handheld spears, spear-thrower and spears (darts), to bow-an...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autor: Tejero, José Miguel
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Recursos:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:2445/225141
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/225141
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Home de Neandertal
Paleolític superior
Caça
Armes
Caçadors i recol·lectors
Euràsia
Neanderthals
Upper Paleolithic
Hunting
Weapons
Hunting and gathering societies
Eurasia
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oai_identifier_str oai:recercat.cat:2445/225141
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repository_id_str
spelling Homo sapiens could have hunted with bow and arrow from the onset of the Early Upper Palaeolithic in EurasiaTejero, José MiguelHome de NeandertalPaleolític superiorCaçaArmesCaçadors i recol·lectorsEuràsiaNeanderthalsUpper PaleolithicHuntingWeaponsHunting and gathering societiesEurasiaThe evolution of projectile technology remains a central topic in palaeoanthropological discussions on prey acquisition, subsistence strategies, and interpersonal violence. A linear technological development is tradi- tionally assumed from handheld spears, spear-thrower and spears (darts), to bow-and-arrows throughout the Palaeolithic, although recent studies argue for a more complex scenario. Here, we combine experimental ballistic with use-wear and morphometric analyses to investigate whether Aurignacian (c. 40–35 kya) osseous projectile points represent a diverse hunting strategy, i.e., whether some armatures were hafted on arrows rather than on spears. Our results suggest that breakage patterns depend more on the raw material and size of the armature than its specific launching mechanism. Variation in damage types and sizes recorded for arrowheads falls within that observed for spears. Thus, we suggest that Aurignacian hunting gears repre- sent diverse weaponry technologies that possibly include both spear-thrower-and-spear and bow-and-ar- rows from the onset of the early Upper Palaeolithic.Elsevier2026202620252026info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion21 p.application/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/2445/225141Articles publicats en revistes (Història i Arqueologia)reponame:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunyainstname:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)InglésReproducció del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5118279iScience, 2025https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5118279cc-by (c) Kitagawa, Keiko et al., 2025http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:recercat.cat:2445/2251412026-05-29T05:05:01Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Homo sapiens could have hunted with bow and arrow from the onset of the Early Upper Palaeolithic in Eurasia
title Homo sapiens could have hunted with bow and arrow from the onset of the Early Upper Palaeolithic in Eurasia
spellingShingle Homo sapiens could have hunted with bow and arrow from the onset of the Early Upper Palaeolithic in Eurasia
Tejero, José Miguel
Home de Neandertal
Paleolític superior
Caça
Armes
Caçadors i recol·lectors
Euràsia
Neanderthals
Upper Paleolithic
Hunting
Weapons
Hunting and gathering societies
Eurasia
title_short Homo sapiens could have hunted with bow and arrow from the onset of the Early Upper Palaeolithic in Eurasia
title_full Homo sapiens could have hunted with bow and arrow from the onset of the Early Upper Palaeolithic in Eurasia
title_fullStr Homo sapiens could have hunted with bow and arrow from the onset of the Early Upper Palaeolithic in Eurasia
title_full_unstemmed Homo sapiens could have hunted with bow and arrow from the onset of the Early Upper Palaeolithic in Eurasia
title_sort Homo sapiens could have hunted with bow and arrow from the onset of the Early Upper Palaeolithic in Eurasia
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Tejero, José Miguel
author Tejero, José Miguel
author_facet Tejero, José Miguel
author_role author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Home de Neandertal
Paleolític superior
Caça
Armes
Caçadors i recol·lectors
Euràsia
Neanderthals
Upper Paleolithic
Hunting
Weapons
Hunting and gathering societies
Eurasia
topic Home de Neandertal
Paleolític superior
Caça
Armes
Caçadors i recol·lectors
Euràsia
Neanderthals
Upper Paleolithic
Hunting
Weapons
Hunting and gathering societies
Eurasia
description The evolution of projectile technology remains a central topic in palaeoanthropological discussions on prey acquisition, subsistence strategies, and interpersonal violence. A linear technological development is tradi- tionally assumed from handheld spears, spear-thrower and spears (darts), to bow-and-arrows throughout the Palaeolithic, although recent studies argue for a more complex scenario. Here, we combine experimental ballistic with use-wear and morphometric analyses to investigate whether Aurignacian (c. 40–35 kya) osseous projectile points represent a diverse hunting strategy, i.e., whether some armatures were hafted on arrows rather than on spears. Our results suggest that breakage patterns depend more on the raw material and size of the armature than its specific launching mechanism. Variation in damage types and sizes recorded for arrowheads falls within that observed for spears. Thus, we suggest that Aurignacian hunting gears repre- sent diverse weaponry technologies that possibly include both spear-thrower-and-spear and bow-and-ar- rows from the onset of the early Upper Palaeolithic.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
2026
2026
2026
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/2445/225141
url https://hdl.handle.net/2445/225141
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Reproducció del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5118279
iScience, 2025
https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5118279
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv cc-by (c) Kitagawa, Keiko et al., 2025
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv cc-by (c) Kitagawa, Keiko et al., 2025
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv 21 p.
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Articles publicats en revistes (Història i Arqueologia)
reponame:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
instname:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
instname_str Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
reponame_str Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
collection Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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