Period: Late Neolithic and Bronze Age (c. 2300-500 BC)

Project title: Late Neolithic and Bronze Age arrowheads in Scandinavia: Production, experiments and debitage description

Researchers: Jan Apel, Uppsala, Sweden,

Lars Sundström, Uppsala, Sweden

and Kim Darmark, Uppsala, Sweden

E-mail: jan.apel(at)sau.se, lars.sundstrom(at)sau.se or kim.darmark(at)sau.se

Year: 2005

Abstract:

During excavations along the route of the new motorway (E4) through Sweden, settlements were encountered that dated from the period between the Late Neolithic and the Bronze Age. It became clear that the people in the settlements in Southern Sweden had an agriculture-based subsistence, whereas the settlements in Northern Sweden to a much greater extent had relied om hunting and gathering. Despite this the same type of arrowhead was found in all the settlements. The arrowheads showed minor differences in choice of material and tecniques. Thus the arrowheads are created by two population groups with different technological traditions, and despite this they are identical.

The aim of the experiment was to document the production processes in the production of this type of arrowhead and describe the waste products. The results of the experiment was to be used in the discussion of the regional variation of frintknapping tecniques in Scandinavia (pressing tecnique and direct tecnique).

By using the two different tecniques over 30 arrowheads were produced at Lejre Forsøgscenter. The waste products were collected and preserved for qualitative and statistical analyses in Uppsala. The aim of the analyses were to enable a better recognition of the waste products from the two different types of tecniques.

Reference number: HAF 09/05