ESTONIAN ACADEMY
PUBLISHERS
eesti teaduste
akadeemia kirjastus
PUBLISHED
SINCE 1997
 
Archaeology cover
Estonian Journal of Archaeology
ISSN 1736-7484 (Electronic)
ISSN 1406-2933 (Print)
Impact Factor (2022): 1.0
Research article
Stone Age imitation of a slotted bone point from Pärnu River (south-western Estonia); pp. 54–79
PDF | https://doi.org/10.3176/arch.2023.1.03

Authors
Tõnno Jonuks ORCID Icon, Shidong Chen ORCID Icon, Aivar Kriiska ORCID Icon, Ester Oras ORCID Icon, Samantha Presslee ORCID Icon, Andres Uueni ORCID Icon
Abstract

This is an in-depth study of a mimicked slotted point, carved from a cervid longbone, found in the lower reaches of the Pärnu River. The 3D digital model, created during this study, provides an interactive and innovative tool for studying the object in detail. The AMS dating places the artefact at the very beginning of human habitation in the present-day territory of Estonia. SEM-EDS, ATR-FT-IR and GC-FID/MS analyses demonstrate that this unique object was probably originally partially covered with a mixture of red ochre and some coniferous resin, possibly as hafting adhesive. As this is a detailed replica of a slotted point, it also demonstrates how people themselves saw slotted points in the Early Mesolithic, also raising the question of the purpose of this replica – was it an ordinary arrowhead or rather a ritual object?

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