Terminal Ballistics of Stone-Tipped Atlatl Darts and Arrows: Results From Exploratory Naturalistic Experiments
This study describes an effective protocol for naturalistic archaeological weapons experiments that improves cross-validation with controlled experiments and allows testing of multiple hypotheses. Stone-tipped atlatl darts and arrows were launched by skilled users against fresh carcasses, with high-...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
De Gruyter
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Open Archaeology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0299 |
| _version_ | 1797778381245251584 |
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| author | Pettigrew Devin B. Garnett Justin Ryals-Luneberg Caden Vance Eric A. |
| author_facet | Pettigrew Devin B. Garnett Justin Ryals-Luneberg Caden Vance Eric A. |
| author_sort | Pettigrew Devin B. |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study describes an effective protocol for naturalistic archaeological weapons experiments that improves cross-validation with controlled experiments and allows testing of multiple hypotheses. Stone-tipped atlatl darts and arrows were launched by skilled users against fresh carcasses, with high-speed cameras and radar guns capturing details of ballistic performance, impacts to bone and stone armatures, and other variables. The results pertaining to terminal ballistics in soft tissues are presented, with implications for what made ancient hunting projectiles effective and can be observed archaeologically. Fine-grained knappable stones seem to produce sharper armatures that can dramatically improve penetration, and presumably, lethality. Two commonly used metrics by archaeologists for estimating armature efficacy, tip cross-sectional area (TCSA), and perimeter (TCSP), are not among the significant variables for capturing penetration depth in soft tissues. However, armatures with larger TCSAs tend to be fitted to larger shafts that carry more energy and penetrate more deeply, providing one method for predicting wounding potential. The variability within weapon systems means that isolating efficacy to individual variables, such as tip cross-sectional size of stone armatures, can lead to erroneous interpretations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T23:16:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8d9e56f4fecd467c9046a30eacc9dff1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2300-6560 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T23:16:32Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | De Gruyter |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Open Archaeology |
| spelling | doaj.art-8d9e56f4fecd467c9046a30eacc9dff12023-07-17T05:25:35ZengDe GruyterOpen Archaeology2300-65602023-07-019179982010.1515/opar-2022-0299Terminal Ballistics of Stone-Tipped Atlatl Darts and Arrows: Results From Exploratory Naturalistic ExperimentsPettigrew Devin B.0Garnett Justin1Ryals-Luneberg Caden2Vance Eric A.3Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado Boulder, 311 W Chester St, Lafayette, 80026 Boulder, CO, United StatesDepartment of Anthropology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United StatesDepartment of Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, United StatesDepartment of Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, United StatesThis study describes an effective protocol for naturalistic archaeological weapons experiments that improves cross-validation with controlled experiments and allows testing of multiple hypotheses. Stone-tipped atlatl darts and arrows were launched by skilled users against fresh carcasses, with high-speed cameras and radar guns capturing details of ballistic performance, impacts to bone and stone armatures, and other variables. The results pertaining to terminal ballistics in soft tissues are presented, with implications for what made ancient hunting projectiles effective and can be observed archaeologically. Fine-grained knappable stones seem to produce sharper armatures that can dramatically improve penetration, and presumably, lethality. Two commonly used metrics by archaeologists for estimating armature efficacy, tip cross-sectional area (TCSA), and perimeter (TCSP), are not among the significant variables for capturing penetration depth in soft tissues. However, armatures with larger TCSAs tend to be fitted to larger shafts that carry more energy and penetrate more deeply, providing one method for predicting wounding potential. The variability within weapon systems means that isolating efficacy to individual variables, such as tip cross-sectional size of stone armatures, can lead to erroneous interpretations.https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0299atlatlbowterminal ballisticsprojectile pointphotogrammetryexperimental archaeology |
| spellingShingle | Pettigrew Devin B. Garnett Justin Ryals-Luneberg Caden Vance Eric A. Terminal Ballistics of Stone-Tipped Atlatl Darts and Arrows: Results From Exploratory Naturalistic Experiments Open Archaeology atlatl bow terminal ballistics projectile point photogrammetry experimental archaeology |
| title | Terminal Ballistics of Stone-Tipped Atlatl Darts and Arrows: Results From Exploratory Naturalistic Experiments |
| title_full | Terminal Ballistics of Stone-Tipped Atlatl Darts and Arrows: Results From Exploratory Naturalistic Experiments |
| title_fullStr | Terminal Ballistics of Stone-Tipped Atlatl Darts and Arrows: Results From Exploratory Naturalistic Experiments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Terminal Ballistics of Stone-Tipped Atlatl Darts and Arrows: Results From Exploratory Naturalistic Experiments |
| title_short | Terminal Ballistics of Stone-Tipped Atlatl Darts and Arrows: Results From Exploratory Naturalistic Experiments |
| title_sort | terminal ballistics of stone tipped atlatl darts and arrows results from exploratory naturalistic experiments |
| topic | atlatl bow terminal ballistics projectile point photogrammetry experimental archaeology |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0299 |
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