Self-Barbed Antler Spearpoints and Evidence of Fishing in the Late Upper Paleolithic of Cantabrian Spain

Abstract

During the Upper Paleolithic in western Europe, osseous implements were an important component of hunting and gathering technologies. Bone, antler, and occasionally ivory were shaped into various tools that functioned as needles, awls, and most frequently as projectile points. The present discussion concerns a specific type of antler projectile point that is found in many Late Upper Paleolithic sites in northern Spain. The point (which is referred to here as self-barbed) is longitudinally curved, pointed on both extremes, laterally flattened and scored for hafting, and is usually shaped from antler (Figure 1).