Bone Arrowheads Research Articles

Burial of the final stage of culture of the early Scythian period in Northern Altai

The article deals with materials excavated from kurgan No.35 of burial & memorial Choburak-I, their introduction into the scholarly discourse and cultural & chronological interpretation. This monument includes sites of various chronological periods and lays on the right bank of the Katun River. It lays south from landa Village, Chemalsky District, the Altai Republic. The monument was researched by the archaeological expedition of the Altai State University. The above-ground structure of kurgan No. 35 is a quite large mound fringed by a crepidoma. The grave is relatively shallow and found with an intact buried body. The body lays straight on the back in the burial chamber tiled with rocks. The body heads North-West. There are few accompanying tools discovered by excavations, namely a whetstone, a bronze knife and bone arrowheads. The burial ritual is explored and analyzed. The analysis shows that the site in the focus of the research is foreign to the mountainous Altai monuments of the Early Scythian due to the range of features. Morphological features of the tools and their available equivalents indicate that kurgan No. 35 was established in the late 7th through 6th century BC. Two samples are exposed to radiocarbon analysis in different laboratories. The findings support this chronology. Based on the determined dating and layout of the site researched it can be dated back to the late Biykenskaya culture. When it comes to the cultural attribution of the site, it is necessary to refer to the debatable issues of reconstructing the history of Altai population at the turn of the early Scythian and Pazyryk periods. The existing materials analyzed allow to assume that kurgan No. 35, as well as a range of other similar burials, is associated with the new groups of people arriving from neighboring areas in the 7th century BC. The study implies the features of a few more burials of Choburak-I necropolis established in the same time. Therefore, the research assumes that the Biykenskaya culture nomads used to come in contact with the Mayemirskaya culture tribes for the Altai North-West foothills

Wczesnośredniowieczne groty strzał z poroża i kości

The text aims to draw attention to the issue of early medieval antler and bone arrowheads, rarely discussed in historiography. Tracing the history of research and bringing closer the opinions of individual researchers shows how the interpretations of these monuments in archaeological literature have changed over the years. The text discusses and characterizes the findings of arrowheads from the territory ruled by the Piast Dynasty together with an attempt to divide them into types according to the typology of A. F. Medvedev for finds from the territory of ancient Rus. These issues are only an introduction to further research in this field.

한반도와 중국 동북지방의 골촉 연구

This thesis presents a comprehensive analysis of bone arrowheads discovered in prehistoric and early historic sites in Korean Peninsula and Northeast China. It tries to reanalyze the function of arrowheads that had been thought to be simple replacement of iron arrowheads and to find out the background of their use, the reason for its popularity, and the background of the extinction of bone arrowheads. This paper also compares bone arrowheads of Korean peninsula with those of Northeast China and discusses their similarities and differences.
 First of all, their nominal and numeric attributes are analyzed in order to understand their formal characteristics of bone arrowheads from Korea and Northeast China. Bone arrowheads of Korea can be divided by the presence or absence of the tang and can be divided into steptanged/non-step-tanged subtypes. Next, the relationship between the cross section of the bone arrowheads and the raw material was reviewed, and whether the cross section of the bone arrowheads reflects temporality was discussed. The width of most of the bone arrowheads discovered in Korea is below 1.1cm and is narrower than their contemporary stone and iron arrowheads. This difference may be related to their function. Bone arrowheads of Northeast China can be divided by the presence/absence of the tang and can be divided by the shape of their tips. The flat-tip-tanged arrowheads are most numerous subtype and may be related to the local environment of Northeast China where bamboo shaft was difficult to acquire. The width of most of the bone arrowhead discovered in Northeast China is below 1.1cm as in Korea and is narrower than their contemporary stone and iron arrowheads.
 Compared to the wide stone and iron arrowheads, the bone arrowheads is suitable for strike vital parts of the game such as heart or lung. The number of arrowheads with triangular cross section increased over time and the total length of bone arrowheads increases over time. This seems to contain an intention to increase penetrative power. The prevalence of the use of bone arrowheads after stone arrowheads is related to the spread of metal tools. It is concluded that bone arrowheads were not replacement of metal ones but improvement over earlier stone arrowheads as major types of arrowheads due to their better efficiency. Finally, by comparing the bone arrowheads of Korea and Northeast China, it is also suggested that environmental factors influenced mostly on the shape of bone arrowheads and cultural factors rather influenced on their prevalent time.

ПРЕДМЕТЫ ВООРУЖЕНИЯ ИЗ КУРГАННОГО МОГИЛЬНИКА ШЕЛОМОК-I

The purpose of the publication is to introduce into scientific circulation a collection of weapons of the Shelomok culture found at the Shelomok-I burial mound. As a result of the archaeological study of the burial ground in 2018, 2019 and 2021, 11 burials were investigated, 3 of which may be classified as military ones. Armament items are represented by bronze and bone arrowheads, a butt, a quiver hook, a bronze model of a bow, armor plate and a mace. According to the totality of the artifacts found, the burial mound of Shelomok-I, are dated to the 4th — 2nd centuries BC. To date, the volume of available weapons of the early Iron Age found in the Tomsk Region remains very limited, so the introduction of materials from the Shelomok-I burial mound into scientific circulation is of particular importance.

Своеобразное погребение эпохи Великого переселения народов некрополя Карбан-I (Северный Алтай)

The article presents the results of the materials study from kurgan 11 of the Karban-I site, excavated in 1989 by the expedition of the Barnaul State Pedagogical Institute. This archaeological complex is located on the left bank of the Katun river, 1.7 km northwest of the Kuyus village of Chemal district of the Altai Republic. The key characteristics of the fixed structures (mound with an oval-shaped crepe-laying; a shallow grave pit, a burial chamber in the form of a stone box) and the method of inhumation (single position of the corpse on the back; orientation of the deceased with his head to the western sector of the horizon; the absence of an accompanying burial of a horse) indicate that that this object belongs to the Karban tradition of ritual practice of the population of Altai of the 2nd century BC – 5th century AD. Analysis of the discovered inventory (horn onlays for a bow, combat knife, typesetting belt, bone arrowheads, awl, pendants and braids made of non-ferrous metal, beads) and its comparison with materials from synchronous complexes in adjacent territories became the basis for determining the chronology of the burial within the Early Xianbei period (2nd – early 3nd centuries AD). It was established that the set of objects included items that were typical for both female and male “standard” rite of the Altai nomads of this period. It is concluded that the buried individual, most likely a male, was a representative of the prosperous stratum of the ordinary population. Judging by the availability of means of long-range and close combat including numerous equipment, he was part of a group of professional warriors. At the same time, the deceased during his lifetime occupied a rather high position in a small group of pastoralists who left the Karban-I necropolis.

КОСТЯНЫЕ НАКОНЕЧНИКИ СТРЕЛ ИЗ РАННЕТАГАРСКИХ (БИДЖИНСКИХ) КОМПЛЕКСОВ КУРГАННОГО МОГИЛЬНИКА САГАЙСКАЯ ПРОТОКА-4

The article deals with the results of an instrumental and contextual study of the bone arrowheads found during urgent excavations on the Sagayskaya Protoka-4 kurgan cemetery (Khakassia, the Askiz district). The morphological characteristics of the artifacts and the results of their traceology study are presented as well as the circumstances in which the arrow points were found in burial assemblages. The material for studied in the present article artifacts were long bone walls of big animals. The study of changes on the points’ surface allowed us to determine the main peculiarities of their production technology. All studied artifacts were shaped with a metallic knife. In one case, polishing was used. The obtained data allow us to continue the database of technologies of production not only of bone arrow points but also Tagar bone objects in general. The materials of an assemblage (tomb 2 in kurgan 3) with a dead body with tools in situ pushed us to turn to the bone arrowheads in Tagar burials. It is noted, that the consistent presence of this category of tools in burial practice is connected to the Bidzha group of the Early Tagar burial assemblages (the 8th –6th centuries BC). Based on analogies, it was stated that the arrow points sets were always put on the left of the body. Compact arrangement and the same orientation of the points indicate that they were in a quiver (wrappage). The found regularities are specific to Bidzhin assemblages of the whole Tagar culture area.

Группы костяных наконечников стрел Еловского поселения периода поздней бронзы (Томская область)

The article is devoted to the identifi cation of groups of bone arrowheads found during the excavations of the Elovka settlement of the late Bronze Age, located on the left bank of the Siman (channel Ob river), 0.5 km north of the village of Elovka of the Kozhevnikovsky district in the Tomsk region. During the excavations of the settlement in 1982 by V. I. Matyushchenko stone, bone and bronze arrowheads were found, which, judging by the location in the cultural layer, can be attributed to the late phase of the functioning of the site. Th e bone arrowheads, which make up a series of 60 items, are quite like each other. Unfortunately, it is too early to talk about the typology of these items. However, they can be divided by size: short up to 12 cm, and long over 12 cm. Th is suggests two ways of their use. Short arrowheads were used for archery, which suggests active hunting of animals. Long arrowheads could have been used to mount crossbows, indicating the existence of passive hunting. There is information on active and passive hunting as in the archaeological materials of the Ist millennium BC in the sites of the Upper Ob region, and in ethnographic materials relating to the natives of Siberia in the 18th–20th centuries. Th e third group of arrowheads diff ers from the previous ones in the presence of spikes on the blades of the arrowheads, made so that they do not fall out of the wound. Judging by the fact that they were «standardized» in size, section, and proportions, it can be assumed that the ancient archers were intent on making their shooting as accurate as possible. Th is usually becomes necessary in combat conditions. This suggests that at the late stage of the functioning of the Elovka settlement, relations between its inhabitants and neighbors could become aggravated.

Костяные (роговые) наконечники стрел населения Северного Алтая сяньбийского времени (по материалам комплекса Карбан-I)

The article presents the results of the systematization and chronological interpretation of bone (horn) arrowheads found during excavations of the Xianbei time burials of the Karban-I necropolis. This complex is located in the Chemal region of the Altai Republic. The published collection includes 26 bone (horn) arrowheads from seven burial kurgans. As a result of morphological analysis and classification of 23 items of good and satisfactory preservation, nine types were identified. There are both already known and specific modifications that have no analogies in the materials of the Bulan-Koby culture. Comparative study of general, special and individual morphological features made it possible to determine the relative chronology of the items. It was found that the arrowheads from Karban-I necropolis are not genetically related to the bone-cutting traditions of the Pazyryk culture population and represent the local development of specimens that appeared in the Xiongnu (2nd century BC – 1st century AD) and Xianbei (2nd – 1st half of the 4th century AD) time. A series of “experimental” specimens with a separately made bone whistle (types 1b, 4b), which represent a simplified technology for making tips with a one-piece bushing whistle (type 7a), have been identified. It is noted that arrowheads with a sleeve (type 8a) and clamping attachments (type 9a) have rather rare structural elements. Additional evidence was obtained that the population of Altai in the Xianbei time could use arrows with bone tips not only for hunting purposes, but also as a weapon to defeat a weakly defended enemy.

THE FORTIFIED SETTLEMENT IN CHOTYNIEC IN PREVIOUS STUDIES

The article presents the current state of research on the hillfort in Chotyniec, excavated since 2016. The scope and methods of excavations and other research works (e. g. geophysical prospection) are discussed. So far, the focus has been on studying the «zolnik» and identifying the embankments, uncovering an impressive array of artifacts and recording very interesting stratigraphic observations. The original size of the «zolnik» can be calculated (estimated) on the basis of the preserved systems of scattered layers, saturated with burning and charcoal. In the horizontal projection, they marked an almost circular surface with approximate dimensions of 20.8 (E—W) × 21 m (N—S). The maximum height of the «zolnik» could be up to 2 m from its base. The arrangement of layers turned out to be very interesting, allowing the reconstruction of the stages of setting up and using this object. It provided an exceptional amount of artifacts — fragments of ceramics, including Greek amphoras for wine, brown and bone arrowheads, brown pins, a necklace and small ornaments, glass and ceramic beads, clay spindles, «katushki» and a fragment of a figurine. The series of other ceramics is also very important, among which typical forms like pots and bowls. Completely reconstructed amphora of Klazomenei, as well as fragments of others, including those related to the Lesbos circle, indicate a convergent chronology at the end of the 7th and the beginning of the 6th century BC. A similar chronology is shared by brown and bone arrowheads, representing different types within four main groups dated from the end or even from the 2nd half of the 7th century BC to the middle of the 6th century BC. On the other hand, the series of radiocarbon dates, in connection with the stratigraphy, shows a slightly different chronological range. It confirms the older horizon from the second half of the 7th century, but also clearly points to the 6th—5th centuries BC, and one of the dates is even younger. The hillfort in Chotyniec, together with the surrounding settlements, forms a very interesting settlement complex — the most northwestern enclave of the Scythian cultural circle. We can say that it is an extremely interesting microregion, and its importance is multifaceted. It concerns the possibility of getting to know the relations (e. g. chronological, functional, etc.) of the settlement and its surroundings, which is not so common in the archeology of the Early Iron Age in this part of Europe. In a broader territorial perspective, the Chotyniec agglomeration forces corrections to the existing, well-established findings on the relationship of the Scythian world with other cultures — e. g. the Lusatian cultural circle or a group of groups and cultures in Volhynia.

Materials from the burials of Sergushkin-3 ground cemetery in the Northern Angara region: on the issue of chronology and geneses of the Tsepan Culture

The Sergushkin-3 ground cemetery (Northern Angara region), studied in 1974-2011, included 24 burials of the Bronze Age, Early Iron Age and the Middle Ages. The cultural and chronological attribution of some com-plexes is polemical. The purpose of this article is to introduce into scientific discourse materials from burials 8 and 9, including the results of contextual and comparative study of funeral and commemorative practices of these assemblages, as well as paleo-anthropological data and radiocarbon dates. Burial 8 contains macerated, broken and partly burned bones of a 25–30 year old woman and represents an oval pit oriented along the river. Accord-ing to the grave contents, the remains of the dead woman were burnt in the burial pit. She was accompanied with two sickle type bronze blades, a stone arrowhead and two bone plates. The burnt tree samples provided the ra-diocarbon ages of 3165 ± 130 BP (SPb_147) and 2945 ± 130 BP (SPb_148). Burial 9 contains macerated, partly broken and burnt bones of a young 18–20 year old man and a young 16–20 year old woman in a ground pit ori-ented along the river. The partial cremation of the remains was performed outside. The deceased were accompa-nied with a piercing tool made of moose splint bone, one stone and four bone arrowheads, four horn arrowhead sockets and a hollow horn collar. The burnt tree samples were radiocarbon dated to 2790 ± 100 BP (SPb_381) and 2750 ± 100 BP (SPb_382). The grave goods of both burials are similar to those of the Tsepan Culture of the Early Iron Age (8th–2nd c. BC), while the calibrated calendar interval of their radiocarbon ages is within 15th-10th c. BC. It agrees with the dates of the same “early” Tsepan burial 4 on the Pashina settlement (late 2nd — early 1st mil. BC). The recorded details of funeral rites of these burials are typical for earlier assemblages in the Baikal-Angara re-gion. The sickle type bronze blades and horn sockets are unique for the Bronze Age materials in Angara and Baikal regions, but they impressively resemble the curved knives and bone sockets of the pre-Scythian period from Yakutia and Trans-Baikal region. Based on the above, a suggestion has been made regarding the initial stage of formation of the Tsepan Culture as having been the result of migration processes in the region in the second half of the 2nd mil. BC.

Weapon Sets of the Kushulevsky III Burial Ground of the Pyanobor Archaeological Culture

One of the important directions in the study of military affairs of the Pyanobor culture is the study of weapon sets. A set of weapons means armaments in a specific closed complex. Their study allows us to understand the degree of the population’s armament, its diversity, the demand for certain types of weapons. The problem of the research lies in the fact that such conclusions were made on the basis of an analysis of complexes with weapons from only one burial ground. It was for this reason that the decision was made to analyze the larger-scale necropolis of the Pyanobor culture, in which the number of those buried with items of weapons significantly exceeds those previously studied. This was the Kushulevsky III burial ground. The purpose of this article is to identify and analyze sets of weapons for male burials at the Kushulevsky III burial ground. It is also necessary to compare the data obtained on the weapon sets of the Kushulevsky III burial ground with the necropolises already studied in a similar way: the Okhlebininsky Kara-Abyz culture and the Yuldashevsky Pyanobor culture. It will be fundamentally important to identify the types of arrowheads from the burials of the Kushulevsky III burial ground.An explanatory model for reducing the number of horse bridle sets in military burials of the Pyanobor culture is also presented. In the specialized literature, these theoretical conclusions are described for the first time, which determines the novelty of this work. This work was made possible by the use of statistical calculations, the comparative historical method, as well as the methods of chronology and typology. The use of these techniques made it possible to establish the number of weapons items, their types, types of weapon sets, chronology, etc. The result of the work performed was a demonstration of the proximity of the weapon sets of the Pyanobor and Kara-Abyz cultures. In some cases, certain categories of weapons predominate, for example, bone arrowheads. In bladed weapons, the single-edged combat knife is the most used. In the same category of weapons, there is an electiveness and singularity of swords hitting the drunken population. The combination of a combat knife with a bow or spear forms a standardized complex of weapons of the Pyanobor culture.

Животноводство и охота у северян

The aim of the study is to analyze the role of animal husbandry and hunting among the Siverians. The database is composed of osteological remains of mammals from 20 residential sites and products that characterize the importance of animal husbandry and hunting. The total number of the sites is 28. Thirteen of the twenty complexes involved in the analysis contain materials on animal husbandry, eight on hunting and 14 allow a complex analysis. Cattle predominated in animal husbandry, small cattle and pigs ranked second to third, horses were approximately 1/10. The age composition of the herd indicates a developed animal husbandry and a good forage base. The tools of animal husbandry confirm tender care and active life-saving use. Hunting depended on game and hunter skills. The most common prey were deer. Fur is represented mainly by fox. Probably some bone arrowheads represent fur hunting. We do not exclude the existence of the bear totem, as well as the importance of the beaver. The ratio of animal husbandry (reproductive form) and hunting (appropriative form) indicates the active use of the gifts of nature not because of the lack of meat from animal husbandry, but because of the rational use of food sources.

A Bone Projectile Point and Its Possibly Associated Workshop from the Iron Age IIA of Tell eṣ-Ṣafi/Gath

In 2006, we published in Near Eastern Archaeology a bone tool workshop dating to the Iron IIA destruction level at Tell eṣ-Ṣafi/Gath. We managed to reconstruct the chaîne opératoire of the production of this workshop and although we did not find a finished object, we suggested that bone arrowheads were manufactured here and that they may have been produced in connection with the Aramean siege and destruction of Tell eṣ-Ṣafi/Gath in ca. 830 BCE. In the present article, we describe and discuss a bone arrowhead from the same destruction, but from Area M in the lower city of the site. We suggest that it may very well have been produced in this previously reported workshop (or in a very similar one).

Boy Hunter Burial from Staroe Kirgizovo Burial Ground of the Pyany Bor Culture

The paper presents the materials from burial No. 53 of the Staroe Kirgizovo burial ground of the Pyany Bor culture from the territory of the Ik and Belaya interfluve (excavations of 2016). The burial is approximately dated to the second half of the 1st century BC – the 1st century AD. It was a burial of a 7–8–year old child which contained a large and partly unique inventory, which was vary different from the average children's burials with scarce inventory of this cultural community. The buried was accompanied with various costume adornments made of bronze and bone, bladed and ranged weapons (a combat knife and a set of iron and bone arrowheads). Of particular interest is the accompanying complex of carved upper and lower jaws of small carnivorous animals. This set of finds is interpreted by the authors of the paper as hunting trophies of the buried boy.

Культурно-хронологические комплексы курганного могильника Сагайская протока-4 (Аскизский район Республики Хакасия)

In 2021, the team of Federal Research Center of the Institute of Coal and Coal Chemistry of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences undertook rescue excavations on Sagaiskaya protoka-4 kurgan burial ground (the Askiz district, the Republic of Khakassia). The article presents the summarized results of cultural and chronological attribution of the researched burial assemblages of this burial ground. The early period of this necropolis is connected to the Chernovaya stage of the Okunev culture (22nd—20th centuries BC). The fence with diagonal lines of stones (kurgan 1) with six studied tombs in stone boxes is attributed to that period. The grave goods of Okunev burial grounds are objects made of bone, ceramic pots and miniature stone ball. The second stage of the burial ground is connected to the Late Bronze Age (kurgan 2). Lugavskiy assemblage (10th —9th centuries BC) related to the earliest stage of the kurgan construction is presented by the findings from the central ruined burial (bronze knife, ring) and untouched child’s tomb (ceramic pot, a set of small pieces of bronze jewelry). The Bainov assemblage of the burial complex (late 9th — early 8th centuries BC), found in the lateral annex fence contained a flat bottomed ceramic pot with a typical ornaments. The third period in the history of the burial ground is connected to the Bidzha population group of the early Tagar culture (late 8th — 6th centuries BC). At that time, the Bronze Age kurgans’ fences were rebuilt in order to make new tombs, and a separate Bidzha complex (kurgan 3) is erected nearby. All the burials of that period have grave inventory of the same type: jar-like vessels with narrow flutings, “glasses”, bone arrowheads, anklets, unknown purpose objects. The unusual feature of the studied part of Sagayskaya protoka-4 burial complex are numerous pits near all fences, in some cases containing archaeological material (animal bones, small fragments of ceramics, stone objects, sandstone slabs). These are the first objects of such a type found in the Tagar kurgans.

WESTERN GEORGIA AS A TRANSITIONAL ZONE IN MIGRATION OF THE PROTONEOLITHIC GROUPS TO EASTERN EUROPE

The issue of studying the global migration of the population of the Near and Middle East to the territory of Eastern Europe at the end of the Pleistocene and at the beginning of the Holocene is analyzed in the paper.
 At the turn of Pleistocene-Holocene the stone industries with similar characteristics in Iran, Iraq, Georgia and Ukraine one can observe. These industries are called M’lefaatian, Kobuletian, Kukrekian. These industries were characterized by using the pressing technique to produce blades, bladelets and microblades; using bladelets with abrupt retouch to make complex bone arrowheads. At the very end of the Pleistocene, the migration of the M’lefaatian population began. The stone industry of the first wave of migrants was associated with elements of the Zarzian industry. In the future, waves of M’lefaatian migrants poured innovative technologies related to the production of stone vessels, grooved tools, pottery into the territory of Western Georgia and Ukraine. The most important role in the development of Eastern European culture was the change in the funeral rite at the Boreal-Atlantic border, when the funeral traditions of M’lefaatian fell into the territory of Ukraine. The migration process ends with the transition to the Neolithic and to farming in the second half of 7th thousand BC.
 Analysis of the synchronous development of M’lefaatian, Kobuletian, Kukrekian allows us to conclude that the migration of the M’lefaatian population has been permanent in nature for 3—4 thousand years. Small population groups created a constant influx of population into the territory of Georgia and Ukraine. Some groups made shuttle migrations. All this created the conditions for a constant exchange of innovative technologies for the population of the Northern Black Sea Region and the Middle East. The result of this process was the transition of M’lefaatian migrants to a Neolithic lifestyle. The study of M’lefaatian migration creates the conditions for studying the patterns of transition to the Neolithic in the South Caucasus and Eastern Europe.

Находки из разрушенного погребения пазырыкской культуры в селе Барагаш (Республика Алтай)

The paper presents the results of the study of finds originating from the destroyed burial in the village of Baragash (the Shebalino district, the Altai Republic), located in the upper reaches of the Peschanaya river. The burial was destroyed in 2015 during the digging of a trench for the water supply, which passed approximately through the center of the burial mound. During the inspection of the mound, the employees of the Agency for Cultural and Historical Heritage of the Altai Republic collected details of horse equipment, jewelry, household items and weapons. The burial contained bone arrowheads, a bead, plaques made of gold foil, bronze clips, a painted ceramic vessel, a whetstone, and a horn cheekpiece. Fragmentary information about the structural features of the destroyed object, as well as the analysis of items allows us to establish that the complex belongs to the Pazyryk culture of the Scythian time of Altai. The horn cheekpiece found in the burial, decorated with the heads of a wolf and a bird of prey, as well as bronze clips, make it possible to establish the attributing of the object to an early group of Pazyryk sites. The absolute dating of the complex can be tentatively established by the end of the 6th – 5th centuries BC.

Testing for poisoned arrows in the Middle Stone Age: A tip cross-sectional analysis of backed microliths from southern Africa

Recent work indicated the possibility of hunting with poisoned bone arrowheads more than 60 thousand years ago in southern Africa. The interpretation rests on only a handful of bone points from Middle Stone Age contexts. Two southern African techno-complexes characterised by the knapping of backed microliths have, however, been linked to bow hunting in the past. These are the Wilton, dating from roughly 8000 years until a few centuries ago, and the Howiesons Poort dating to roughly between 67,000 and 58,000 years ago. Here I use the tip cross-sectional method to assess the likelihood of bow hunting with poisoned stone-tipped/barbed arrows for both of these techno-complexes. The results demonstrate that bow hunting with poisoned arrows was probably the preferred hunting strategy during the Holocene Wilton phase. Hunters may have introduced poisoned arrows to their arsenal during the much older Pleistocene Howiesons Poort phase, but they were probably more dependent on hunting with a combination of unpoisoned arrows and javelins (throwing spears). I also show that, during both phases, hunting with poisoned arrows may have been more frequent on the Savanna and Grassland biomes with summer and year-round rainfall regimes, instead of in the Fynbos winter-rain zone.

The tip cross-sectional areas of poisoned bone arrowheads from southern Africa

Current hunter-gatherers from the Kalahari in southern Africa are well-known for their use of poisoned arrowheads, and it is assumed that this tradition spanned most of the Holocene in the region. Recent archaeological work, however, indicates that the techno-behaviour may have originated sometime during the Pleistocene. Tracing the use of poisoned arrowheads through time is not an easy task. Here I explore the use of the tip cross-sectional area (TSCA) metric to analyse relatively large samples of bone points that are ethno-historically associated with Kalahari San poisoned arrow hunting. I add the southern African poisoned bone arrowhead TSCA range to the previous ranges established for North American atlatl dart tips, North American arrowheads and large thrusting spears. Based on the results obtained from 445 artefacts spanning historical, Later and Middle Stone Age phases, I show that poisoned bone arrowheads may have been in use in southern Africa throughout the last 72,000 years, and that a methodical effort to trace stone-tipped poison arrowheads may be warranted.

NEW TAMGA SIGNS AND ELEMENTS OF SARMATIAN ARMAMENT AND EQUIPMENT FROM OLBIA

The series of new tamga signs from the latest excavations in Olbia, among which there are unique signs for the Sarmatian nomadic world are published in the paper. The tamgas are deposited on limestone which was found at a new site T-4 placed on the Terraced city of Olbia. Some signs have analogies on the marble lion from Olbia, in Scythian Neapolis, on the «plate-encyclopedia» from Panticapaeum, and on the territory of Asian Sarmatia. The period of existence of these tamgas in Olbia can be attributed to the second half of the 1st — the 2nd centuries AD. This was the time of close military-political relations between Olbia and the Sarmatians. During this period, the Sarmatian kings Farzoios and Inismeos minted in Olbia gold and silver coins with their generic tamga-sign, and the Olbian ambassadors met the Sarmatian kings in the city.
 In the upper layers of the site T-4 there were also found the elements of Sarmatian weapons and equipment such as the iron arrowhead, bone arrowheads, and iron quiver hooks, which are unique for the region. Bone arrowheads and quiver hooks have analogies in the Sarmatian burials of the Volga region and could be associated with the appearance of Sarmatian nomads in the Northern Pontic region which can be associated with the appearance of Sarmatian nomads in the Northern Black Sea region, who came in the middle — third quarter of the 1st century AD from the Volga-Don steppes. Objects with tamga signs in Olbia are usually accompanied by iron and bone arrowheads, bow detailes, elements of horse bridle, buckles etc. All of this, in general, is the evidences of the direct Sarmatian presence in the city in the Roman period.