Osseous Hunting
Weapons of
Early Modern Humans in Eurasia
FWF Meitner Program
Research Project
Osseous Hunting Weapons of Early Modern Humans in Eurasia
The research project proposes a multidisciplinary approach to analyse one of the most significant innovations of Eurasian early anatomically modern humans (AMH): the use of a complex projectile technology manufactured from animal raw material and its potential role in AMH’s successful colonisation of Eurasia. The emergence of complex projectiles propelled by mechanical aids is a phenomenon that is critical to assess the appearance of symbolically mediated behaviour (SMB), subsistence aspects and dispersals of AMH out of Africa. However, at present it is poorly understood as research on the Early Upper Palaeolithic (EUP) (c. 45,000-30,000 years ago) has mainly focused on chronology and lithic technology. Osseous artefacts were most intensely studied when in the context of symbolism and less in related to hunting technologies, although complex projectile technology is also assumed to be a critical proxy to assess SMB.
split-based and simple based points from Abri Poisson, Manot Cave and Satsurblia (© José-Miguel Tejero)
Aims of the project
The main aim of the project is to build an inferential model on the role played by osseous projectile technology in the adaptative success of the AMH in Eurasia at the EUP by combining data of the following specific goals:
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To characterise the technology of EUP osseous hunting weapons in Eurasia.
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To identify the raw material (bone/antler) and the animal species exploited to fabricate them.
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To refine the chrono-cultural context of the emergence of complex hunting weapon technology.
sampling projectile points for DNA (© Olivia Cheronet and José-Miguel Tejero)
Archaeological
Sites
SouthWestern Europe
Isturitz
La Quina-aval
La Ferrassie
Abri poisson
Cro-Magnon
Les Rois
Caucasus
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Satsurblia
Dzudzuana
Kotias Klde
Central Europe
Willendorf II
Mladec
Tischofehole
The Levant
Manot Cave
Hayonim Cave
Kebara
Ksar Akil
Nahal Rahaf II
Satsurblia Cave. Georgia (© Anna Belfer-Cohen)
TEAM MEMBERS
José-Miguel TEJERO
University of Vienna
Principal Investigator
Bone tools technology;
Ancient DNA applied to organic tools study
Ron
PINHASI
University of Vienna
Co-Applicant of
the FWF project
Archaeology;
Ancient DNA
Omry
BARZILAI
Israel Antiquities Authority
Collaborator
Archaeology of the Levant
Anna
BELFER-COHEN
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Collaborator
Archaeology of the Levant and the Caucasus
Elisabetta
BOARETTO
Weizmann Institute of Science
Collaborator
Chronology
Matthew
COLLINS
University of Cambridge
Collaborator
Palaeoproteomics
Olivia
CHERONET
University of Vienna
Collaborator
Ancient DNA analyses
Pere
GELABERT
University of Vienna
Collaborator
Ancient DNA analyses
Nino
JAKELI
Georgian National Museum
Collaborator
Archaeology of the Caucasus
Ofer
MARDER
Ber-Sheva University
Collaborator
Archaeology of the Levant
Tengiz
MESHVELIANI
Georgian National Museum
Collaborator
Archaeology of the Caucasus
Philip
NIGST
University of Vienna
Collaborator
Archaeology of Central Europe
Rivka
RABINOVICH
Te Hebrew University
of Jerusalem
Collaborator
Zooarchaeoology of the Levant
Catherine
Schwab
Musée d'Archéologie National de France
Collaborator
French Archaeology
Reuven
YESHURUN
University of Haifa
Collaborator
Zooarchaeology of the Levant
Brina
ZAGORC
University of Vienna
Collaborator
Ancient DNA analyses
Aman
KANG
University of Cambridge
Collaborator
Palaeoproteomics
Frido
WELKER
University of Copenhagen
Collaborator
Palaeoproteomics
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Tejero, J.-M., Bar-Oz, G., Meshveliani, T., Jekeli, N., Mastkevich, Z., Pinhasi, R., Belfer-Cohen, A. 2021. New insights on Upper Palaeolithic personal ornaments of the Caucasus. Teeth and bones pendants from Satsurblia and Dzudzuana caves (Imereti. Georgia). PLOS ONE 6 (11): e0258974.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/authors?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0258974
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Tejero, J.-M., Cheronet, O., Gelabert, P., Zagorc, B., Alvarez, E., Averbouh, A., Bar-Oz, G., Belfer-Cohen, A., Bosch, M. D., Brück, F., Cueto, M., Dockner, M., Fullola, J. M., Gáraten, D., Giannakoulis, M., González, C., Jakeli, N., Managado, X., Meshveliani, T., Jekeli, N., Neruda, P., Nigst, P. R., Simkova, P., Tapia, J., Sánchez dde la Torre, M., Schwab, C., Weber, G., Pinhasi, R. 2023. A minimally-invasive method for ancient DNA sampling of Prehistoric bone and antler tools and hunting weapons.Biorxiv.
​ https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.02.535282v1
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Yeshurum, R., Doyon, L., Tejero, J.-M., Walter, R., Huber, H., Andrews, R., Kitagawa, K. 2024. Identifcation and quantifcation of projectile impact marks on bone: new experimental insights using osseous points. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 16:43
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-024-01944-3​
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PUBLICATIONS
CONTACT
ADDRESS
José-Miguel Tejero
Department of Evolutionary Anthropology
Faculty of Life Sciences
University of Vienna
Djerassiplatz 1. 1030 Vienna (Austria)
Email: jose.miguel.tejero@univie.ac.at
Tel: 0043-1-4277-54708
For general questions, please complete the following form:
