Category Archives: WORLD

EUROPE, FRANCE, WORLD

Have France’s First Arrows Been Found?

Have France’s First Arrows Been Found?

Have France’s First Arrows Been Found?
The researchers made replicas of the stone points using local flint, and incorporated them into spears and arrows.

A 54,000-year-old cave site in southern France holds hundreds of tiny stone points, which researchers say closely resemble other known arrowheads — including replicas that they tested on dead goats.

The discovery, reported on 22 February in Science Advances1, suggests that the first Homo sapiens to reach Europe hunted with bows and arrows. But it also raises the question of why Neanderthals — which occupied the Grotte Mandrin rock shelter in the Rhône Valley before and after Homo sapiens — never adopted these superior weapons.

Last year, researchers excavating Grotte Mandrin claimed that the site held the earliest known evidence of Homo sapiens in Europe2. In one of the cave’s archaeological levels, known as layer E, researchers co-led by cultural anthropologist Ludovic Slimak at the University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès in France identified a child’s tooth and thousands of stone tools. They concluded that the child had been a Homo sapiens.

Among the tools were hundreds of tiny points, many of which were as small as 1 centimetre wide, weighed only a few grams and were nearly identical in shape and size.

The smallest points were similar to other arrowheads made by ancient and modern humans, and some contained similar fractures and other damage at their tips, which could have been created by high-velocity impact.

Spears and arrows

The researchers made dozens of replica points from flint found near the rock shelter, and fashioned them into bows and arrows using wood and other materials. They also made thrusting spears and spear-thrower darts. They used the weapons to stab or shoot at dead goats.

Some of the larger points could have been used effectively with spears or darts. But only a bow and arrow could have generated the force needed to wound or kill an animal with the smallest points, says Laure Metz, an archaeologist at Aix-Marseille University in France who co-led the latest study with Slimak. “It’s not possible to use these tiny points with something other than a bow and arrow.”

Some archaeologists think the Grotte Mandrin shelter contains the earliest known evidence for Homo sapiens in Europe.

Grotte Mandrin contains many horse bones, and Metz suspects that humans sheltering in the cave hunted these animals as well as bison migrating through the Rhône Valley.

The team has found a horse femur with damage consistent with a stone point, and Metz dreams of finding an arrow point embedded in an animal bone.

“This is as solid as it gets,” says John Shea, an archaeologist at Stony Brook University in New York. “They’ve made a more convincing case that these things are arrows, than cases have been made for arrows in data from the last 12,000 years.”

Neanderthal puzzle

Above and below Grotte Mandrin’s layer E, researchers have found Neanderthal teeth and DNA, along with stone tools characteristic of the extinct group.

Slimak’s team contends that layer E represents an early but short-lived incursion of Homo sapiens into Neanderthal territory, more than 10,000 years before the species permanently settled in Europe. Not all archaeologists agree.

If Homo sapiens did make the stone points in layer E, it’s not clear why Neanderthals in the region and elsewhere did not pick up bow-and-arrow technology, as far as anyone can tell. Some researchers have speculated that Neanderthals lacked the cognitive capacity to use projectiles, a difference that might have helped humans to out-compete Neanderthals for scarce game.

But Metz doubts that that is the reason. She wonders whether cultural traditions explain why Neanderthals seem never to have used bows and arrows.

Marie Soressi, an archaeologist at the University of Leiden, the Netherlands, agrees that the Neanderthals living at Grotte Mandrin didn’t leave arrow points behind. But she wonders whether evidence for bow and arrow use might be found elsewhere. “I would find it very strange if Neanderthals were so conservative that they would not copy mechanically propelled weapons used by other humans.”

EUROPE, ITALY, WORLD

New Thoughts on an Unusual Burial in Sardinia

New Thoughts on an Unusual Burial in Sardinia

New Thoughts on an Unusual Burial in Sardinia
Archaeologists have dated the unusual face-down burial of the young woman at the Monte Luna necropolis in Sardinia to late in the third century B.C. or early in the second century B.C.

The strange facedown burial of a young woman, who likely had a nail driven into her skull around the time she died in Sardinia more than 2,000 years ago, could be the result of ancient beliefs about epilepsy, according to new research.

The facedown burial may indicate that the individual suffered from a disease, while an unusual nail-shaped hole in the woman’s skull may be the result of a remedy that sought to prevent epilepsy from spreading to others — a medical belief at the time, according to a study coming out in the April issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

Epilepsy is now known to be a brain condition that can’t be transmitted to other people, but at the time the woman died, “The idea was that the disease that killed the person in the grave could be a problem for the entire community,” said study co-author Dario D’Orlando, an archaeologist and historian at the University of Cagliari in Sardinia.

The tomb is one of more than 120 Punic tombs at the Monte Luna necropolis in southern Sardinia, which was established after the sixth century B.C. and was used until the second century B.C.

The unusual burial was found in a tomb in the Necropolis of Monte Luna, a hill located about 20 miles (30 kilometers) north of Cagliari in the southern part of Sardinia. The burial ground was first used by Punic people after the sixth century B.C. and continued in use until the second century B.C.

Punic necropolis

The latest study found evidence of blunt-force trauma to the woman’s head, possibly from falling, and a square hole that appears to have been made by an ancient nail.

The Monte Luna necropolis was excavated in the 1970s, and the latest study is based on photographs of the tomb and a new examination of the woman’s skeleton.

Pottery in the tomb suggests she was buried in the last decade of the third century B.C. or the first decades of the second century B.C. — a time when Sardinia, a center of Punic or Phoenician culture for hundreds of years, had come under Roman rule since the end of the First Punic War against Carthage, which took place from 264 B.C. to 241 B.C. 

And a new analysis of the young woman’s skeleton — based on her pelvis, teeth and other bones — confirmed an earlier estimate that she was between 18 and 22 years old when she died.

It also showed she had suffered trauma to her skull shortly before or around the time she died. The archaeologists found evidence of two types of trauma: blunt-force trauma, which could have occurred during an accidental fall — possibly during an epileptic seizure — and a sharp-force injury in the form of a square hole in her skull consistent with an impact by an ancient Roman nail; such nails have been found at several archaeological sites in Sardinia.

D’Orlando said the sharp-force injury by a nail may have been inflicted after the woman’s death to prevent the perceived “contagion” of her epilepsy.

The authors suggest the woman’s skull may have been pierced by an ancient nail with a square cross-section, like this one, to prevent the spread of the perceived “contagion” of epilepsy.

Medical beliefs in ancient Sardinia

Such treatment may have been based on a Greek belief that certain diseases were caused by “miasma” — bad air — that would have been known throughout the Mediterranean at that time, D’Orlando said.

The same remedy is described in the first century A.D. by the Roman general and natural historian Gaius Plinius Secundus — known as Pliny the Elder — who recommended nailing body parts after a death from epileptic seizures to prevent the spread of the condition, the authors reported.

D’Orlando suggested that this practice of nailing the skull, and perhaps the woman’s unusual facedown burial, could be explained by the introduction of new Roman ideas, which were heavily influenced by ancient Greek ideas, into rural Sardinia.

The tomb was excavated in the 1970s and the latest study is based on photographs and a new analysis of the bones it contained, in particular the young woman’s skull.

But Peter van Dommelen, an archaeologist at Brown University who wasn’t involved in the study, said the culture in Sardinia stayed resolutely Punic in spite of Roman rule.

“Culturally speaking, and particularly in rural places like here, the island remains Punic,” he said. “There’s no reason to look at the Roman world for affinities — what people were doing was entirely guided by Punic traditions.”

Van Dommelen has not heard of similar burials in Sardinia, but “it’s interesting,” he said. “It fits with a broader pattern that you can see across the world and across cultures.”

EUROPE, WORLD

Archaeologists Discover Homes Of The Builders Of Europe’s First Monuments Made 6,400 Years Ago

Archaeologists Discover Homes Of The Builders Of Europe’s First Monuments Made 6,400 Years Ago

Archaeologists in France have found one of the first residential sites belonging to the prehistoric builders of some of Europe’s first monumental stone structures.

During the Neolithic, people in west-central France built many impressive megalithic monuments such as barrows and dolmens.

While these peoples’ tombs stood the test of time, archaeologists have been searching for their homes for more than a century.

“It has been known for a long time that the oldest European megaliths appeared on the Atlantic coast, but the habitats of their builders remained unknown,” said Dr. Vincent Ard from the French National Center for Scientific Research.

Now, Dr. Ard and a team of researchers working in the Charente department have identified the first known residential site belonging to some of Europe’s first megalithic builders.

The Le Peu enclosure was discovered during an aerial survey in 2011 and has since been the subject of intense research.

The results of this work, published in the journal Antiquity, revealed a palisade encircling several timber buildings built during the fifth millennium BC.

This makes them the oldest wooden structures in the region and the first residential site contemporary with the Neolithic monument makers. At least three homes were found, each around 13 meters long, clustered together near the top of a small hill enclosed by the palisade.

From his hill, the nearby Tusson megalithic cemetery would be visible. This raised the possibility that the inhabitants of Le Peu built the site’s five long mounds. To test this, the archaeologists carried out radiocarbon dating that revealed these monuments are contemporary with Le Peu, suggesting the two sites are linked.

While the people of Le Peu may have built monuments to the dead, they also invested a lot of time and effort in protecting the living. Analysis of the paleosol recovered from the site revealed it was located on a promontory bordered by a marsh. These natural defenses were enhanced by a ditch palisade wall which extended around the site.

The entrance had particularly heavy defenses, guarded by two monumental structures.

These appear to have been later additions, requiring part of the defensive ditch to be filled in.

“The site reveals the existence of unique monumental architectures, probably defensive. This demonstrates a rise in Neolithic social tensions,” said Dr. Ard.

However, these impressive defenses may have proved insufficient as all the buildings at Le Peu appear to have been burnt down around 4400 BC. However, such destruction helped preserve the site.

As such, Dr. Ard and the team hope further research at Le Peu will continue to shed light on the lives of people only known from their monuments to the dead. Already it shows how their residential sites had a monumental scale, never before seen in prehistoric Atlantic society.

CANADA, NORTH AMERICA, WORLD

Swiss Museum Returns Sacred Objects to Canada’s First Nations

Swiss Museum Returns Sacred Objects to Canada’s First Nations

Swiss Museum Returns Sacred Objects to Canada's First Nations
The two representatives of Haudenosaunee Confederation Clayton Logan (Seneca Nation), left, and Brennen Ferguson (Tuscarora Nation), right, hold boxes containing sacred objects during the ceremony of restitution of sacred object to the Haudenosaunee Confederation, at the Museum of Ethnography of Geneva (MEG), in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. The MEG has returned the traditional sacred objects, a mask and a rattle, to the Haudenosaunee after 200 years in Switzerland.

Two artifacts sacred to some of Canada’s Indigenous peoples are now back on home territory after a Swiss museum returned them to the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) confederacy this month. 

The objects, a medicine mask and turtle rattle, had been in the possession of the Geneva Museum of Ethnography (MEG) for nearly 200 years. 

The museum acknowledged last month that the artifacts were originally acquired without consent, noting in a press release it was taking the unprecedented step of returning them as part of its commitment to ensuring both human remains and sacred objects are restored to their rightful owners.

Mohawk elder and activist Kenneth Deer — one of the three men sent to retrieve the objects — said he was “surprised and thankful” for the museum’s co-operation and called the MEG “progressive” for returning the objects without conditions or complications. 

“It was a very quick turnaround because sometimes it takes years to get objects back from a museum, especially from a foreign country. It was a really good experience, and I think it’s a model for other museums to follow,” Deer said in an interview on Friday. 

Deer said the mask was first spotted back in July by Tuscarora Brennen Ferguson, who, along with Deer, is a member of the Haudenosaunee external relations committee. 

In November, the committee wrote a letter requesting the return of artifacts to Canada. The museum and the city of Geneva, which founded the MEG in 1901, approved the request. 

“The museum was very cooperative, and more than that, they were just respectful,” Ferguson said. “(After I first saw the mask), we met with the director, and we asked her for the mask to be taken off public display, and they did it that very same day. We expressed our wishes, and they worked with us completely.”

The Haudenosaunee Confederacy is made up of six nations on both sides of the American and Canadian border: the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Tuscarora, and Seneca.

Deer said the MEG offered to ship the artifacts to Canada at the beginning of the year after obtaining a Swiss export permit, but Haudenosaunee elders objected because of the significance of the mask. 

“It is a medicine mask used in ceremonies for healing, and we regard these masks as living entities that have great healing powers,” Deer said.

So, a delegation was formed consisting of Deer, Ferguson, and 87-year-old Seneca elder Clayton Logan. Together the three flew to Switzerland to retrieve the sacred objects.

“There was a ceremony, and it was all very terrific. There was a lot of media attention, and a lot of people came out. The Canadian ambassador to the United Nations was present. And there were representatives from the United States government, Mexico and Guatemala, and the Swiss, of course,” Deer said. 

Deer said Logan was allowed to burn traditional tobacco during the Feb. 7 ceremony. Deer also gave the museum two Mohawk corn husk dolls, one male and one female, made in Akwesasne.

Meg Director Carine Ayélé Durand issued a press release saying she was very pleased to see the city of Geneva playing an active role in favor of the rights of Indigenous peoples.

“This return of sacred objects was made possible thanks to the relationship we have had with the Haudenosaunee,” Ayélé Durand said in the statement.

She went on to thank the administrative council of the city of Geneva, who she said “made this process extremely smooth and quick.,”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Feb. 18, 2023.

ASIA, CAMBODIA, WORLD

Collection of Crown Jewelry Repatriated to Cambodia

Collection of Crown Jewelry Repatriated to Cambodia

Collection of Crown Jewelry Repatriated to Cambodia
Experts are trying to work out what some of the items were used for

A vast trove of Cambodia’s Angkorian crown jewellery, some dating back to the 7th Century, resurfaced in London last summer, it has been revealed.

The stolen items belonged to British antiquities smuggler Douglas Latchford. Experts say they have never seen most of the jewellery before and are stunned by its existence.

The collection has been secretly returned to Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, and is due to go on display there in the country’s national museum.

Latchford died in 2020 while awaiting trial in the US. His family promised to return his stolen collection to Cambodia after he died, but the authorities did not know what exactly would be handed over or how it would happen.

Brad Gordon, the head of Cambodia’s investigative team, became the first representative of the nation to see the jewellery when he visited London last summer. He told the BBC: “I was driven by a representative of the Latchford family to an undisclosed location. In the parking lot was a vehicle with four boxes inside.

“I felt like crying. I just thought – wow – the crown jewels of ancient Cambodian civilization packed into four boxes in the back of a car.”

When it was all unwrapped, the resurfaced collection was found to contain 77 pieces of gold and jewel-encrusted jewellery, including crowns, belts and earrings. A large bowl is thought to date to the 11th Century and although it has yet to be tested, appears to be made of solid gold. Experts believe it could have been used as a rice bowl for Angkorian royalty.

It’s possible some of the jewellery was looted from temples such as Angkor Wat

One of the crowns appears to be from the pre-Angkorian period, experts believe, and could have been made by artisans in the 7th Century. Other items, including a small sculpted flower, pose a mystery. Experts simply don’t know why it was made or how it was used.

It’s still unclear exactly how and when the jewellery was stolen and how it made its way to London. Many of the items can be matched to stone carvings in the walls of Angkor Wat, a Unesco World Heritage Site. The largest religious monument in the world, its construction began in 1122 as a dedication to the Hindu god Vishnu, though it transitioned into a Buddhist temple decades later.

Angkor Wat was heavily looted during the French colonial period. However, many of Cambodia’s other temples were looted during the Khmer Rouge era in the 1970s, and the turmoil that continued for decades.

Archaeologist Sonetra Seng studied Angkorian jewellery for years by examining temple carvings. Finally, she can hold the real thing.

“The jewellery proves what was on the carvings and what was rumoured is really true. Cambodia was really, really rich in the past,” she says. “Still, I can’t believe it, especially that it’s from one single collection found abroad.”

Archaeologist Sonetra Seng recognised some of the jewellery from temple carvings

Some of the jewellery had surfaced before; Douglas Latchford included five items from the collection in a book titled Khmer Gold that he co-wrote with his collaborator, Emma Bunker, in 2008. Khmer antiquities expert Ashley Thompson describes this book and two others as elaborate sales brochures, giving private collectors a taste of what was being sold illegally behind the scenes.

“Publishing these materials, inviting other scholars to contribute and comparing the items to museum pieces was a way of validating them and associating them with known materials already in museums and effectively enhancing their value,” she explained.

Ms Thompson, a professor in South East Asian art at SOAS University of London, says it will take a long time for experts to piece together where the newly discovered jewellery really came from because the book contains so many half-truths.

“You certainly can’t take for granted anything that is said about the provenance or the current ownership,” she explained, as she flipped through the book and pointed to the way in which Latchford and Bunker described the ownership of the different pieces of jewellery. “Private Thai collection, private London collection, private New York collection, private Japanese collection etc. You have to be very wary.”

There were 77 items recovered, some made of solid gold and some encrusted with jewels

The Cambodian authorities believe that more Angkorian jewellery is yet to be found. The Cambodians have evidence from Latchford’s email correspondence that he was attempting to secretly sell the collection from a north London warehouse as late as 2019.

We asked London’s Metropolitan Police if Latchford’s UK associates are also being investigated. They declined to comment – noting they do not identify anyone under investigation prior to being charged with a criminal offence.

Last year, the BBC travelled to Cambodia to meet looters turned government witnesses who identified items they say they stole from temples and sold to Latchford. Some of those items have been matched by investigators to museum pieces that are now in respected UK institutions like the British Museum and the V&A.

One of the women the BBC interviewed then – nicknamed Iron Princess – will also work to help identify some of the jewellery.

For now, the collection’s return will be welcomed by the country’s autocratic leader, Hun Sen. An election is coming up in July, and since his ruling party has effectively dismantled the opposition, this development will be painted as something Hun Sen has done to benefit his people.

Politics aside, ordinary Cambodians want all the looted items back. After decades hidden inside dusty boxes, they will soon go on public display in Phnom Penh, allowing this jewellery to shine once again.

NORTH AMERICA, U.S.A, WORLD

Live Civil War Shell Discovered at Pennsylvania Battlefield

Live Civil War Shell Discovered at Pennsylvania Battlefield

Live Civil War Shell Discovered at Pennsylvania Battlefield
Historic ordnance discovered by archaeologists at Little Round Top in Gettysburg.

Archaeologists working at a historic battlefield at Gettysburg recently made an explosive find: a live 160-year-old artillery shell that had to be detonated by a specially trained U.S. Army disposal team.

The shell was found on Feb. 8 at Little Round Top, a hill that offered Union forces a strategic position during the Civil War. On July 2, 1863, the second day of the three-day Battle of Gettysburg, the North and the South struggled for 90 minutes to control Little Round Top, leaving thousands of soldiers dead.

The rocky hill was not, however, an ideal platform for an artillery offensive, as Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee suggested in his 1864 report about the Gettysburg campaign. Lee reported that Confederate Gen. Longstreet was delayed by Union forces firing from Little Round Top, but Longstreet decided to go around them rather than attempt to take the hill.

An 18-month-long rehabilitation project is currently taking place at Little Round Top as the National Park Service works to preserve and protect the battlefield landscape and to add new signage for Gettysburg visitors.

Archaeologist Steven Brann and his team from Stantec, a consultancy company that also performs archaeological work, were sweeping the area with metal detectors when they hit on something nearly 2 feet (0.6 meter) underground. “It is standard procedure to use metal detectors on battlefields,” Brann told Live Science in an email.

The unexploded round they discovered was about 7 inches (18 centimeters) long and weighed about 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms). “There are procedures in place in case such objects are found,” Brann explained.

Ultimately, the Army’s 55th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company (EOD) from Fort Belvoir, Virginia, was called in to remove the shell and destroy it safely.

“Unexploded ordnance still found on the battlefield is a fairly unique circumstance,” Jason Martz, a spokesperson for Gettysburg National Military Park, told Live Science in an email. “It’s only the fifth found since 1980.” 

“Most of the objects we find are much smaller, such as percussion caps, bullets, and uniform buttons,” Brann said. “Much of what we find turns out to be modern trash or objects that were discarded during the construction of monuments, such as iron straps and nails.” Still, these artifacts are not usually discovered unless excavation is happening. And as evidenced by the current find, excavation at a battlefield can be dangerous.

“Archaeology work is always completed before any ground disturbance takes place, and it’s a federal offense to dig or metal detect for these items by the general public,” Martz said.

Many commenters and history buffs on the Gettysburg National Military Park’s Facebook post lamented the fact that the ordnance — which Capt.

Matthew Booker, commander of the EOD, identified as a 3-inch Dyer or Burton shell for a rifled cannon — had to be destroyed. 

Nonetheless, “this particular shell hasn’t told us its whole story yet,” Martz said. The park is researching the shell and its discovery location in greater detail now, trying to figure out, for example, whether it was fired by Union or Confederate troops, and will release that information to the public when it is available. 

“The fact that this shell was found nearly 160 years after the Battle of Gettysburg is a very powerful and tangible connection to the past,” Martz added. “It also reminds us that the battlefield still has stories to tell.”

ASIA, JAPAN, WORLD

Lost World War II-Era Submarine Identified

Lost World War II-Era Submarine Identified

Lost World War II-Era Submarine Identified
Though conditions made it difficult to obtain high-quality imagery, the ROV footage revealed enough details to confirm the wreck as the USS Albacore (NHHC)

Naval History and Heritage Command has confirmed the identity of a wrecked submarine off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan, as the lost USS Albacore (SS 218).

NHHC’s Underwater Archaeology Branch (UAB) worked with Dr. Tamaki Ura of the University of Tokyo to confirm the identity of Albacore, which was lost at sea on Nov. 7, 1944.

“As the final resting place for Sailors who gave their life in defense of our nation, we sincerely thank and congratulate Dr. Ura and his team for their efforts in locating the wreck of Albacore,” said NHHC Director Samuel J. Cox, U.S. Navy rear admiral (retired). “It is through their hard work and continued collaboration that we could confirm Albacore’s identity after being lost at sea for over 70 years.”

USS Albacore off Mare Island, 1944 (NHHC)

Albacore was built by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, CT and commissioned on June 1, 1942. She conducted 11 war patrols and is credited with 10 confirmed enemy vessel sinkings (and potentially as many as three more unconfirmed).

Six of the ten enemy sinkings were enemy combatant ships, ranking her as one of the most successful submarines against enemy combatants during the war. These include the light cruiser Tenryu and the aircraft carrier Taiho. 

USS Albacore departed Pearl Harbor for her final patrol in October 1944, and she and her crew were never heard from again. Japanese war records indicated that an American submarine had hit a naval mine near the coast of Hokkaido on Nov. 7, 1944, and related documents from the Japan Center for Asian Historical Records (JACAR) guided Dr. Ura’s missions.

The location mentioned in the records lined up with an independent effort by UAB volunteers to find the location of the shipwreck.

Dr. Ura’s team visited the site with an ROV team to confirm the historical data. Strong currents, marine growth, and poor visibility made it challenging to get good imagery of the wreck, but several key structural elements stood out and allowed the team to make a positive identification. 

In particular, the ROV video footage showed documented modifications made to Albacore before her last patrol, including an SJ radar dish and mast, a row of vent holes along the top of the superstructure, and the lack of steel plates along the upper edge of the fairwater. These were unique enough that the team could confirm the wreck as the Albacore.

Like other lost U.S. naval vessels, Albacore is a protected site, under the jurisdiction of NHHC. “Most importantly, the wreck represents the final resting place of sailors who gave their life in defense of the nation and should be respected by all parties as a war grave,” the agency noted. 

Locating lost wrecks can add detail to historical records, but it also has meaning for the families of the fallen. William Bower II, the son of Albacore engineering officer Lt. William Walter Bower, told CNN that the knowledge helped bring him closure. 

“I know that he was lost somewhere off the coast of Japan,” said an emotional Bower. “But to actually know the spot where the remnants of the submarine are is much more meaningful.”

EUROPE, NORWAY, WORLD

Archaeologists surprised when 3,500 year old arrowheads made of shells melted out of the ice in the Norwegian mountains

Archaeologists surprised when 3,500 year old arrowheads made of shells melted out of the ice in the Norwegian mountains

Archaeologists surprised when 3,500 year old arrowheads made of shells melted out of the ice in the Norwegian mountains
The arrowheads of freshwater pearl mussel were found together with shafts and sinew. The scale at the bottom of the photo shows millimeters.

Unique arrowheads made of freshwater pearl mussel have melted out of the ice in the mountains in Jotunheimen in Norway. Arrowheads like this have not been found anywhere else in the world, according to archaeologist.

They were in use only a couple of hundred years, and nobody knows why.

“Why they chose to use shells to make arrowheads is something to ponder,” says archaeologist Lars Pilø.

“Folks at the time did have access to stone which can be used to make arrowheads, and they also used bone and antlers,” he says.

Melting out of the ice

Pilø is an archaeologist in Innlandet County Municipality where he heads the renowned glacier archaeological program Secrets of the Ice. Archaeologists have collected several thousands of finds from glaciers and ice patches in the Norwegian mountains since the onset of the program in 2011.

Arrowheads made of shell is breaking news, according to glacial archaeologist Lars Pilø.

“Our glacial archaeologists were very surprised when the first arrowhead made from mussel shells melted out the ice. Now they have found a total of three,” Pilø tells sciencenorway.no.

In addition, some such arrowheads have been found in two other locations in mid-Norway.

“We have also found arrow shafts with the same type of fixing. These have most likely also had shell arrowheads,” Pilø says.

The archaeologists have also found the sinew used to bind the arrowheads. At the other end of the arrow, the shaft has been fitted with feathers. The arrowheads are probably made out of freshwater pearl mussels – Margaritifera margaritifera.

Short time period

The finds were made in a small area, and stem from a short time period.

“This has been a short-lived tradition, from the Early Bronze Age around 3,700 to 3,500 years ago,” Pilø says.

The freshwater pearl mussels have probably not existed in the areas where the arrowheads were found. The arrows have apparently been made in the lowlands, and then hunters have brought them up in the mountains to go hunting.

When several thousands of years old ice melts, archaeologists are finding incredibly well-preserved items.

“Objects that have been encapsulated in the ice have in a way become frozen in time. They don’t age. This way also the organic material is preserved,” Pilø explains.

A different kind of find

Professor of archaeology Christopher Prescott at the University of Oslo also talks about these unique conditions of preservation:

Archaeologist Christopher Prescott does not know of other finds of arrows made of shell.

“Mountain archaeology has a long history in Norway. The interesting things is that they can find these organic components,” he says.

Usually, when archaeologists excavate an open area, they only find the hardest materials.

“We know that human culture also consists of many other things. I have myself found pearls made from mother of pearl which were more than 4,000 years old. Shells are a part of this type of find, but as far as I know this is one of few or perhaps the first time that such arrowheads made from shells have been found,” Prescott says.

Going hunting

And in keeping with this, Lars Pilø talks about the find as breaking news.

“Arrowheads made from mussels were completely unknown in Norway before the melting started, and they have not been found anywhere else in the world,” he says.

What archaeologists do not know yet, however, is what it was like to go hunting with shell arrowheads.

“The only way to find out is to do experimental archaeology, meaning we will make and try to shoot with a few different types of arrowheads,” Pilø says.

“For the hunter this was about needing the arrowhead to penetrate the animal and create a proper wound. I would imagine that sharp mussels are quite well suited to do so,” he says.