![]() Most of the hooks were fragmented, consisting either of the shaft or the bend. As shown on Figure 3, few hooks were complete. The hooks were barbless and often have several small notches at the shaft, presumably for fastening the line. The Middle Mesolithic fishhooks vary slightly in size, but are overall considered small, measuring approximately 3 cm long on average (See Figures 3, 4). The main objectives of the experiments were to (i) attain hands-on understanding of the properties of roe-deer bones and the production process, (ii) to test whether it was possible to manufacture small fishhooks from roe deer metapodials using Middle Mesolithic lithic tools, and (iii) to achieve knowledge of the time and skills needed for the task.įishhooks of the NE-Skagerrak area: types and manufacture technique Preliminary results from experiments with the manufacture of bone fishhooks made from roe deer metapodials will be presented and discussed in this paper. Taking the size of the fishhooks as our point of departure, we decided to conduct an experiment using a bone element that corresponded with the size of the hook the metapodials of roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus). The majority of hooks in the NE Skagerrak region are however small (c.3cm long). Bone fishhooks have previously been replicated from metapodials of red deer ( Cervus elaphus) and elk ( Alces alces) (Bakkevig, 2003 Mansrud 2017 Clausen, 2018). ![]() The properties of bone as well as their morphological shape, size and thickness guides the transformation of a bone element into artefact (David, 2007, p.39). From this, we can gradually build knowledge of the regional and chronological distribution of raw materials and techniques (Bergsvik and David, 2015).īone debitage has been essential for identifying fishhook-manufacture and other forms of bone-tool production in archaeological assemblages from various geographical regions. By employing the CO-approach systematically, we gain insight into the technical practice conducted at the site level. The ultimate goals of CO-analysis are to explore the implications of technology for the social organization and reproduction of crafts in prehistoric societies. Bone debitage, in combination with experimental replication, facilitate the identification of the different steps of the manufacture process, or chaîne opératoires and distinguish between different production concepts which are prerequisites for archaeological interpretations (David, 1999 2007). Different technical procedures generate specific types of production debris. Several researchers have demonstrated the usefulness of technological studies set within the chaîne opératoire (CO) framework for analysing Mesolithic bone industries. Hence, in this paper, experimental replication was considered as a viable method to acquire novel information of fishhook manufacture and from which species and bone element they were made from. Burnt fishhooks are neither suited for raw-material identification by ZooMS (Buckley, et al., 2009). Thus, in many cases it was difficult to ascertain which osseous raw material was utilized, how the hooks were manufactured, and which skills were needed. ![]() ![]() The animal bones and the fishhooks were heavily fragmented, often burnt and/or weathered (See Figures 2, 3). However, most of the bone assemblages are not well preserved. It has been assumed that species within the deer family (Cervidae) provided the raw material for the fishhooks in the north-eastern Skagerrak region. Fishhooks can be manufactured from different osseous materials, including antler, ribs and shafts of different long bones of large ruminants (Bergsvik and David, 2015, p.208 Clausen, 2018 David, 1999, p.123). Several studies of fishhooks from these sites have been undertaken in recent years (Jonsson, 1996 Mansrud, 2017 Mansrud and Persson, 2017). BC) in Southern Norway and Western Sweden (the north-eastern Skagerrak region, Figure 1).
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