Abstract
The three main types of tanged flint arrowheads (A, B, and C) characteristic of the Neolithic Pitted Ware hunter, fisher and gatherers of southwestern Scandinavia are traditionally viewed as chronological conditioned. However, recent studies have shown their simultaneity during the early 3rd millennium BC. Based on a study of more than 1500 arrowheads from Denmark and western Sweden, this paper explains the stylistic variation of the Pitted Ware arrowheads as functional determined representing two main categories: relatively short and wide hunting arrowheads (type A) and long and slender war arrowheads (type C). Type B represents a multifunctional group of arrowheads that mixes features from type A and C. Furthermore, diverging production schemes (schema opératoire) used for the shaping of hunting arrowheads has helped to identify social groupings within the larger southwestern Scandinavian Pitted Ware complex and contact across the Kattegat during the Middle Neolithic.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of Anthropological Archaeology |
| Volume | 44 |
| Pages (from-to) | 69-86 |
| ISSN | 0278-4165 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2016 |
Keywords
- Faculty of Humanities
- Middle Neolithic
- Pitted Ware culture
- Arrowheads
- Stylistic variation
- Lithic technology
- Schema opératoire
- Southwestern Scandinavia
- Cultural contacts
- Group identity
- Neolithic warfare
