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Making a Point: a Critical Review of the Barbed Point Manufacturing Process Practised at Star Carr

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2013

Ben Elliott  and
Nicky Milner
Ben Elliott
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, The Kings Manor, University of York, York, YO1 7EP
Nicky Milner
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, The Kings Manor, University of York, York, YO1 7EP
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Abstract

Star Carr, North Yorkshire, has the largest deposition of Mesolithic antler barbed points in the country; in fact it accounts for roughly 97% of all Early Mesolithic barbed points known in Britain. There has been much debate about whether barbed point manufacture occurred at the site or elsewhere within the landscape but the process of manufacturing has never been examined in great detail. This paper presents a new evaluation based on analysis of museum collections, recent excavations and experimental work and concludes that there is evidence to suggest that the full manufacturing process took place at Star Carr.

Résumé

Star Carr, dans l'est du Yorkshire, a le plus important dépôt de pointes barbelées en andouiller du pays, en fait, il représente en gros 97% de toutes les pointes barbelées du début du mésolithique connues en Grande-Bretagne. On a beaucoup discuté pour savoir si la fabrication de pointes barbelées se déroulait sur le site ou ailleurs dans le paysage mais le procédé de fabrication n'a jamais été examiné très en détails. Cette étude propose une nouvelle évaluation qui repose sur l'analyse des collections des musées, de récentes fouilles et des travaux expérimentaux, elle en conclut qu'il existe des témoignages qui donnent à penser que l'ensemble du procédé de fabrication se déroulait à Star Carr.

Résumen

Star Carr, en el este de Yorkshire, tiene la deposición más alta de puntas dentadas de cornamenta de ciervo del periodo mesolítico de todo el país, de hecho representa más o menos un 97% de todas las puntas dentadas del primer mesolítico conocidas en Gran Bretaña. Ha habido mucho debate sobre si la fabricación de puntas dentadas ocurrió en el yacimiento o en otra parte dentro del paisaje pero nunca se ha examinado en gran detalle el proceso de su fabricación. Este estudio presenta una nueva evaluación basada en el análisis de las colecciones en museos, de excavaciones recientes y de trabajo experimental, y concluye que hay evidencia que sugiere que el proceso de fabricación completo ocurrió en Star Carr.

Zusammenfassung

Aus Star Carr, East Yorkshire, stammt die größte Fundmenge mesolithischer Widerhakenspitzen aus Geweih, sie umfasst etwa 97% aller frühmesolithischen Widerhakenspitzen, die aus Großbritannien bekannt sind. Es wurde ausführlich diskutiert, ob diese Geräte vor Ort oder anderswo in der Region hergestellt wurden, jedoch wurde der eigentliche Prozess der Herstellung nie besonders detailliert untersucht. Dieser Beitrag präsentiert eine Neubewertung, die auf Analysen von Museumssammlungen, jüngsten Ausgrabungen sowie experimentellen Untersuchungen basiert. Er kommt zu dem Schluss, dass es Belege gibt, die erkennen lassen, dass der komplette Herstellungsprozess in Star Carr stattfand.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society , Volume 76 , 2010 , pp. 75 - 94
Copyright
Copyright © The Prehistoric Society 2010

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