ZooMS, radiocarbon dating, and techno-typological re-assessment casts doubt on the supposed Late Glacial Husum LA11 skin boat fragment
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ZooMS, radiocarbon dating, and techno-typological re-assessment casts doubt on the supposed Late Glacial Husum LA11 skin boat fragment. / Wild, Markus; Jensen, Theis Zetner Trolle; Lübke, Harald; Hartz, Sönke; Hüls, Matthias; Nikulina, Elena A.; Weber, Mara Julia.
In: Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Vol. 49, 103885, 2023.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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T1 - ZooMS, radiocarbon dating, and techno-typological re-assessment casts doubt on the supposed Late Glacial Husum LA11 skin boat fragment
AU - Wild, Markus
AU - Jensen, Theis Zetner Trolle
AU - Lübke, Harald
AU - Hartz, Sönke
AU - Hüls, Matthias
AU - Nikulina, Elena A.
AU - Weber, Mara Julia
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - In 1904 a large antler fragment was dredged from Husum Harbour, Germany. Based on the original morphological assessment, the artefact was considered a fragment of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) antler. This species disappeared from northern Germany around the end of the Preboreal Oscillation (9250 BCE). However, the majority of finds from the site were associated with the much later Ertebølle period (5100–4100 BCE). In the 1980s D. Ellmers suggested that it was part of the frame of a Final Palaeolithic skin boat (∼umiak). As such it was considered evidence of early seafaring and found its way into maritime archaeology. Here we present a typological re-determination of the antler as bâton percé as well as new radiocarbon dates and species identification using ZooMS. We show that the antler dates to the Ertebølle period, making it coeval with the finds associated with it. Further, we show that the antler did not come from a reindeer but rather from a red deer (Cervus elaphus). The former hypothesis that it was part of a Final Palaeolithic skin boat frame can then be rejected.
AB - In 1904 a large antler fragment was dredged from Husum Harbour, Germany. Based on the original morphological assessment, the artefact was considered a fragment of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) antler. This species disappeared from northern Germany around the end of the Preboreal Oscillation (9250 BCE). However, the majority of finds from the site were associated with the much later Ertebølle period (5100–4100 BCE). In the 1980s D. Ellmers suggested that it was part of the frame of a Final Palaeolithic skin boat (∼umiak). As such it was considered evidence of early seafaring and found its way into maritime archaeology. Here we present a typological re-determination of the antler as bâton percé as well as new radiocarbon dates and species identification using ZooMS. We show that the antler dates to the Ertebølle period, making it coeval with the finds associated with it. Further, we show that the antler did not come from a reindeer but rather from a red deer (Cervus elaphus). The former hypothesis that it was part of a Final Palaeolithic skin boat frame can then be rejected.
KW - Early Seafaring
KW - Mesolithic
KW - Osseous technology
KW - Radiocarbon dating
KW - ZooMS
U2 - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.103885
DO - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.103885
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85152656493
VL - 49
JO - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
JF - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
SN - 2352-409X
M1 - 103885
ER -
ID: 344795066