Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 7-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

The effect of edge serration on the performance of stone-tip projectiles: an experimental case study of the Maros Point from Holocene South Sulawesi

The effect of edge serration on the performance of stone-tip projectiles: an experimental case... Serrated stone points have been documented in a variety of archaeological settings worldwide. In Indonesia, serrated points known as Maros point began to appear during the mid-Holocene as part of the Toalean techno-complex in southern South Sulawesi. Researchers have speculated functional and cultural reason behind the emergence of these distinctive artefact as projectile points, an assumption that has yet to be verified by archaeological data. In particular, the edge serration has been suggested to allow for deeper penetration and/or act as barbs to prevent the easy withdrawal of the points from the target. In this study, we experimentally test these functional hypotheses regarding the effect of edge serration on stone arrowheads resembling Maros points when fired using different bow draw weights. We also investigate variation in breakage and impact fracture pattern between serrated and non-serrated points. Our result show that, compared to the non-serrated points, the serrated arrows not only deliver deeper penetrations, but also require less force to withdraw from the ballistic gel target. However, these relationships are complicated by the inclusion of skin and bone in the ballistic target. The findings demon- strate that the effect of serrated stone points on projectile performance depends on factors such as the projectile delivery system and prey type. Moreover, under identical firing settings, the serrated points develop more variable macrofracture patterns than the non-serrated points, likely owing the irregular edge morphologies. Taking these results together, we discuss the implications of our experimental study on the appearance of Maros points and the Toalean techno-complex in South Sulawesi during the mid-Holocene. Keywords Projectile point · Serration · Maros point · Experimental archaeology Introduction Among the wide variety of stone points documented in the global archaeological record, there exist a number of point types that feature tooth-like serration along the edge * Anton Ferdianto margins. These serrated points display considerable varia- [email protected] tion in their morphology and occur across diverse temporal Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth, and geographic context (Rots et al. 2017; Smallwood et al. Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, 2018). With the general assumption that these points were Wollongong, NSW, Australia hafted as either knives or projectile tips, hypotheses about Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence the purpose of the serration have involved functional and for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University socio-cultural factors. Yet, very few experimental studies to of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia 3 date have explicitly examined these hypotheses, especially Research Center for Archaeometry, National Research under controlled conditions (Loendorf et al. 2015, 2017). and Innovation Agency, Central Jakarta, Indonesia 4 As such, the reasons for why past toolmakers in disparate Department of Archaeology, University of Hasanuddin, settings converged on application of edge serration on stone Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia 5 points remain poorly understood. Research Center for Prehistory and History, National Research Innovation Agency, Central Jakarta, Indonesia Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 152 Page 2 of 17 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 In Southeast Asia, the Maros point represents a unique According to this definition, the retouch of the Maros point serrated point type associated with the mid-Holocene can either be unifacial or bifacial on at least one of the two Toalean techno-complex in southern South Sulawesi approx- margins, and the retouched edge can be steep but not abrupt imately 8–3.5 ka. (van Heekeren 1972; Glover and Presland enough to resemble backing. Perston et  al. (2021b) also 1985; Bulbeck 2004; Bulbeck et al. 2000; Bellwood 2007; defined the Mallindrung points, which are serrated points Suryatman et al. 2019; Perston et al. 2021a, 2021b). Gener- like the Maros point but lack the concave indented base. ally described as small retouch points that are roughly tri- There also exist non-serrated points in the Toalean includ- angular or ovate in plain view, the Maros point is mainly ing the Lompoa point that has a concave base similar to the characterised by their concave/indented base and serrated Maros points, and the Pangkep point that does not have a margins made up by a series of notches along the edges concave base. It remains unclear if these non-serrated points (Fig. 1; Perston et al. 2021b; Bulbeck et al. 2000; van Heek- represent unfinished preforms or end-product types distinct eren 1957; Mulvaney and Soejono 1971; Bulbeck 2018). from the serrated points. The depth of these notches forming the serration can range As mentioned already, the Toalean stone points are com- from shallow to deep (Perston et al. 2021b). Because of the monly assumed to represent projectile tips, specifically point-like morphology, these artefacts were early described arrowheads (Bulbeck et al. 2000). It is important to point as ‘arrowheads’ (Sarasin and Sarasin 1905). While later out that this assertion remains a hypothesis that has yet to studies have been more conservative in relating the Maros be tested on archaeological data through use-wear analy- point to specific projectile systems (Heekeren 1972), there sis (Maloney et al. 2022). Yet it is important to note that remains a common assumption that Maros points were asso- painted rock art in the region does depict hunting scenes ciated with projectile armature (Bellwood 2007; Hakim et al. involving the probable use of projectile technologies like 2019; see Perston et al. 2021a). A similar assumption of pro- spear thrower as well as bow and arrow (Aubert et al. 2018; jectile and composite technology has also been made about Leihitu and Permana 2018). Thus, the scenario that these other Toalean artefacts types, including backed artefacts, retouched points served as the tips of projectile weaponry in sawlettes, bone points and other forms of retouched stone the past is plausible. Importantly, the serrated margins of the points (Perston et al. 2021b). Maros Point (as well as the Mallindrung point as per Perston The distribution of the Toalean techno-complex in South et  al. (2021b)) are unique among Southeast Asian stone Sulawesi is said to broadly parallel the range of modern day tools, and the technological and functional reason behind Makassar and Bugis language groups (Bulbeck et al. 2000; the production of the serration remain unclear. While there Bulbeck 2004). If this observation is correct, the linguistic are example retouched point types in the region (Forestier correspondence indicates that the distinctive Toalean tool 2007; Forestier et al. 2017; Perston et al. 2021b), there are forms, including the serrated Maros point, may be part of no other examples with edge serration. The geographically a culturally specific technological package particular to the closest example of stone points with similar serrated retouch region (see Perston et al. 2021a for review). However, as is the Kimberly point of north-western Australia. Produced Perston et al. (2021b) noted, there are notable inconsisten- from around 1.4–1 ka until the recent past (Maloney et al. cies in the way the Toalean too types are currently defined 2014; Harrison 2004), these points bear distinctive bifa- in the literature. Take the Maros point as an example, with cially retouch and edge serration finely made by pressure researchers placing varying levels of emphasis on the serra- flaking (Moore 2015). Ethnographic records indicate that tion retouch and/or the presence of the concave base when Kimberly points were manufactured from stone or glass as identifying the tool type in archaeological assemblages. As a spearheads for fighting, hunting and trade purposes (Har - consequence, the distribution of the Toalean techno-complex rison 2004; Akerman et al. 2002). Based on the superficial can vary depending on the definitions employed. To address resemblance between Kimberley points and Maros points, this issue, Perston et al. (2021b) proposed a new classifica- researchers have speculated cultural connections between tion system for the Toalean artefact types. For Maros points, South Sulawesi and Australia during the Holocene (Olsen they defined ‘classic’ Maros points strictly to point-like arte- and Glover 2004). However, compared to Maros points, facts that possess a concave base and denticulated margins. Kimberly points tend to have a rounded base and an overall Fig. 1 Examples of Maros point from excavation at Cappalombo 1 (A, B), Leang Jarie (C) and Leang Paningge (D) in South Sulawesi 1 3 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Page 3 of 17 152 shape that varies from ovate to lanceolate instead of trian- the triangular form of the Maros points may support the pos- gular (Akerman and Bindon 1995). sibility that these serrated points functioned as arrowheads For other instances of serrated stone points, one has to rather than tips of thrown darts. However, the identification look elsewhere in the world. One example is the serrated of weapon velocity and projection system among archaeo- bifacial points found before or during the Still Bay techno- logical stone points remains a contentious matter (Hutchings complex around 77 ka in Southern Africa, at sites such as 2016; Newman and Moore 2013), and further studies are Sibudu and Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter (Rots et al. 2017). needed to clarify the delivery system associated with the There is notable variation in the morphology of these Mid- Maros points of Sulawesi through multiple lines of evidence dle Stone Age serrated points. At Umhlatuzana, Lombard (Coppe et al. 2022; Maloney et al. 2022). et al. (2010; also see Mohapi 2013) noted that the serrated points are relatively long and narrow, with a blade-like mor- Why serrate? phology that is similar to the non-serrated Still Bay points. At Sibudu, however, Rots et al. (2017) described the points Rots et al. (2017) noted that most of the serrated point types to have a general triangular shape with variable size and around the world seem to be restricted in time and space. cross-sectional forms. These variations were attributed to The lack of a more widespread, consistent uptake of ser- the alternation of serration notching and the inu fl ence of raw ration among stone points suggests that the trait does not material. There are also notable differences in the size and offer universal advantage to the performance of stone-tip placement of the serration, as well as the way the notches projectiles. Instead, researchers have proposed culturally were made (bifacial versus unifacial). Based on wear and specific factors to explain the manifestation of serrated residue, these serrated points likely functioned as tips of points, including for ceremonial use, trade, social signal- hunting projectiles (Rots et al. 2017; Lombard 2005; Lom- ling and prestige (Johnson 1940; Akerman and Bindon 1995; bard et al. 2010). Several examples of serrated stone points Loendorf et al. 2015; Maloney 2020; Harrison 2006). For have also been described in North America. The Late Pale- instance, Hoffman (1997) and Loendorf et al. (2015, 2017) oindian Dalton point is a lanceolate point with a concave suggested that the serration on the blade margins of some base that occasionally possesses serration on the lateral mar- Hohokam projectile points in southern Arizona was to inten- gins, though the size and placement of the serration can vary tionally signal group affiliations. Similarly, variation in the (Smallwood et al. 2020). Other serrated point types include production of Kimberley points in Australia has been dis- the Stockton type points in California (Hester and Heizer cussed in terms of the negotiation and maintenance of iden- 1973), the serrated points associated with the Hohokam tity and social relations, as well as the expression of skill and culture in southern Arizona (Loendorf 2013), the stemmed social prestige (Högberg and Lombard 2020; Moore 2011; Scallorn points of the Late Woodland period (Smallwood 2015; Maloney 2020). et al. 2018; Patterson 1996) and the Early Archaic Taylor However, there is arguably a degree of consistency in the points of the East Woodland (White 2019). Again, these design of serration among projectile points that cross-cut point types vary considerably in their size, overall shape cultural context. In their study, Smallwood et al. (2018) used (lanceolate vs. triangular), base (concave vs. stemmed) and geometric morphometric analysis to compare the serration edge modification (serration vs. denticulation). among Dalton and Scallorn points from North American The above examples demonstrate that, beyond the Maros and Kimberley points from Australia. The results show that points of Indonesia, there is considerable geographic and there is no significant difference in the serration among these temporal variation in the occurrence and morphology of distinct point types, implying the possibility that the edge serrated stone points. Assuming that these points were pri- modification was designed for similar functional purposes. marily used as projectile points, some aspects of the mor- From this view, the lack of a ‘selective sweep’ in the uptake phological differences, such as point size and cross-sectional of serration among stone points may be because the func- profile, may be associated with functional factors related to tional advantage associated with edge serration depends on projectile aerodynamics and the delivery system (Christen- the context of use, such as the type of prey hunted, the pro- son 1986; Sitton et al. 2020; Hughes 1998; Eren et al. 2022; jecting system and the shooting distance. Several hypotheses Sisk and Shea 2011). In North America, it has been sug- have been proposed for the functional advantage of projec- gested that the point cross-section area correlates with the tile edge serration. Some suggest that serration increases weapon delivery system, with spear points having the larg- the cutting ability of a knife edge, as the high points on a est cross-sectional area, followed by thrown darts and then serrated edge allow force to be concentrated during cutting arrow heads (Shea 2006). Thus, the emergence of small, for easier penetration (Frazzetta 1988). Thus, it may be that thin, triangular points in North America has been attributed serrated edge margins on projectile points cause deeper pen- to the adoption of bow technology (Blitz and Porth 2013; etration in targets (Ellis 1997). Serration has also been said Hughes 1998). In this vein, the small and thin profile and to produce larger wounds as the edge tears instead of slices 1 3 152 Page 4 of 17 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 through the internal tissues (Frazzetta 1988; Abler 1992; target to cause deeper or greater damage. Returning to the Hughes 1998; Rots et al. 2017). As noted by Smallwood experiments by Loendorf et al. (2015, 2017), the authors et al. (2018), this latter view is supported by forensic studies controlled projectile velocity by using a recurve bow of a showing that serrated knives create significantly different 14-kg draw weight and a 47-cm draw length for all of the wounds to those produced by non-serrated knives, including tested arrows. Given that the draw weight of a bow is usu- striation marks on the skin, cartilage and other soft tissues ally measured at a draw length of 28 in. (or 71 cm), the (Pounder et al. 2011; Thompson and Inglis 2009), which actual draw weight used by Loendorf et al. (2015, 2017) would result in greater damage and bleeding in the target to propel the arrows was likely lower than 14 kg. In com- prey. Similarly, some have argued that the serrated margins parison, although highly variable, ethnographic records of may function like ‘barbs’ to prevent the easy withdrawal bow draw weight show average values between 30 and 50 of the point from the wound (Johnson 1940; Hughes 1998; lbs (14 to 23 kg) at normal draw (Cattelain 1997). There are Sliva 2015), allowing the projectile to cause more damage also examples of bows with exceptionally high draw weight. and bleeding as the animals flee (Catlin 1975; Flenniken For instance, the Hadza of Tanzania uses bows with a draw and Wilke 2016; Cundy 1989). From this perspective, the weight that can reach up to 100 lb (45 kg) (Roth 2004), while serrated margins of the Maros point may reflect a specific the New Guinean hunting bow is estimated to have a 80–90 functional design to enhance the tool’s performance as a lbs draw weight (36–41 kg) (Cattelain 1997). Archaeologi- projectile point. cally, the draw weights of Neolithic bow have been estimated Few experiments to date have explicitly tested the func- to between 24 and 84 lbs, which are in line with the ethno- tional performance of serrated versus non-serrated stone graphic range (Junkmanns 2013; Coppe et al. 2022). points in projectile delivery. Loendorf et al. (2015, 2017) Given that many of the ethnographically documented conducted two controlled experiments examining the effect bows have a draw weight that exceeds the range used by of edge serration on the performance of arrowheads. By fir - Loendorf et al. (2015, 2017), it remains to be investigated ing arrows hafted with either serrated or non-serrated trian- whether the lack of difference in the performance of ser - gular obsidian arrowheads from a fixed recurve bow and a rated and non-serrated points, as observed by Loendorf constant draw weight, the authors showed that there is no et al. (2015, 2017), extends to settings of higher bow draw clear die ff rence in accuracy, penetration depth and durability weight and velocity. Another aspect about the functional between the two arrowhead types. Based on these results, effect of serration points that has yet to be investigated Loendorf et al. (2015, 2017) concluded that edge serration experimentally is the hypothesis that edge serration acts as does not affect the performance of arrowheads. The con- barbs (Johnson 1940; Hughes 1998; Sliva 2015). If this were trolled design and repeated replication employed by Loen- the case, we would expect serrated points to require more dorf et al. (2015, 2017) means that their experimental results force to be removed from the target than non-serrated points. are internally consistent under the tested conditions and are This ‘barb-like’ effect may be further compounded by the unlikely to be confounded by other variables (Lin et al. 2018; presence of bone and hide in the target as these structures Eren et al. 2016). However, their negative finding regarding can be caught by the serrated edge, further preventing the the effect of edge serration is surprising as it goes against the withdrawal of the point. While Loendorf et al. (2015, 2017) range of functional and ethnographic claims that serration did include inelastic material like rawhide and polymethyl- points lead to greater penetration and/or damage. A possible methacrylate on some of the targets used, the authors did explanation for this discrepancy is that the effect of edge ser - not examine the force required to withdraw the arrows from ration is contingent on other factors involved in the projectile the target. delivery process. One possible parameter that influences the In this study, we examine these functional hypotheses performance of serrated projectile points is velocity (Lep- concerning the effect of edge serration with specific refer - ers and Rots 2020). From an aerodynamic perspective, ence to the Maros points of Indonesia, specifically if the protrusions on the edge margin of projectiles like serration Maros points did function as arrowheads. We hypothesise increases surface roughness, causing greater pressure drag that the serrated margin does cause the arrows to penetrate during flight (Hughes 1998). By extension, edge serration deeper into the target than non-serrated arrows when the would also increase penetration resistance upon contact with projectile speed increases through the use of a higher bow the target. As a result, Hughes (1998) suggested that points draw weight, and withdrawing a serrated Maros point arrow with serrations or barbs should be associated with greater requires more force than that for a non-serrated arrow, and projecting velocity in order to offset the increased resistance. this difference in withdrawal force increases with the pres- From this view, it stands to reason that the performance of ence of bone and hide in the target. To test these hypotheses, serrated points as projectile tips may vary depending on the we conducted a controlled ballistic experiment using a setup projecting velocity, such that a certain threshold of velocity similar to that of Loendorf et al. (2015, 2017) to fire arrows is required before the edge serrations can be pushed into the hafted with triangular bifacially retouched arrowheads, half 1 3 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Page 5 of 17 152 serrated to resemble the Maros points and half left unser- form the point (Fig. 2). The serration was done by making rated. The arrows were shot using bows of two different draw small notches evenly spread out along the entire edge on weights at targets of varying structural complexity composed both margins of the points. The size and shape of the arrow- of ballistic gel, pig rib bone and/or fresh pig skin. We further heads and the serration were made to align with the range examined breakage rates and use-wear of the experimental of variation represented among archaeological Maros point arrowheads to see if the serrated and the non-serrated points specimens recovered from multiple Toalean sites (Table 1). differ in their durability and macrofracture pattern associ- The size of the experimental serrated and non-serrated ated with projectile impact. In particular, we assess whether points share no statistical difference in length (Mann–Whit- the serrated margins complicated the formation of impact ney U test: U = 699, p = 0.43), width (Mann–Whitney U fractures typically used as diagnostic markers for projectile test: U = 679.5, p = 0.57), thickness (Mann–Whitney U test: impact and use. The experimental use-wear data are impor- U = 726, p = 0.27) and tip cross-sectional area (Mann–Whit- tant for providing a set of reference for future traceology ney U test: U = 720, p = 0.30). All of the arrowheads were studies of archaeological Maros points. hafted to the end of standardised pine arrow shafts (8 mm in diameter and 32 inch long with a spine of 35–45 lb) with industrial epoxy (Fig. 2). The arrows were fired using an Material and methods Apex Hunting R2 Podium Recurve Bow fitted with 38 lbs Black Sheep Apollo limbs, mounted to a platform secured Experimental design to the ground in order to prevent any movement during fir - ing. During the experiment, the bow string was drawn and A total of 72 arrowheads were made from Texas chert by locked at a set draw length and released via a mechanical using a hammer stone and an antler bopper, and finished trigger device (Fig. 2). This controlled experimental design with a copper-tipped pressure flaker. Half of the arrowheads minimises the influence of human variation on key param- (n = 36) were left unserrated while the other half were fur- eters (e.g. shooting position and angle, draw length) that ther retouched to produce serration on the two edges that can confound the experimental result (Iovita et al. 2014; Fig. 2 Examples of the serrated and non-serrated arrowhead used in the experiments (left), and a schematic illustration of the experimental setup (right) Table 1 The average and range of  dimensions and serration size et  al. 2021b), Leang Bulu’ Sipong 1 (n = 26; Perston et  al. 2021b), between the experimental points and the archaeological Maros Leang Pajae (n = 9; Perston et  al. 2021b) and Leang Rakkoe (n = 3; points used as reference. The dimensional data for the archaeologi- Perston et al. 2021b). The data on archaeological serration notch size cal reference are based on Maros points recovered from the sites of are based on Maros points recovered from the site of Leang Panninge Capalombo (n = 35; unpublished data), Lambatorang (n = 1; Perston (n = 102; Anshari 2018) Length (mm) Width (mm) Thickness (mm) Tip cross-sec- Serration notch Serration tional area (mm ) width (mm) notch depth (mm) Archaeological reference 23.4 (10.8–35.0) 13.2 (7.3–20.7) 3.2 (1.5–7.2) 22.8 (8.4–74.3) 2.6 (0.85–4.93) 1.8 (1.0–4.0) Experimental serrated (n = 36) 26.4 (22.2–30.6) 18.5 (13.5–22.9) 3.9 (2.2–5.6) 36.8 (18.9–60.7) 1.9 (1.5–2.4) 1.4 (1.1–1.9) Experimental non-serrated (n = 36) 26.0 (22.6–29.9) 18.1 (14.0–20.8) 3.7 (2.3–5.8) 34.52 (17.3–53.8) NA NA 1 3 152 Page 6 of 17 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Schoville et al. 2017; Shea et al. 2001). All of the shooting fresh skin cover, representing the most complex test medium experiments were carried out at the Illawarra Archery Club used in this study. By comparing the results across the four with appropriate permission and supervision. targets, it is possible to disentangle the effect of the two Across all firing trials, the ballistic target was positioned arrowhead forms on each of the target components (i.e. gel, 5 m away from the bow. Note that this distance is compara- ribs, skin). tively shorter than the range documented ethnographically, Two sets of experiments were carried out in this study which has been estimated to between 25 and 30 m for accu- with the recurve bow mentioned earlier (Table 2). To test rate shots (Cattelain 1997). However, the shorter distance the hypothesis that increasing projectile velocity changes employed here allows greater control over accuracy, such the performance of serrated points, the first experiment shot that each shot fired can hit the desired area on the ballis- serrated and non-serrated arrows using two different draw tic target. Controlling accuracy is important to prevent the weights, 11 kg and 15 kg (measured using a digital weight arrows from striking a previously hit location on the targets. scale while pulling the bow to a constant draw length of Between each firing trial, the target was shifted to ensure 40 cm and 45 cm respectively). This experiment was carried the arrow makes contact on a fresh target area. Four differ - out using only the ballistic gel target. To further assess the ent target types were used in this study, each with different performance of serrated and non-serrated points on more structural complexity that mimic aspects of the anatomi- complex targets, the second experiment shot serrated and cal structure of animal prey. The first target was composed non-serrated arrows using a constant draw weight of 15 kg of ballistic gel only (28 × 18 × 15 cm), made to a consist- (45 cm draw length) at the three targets consisting of vary- ency that resembles muscle tissue by using the Fackler and ing combinations of gel, fresh hide and bone. Across both Malinowski recipe (Fackler and Malinowski 1985; Jussila sets of experiments, arrows with no visible damage and use- 2004) with 10% gelatin solution/90% water and stored for wear after firing were reused in subsequent experiments to more than 24 h in a cold chamber before use. This first target maximise the number samples tested. This mainly applied to was used to gauge the baseline difference in the effect of the the arrows fired in the first experiment as the ballistic gel tar - two arrowheads when encountering a homogenous muscle- get did not cause any visible damage to the arrowheads. By like medium of uniform resistance. The second target was doing so, a total of 18 serrated and 18 non-serrated arrows composed of the same ballistic gel but with fresh pig skin were fired in each combination of bow draw weight and tar - covering the outside of the gel target. This target allows us get type. to isolate the effect of animal skin or hide on arrow per - formance. Pig was chosen for this experiment because the Data recording remains of Sulawesi warty pigs (Sus celebensis) are often associated with Toalean artefacts (Clason 1989; Suryatman In terms of firing the arrows, a hand-held speed gun (Bush- et  al. 2019; Brumm et al. 2018; Saiful and Hakim 2016; nell model number 101911) was used to monitor the arrow Fakhri 2017; Fakhri et al. 202) and hence represents a pos- travel speed. The speed gun measures travel speed within sible prey for which Maros points were used to hunt (see the range of 16–177  km per hour (kph) at a distance up Perston et al. 2021a; Maloney et al. 2022). The third target to 90 feet with an accuracy of ± 1 kph. To ensure accurate consisted of the ballistic gel with fresh pig rib bones inserted measurement, the speed gun was placed in line of the arrow within. Two sets of rib racks were placed inside the gel at firing direction and activated just before the arrow release. 5 cm and 12 cm respectively from the surface of the target Given the fixed firing position of the bow and constant draw to simulate a simplified structure of a rib cage. The fourth weight, we expect the arrow velocity to be more or less simi- target consisted of ballistic gel with the rib bone insert and lar across the trials using the same bow. Table 2 A summary of the Experiment 1 Experiment 2 design and the manipulated variables associated with the Hypotheses tested • Increasing projectile velocity • Arrow penetration depth varies by target compo- two experiments carried out in changes the performance of ser- sition this study rated points • Arrow withdraw force varies by target composi- • Serrated points require more tion force to withdraw Target type Gel Gel Gel + skin Gel + bone Gel + skin + bone Bow draw weight 11 kg (40 cm) 15 kg (45 cm) 15 kg (45 cm) 15 kg (45 cm) 15 kg (45 cm) (draw length) Arrow type • Serrated • Serrated • Serrated • Serrated • Serrated • Non-serrated • Non-serrated • Non-serrated • Non-serrated • Non-serrated 1 3 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Page 7 of 17 152 In terms of arrow performance, we recorded the penetra- damage ranging from a broken tip to major shattering. Note tion depth of each arrow in the target. This was done by that the breakage and macrofracture information were only marking the location on the arrow shaft that intersects the recorded on arrows that were not reused. To facilitate the surface of the target before pulling the arrow out of the tar- analysis of macrofracture, each arrowhead was cleaned in get, then measuring the distance between the marking on the an ultrasonic tank filled with a mild solution of dishwash- shaft to the tip of the arrow with a digital calliper. We expect ing liquid and distilled water for 3 min, before being rinsed that the inclusion of the rib and hide in the target would with distilled water mixed with 70% alcohol and air dried on cause arrow penetration to decrease, as these elements would a paper towel. This cleaning procedure removes any stains impede the arrows from travelling farther into the ballistic on the arrowheads and allows for any polish and striation gel. In particular, with the ribs positioned at a fixed location to be properly observed (Unrath et al., 1986). After clean- within some of the targets, we anticipate the arrow penetra- ing, each arrowhead was analysed using an Olympus SZ tion depth to be less variable for these targets because the stereo microscope (5–45 × zoom) and a Dino Lite premier arrows would hit the rib bones instead of penetrating farther series equipped with a LED ring light illumination unit into the target. Note that unlike Loendorf et al. (2015, 2018), and a polarizer ring. Images of the analyses were captured we did not normalise the penetration depth measurements using Lumenera Infinity 2 camera and the Infinity Analyze by arrow weight because there is no systematic difference software (version 7). The macrofractures were described in in the size of the serrated and non-serrated arrowheads used terms of the characteristics and location of the scars asso- in this study (Table 1). ciated with projectile point use (Rots and Plisson 2014; Another variable measured was the amount of force Coppe and Rots 2017). Specifically, we report the location required to pull out the arrow from the target after firing of the scar initiation (ventral surface and/or dorsal surface, (hereafter as ‘withdrawal force’). This was measured by a distal tip of the point and/or the lateral edges), the general Sauter force gauge (Model FL10), which has a peak hold direction of the scars (parallel, oblique or perpendicular to function that can capture the highest value recorded during the long axis of the point) and termination type (feather, measurement up to 11.54 N (or 1.18 kg force). To record hinge step). We also document any spin-off fractures (a cone withdrawal force, a string loop was secured to the end of fracture that initiates from an earlier fracture surface) and each arrow shaft before the experiment. After firing, the burin-like fractures (a fracture that propagates along a lateral force gauge was hooked to a string loop to withdraw the edge) that have been previously to occur on projectile points arrow through a single, linear pull motion. If edge serra- (Coppe and Rots 2017). tion functions as barbs, we expect an arrow with a serrated Statistical analyses were conducted using the R statis- arrowhead to require more withdrawal force to be released tical software (R Core Team 2021). The non-parametric from the target than an arrow with a non-serrated arrowhead. Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare serrated and We also predict that the withdrawal force would be higher non-serrated arrows in terms of the penetration depth and when the firing target contains rib bones and/or hide, as the withdrawal force under different firing conditions and target arrow may be caught by these additional elements when settings. A Test of Equal Proportions was used to compare exiting the target. Because withdrawal force is correlated the breakage rate of the two arrow types. An alpha value of with penetration depth (the deeper the penetration the more 0.05 was used to determine statistical significance. force required to withdraw the arrow), we standardise the withdrawal force measurements by their associated penetra- tion depth to determine the withdrawal force per 1 cm of Results penetration depth. To determine point durability, we differentiate between Arrow performance in ballistic gel under different breakage and macrofracture. The former represents damage draw weight to the arrowhead that altered its overall shape to an extent that we think would impact its functional performance, such The average arrow travel speed was 130.7 kph (sd = 2.3) as major snapping or shattering. Macrofracture, on the other when fired under a 11-kg draw weight and 160.5 kph hand, is used to denote small-scale damage and use-wear on (sd = 3.9) under a 15-kg draw weight. This variation in the arrowhead after firing. This form of damage includes arrow delivery speed correlates with the overall difference minor edge scarring and crushing that we think do not hinder in arrow penetration depth, with the 11-kg draw weight pro- the functionality of the arrows. For breakage, arrows were ducing an average penetration depth of 11.8 cm (sd = 1.1) classified as either ‘complete’ or ‘broken’ depending on their and the 15-kg draw weight producing an average penetra- state after firing. ‘Complete’ arrowheads were those that tion of 14.2 cm (sd = 1.2) (Fig. 3). In terms of the effect of remained intact with no visible breakage, but may contain edge serration, the serrated arrows penetrated deeper into macrofracture; ‘broken’ arrowheads were those that have the ballistic gel target than the non-serrated arrows under 1 3 152 Page 8 of 17 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Compared to the gel-only target (average penetration depth = 14.2  cm), the inclusion of the pig skin saw the overall arrow penetration decreased by an average of 1.1 cm (average penetration depth = 13.1 cm), while add- ing the rib bones led to a reduction in average arrow pen- etration by 1.5 cm (average penetration depth = 12.7 cm). For the target that contains the rib bones but not the skin, all of the tested arrows penetrated through the first rib rack and stopped at an average depth around where the second rack is positioned within the target. This pattern suggests that the location of the second rib rack may have had a systematic effect in stopping the arrows from penetrat - ing deeper into the target. Opposite to our prediction, the presence of the rib bones in the target caused the arrow penetration depth to be more variable (sd = 2.1) than those associated with the target without the bone inserts (gel-only: sd = 1.2; gel + skin: sd = 0.8). When the target contains both skin and bone, the arrow penetration depth is on average 4 cm shallower than the penetration depth associated with the gel-only target (average penetration Fig. 3 Penetration depth of serrated and non-serrated arrows in the depth = 10.2 cm), and the majority of the arrows did not ballistic gel target by bow draw weight reach the second set of rib bones. This last and most com- plex target also produced the greatest amount of variation in penetration depth (sd = 2.6). Looking at the overall performance of the two arrow types across the targets, the serrated arrows tend to pen- etrate slightly deeper (average = 13.1 cm) than the non-ser- rated arrows (average = 12.2 cm) (W = 1892.5, p = 0.007). However, if we look at the targets individually, the pen- etration difference between the two arrow types is only statistically significant with the gel-only target (see above for statistical results). No notable difference in the perfor - mance of the two arrow types was detected for the other t hree t argets (gel + skin: U = 112, p = 0.07; gel + bone: U = 112.5, p = 0.19; gel + skin + bone: W = 104, p = 0.11). For arrow withdrawal force, the force required to release some of the tested arrows exceeded the meas- uring capacity of the force gauge. Based on the values we did manage to measure (n = 101), t he non-ser rated Fig. 4 Penetration depth of serrated and non-serrated arrow by target type. The two dashed lines indicate the position of the rib bone racks arrows required more force to pull out from the ballistic in the two targets that contain the bone insert gel target than the serrated arrow (W = 245, p = 0.008) (Fig.  5). However, as with penetration depth, this dif- both draw weight settings (11 kg: W = 38.5, p < 0.001; 15 kg: ference in withdrawal force disappeared when skin and W = 93, p = 0.03). However, the actual difference in average bone were added to the target. Interestingly, while the penetration depth between the two arrow types is relatively inclusion of either skin or bone did not substantially small (1.4 cm under the 11-kg draw weight; 0.8 cm under alter the arrow withdrawal force, the combination of the 15-kg draw weight). both additional elements in the target led to consider- ably higher and more variable force values than the Arrow performance by different target type range observed among the other experimental settings under a constant draw weight (Fig. 5). This difference is unlikely to be an outcome of measurement error as other targets were recorded under Overall, the arrow penetration depth decreased as the the same experimental setting. Instead, the cause of this structural complexity of the target increased (Fig.  4). discrepancy is currently unclear. 1 3 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Page 9 of 17 152 burin-like fractures were observed. Between the two point types, the majority of the non-serrated arrowheads (11 out of 14, or 78%) exhibit macrofracture only at the tip of the point, with scars parallel to the point axis typical of pro- jectile impact fracture. In comparison, the distribution of macrofracture is more variable among the serrated points, with the majority displaying macrofracture scars not only at the tip but also along the adjacent lateral edges (15 out of 22, or 68%; Fig. 7b, d). This more variable scar distribution on the serrated points is likely a result of their irregular edge configuration, which provided more places for scar initiation to occur upon impact. In terms of the surface position of the macro scars, the majority of the arrows have scars on both the ventral and dorsal surfaces (19 out of 36 or 52%), while those with ventral- or dorsal-only scaring are in the minority Fig. 5 Withdrawal force standardised by penetration depth for ser- at equal proportions (5 out of 36 or 13%). Detailed summary rated and non-serrated arrows by different targets description of the observed macrofractures are provided in Table 3 in the Appendix. Breakage and macrofracture Discussion In terms of breakage, all of the arrows fired at the gel-only Serrated margins on stone points such as the Maros point target displayed no sign of breakage after firing. In com- parison, the inclusion of skin or bone in the target led to of South Sulawesi have been hypothesised to provide func- tional benefits to stone-tip projectiles (e.g. Frazzetta 1988; some damage on the arrowheads (Fig. 6), with the rib bone inserts causing a higher proportion of breakage (6 out of Hughes 1998; Ellis 1997). Yet, previous controlled experi- ments by Loendorf et  al. (2015, 2017) observed no sig- 29, or 17%) than the skin add-on (1 out of 36, or 3%). The damage rate is at the highest when the target contains both nificant difference in the performance of serrated and non- serrated points when fired into ballistic gel targets. In this skin and bone, with 10 of the 36 tested arrows (28%) show- ing varying degrees of breakage. Between the two arrow study, we hypothesised that the effect of edge serration on stone projectile points like the Maros point is conditioned by types, while there are proportionally more non-serrated arrows with breakage (17%) than serrated arrows (7%), the the projectile delivery speed. By using a bow with a higher draw weight than that employed by Loendorf et al. (2015, difference is not statistically significant (X = 2.40, df = 1, p = 0.12). Similarly, no statistical difference in breakage 2017), the serrated points in our experiment consistently penetrated deeper into the ballistic gel target than the non- rate was detected between the two arrow types among the individual target types (gel + skin: X < 0.001, df = 1, p = 1; serrated points across the two draw weight levels tested. This finding supports the hypothesis that serrated margins do gel + bone: X = 2.02, df = 1, p = 0.15; gel + skin + bone: X = 0.14, df = 1, p = 0.71). confer a functional benefit to projectile performance when using a larger bow. It is likely that the larger draw weight A total of 36 arrowheads exhibit macrofracture after fir - ing, all of which occur on the distal end of the points. The allowed the arrows to impact the target with greater speed and energy, allowing the serrated edges to better tear through observed macrofractures include macro scaring with varying termination types (feature, hinge, step) (Fig. 7b, d), spin- the target and cause deeper penetration wounds (Frazzetta 1988; Ellis 1997). However, looking across the two draw off scarring along breakage (Fig.  7a) and larger damage at the tip of the point typical of impact fracture (Fig. 7c). No weight levels tested here, while the overall penetration depth Fig. 6 Experimental arrowheads showing different breakage pat- terns after firing 1 3 152 Page 10 of 17 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Fig. 7 Examples of macrof- racture observed among the experimental arrowheads. a Spin-off initiated from break- age on a non-serrated point (30 × magnification); b serrated point with a scar with step ter- mination initiated from the tip on the dorsal side and another scar with hinge termination on the lateral margin beside the tip (50 × magnification); c large scar with step termination initi- ated from the tip on the ventral side of a non-serrated point (30 × magnification); d serrated point showing signs of crushing (yellow arrow) at the tip with overlapping scars of step and hinge terminations, and multiple macroscarring with step and hinge terminations to the side of the tip (red arrows) (60 × mag- nification) did increase with a higher draw weight, the penetration dif- represent a larger ‘rib cage’), it is possible that the arrows ference between the serrated and the non-serrated points did would penetrate even deeper into these targets. not become greater. One possibility is that the two levels of In terms of withdrawal force, our results show that the draw weights tested here are not sufficiently large enough non-serrated arrows actually required more force to with- to cause notable changes in the effect of serrated points. draw from the ballistic gel target than the serrated arrows. Alternatively, the influence of edge serration may operate as This finding rejects the hypothesis that edge serration acts a ‘threshold effect’—that it occurs once the levels of certain as barbs to prevent arrow withdrawal. Instead, the serrated delivery parameters (e.g. draw weight and projectile veloc- arrows required less withdrawal force, perhaps because ity) are met, but the strength of the effect itself does not the serrated margins tore through the target and produced increase subsequently with these parameters. larger wound tracks that in turn facilitated the release of the With increasing structural complexity of the ballistic arrows. In contrast, wounds caused by non-serrated margins target in our experiment, the average penetration depth of in the ballistic gel could actually ‘close up’ following the the serrated arrows was consistently higher than that of the passing of the arrowhead in the target, thereby increasing non-serrated arrows, though these average differences were the amount of force required to withdraw the arrow. How- no longer statistically meaningful when the gel target con- ever, as with penetration depth, this difference in withdrawal tained additional elements. Instead, the inclusion of skin or force between the two arrow types went away when the skin bone caused the overall penetration depth of the two arrow and bone components were added to the ballistic target. types to decrease, reflecting the higher penetration resist- Moreover, the withdrawal force increased considerably when ance introduced by these components. When both skin and the target contained both the skin and the bone, especially bone were included, we saw the lowest overall penetration among the non-serrated arrows. This change may reflect the depth achieved among all of the targets tested. Contrary to arrows getting caught by the skin and bone elements upon our prediction, however, the addition of the rib bones led withdrawal. If this was the case, however, it is unclear why to a greater amount of variation in the arrow penetration we did not observe similar increases in withdrawal force depth. In hindsight, this makes sense as the rib bone is not in the other two targets that contain the skin and the bone a homogenous structure, such that some of the arrows can components separately. As mentioned earlier, the withdrawal hit the bone at different locations while others pass through force for some of the arrows in our study were beyond the the flesh in between the rib bones. Moreover, the placement detection range of the force gauge used. While this issue did of the rib bones in the targets here likely influenced the not affect the relative comparisons among arrow types and arrow penetration depths observed. If the second rib rack targets, it does mean that the recorded force values reported was placed farther back within the gel targets (which can here only capture the lower range of the arrow withdrawal 1 3 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Page 11 of 17 152 force values. Future studies should ensure to adopt force non-serrated point types perhaps because the functional gauges with greater measuring capacities. advantage offered by edge serration is highly dependent Taking these findings together, we suggest that edge ser - on the context of use and the anatomy of the hunted prey ration on stone points, such as those associated with the (Vierra and Heilen 2020). Our experimental results sug- Maros point, can provide functional benefits to the per - gest that serrated arrows would perform better than non- formance of stone-tip projectiles, though these effects are serrated arrows if the prey has thin skin (relative to the pig context-dependent. First, serrated points can produce deeper skin tested here) and/or more muscle mass. On the other penetration than non-serrated points when the delivery hand, as noted earlier, there remains the possibility that the velocity is above a certain threshold that gives the projec- performance of serrated points would improve with the use tile point sufficient energy to tear through the target. The of larger bows. Judging by the average penetration depth of implication of this is that, if the serrated stone points were the serrated points being consistently higher than that of adopted for functional effects, a certain bow size and draw the non-serrated arrows across all of our experiments, the weight would have been required to achieve these effects in penetration difference between the two arrow types may the past. Comparing the bow used in our experiment and that actually widen under the use of larger bows and become by Loendorf et al. (2015, 2017), this threshold of bow size more systematic across different target types. Future stud- is between 14 and 18 kg in terms of bow draw weight. As ies can clarify this issue by testing a wider range of bow mentioned earlier, it is currently unclear whether increasing draw weights. the bow draw weight beyond this threshold would widen Importantly, the fact that serrated points can have a func- the penetration difference between serrated and non-serrated tional effect on projectile performance does not preclude points. However, if larger bows and higher projectile speeds the possibility that these edge modic fi ations were embedded were used, we expect to see a greater variation in the durabil- with stylistic and symbolic meanings in the past. Studies ity of the two arrow types. In our experiment, we observed have suggested that serrated points are associated with war- that the serrated points tend to have more variable distri- fare or the hunting of dangerous animals because of their butions of macrofracture on the tip than the non-serrated perceived ability to create terrible wounds (Ellis 1997). It is points due to the irregular edge morphologies. With higher entirely plausible that these social meanings were derived projectile impact speeds, it is anticipated that these differ - from empirical relationships. As mentioned already, experi- ences in macrofracture size and frequency would persist, if ments have demonstrated that serrated knives create mark- not widen (Iovita et al. 2014), which could affect the durabil - edly different damage than non-serrated knives on soft ity and reusability of the two arrow types. Other factors that tissues (Pounder et al. 2011; Thompson and Inglis 2009). influence the size of macrofracture scars and hence point In our experiment, we also showed that serrated arrows durability include the angle of incidence, which would have required less force to withdraw from the ballistic gel target, also depended on the projectile impact velocity and the pro- implying that the serrated margins created larger wound pulsion system (Coppe et al. 2022). Related to this, a higher tracks than the non-serrated margins in muscle-like tissues. percentage of the non-serrated arrows was broken than the These functional effects could have led edge serration to serrated points after firing at the targets containing skin and/ take up functional and social meanings, such that the mor- or bone. Although this difference in breakage proportion was phological characteristics become associated with notions not statistically significant in our sample, there is the possi- of lethality and violence. As a consequence, the production bility that variation in breakage rate may become more pro- of edge serration on stone points may be applied to situa- nounced if the arrows were fired using larger bows. If this is tions that were perceived to be dangerous or require more the case, edge serration could represent a design strategy that lethal weapons. Equally, we can envision these meanings improves both the penetration performance and durability to be attached to social groupings at a larger scale, where of stone points, as opposed to other approaches to enhance functional effects and social values become entangled in projectile performance at the expense of durability, such as material expressions of identity and social relations (Loen- allowing arrows to break within target preys to increase tis- dorf et al. 2015; Loendorf et al. 2017). For instance, if edge sue damage and bleeding (Rudner 1979). serration was perceived as more dangerous and lethal, the Another implication of our findings is that the effect of trait could have been employed as a material symbol for serrated points varies by target type. The inclusion of skin intra- or inter-group aggression and competition. Of course, and bone in our test targets reduced the penetration differ - these scenarios are purely speculative at this stage. The point ence between the serrated and the non-serrated arrows. here is that, since edge serration is an ‘isochrestic’ part of This variation in functional performance can help explain the tool that delivers the functional outcome (i.e. cutting or why we do not see a more widespread uptake of serrated penetration into the target) (sensu Sackett 1990), attempts to points in the past. While edge serration on stone points is separate out the functional factors from the stylistic among a global phenomenon, it is much less prevalent than other the serration may be unproductive. 1 3 152 Page 12 of 17 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 et al. 2001). Specifically, the diatom assemblage this time Maros points and the Toalean in the lake became dominated by littoral taxa, indicating a change to more shallow water and swampy conditions. As noted earlier, there is a general assumption in the archae- ology literature that the Maros point of South Sulawesi However, records from elsewhere in Sulawesi show some- what different patterns for the early-mid Holocene. Data represents the tip of projectile armature such as arrows. It is important to make clear that this assumption remains a derived from Lake Lantoa in South Sulawesi indicates peak abundance of lowland forest types and arboreal taxa, as well hypothesis that needs to be tested against the archaeological record (Maloney et al. 2022; Perston et al. 2021a). However, as the expansion of tropical conifers between ~ 8 ka and 5 ka (Hamilton et al. 2019). Sedimentary cores from Mandar Bay if the Maros points were indeed used as arrowheads, the experimental findings here suggest the possibility that the in Central Sulawesi also do not show any decline in δ13C until 5000–4000 years ago (Wicaksono et al. 2017). These serrated edge design was adopted for functional reasons in the mid-Holocene. While the actual increase in penetration regional variations likely reflect heterogeneous Holocene climatic conditions across Sulawesi. Indeed, while much of depth by using points with serrated margins may not be vast when compared to non-serrated points, the difference could the vegetation in Sulawesi today is characterised by ever- green rainforest due to year-round high precipitation, parts have contributed to the hunting success of certain prey types. In addition, the larger wounds produced by serrated points of Sulawesi, including South Sulawesi, are dominated by tropical deciduous forests because of the more pronounced would cause more bleeding and are harder to heal. Consider- ing these functional benefits, the appearance of the Maros dry seasons during parts of the year, caused by the south- eastern trade winds bring dry air from Australia (Wicaksono points in South Sulawesi during the mid-Holocene may point to changes in foraging practices involving innovative et al. 2017). There are signs that the trade winds from Aus- tralia strengthened in the mid-Holocene 8000–6000 years strategies to increase hunting success. The unserrated, hol- low-based Lompoa point (Perston et al. 2021b) that occurs ago (Ding et al. 2013). The more intense dry seasons dur- ing this time would have led to shifts in the South Sulawesi in the Toalean thus may either represent unfinished Maros points, or be used for different prey types. To clarify these vegetation, such as the increase of non-woody grasslands in place of closed canopy forest as documented in the Lake issues, detailed traceology studies are urgently needed to verify the function of these Toalean points (Maloney et al. Towuti and Lake Matano sedimentary records mentioned above (Russell et al. 2016; Vogel et al. 2015; Wicaksono 2022). To this end, our use-wear observations here provide an important point of reference for the identification of et al. 2017). In this context, it is possible that the occurrence of the projectile use among serrated point types like the Maros point and the Mallindrung point. Namely, compared to non- serrated Maros points and other Toalean tool types during the mid-Holocene signals a major reconfiguration in sub - serrated points where impact fractures tend to be limited to the distal apex, our experimental results show that serrated sistence practices in response to changing resource avail- ability. For instance, the fragmentation of closed-canopy points can exhibit impact fracture not only at the apex but also along the adjacent lateral margins. rainforests and the expansion of grasslands could have led to greater seasonal variation in the distribution of animal Aside from the Maros point and other retouched point types, several other Toalean artefact types have also been and plant species (Simons and Bulbeck 2004), prompting past people to invest greater time and energy in the manu- related to composite projectile weaponry, such as backed artefacts, sawlettes and bone points (Perston et al. 2021b). facture and use of technologies, such as projectile weapons, that can improve hunting success and buffer against forag- The co-occurrence of these novel tool forms indicates tech- nological transformations in South Sulawesi during the ing risk and cost (Bleed 1986; Torrence 2008; Hiscock 1994). Moreover, a decline in local resource abundance mid-Holocene, possibly under backdrop of shifting environ- mental conditions. Based on the δ13C of epicuticular waxes could have also promoted inter-group interactions over ter- ritorial boundaries and social arrangements for resource from C4 plant and titanium concentrations in the sedimen- tary record of Lake Towuti in South Sulawesi, studies have access and information sharing (Mackay et  al. 2014; Ambrose and Lorenz 1990), with material culture playing shown a reduction in precipitation and an increase in open grassland in the region between ~ 9 ka and 3 ka (Russell et al. a role in the maintenance of social cohesion under height- ened social and economic tensions (Hodder 1979; David 2014; Vogel et al. 2015; Tamuntuan et al. 2015). A similar drop in δ13C during the early-mid Holocene indicating the and Lourandos 1998; Clarkson et al. 2018; Hiscock 1994, 2018, 2021). From this perspective, the uptake and spread onset of relatively dryer conditions was also observed in the environmental record of the nearby Lake Matano (Wicak- of the Maros point and other distinctive Toalean tools in South Sulawesi may be functionally driven but socially sono et al. 2017). The sedimentary record at Lake Tondano in North Sulawesi also suggests increasing disturbance to mediated, through the signalling and negotiation of social identity and relations within and between groups. This surrounding forest vegetation in the mid-Holocene (Dam 1 3 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Page 13 of 17 152 process of social interaction can help explain the spatially 2017). Contrasting to previous findings by Loendorf et al. circumscribed distribution of the Toalean techno-complex. (2015, 2017), our results indicate that serrated points do pro- As mentioned earlier, Bulbeck et al. (2000) noted that the duce deeper penetrations and possibly larger wound tracks distribution of ‘classic’ Toalean sites correlates with the under some settings, though these effects are complicated by current spread of the Makassar Austronesian languages in the structural variation of the targets. The observations here South Sulawesi, and proposed that Toalean assemblage var- suggest that the benefits offered by edge serration to projec- iations towards the late Holocene were relate to the arrival tile performance are not universal, but rather contingent on of Austronesian speakers and the introduction of farming. other contextual factors, including the projectile delivery Recent review by Perston et al. (2021a) demonstrates that system and the type of prey for which the points were used this general geographic distribution for the Toalean still (Vierra and Heilen 2020). By clarifying the relationships stands based on current archaeological evidence. How- among these different factors, it may be possible to better ever, given that the appearance of the Toalean predates the infer the range of technological behaviours associated with arrival of the Austronesian speakers, this geographic divi- the application of serrated points in the past. sion between the Toalean/non-Toalean site distributions in The experimental findings here suggest the possibil- South Sulawesi could reflect a deeper socio-cultural separa- ity that the serrated margins on the Maros points of South tion dated back to the mid-early Holocene, intertwined with Sulawesi were adopted to improve hunting success through regional environmental history. the use of projectile armature. The occurrence of the Maros points and other Toalean tool types during the mid-Holocene in South Sulawesi signals major reorganisations in techno- logical and foraging practices, possibly in relation to declin- Conclusions ing resource availability and heightened social interactions under drying conditions. In this setting, the functional and The archaeological occurrence of serrated stone points is the symbolic aspects associated with the distinctive serrated a global phenomenon, yet few experimental studies have margins may have become intertwined in ways that facili- investigated the possible effect of edge serration on the tated the maintenance and transmission of the Maros point performance of stone-tip projectiles (Loendorf et al. 2015, overtime in the region. 1 3 152 Page 14 of 17 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Table 3 Summary of breakage and macrofracture on the experiment pieces ID Type Shaft mass Point mass Total mass Target Fracture group Macrofacture location Macrofracture termination Surface Edge expn13 Non 18.3 1.3 19.6 Gel and bone Breakage exps2 Serrated 18.6 1.6 20.2 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Step, hinge exps1 Serrated 18.1 1.3 19.4 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Mix expn11 Non 18.7 2 20.7 Gel and bone Breakage expn9 Non 17.6 1.6 19.2 Gel and bone Breakage Ventral Tip Feather, hinge expn4 Non 18.6 2.2 20.8 Gel and skin Breakage exps21 Serrated 18.7 1.9 20.6 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Step, hinge exps11 Serrated 19 1.1 20.1 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Mix expn2 Non 19.2 3.3 22.5 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal Hinge and step exps30 Serrated 17.4 3.1 20.5 Gel and bone Impact fracture Ventral Distal, both lateral Step, feather expn16 Non 18.2 2.4 20.6 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal Feather, hinge exps19 Serrated 18.6 1.9 20.5 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Step,hinge,feather expn17 Non 18.7 2.9 21.6 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Step, hinge expn28 Non 17.8 1.5 19.3 Gel, bone, skin Breakage Both Mix exps29 Serrated 15.6 1.6 17.2 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Both Tip Mix exps23 Serrated 16.9 2.2 19.1 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Step, feather exps5 Serrated 17.3 1.9 19.2 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Mix exps35 Serrated 16.9 2.2 19.1 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Both Tip Mix expn27 Non 23.1 1.2 24.3 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Both Distal Feather, hinge, step expn6 Non 20.3 1.4 21.7 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Both Distal Hinge and step exps34 Serrated 17.8 1.3 19.1 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Mix expn 5 Non 19.1 2.7 21.8 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Step, hinge expn 15 Non 21.7 1.5 23.2 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal Step, hinge expn 8 Non 20.1 2.3 22.4 Gel and bone Impact fracture Dorsal Distal Hinge and step exps 24 Serrated 18.3 1.5 19.8 Gel and bone Impact fracture Dorsal Distal Hinge and step exps 13 Serrated 18.3 1.7 20 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Dista, lateral Hinge and step expn 24 Non 19.3 1.1 20.4 Gel, bone, skin Breakage expn 22 Non 19.3 2.3 21.6 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Dorsal Distal Hinge and step exps 15 Serrated 17.9 2 19.9 Gel and skin Impact fracture Both exps 7 Serrated 21.2 1.8 23 Gel and skin Breakage Both Distal Hinge and step expn 2 Non 19.2 3.3 22.5 Gel and bone Impact fracture Dorsal Distal Step exps 10 Serrated 17.6 1.9 19.5 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Step, hinge, feather expn 34 Non 18.2 1.1 19.3 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Dorsal Distal Feather exps 9 Serrated 19.2 3.1 22.3 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Hinge and step exps 20 Serrated 19.8 3 22.8 Gel and bone Impact fracture Ventral Distal Step expn 4 Non 18.6 2.2 20.8 Gel and skin Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Hinge and step expn 1 Non 17 1.5 18.5 Gel and bone Impact fracture Ventral Distal Hinge and step exps 27 Serrated 18.5 2.2 20.7 Gel and skin Impact fracture Ventral Distal, both lateral Feather,hinge expn 3 Non 17.8 1.8 19.6 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal Hinge and step exps 4 Serrated 17.7 1.3 19 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Mix exps 3 Serrated 18.9 2.4 21.3 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Hinge and step exps 38 Serrated 16.9 1.1 18 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Both Distal Feather, hinge exps 8 Serrated 18.7 1.9 20.6 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Ventral Distal Feather expn 37 Non 18.6 2 20.6 Gel, bone, skin Breakage expn10 Non 17.6 1.9 19.5 Gel and bone Breakage expn12 Non 17.3 2.3 19.6 Gel and bone Breakage expn20 Non 18 1.4 19.4 Gel and bone Breakage expn27 Non 23.1 1.2 24.3 Gel, bone, skin Breakage 1 3 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Page 15 of 17 152 Table 3 (continued) ID Type Shaft mass Point mass Total mass Target Fracture group Macrofacture location Macrofracture termination Surface Edge expn30 Non 16.9 1.8 18.7 Gel, bone, skin Breakage expn36 Non 19.9 1.9 21.8 Gel, bone, skin Breakage expn9 Non 17.6 1.6 19.2 Gel and bone Breakage exps12 Serrated 18.6 1.6 20.2 Gel and bone Breakage exps36 Serrated 17.4 1.2 18.6 Gel, bone, skin Breakage exps6 Serrated 18.2 2.2 20.4 Gel and bone Breakage Akerman K, Bindon P (1995) Dentate and related stone biface points Appendix from Northern Australia. Beagle Rec Mus Art Galleries North Territ 12:89–99 Akerman K, Fullagar R, van Gijn A (2002) Weapons and Wunan: production, function and exchange of Kimberley Points. Aust Acknowledgements AF and TS are supported by the Austral- Aborig Stud 1:13–42 ian Research Council through a Centre of Excellence Grant Ambrose SH, Lorenz KG (1990) Social and ecological models for (CE170100015). SCL is supported by the Australian Research Coun- the Middle Stone Age in southern Africa. In: Mellars P (ed) cil through a DECRA Grant (DE200100502). Experimental equip- The Emergence of Modern Humans: An Archaeological Per- ment and materials were funded by the University of Wollongong. AF spective. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, pp 3–33 thanks Glenn McMahon and the Illawarra Archers Club for provid- Anshari K (2018) Teknologi Lancipan Maros di Situs Leang Pan- ing the venue and supervision for carrying out the experiments. Chris ninge, Kecamatan Mallawa, Kabupaten Maros. Unpublished Clarkson, Corey O’Driscoll and Mike Finlayson provided valuable undergraduate thesis. Archaeology Department, Universitas comments and assistance to the design and logistics of the experimen- Hasanuddin tal setup. Yinika Perston read an early draft of the paper and offered Aubert M, Setiawan P, Oktaviana AA, Brumm A, Sulistyarto PH, valuable comments. Three anonymous reviewers also provided useful Saptomo EW, Istiawan B, Ma’rifat TA, Wahyuono VN, Atmoko comments that improved the paper. FT, Zhao JX (2018) Palaeolithic cave art in Borneo. Nature 564(7735):254–257 Bellwood P (2007) Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago. Funding Open Access funding enabled and organized by CAUL and ANU E-Press, Canberra its Member Institutions Bleed P (1986) The optimal design of hunting weapons: maintain- ability or reliability. Am Antiq 51:737–747 Declarations Blitz JH, Porth ES (2013) Social complexity and the bow in the Eastern Woodlands. Evol Anthropol 22:89–95 Consent for publication The authors agree to the publication of this Brumm A, Hakim B, Ramli M, Aubert M, van den Bergh G et al paper by journal Archaeological and Anthropological Science. (2018) A reassessment of the early archaeological record at Leang Burung 2, a Late Pleistocene rock-shelter site on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. PLoS One 13:e0193025 Conflict of interest The authors declare no competing interests. Bulbeck D (2018) Holocene site occupancy in Sulawesi. In: O’Connor S, Bulbeck D, Meyer J (eds) The Archaeology of Sulawesi: Cur- Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attri- rent research on the Pleistocene to Historic Period. ANU Press, bution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adapta- Canberra, pp 93–116 tion, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long Bulbeck D, Pasqua M, Di Lello A (2000) Culture history of the as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, Toalean of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Asian Perspect 39:71–108 provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes Bulbeck D (2004) Divided in space, united in time: the Holocene pre- were made. The images or other third party material in this article are history of south Sulawesi. In Quaternary Research in Indonesia, included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated edited by S. G. Keates & J. M. Pasveer, pp. 129–166. A. A. otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in Balkema, Leiden the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not Catlin G (1975) Letters and notes on the North American Indians. permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will Gramercy Books, New York need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a Cattelain P (1997) Hunting during the Upper Palaeolithic: bow, spear copy of this licence, visit http://cr eativ ecommons. or g/licen ses/ b y/4.0/ . thrower, or both? In: Knecht H (ed) Projectile Technology. Springer, Boston, MA, pp 213–240 Christenson AL (1986) Projectile point size and projectile aerodynam- ics: an exploratory study. Plains Anthropol 31:109–128 Clarkson C, Hiscock P, Mackay A, Shipton C (2018) Small, sharp, and References standardized: global convergence in backed-microlith technol- ogy. In: O’Brien MJ, Buchanan B, Eren MI (eds) Convergent Abler WL (1992) The serrated teeth of Tyrannosaurid dinosaurs and Evolution in Stone-Tool Technology. Massachusetts Institute of biting structure in other animals. Paleobiology 18:161–183 Technology Press, Cambridge, MA, pp 175–200 1 3 152 Page 16 of 17 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Clason AT (1989) Late Pleistocene/Holocene hunter-gatherer of Hester TR, Heizer RF (1973) Arrow Points or Knives? Comments on the Sulawesi. In: Waterbolk HT (ed) Palaeohistoria. CRC Press, Proposed Function of “Stockton Points.” Am Antiq 38:220–221 London, pp 67–76 Hiscock P (1994) Technological responses to risk in Holocene Aus- Coppe J, Lepers C, Rots V (2022) Projectiles under a new angle: a tralia. J World Prehist 8:267–292 ballistic analysis provides an important building block to grasp Hiscock P (2018) Horizons of change: entanglement of paleoenviorn- Paleolithic weapon technology. J Archaeol Method Theory :1–27 ment and cultural dynamics in Australian lithic technology. In: Coppe J, Rots V (2017) Focus on the target. The importance of a trans- Robinson E, Sellet F (eds) Lithic Technological Organization and parent fracture terminology for understanding projectile points Paleoenviornmental Change. Springer, Cham, pp 79–90 and projecting modes. J Archaeol Sci Rep 12:109–123 Hiscock P (2021) Small signals: comprehending the Australian micro- Cundy BJ (1989) Formal variation in Australian spear and spear lithic as public signalling. Camb Archaeol J 31:313–324 thrower technology. British Archaeological Reports International Hodder I (1979) Economic and social stress and material culture Series 546, Oxford patterning. Am Antiq 44:446–454 Dam RAC, Fluin J, Suparan P, van der Kaars S (2001) Palaeoenviron- Hoffman CM (1997) Alliance formation and social interaction during mental developments in the Lake Tondano area (N. Sulawesi, the Sedentary period: a stylistic analysis of Hohokam arrow Indonesia) since 33,000 yr B.P. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Pal- points. Unpublished PhD dissertation, Department of Anthro- aeoecol 171:147–183 pology, Arizona State University David B, Lourandos H (1998) Rock art and socio-demography in north- Högberg A, Lombard M (2020) ‘I can do it’ becomes ‘we do it’: eastern Australian prehistory. World Archaeol 30:193–219 Kimberley (Australia) and Still Bay (South Africa) points Ding X, Bassinot F, Guichard F, Fang NQ (2013) Indonesian Through- through a socio-technical framework lens. J Paleolithic flow and monsoon activity records in the Timor Sea since the last Archaeol 3:633–663 glacial maximum. Mar Micropaleontol 101:115–126 Hughes SS (1998) Getting to the point: Evolutionary change in pre- Ellis CJ (1997) Factors influencing the use of stone projectile tips. In: Kne- historic weaponry. J Archaeol Method Theory 5:345–408 cht H (ed) Projectile Technology. Springer, Boston, MA, pp 37–74 Hutchings WK (2016) When is a point a projectile? Morphology, Eren MI, Lycett SJ, Patten RJ, Buchanan B, Pargeter J, O’Brien MJ impact fractures, scientific rigor, and the limits of inference. (2016) Test, model, and method validation: the role of experi- In: Iovita R, Sano K (eds) Multidisciplinary Approaches to the mental stone artifact replication in hypothesis-driven archaeol- Study of Stone Age Weaponry. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 3–12 ogy. Ethnoarchaeology 8:103–136 Iovita R, Schönekeß H, Gaudzinski-Windheuser S, Jäger F (2014) Eren MI, Bebber MR, Knell EJ, Story B, Buchanan B (2022) Plains Projectile impact fractures and launching mechanisms: results Paleoindian projectile point penetration potential. J Anthropol of a controlled ballistic experiment using replica Levallois Res 78:84–112 points. J Archaeol Sci 48:73–83 Fackler ML, Malinowski JA (1985) The wound profile: a visual Johnson EN (1940) The serrated points of central California. Am method for quantifying gunshot wound components. J Trauma Antiq 6:167–170 25:522–529 Junkmanns J (2013) Pfeil und Bogen—Von der Altsteinzeit bis zum Fakhri, Hakim B, Yulastri, Salmia, Suryatman (2021) Pemanfaatan fauna Mittelalter. Verlag Angelika Hörning, Ludwigshafen vertebrata dan kondisi lingkungan masa okupasi 8.000–550 BP di Jussila J (2004) Preparing ballistic gelatine—review and proposal for situs Leang Jarie, Maros Sulawesi Selatan. Amerta 39:17–34 a standard method. Forensic Sci Int 141:91–98 Fakhri (2017) Fauna dan strategi subsistensi penghuni situs Pangngani- Leihitu I, Permana RCE (2018) Looking for a trace of shamanism, kang 4000 tahun yang lalu. In Butta Toa: Jejak arkeologi budaya in the rock art of Maros-Pangkep, south Sulawesi, Indonesia. toala, logam, & tradisi berlanjut di Bantaeng, edited by M.I. Kapata Arkeologi, p 15–26 Mahmud, B. Hakim, pp. 49–74. Penerbit Ombak, Yogyakarta Lepers C, Rots V (2020) The important role of bow choice and arrow Flenniken JJ, Wilke PJ (2016) Typology, technology, and chronology fletching in projectile experimentation A ballistic approach. J of Great Basin dart points. Am Anthropol 91:149–158 Archaeol Sci Rep 34:102613 Forestier H (2007) Ribuan Gunung, Ribuan Alat Batu, Prasejarah Song Lin SC, Rezek Z, Dibble HL (2018) Experimental design and experi- Keplek, Gunung Sewu, Jawa Timur. KPG (Kepustakaan Popular mental inference in stone artifact archaeology. J Archaeol Gramedia), Jakarta Method Theory 25:663–688 Forestier H, Grenet M, Borel A, Celiberti V (2017) Les productions Loendorf C (2013) Historic period Akimel O’Odham projectile lithiques de l’Archipel indonésien. J Lithic Stud 4:231–303 points and settlement patterns. Kiva 79:83–103 Frazzetta TH (1988) The mechanics of cutting and the form of shark Loendorf C, Oliver TJ, Tiedens S, Plumlee RS, Woodson KM et al (2015) teeth (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii). Zoomorphology Flaked-stone projectile point serration: a controlled experimental 108:93–107 study of blade margin design. J Archaeol Sci Rep 3:437–443 Glover I, Presland G (1985) Microliths in Indonesian stone indus- Loendorf C, Plumlee RS, Tiedens S (2017) Projectile point design: tries. In: Bellwood P, Misra VN (eds) Recent Advances in Indo- flaked-stone projectile tip selection, function, and style. J Ariz Pacific Prehistory. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co., New Delhi, Archaeol 4(2):83–98 pp 185–196 Lombard M (2005) Evidence of hunting and hafting during the Mid- Hakim B, Fakhri, Suryatman, Murti DB, Nur M, et al (2019) Sebaran dle Stone Age at Sibudu Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: a Dan Jejak Hunian Manusia Prasejarah Wallacea Di Kawasan multianalytical approach. J Hum Evol 48:279–300 Karst Simbang, Maros, Sulawesi Selatan (Tahap II). Balai Arke- Lombard M, Wadley L, Jacobs Z, Mohapi M, Roberts RG (2010) ologi Sulawesi Selatan, Makassar Still Bay and serrated points from Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter, Hamilton R, Stevenson J, Li B, Bijaksana S (2019) A 16,000-year Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. J Archaeol Sci 37:1773–1784 record of climate, vegetation and fire from Wallacean lowland Mackay A, Stewart BA, Chase BM (2014) Coalescence and frag- tropical forests. Quatern Sci Rev 224:105929 mentation in the late Pleistocene archaeology of southernmost Harrison R (2004) Kimberley points and colonial preference: new insights Africa. J Hum Evol 72:26–51 into the chronology of pressure flaked point forms from the south- Maloney TR (2020) Kimberley points of Western Australia: pressure east Kimberley, Western Australia. Archaeol Ocean 39:1–11 flaking, projections and prestige. J Lithic Stud 7:1–26 Maloney T, O’Connor S, Balme J (2014) New dates for point tech- Harrison R (2006) An artefact of colonial desire? Kimberley points nology in the Kimberley. Archaeol Ocean 49:137–147 and the technologies of enchantment. Curr Anthropol 47:63–88 1 3 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Page 17 of 17 152 Maloney TR, Oktaviana AA, Setiawan P, Suryatman, Perston Y, Shea J, Davis Z, Brown K (2001) Experimental tests of Middle Pal- Aubert M (2022) Making impact: towards discovering early aeolithic spear points using a calibrated crossbow. J Archaeol projectile technology in Island South East Asian archaeology. Sci 28:807–816 Archaeol Res Asia 29:100351 Simons A, Bulbeck D (2004) Late Quaternary faunal successions in Mohapi M (2013) The Middle Stone Age point assemblage from South Sulawesi, Indonesia. In Quaternary Research in Indone- Umhlatuzana rock shelter: a morphometric study. South Afr sia, edited by S. G. Keates & J. M. Pasveer, pp. 167–189. A. A. Humanit 25:25–51 Balkema, Leiden Moore MW (2011) Simple stone flaking in Australasia: patterns and Sisk ML, Shea JJ (2011) The African origin of complex projectile tech- implications. Quatern Int 285:140–149 nology: an analysis using tip cross-sectional area and perimeter. Moore MW (2015) Bifacial flintknapping in the Northwest Kimberley, Int J Evol Biol 2011:1–8 Western Australia. J Archaeol Method Theory 22:913–951 Sitton J, Story B, Buchanan B, Eren MI (2020) Tip cross-sectional Mulvaney DJ, Soejono RP (1971) Archaeology in Sulawesi, Indonesia. geometry predicts the penetration depth of stone-tipped projec- Antiquity 45:26–33 tiles. Sci Rep 10:1–9 Newman K, Moore MW (2013) Ballistically anomalous stone projectile Sliva RJ (2015) Projectile points of the early agricultural southwest; points in Australia. J Archaeol Sci 40:2614–2620 Typology, migration and social dynamics from the Sonoran Olsen SL, Glover I (2004) The bone industry of Ulu Leafing 1 and Desert to the Colorado Plateau. Archaeology Southwest, Tuscon Leafing Burung 1 rockshelters, Sulawesi, Indonesia, in its Smallwood A, Smith H, Pevny CD, Jennings T (2018) The convergent regional context. In Quaternary Research in Indonesia, edited evolution of serrated points on the Southern Plains-Woodland border by S. G. Keates & J. M. Pasveer, pp. 273. A. A. Balkema, Leiden of central North America. In: O’Brien MJ, Buchanan B, Eren MI Patterson LW (1996) Major arrow point types in Southeast Texas. (eds) Convergent Evolution in Stone-Tool Technology. Massachu- Houst Archaeol Soc J 123:16–25 setts Institute of Technology Press, Cambridge, MA, pp 203–227 Perston YL, Burhan B, Newman K, Hakim B, Oktaviana AA, Braumm Smallwood AM, Pevny CD, Jennings TA, Morrow JE (2020) Projec- A (2021) Technology, subsistence strategies and cultural diver- tile? Knife? Perforator? Using actualistic experiments to build sity in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, during the Toalean Mid- models for identifying microscopic usewear traces on Dalton Holocene period: Recent advances in research. J Indo-Pacific points from the Brand site, Arkansas, North America. J Archaeol Archaeol 45:1–24 Sci Rep 31:102337 Perston YL, Moore M, Suryatman, Langley M, Hakim B et al (2021) A Suryatman, Hakim B, Mahmud MI, Fakri, Burhan B et al (2019) Arte- standardised classification scheme for the Mid-Holocene Toalean fak Batu Preneolitik Situs Leang Jarie: bukti teknologi Maros artefacts of South Sulawesi Indonesia. Plos One 16:e0251138 point tertua di kawasan budaya Toalean, Sulawesi Selatan. Pounder DJ, Bhatt S, Cormack L, Hunt BAC (2011) Tool mark stri- Amerta 37:1–17 ations in pig skin produced by stabs from a serrated blade. J Tamuntuan G, Bijaksana S, King J, Russell J, Fauzi U et al (2015) Forensic Med Pathol 32:93–95 Variation of magnetic properties in sediments from Lake Towuti, R Core Team (2021) R: a language and environment for statistical com- Indonesia, and its paleoclimatic significance. Palaeogeogr Pal- puting. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. aeoclimatol Palaeoecol 420:163–172 https:// www.R- proje ct. org/ Thompson TJU, Inglis J (2009) Differentiation of serrated and non- Roth R (2004) Histoire de l’archerie: arc et arbalète. Les Editions de serrated blades from stab marks in bone. Int J Legal Med Paris Max Chaleil, Paris 123:129–135 Rots V, Plisson H (2014) Projectiles and the abuse of the use-wear Torrence R (2008) Thinking big about small tools. Archaeol Pap Am method in a search for impact. J Archaeol Sci 48:154–165 Anthropol Assoc 12:179–189 Rots V, Lentfer C, Schmid VC, Porraz G, Conard NJ (2017) Pressure Unrath, G., Owen, L. R., van Gijn, A., Moss, E. H., Plisson, H. & flaking to serrate bifacial points for the hunt during the MIS5 at Vaughan, P. (1986). An evaluation of use-wear studies: a multi- Sibudu Cave (South Africa). PLoS One 12:e0175151 analyst approach. Early Man News 9/10/11, 117–175. Rudner J (1979) The use of stone artefacts and pottery among the van Heekeren HR (1957) The Stone Age of Indonesia. Martinus Khoisan peoples in historic and protohistoric times. S Afr Nijhoff, The Hague Archaeol Bull 34:3–17 Van Heekeren HR (1972) The stone age of Indonesia (p. 150). Brill. Russell JM, Vogel H, Konecky BL, Bijaksana S, Huang Y et al (2014) This first edition of The Stone Age of Indonesia has been Glacial forcing of central Indonesian hydroclimate since 60,000 replaced by the second edition, which is published as Volume y B.P. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 111:5100–5105 61 (1972; ISBN 9024713005) in the series Verhandelingen van Russell JM, Bijaksana S, Vogel H, Melles M, Kallmeyer J et al (2016) het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde. The Towuti Drilling Project: paleoenvironments, biological evo- Vierra BJ, Heilen M (2020) Projectile point technology: understand- lution, and geomicrobiology of a tropical Pacific lake. Sci Drill ing the relationship between tool design and hunting tactics. J 21:29–40 Archaeol Sci Rep 34:102560 Sackett JR (1990) Style and ethnicity in archaeology: the case for isoch- Vogel H, Russell JM, Cahyarini SY, Bijaksana S, Wattrus N (2015) restism. In: Conkey M, Hastorf C (eds) The Uses of Style in Depositional modes and lake-level variability at Lake Towuti, Archaeology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 32–43 Indonesia, during the past ~29 kyr BP. J Paleolimnol 54:359–377 Saiful AM, Hakim B (2016) Interaksi Manusia Terhadap Binatang di White AA (2019) A comparison of functional variability among Early Gua Batti. Jurnal Walennae 14:1–10 Archaic notched points from the Lower Savannah River. South Sarasin P, Sarasin F (1905) Reisen in Celebes Ausgeführt in den Jahren Carolina Antiquities 51:1–21 1893–1896 und 1902–1903. Kreidel, Wiesbaden Wicaksono SA, Russell JM, Holbourn A, Kuhnt W (2017) Hydro- Schoville BJ, Wilkins J, Ritzman T, Oestmo S, Brown KS (2017) The logical and vegetation shifts in the Wallacean region of cen- performance of heat-treated silcrete backed pieces in actualistic tral Indonesia since the Last Glacial Maximum. Quat Sci Rev and controlled complex projectile experiments. J Archaeol Sci 157:152–163 Rep 14:302–317 Shea JJ (2006) The origins of lithic projectile point technology: evi- Publisher's note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to dence from Africa, the Levant, and Europe. J Archaeol Sci jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. 33:823–846 1 3 http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences Springer Journals

The effect of edge serration on the performance of stone-tip projectiles: an experimental case study of the Maros Point from Holocene South Sulawesi

Download PDF
17 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/springer-journals/the-effect-of-edge-serration-on-the-performance-of-stone-tip-ZHubFxZc0q

References (122)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2022
ISSN
1866-9557
eISSN
1866-9565
DOI
10.1007/s12520-022-01620-4
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Serrated stone points have been documented in a variety of archaeological settings worldwide. In Indonesia, serrated points known as Maros point began to appear during the mid-Holocene as part of the Toalean techno-complex in southern South Sulawesi. Researchers have speculated functional and cultural reason behind the emergence of these distinctive artefact as projectile points, an assumption that has yet to be verified by archaeological data. In particular, the edge serration has been suggested to allow for deeper penetration and/or act as barbs to prevent the easy withdrawal of the points from the target. In this study, we experimentally test these functional hypotheses regarding the effect of edge serration on stone arrowheads resembling Maros points when fired using different bow draw weights. We also investigate variation in breakage and impact fracture pattern between serrated and non-serrated points. Our result show that, compared to the non-serrated points, the serrated arrows not only deliver deeper penetrations, but also require less force to withdraw from the ballistic gel target. However, these relationships are complicated by the inclusion of skin and bone in the ballistic target. The findings demon- strate that the effect of serrated stone points on projectile performance depends on factors such as the projectile delivery system and prey type. Moreover, under identical firing settings, the serrated points develop more variable macrofracture patterns than the non-serrated points, likely owing the irregular edge morphologies. Taking these results together, we discuss the implications of our experimental study on the appearance of Maros points and the Toalean techno-complex in South Sulawesi during the mid-Holocene. Keywords Projectile point · Serration · Maros point · Experimental archaeology Introduction Among the wide variety of stone points documented in the global archaeological record, there exist a number of point types that feature tooth-like serration along the edge * Anton Ferdianto margins. These serrated points display considerable varia- [email protected] tion in their morphology and occur across diverse temporal Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth, and geographic context (Rots et al. 2017; Smallwood et al. Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, 2018). With the general assumption that these points were Wollongong, NSW, Australia hafted as either knives or projectile tips, hypotheses about Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence the purpose of the serration have involved functional and for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University socio-cultural factors. Yet, very few experimental studies to of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia 3 date have explicitly examined these hypotheses, especially Research Center for Archaeometry, National Research under controlled conditions (Loendorf et al. 2015, 2017). and Innovation Agency, Central Jakarta, Indonesia 4 As such, the reasons for why past toolmakers in disparate Department of Archaeology, University of Hasanuddin, settings converged on application of edge serration on stone Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia 5 points remain poorly understood. Research Center for Prehistory and History, National Research Innovation Agency, Central Jakarta, Indonesia Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 152 Page 2 of 17 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 In Southeast Asia, the Maros point represents a unique According to this definition, the retouch of the Maros point serrated point type associated with the mid-Holocene can either be unifacial or bifacial on at least one of the two Toalean techno-complex in southern South Sulawesi approx- margins, and the retouched edge can be steep but not abrupt imately 8–3.5 ka. (van Heekeren 1972; Glover and Presland enough to resemble backing. Perston et  al. (2021b) also 1985; Bulbeck 2004; Bulbeck et al. 2000; Bellwood 2007; defined the Mallindrung points, which are serrated points Suryatman et al. 2019; Perston et al. 2021a, 2021b). Gener- like the Maros point but lack the concave indented base. ally described as small retouch points that are roughly tri- There also exist non-serrated points in the Toalean includ- angular or ovate in plain view, the Maros point is mainly ing the Lompoa point that has a concave base similar to the characterised by their concave/indented base and serrated Maros points, and the Pangkep point that does not have a margins made up by a series of notches along the edges concave base. It remains unclear if these non-serrated points (Fig. 1; Perston et al. 2021b; Bulbeck et al. 2000; van Heek- represent unfinished preforms or end-product types distinct eren 1957; Mulvaney and Soejono 1971; Bulbeck 2018). from the serrated points. The depth of these notches forming the serration can range As mentioned already, the Toalean stone points are com- from shallow to deep (Perston et al. 2021b). Because of the monly assumed to represent projectile tips, specifically point-like morphology, these artefacts were early described arrowheads (Bulbeck et al. 2000). It is important to point as ‘arrowheads’ (Sarasin and Sarasin 1905). While later out that this assertion remains a hypothesis that has yet to studies have been more conservative in relating the Maros be tested on archaeological data through use-wear analy- point to specific projectile systems (Heekeren 1972), there sis (Maloney et al. 2022). Yet it is important to note that remains a common assumption that Maros points were asso- painted rock art in the region does depict hunting scenes ciated with projectile armature (Bellwood 2007; Hakim et al. involving the probable use of projectile technologies like 2019; see Perston et al. 2021a). A similar assumption of pro- spear thrower as well as bow and arrow (Aubert et al. 2018; jectile and composite technology has also been made about Leihitu and Permana 2018). Thus, the scenario that these other Toalean artefacts types, including backed artefacts, retouched points served as the tips of projectile weaponry in sawlettes, bone points and other forms of retouched stone the past is plausible. Importantly, the serrated margins of the points (Perston et al. 2021b). Maros Point (as well as the Mallindrung point as per Perston The distribution of the Toalean techno-complex in South et  al. (2021b)) are unique among Southeast Asian stone Sulawesi is said to broadly parallel the range of modern day tools, and the technological and functional reason behind Makassar and Bugis language groups (Bulbeck et al. 2000; the production of the serration remain unclear. While there Bulbeck 2004). If this observation is correct, the linguistic are example retouched point types in the region (Forestier correspondence indicates that the distinctive Toalean tool 2007; Forestier et al. 2017; Perston et al. 2021b), there are forms, including the serrated Maros point, may be part of no other examples with edge serration. The geographically a culturally specific technological package particular to the closest example of stone points with similar serrated retouch region (see Perston et al. 2021a for review). However, as is the Kimberly point of north-western Australia. Produced Perston et al. (2021b) noted, there are notable inconsisten- from around 1.4–1 ka until the recent past (Maloney et al. cies in the way the Toalean too types are currently defined 2014; Harrison 2004), these points bear distinctive bifa- in the literature. Take the Maros point as an example, with cially retouch and edge serration finely made by pressure researchers placing varying levels of emphasis on the serra- flaking (Moore 2015). Ethnographic records indicate that tion retouch and/or the presence of the concave base when Kimberly points were manufactured from stone or glass as identifying the tool type in archaeological assemblages. As a spearheads for fighting, hunting and trade purposes (Har - consequence, the distribution of the Toalean techno-complex rison 2004; Akerman et al. 2002). Based on the superficial can vary depending on the definitions employed. To address resemblance between Kimberley points and Maros points, this issue, Perston et al. (2021b) proposed a new classifica- researchers have speculated cultural connections between tion system for the Toalean artefact types. For Maros points, South Sulawesi and Australia during the Holocene (Olsen they defined ‘classic’ Maros points strictly to point-like arte- and Glover 2004). However, compared to Maros points, facts that possess a concave base and denticulated margins. Kimberly points tend to have a rounded base and an overall Fig. 1 Examples of Maros point from excavation at Cappalombo 1 (A, B), Leang Jarie (C) and Leang Paningge (D) in South Sulawesi 1 3 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Page 3 of 17 152 shape that varies from ovate to lanceolate instead of trian- the triangular form of the Maros points may support the pos- gular (Akerman and Bindon 1995). sibility that these serrated points functioned as arrowheads For other instances of serrated stone points, one has to rather than tips of thrown darts. However, the identification look elsewhere in the world. One example is the serrated of weapon velocity and projection system among archaeo- bifacial points found before or during the Still Bay techno- logical stone points remains a contentious matter (Hutchings complex around 77 ka in Southern Africa, at sites such as 2016; Newman and Moore 2013), and further studies are Sibudu and Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter (Rots et al. 2017). needed to clarify the delivery system associated with the There is notable variation in the morphology of these Mid- Maros points of Sulawesi through multiple lines of evidence dle Stone Age serrated points. At Umhlatuzana, Lombard (Coppe et al. 2022; Maloney et al. 2022). et al. (2010; also see Mohapi 2013) noted that the serrated points are relatively long and narrow, with a blade-like mor- Why serrate? phology that is similar to the non-serrated Still Bay points. At Sibudu, however, Rots et al. (2017) described the points Rots et al. (2017) noted that most of the serrated point types to have a general triangular shape with variable size and around the world seem to be restricted in time and space. cross-sectional forms. These variations were attributed to The lack of a more widespread, consistent uptake of ser- the alternation of serration notching and the inu fl ence of raw ration among stone points suggests that the trait does not material. There are also notable differences in the size and offer universal advantage to the performance of stone-tip placement of the serration, as well as the way the notches projectiles. Instead, researchers have proposed culturally were made (bifacial versus unifacial). Based on wear and specific factors to explain the manifestation of serrated residue, these serrated points likely functioned as tips of points, including for ceremonial use, trade, social signal- hunting projectiles (Rots et al. 2017; Lombard 2005; Lom- ling and prestige (Johnson 1940; Akerman and Bindon 1995; bard et al. 2010). Several examples of serrated stone points Loendorf et al. 2015; Maloney 2020; Harrison 2006). For have also been described in North America. The Late Pale- instance, Hoffman (1997) and Loendorf et al. (2015, 2017) oindian Dalton point is a lanceolate point with a concave suggested that the serration on the blade margins of some base that occasionally possesses serration on the lateral mar- Hohokam projectile points in southern Arizona was to inten- gins, though the size and placement of the serration can vary tionally signal group affiliations. Similarly, variation in the (Smallwood et al. 2020). Other serrated point types include production of Kimberley points in Australia has been dis- the Stockton type points in California (Hester and Heizer cussed in terms of the negotiation and maintenance of iden- 1973), the serrated points associated with the Hohokam tity and social relations, as well as the expression of skill and culture in southern Arizona (Loendorf 2013), the stemmed social prestige (Högberg and Lombard 2020; Moore 2011; Scallorn points of the Late Woodland period (Smallwood 2015; Maloney 2020). et al. 2018; Patterson 1996) and the Early Archaic Taylor However, there is arguably a degree of consistency in the points of the East Woodland (White 2019). Again, these design of serration among projectile points that cross-cut point types vary considerably in their size, overall shape cultural context. In their study, Smallwood et al. (2018) used (lanceolate vs. triangular), base (concave vs. stemmed) and geometric morphometric analysis to compare the serration edge modification (serration vs. denticulation). among Dalton and Scallorn points from North American The above examples demonstrate that, beyond the Maros and Kimberley points from Australia. The results show that points of Indonesia, there is considerable geographic and there is no significant difference in the serration among these temporal variation in the occurrence and morphology of distinct point types, implying the possibility that the edge serrated stone points. Assuming that these points were pri- modification was designed for similar functional purposes. marily used as projectile points, some aspects of the mor- From this view, the lack of a ‘selective sweep’ in the uptake phological differences, such as point size and cross-sectional of serration among stone points may be because the func- profile, may be associated with functional factors related to tional advantage associated with edge serration depends on projectile aerodynamics and the delivery system (Christen- the context of use, such as the type of prey hunted, the pro- son 1986; Sitton et al. 2020; Hughes 1998; Eren et al. 2022; jecting system and the shooting distance. Several hypotheses Sisk and Shea 2011). In North America, it has been sug- have been proposed for the functional advantage of projec- gested that the point cross-section area correlates with the tile edge serration. Some suggest that serration increases weapon delivery system, with spear points having the larg- the cutting ability of a knife edge, as the high points on a est cross-sectional area, followed by thrown darts and then serrated edge allow force to be concentrated during cutting arrow heads (Shea 2006). Thus, the emergence of small, for easier penetration (Frazzetta 1988). Thus, it may be that thin, triangular points in North America has been attributed serrated edge margins on projectile points cause deeper pen- to the adoption of bow technology (Blitz and Porth 2013; etration in targets (Ellis 1997). Serration has also been said Hughes 1998). In this vein, the small and thin profile and to produce larger wounds as the edge tears instead of slices 1 3 152 Page 4 of 17 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 through the internal tissues (Frazzetta 1988; Abler 1992; target to cause deeper or greater damage. Returning to the Hughes 1998; Rots et al. 2017). As noted by Smallwood experiments by Loendorf et al. (2015, 2017), the authors et al. (2018), this latter view is supported by forensic studies controlled projectile velocity by using a recurve bow of a showing that serrated knives create significantly different 14-kg draw weight and a 47-cm draw length for all of the wounds to those produced by non-serrated knives, including tested arrows. Given that the draw weight of a bow is usu- striation marks on the skin, cartilage and other soft tissues ally measured at a draw length of 28 in. (or 71 cm), the (Pounder et al. 2011; Thompson and Inglis 2009), which actual draw weight used by Loendorf et al. (2015, 2017) would result in greater damage and bleeding in the target to propel the arrows was likely lower than 14 kg. In com- prey. Similarly, some have argued that the serrated margins parison, although highly variable, ethnographic records of may function like ‘barbs’ to prevent the easy withdrawal bow draw weight show average values between 30 and 50 of the point from the wound (Johnson 1940; Hughes 1998; lbs (14 to 23 kg) at normal draw (Cattelain 1997). There are Sliva 2015), allowing the projectile to cause more damage also examples of bows with exceptionally high draw weight. and bleeding as the animals flee (Catlin 1975; Flenniken For instance, the Hadza of Tanzania uses bows with a draw and Wilke 2016; Cundy 1989). From this perspective, the weight that can reach up to 100 lb (45 kg) (Roth 2004), while serrated margins of the Maros point may reflect a specific the New Guinean hunting bow is estimated to have a 80–90 functional design to enhance the tool’s performance as a lbs draw weight (36–41 kg) (Cattelain 1997). Archaeologi- projectile point. cally, the draw weights of Neolithic bow have been estimated Few experiments to date have explicitly tested the func- to between 24 and 84 lbs, which are in line with the ethno- tional performance of serrated versus non-serrated stone graphic range (Junkmanns 2013; Coppe et al. 2022). points in projectile delivery. Loendorf et al. (2015, 2017) Given that many of the ethnographically documented conducted two controlled experiments examining the effect bows have a draw weight that exceeds the range used by of edge serration on the performance of arrowheads. By fir - Loendorf et al. (2015, 2017), it remains to be investigated ing arrows hafted with either serrated or non-serrated trian- whether the lack of difference in the performance of ser - gular obsidian arrowheads from a fixed recurve bow and a rated and non-serrated points, as observed by Loendorf constant draw weight, the authors showed that there is no et al. (2015, 2017), extends to settings of higher bow draw clear die ff rence in accuracy, penetration depth and durability weight and velocity. Another aspect about the functional between the two arrowhead types. Based on these results, effect of serration points that has yet to be investigated Loendorf et al. (2015, 2017) concluded that edge serration experimentally is the hypothesis that edge serration acts as does not affect the performance of arrowheads. The con- barbs (Johnson 1940; Hughes 1998; Sliva 2015). If this were trolled design and repeated replication employed by Loen- the case, we would expect serrated points to require more dorf et al. (2015, 2017) means that their experimental results force to be removed from the target than non-serrated points. are internally consistent under the tested conditions and are This ‘barb-like’ effect may be further compounded by the unlikely to be confounded by other variables (Lin et al. 2018; presence of bone and hide in the target as these structures Eren et al. 2016). However, their negative finding regarding can be caught by the serrated edge, further preventing the the effect of edge serration is surprising as it goes against the withdrawal of the point. While Loendorf et al. (2015, 2017) range of functional and ethnographic claims that serration did include inelastic material like rawhide and polymethyl- points lead to greater penetration and/or damage. A possible methacrylate on some of the targets used, the authors did explanation for this discrepancy is that the effect of edge ser - not examine the force required to withdraw the arrows from ration is contingent on other factors involved in the projectile the target. delivery process. One possible parameter that influences the In this study, we examine these functional hypotheses performance of serrated projectile points is velocity (Lep- concerning the effect of edge serration with specific refer - ers and Rots 2020). From an aerodynamic perspective, ence to the Maros points of Indonesia, specifically if the protrusions on the edge margin of projectiles like serration Maros points did function as arrowheads. We hypothesise increases surface roughness, causing greater pressure drag that the serrated margin does cause the arrows to penetrate during flight (Hughes 1998). By extension, edge serration deeper into the target than non-serrated arrows when the would also increase penetration resistance upon contact with projectile speed increases through the use of a higher bow the target. As a result, Hughes (1998) suggested that points draw weight, and withdrawing a serrated Maros point arrow with serrations or barbs should be associated with greater requires more force than that for a non-serrated arrow, and projecting velocity in order to offset the increased resistance. this difference in withdrawal force increases with the pres- From this view, it stands to reason that the performance of ence of bone and hide in the target. To test these hypotheses, serrated points as projectile tips may vary depending on the we conducted a controlled ballistic experiment using a setup projecting velocity, such that a certain threshold of velocity similar to that of Loendorf et al. (2015, 2017) to fire arrows is required before the edge serrations can be pushed into the hafted with triangular bifacially retouched arrowheads, half 1 3 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Page 5 of 17 152 serrated to resemble the Maros points and half left unser- form the point (Fig. 2). The serration was done by making rated. The arrows were shot using bows of two different draw small notches evenly spread out along the entire edge on weights at targets of varying structural complexity composed both margins of the points. The size and shape of the arrow- of ballistic gel, pig rib bone and/or fresh pig skin. We further heads and the serration were made to align with the range examined breakage rates and use-wear of the experimental of variation represented among archaeological Maros point arrowheads to see if the serrated and the non-serrated points specimens recovered from multiple Toalean sites (Table 1). differ in their durability and macrofracture pattern associ- The size of the experimental serrated and non-serrated ated with projectile impact. In particular, we assess whether points share no statistical difference in length (Mann–Whit- the serrated margins complicated the formation of impact ney U test: U = 699, p = 0.43), width (Mann–Whitney U fractures typically used as diagnostic markers for projectile test: U = 679.5, p = 0.57), thickness (Mann–Whitney U test: impact and use. The experimental use-wear data are impor- U = 726, p = 0.27) and tip cross-sectional area (Mann–Whit- tant for providing a set of reference for future traceology ney U test: U = 720, p = 0.30). All of the arrowheads were studies of archaeological Maros points. hafted to the end of standardised pine arrow shafts (8 mm in diameter and 32 inch long with a spine of 35–45 lb) with industrial epoxy (Fig. 2). The arrows were fired using an Material and methods Apex Hunting R2 Podium Recurve Bow fitted with 38 lbs Black Sheep Apollo limbs, mounted to a platform secured Experimental design to the ground in order to prevent any movement during fir - ing. During the experiment, the bow string was drawn and A total of 72 arrowheads were made from Texas chert by locked at a set draw length and released via a mechanical using a hammer stone and an antler bopper, and finished trigger device (Fig. 2). This controlled experimental design with a copper-tipped pressure flaker. Half of the arrowheads minimises the influence of human variation on key param- (n = 36) were left unserrated while the other half were fur- eters (e.g. shooting position and angle, draw length) that ther retouched to produce serration on the two edges that can confound the experimental result (Iovita et al. 2014; Fig. 2 Examples of the serrated and non-serrated arrowhead used in the experiments (left), and a schematic illustration of the experimental setup (right) Table 1 The average and range of  dimensions and serration size et  al. 2021b), Leang Bulu’ Sipong 1 (n = 26; Perston et  al. 2021b), between the experimental points and the archaeological Maros Leang Pajae (n = 9; Perston et  al. 2021b) and Leang Rakkoe (n = 3; points used as reference. The dimensional data for the archaeologi- Perston et al. 2021b). The data on archaeological serration notch size cal reference are based on Maros points recovered from the sites of are based on Maros points recovered from the site of Leang Panninge Capalombo (n = 35; unpublished data), Lambatorang (n = 1; Perston (n = 102; Anshari 2018) Length (mm) Width (mm) Thickness (mm) Tip cross-sec- Serration notch Serration tional area (mm ) width (mm) notch depth (mm) Archaeological reference 23.4 (10.8–35.0) 13.2 (7.3–20.7) 3.2 (1.5–7.2) 22.8 (8.4–74.3) 2.6 (0.85–4.93) 1.8 (1.0–4.0) Experimental serrated (n = 36) 26.4 (22.2–30.6) 18.5 (13.5–22.9) 3.9 (2.2–5.6) 36.8 (18.9–60.7) 1.9 (1.5–2.4) 1.4 (1.1–1.9) Experimental non-serrated (n = 36) 26.0 (22.6–29.9) 18.1 (14.0–20.8) 3.7 (2.3–5.8) 34.52 (17.3–53.8) NA NA 1 3 152 Page 6 of 17 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Schoville et al. 2017; Shea et al. 2001). All of the shooting fresh skin cover, representing the most complex test medium experiments were carried out at the Illawarra Archery Club used in this study. By comparing the results across the four with appropriate permission and supervision. targets, it is possible to disentangle the effect of the two Across all firing trials, the ballistic target was positioned arrowhead forms on each of the target components (i.e. gel, 5 m away from the bow. Note that this distance is compara- ribs, skin). tively shorter than the range documented ethnographically, Two sets of experiments were carried out in this study which has been estimated to between 25 and 30 m for accu- with the recurve bow mentioned earlier (Table 2). To test rate shots (Cattelain 1997). However, the shorter distance the hypothesis that increasing projectile velocity changes employed here allows greater control over accuracy, such the performance of serrated points, the first experiment shot that each shot fired can hit the desired area on the ballis- serrated and non-serrated arrows using two different draw tic target. Controlling accuracy is important to prevent the weights, 11 kg and 15 kg (measured using a digital weight arrows from striking a previously hit location on the targets. scale while pulling the bow to a constant draw length of Between each firing trial, the target was shifted to ensure 40 cm and 45 cm respectively). This experiment was carried the arrow makes contact on a fresh target area. Four differ - out using only the ballistic gel target. To further assess the ent target types were used in this study, each with different performance of serrated and non-serrated points on more structural complexity that mimic aspects of the anatomi- complex targets, the second experiment shot serrated and cal structure of animal prey. The first target was composed non-serrated arrows using a constant draw weight of 15 kg of ballistic gel only (28 × 18 × 15 cm), made to a consist- (45 cm draw length) at the three targets consisting of vary- ency that resembles muscle tissue by using the Fackler and ing combinations of gel, fresh hide and bone. Across both Malinowski recipe (Fackler and Malinowski 1985; Jussila sets of experiments, arrows with no visible damage and use- 2004) with 10% gelatin solution/90% water and stored for wear after firing were reused in subsequent experiments to more than 24 h in a cold chamber before use. This first target maximise the number samples tested. This mainly applied to was used to gauge the baseline difference in the effect of the the arrows fired in the first experiment as the ballistic gel tar - two arrowheads when encountering a homogenous muscle- get did not cause any visible damage to the arrowheads. By like medium of uniform resistance. The second target was doing so, a total of 18 serrated and 18 non-serrated arrows composed of the same ballistic gel but with fresh pig skin were fired in each combination of bow draw weight and tar - covering the outside of the gel target. This target allows us get type. to isolate the effect of animal skin or hide on arrow per - formance. Pig was chosen for this experiment because the Data recording remains of Sulawesi warty pigs (Sus celebensis) are often associated with Toalean artefacts (Clason 1989; Suryatman In terms of firing the arrows, a hand-held speed gun (Bush- et  al. 2019; Brumm et al. 2018; Saiful and Hakim 2016; nell model number 101911) was used to monitor the arrow Fakhri 2017; Fakhri et al. 202) and hence represents a pos- travel speed. The speed gun measures travel speed within sible prey for which Maros points were used to hunt (see the range of 16–177  km per hour (kph) at a distance up Perston et al. 2021a; Maloney et al. 2022). The third target to 90 feet with an accuracy of ± 1 kph. To ensure accurate consisted of the ballistic gel with fresh pig rib bones inserted measurement, the speed gun was placed in line of the arrow within. Two sets of rib racks were placed inside the gel at firing direction and activated just before the arrow release. 5 cm and 12 cm respectively from the surface of the target Given the fixed firing position of the bow and constant draw to simulate a simplified structure of a rib cage. The fourth weight, we expect the arrow velocity to be more or less simi- target consisted of ballistic gel with the rib bone insert and lar across the trials using the same bow. Table 2 A summary of the Experiment 1 Experiment 2 design and the manipulated variables associated with the Hypotheses tested • Increasing projectile velocity • Arrow penetration depth varies by target compo- two experiments carried out in changes the performance of ser- sition this study rated points • Arrow withdraw force varies by target composi- • Serrated points require more tion force to withdraw Target type Gel Gel Gel + skin Gel + bone Gel + skin + bone Bow draw weight 11 kg (40 cm) 15 kg (45 cm) 15 kg (45 cm) 15 kg (45 cm) 15 kg (45 cm) (draw length) Arrow type • Serrated • Serrated • Serrated • Serrated • Serrated • Non-serrated • Non-serrated • Non-serrated • Non-serrated • Non-serrated 1 3 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Page 7 of 17 152 In terms of arrow performance, we recorded the penetra- damage ranging from a broken tip to major shattering. Note tion depth of each arrow in the target. This was done by that the breakage and macrofracture information were only marking the location on the arrow shaft that intersects the recorded on arrows that were not reused. To facilitate the surface of the target before pulling the arrow out of the tar- analysis of macrofracture, each arrowhead was cleaned in get, then measuring the distance between the marking on the an ultrasonic tank filled with a mild solution of dishwash- shaft to the tip of the arrow with a digital calliper. We expect ing liquid and distilled water for 3 min, before being rinsed that the inclusion of the rib and hide in the target would with distilled water mixed with 70% alcohol and air dried on cause arrow penetration to decrease, as these elements would a paper towel. This cleaning procedure removes any stains impede the arrows from travelling farther into the ballistic on the arrowheads and allows for any polish and striation gel. In particular, with the ribs positioned at a fixed location to be properly observed (Unrath et al., 1986). After clean- within some of the targets, we anticipate the arrow penetra- ing, each arrowhead was analysed using an Olympus SZ tion depth to be less variable for these targets because the stereo microscope (5–45 × zoom) and a Dino Lite premier arrows would hit the rib bones instead of penetrating farther series equipped with a LED ring light illumination unit into the target. Note that unlike Loendorf et al. (2015, 2018), and a polarizer ring. Images of the analyses were captured we did not normalise the penetration depth measurements using Lumenera Infinity 2 camera and the Infinity Analyze by arrow weight because there is no systematic difference software (version 7). The macrofractures were described in in the size of the serrated and non-serrated arrowheads used terms of the characteristics and location of the scars asso- in this study (Table 1). ciated with projectile point use (Rots and Plisson 2014; Another variable measured was the amount of force Coppe and Rots 2017). Specifically, we report the location required to pull out the arrow from the target after firing of the scar initiation (ventral surface and/or dorsal surface, (hereafter as ‘withdrawal force’). This was measured by a distal tip of the point and/or the lateral edges), the general Sauter force gauge (Model FL10), which has a peak hold direction of the scars (parallel, oblique or perpendicular to function that can capture the highest value recorded during the long axis of the point) and termination type (feather, measurement up to 11.54 N (or 1.18 kg force). To record hinge step). We also document any spin-off fractures (a cone withdrawal force, a string loop was secured to the end of fracture that initiates from an earlier fracture surface) and each arrow shaft before the experiment. After firing, the burin-like fractures (a fracture that propagates along a lateral force gauge was hooked to a string loop to withdraw the edge) that have been previously to occur on projectile points arrow through a single, linear pull motion. If edge serra- (Coppe and Rots 2017). tion functions as barbs, we expect an arrow with a serrated Statistical analyses were conducted using the R statis- arrowhead to require more withdrawal force to be released tical software (R Core Team 2021). The non-parametric from the target than an arrow with a non-serrated arrowhead. Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare serrated and We also predict that the withdrawal force would be higher non-serrated arrows in terms of the penetration depth and when the firing target contains rib bones and/or hide, as the withdrawal force under different firing conditions and target arrow may be caught by these additional elements when settings. A Test of Equal Proportions was used to compare exiting the target. Because withdrawal force is correlated the breakage rate of the two arrow types. An alpha value of with penetration depth (the deeper the penetration the more 0.05 was used to determine statistical significance. force required to withdraw the arrow), we standardise the withdrawal force measurements by their associated penetra- tion depth to determine the withdrawal force per 1 cm of Results penetration depth. To determine point durability, we differentiate between Arrow performance in ballistic gel under different breakage and macrofracture. The former represents damage draw weight to the arrowhead that altered its overall shape to an extent that we think would impact its functional performance, such The average arrow travel speed was 130.7 kph (sd = 2.3) as major snapping or shattering. Macrofracture, on the other when fired under a 11-kg draw weight and 160.5 kph hand, is used to denote small-scale damage and use-wear on (sd = 3.9) under a 15-kg draw weight. This variation in the arrowhead after firing. This form of damage includes arrow delivery speed correlates with the overall difference minor edge scarring and crushing that we think do not hinder in arrow penetration depth, with the 11-kg draw weight pro- the functionality of the arrows. For breakage, arrows were ducing an average penetration depth of 11.8 cm (sd = 1.1) classified as either ‘complete’ or ‘broken’ depending on their and the 15-kg draw weight producing an average penetra- state after firing. ‘Complete’ arrowheads were those that tion of 14.2 cm (sd = 1.2) (Fig. 3). In terms of the effect of remained intact with no visible breakage, but may contain edge serration, the serrated arrows penetrated deeper into macrofracture; ‘broken’ arrowheads were those that have the ballistic gel target than the non-serrated arrows under 1 3 152 Page 8 of 17 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Compared to the gel-only target (average penetration depth = 14.2  cm), the inclusion of the pig skin saw the overall arrow penetration decreased by an average of 1.1 cm (average penetration depth = 13.1 cm), while add- ing the rib bones led to a reduction in average arrow pen- etration by 1.5 cm (average penetration depth = 12.7 cm). For the target that contains the rib bones but not the skin, all of the tested arrows penetrated through the first rib rack and stopped at an average depth around where the second rack is positioned within the target. This pattern suggests that the location of the second rib rack may have had a systematic effect in stopping the arrows from penetrat - ing deeper into the target. Opposite to our prediction, the presence of the rib bones in the target caused the arrow penetration depth to be more variable (sd = 2.1) than those associated with the target without the bone inserts (gel-only: sd = 1.2; gel + skin: sd = 0.8). When the target contains both skin and bone, the arrow penetration depth is on average 4 cm shallower than the penetration depth associated with the gel-only target (average penetration Fig. 3 Penetration depth of serrated and non-serrated arrows in the depth = 10.2 cm), and the majority of the arrows did not ballistic gel target by bow draw weight reach the second set of rib bones. This last and most com- plex target also produced the greatest amount of variation in penetration depth (sd = 2.6). Looking at the overall performance of the two arrow types across the targets, the serrated arrows tend to pen- etrate slightly deeper (average = 13.1 cm) than the non-ser- rated arrows (average = 12.2 cm) (W = 1892.5, p = 0.007). However, if we look at the targets individually, the pen- etration difference between the two arrow types is only statistically significant with the gel-only target (see above for statistical results). No notable difference in the perfor - mance of the two arrow types was detected for the other t hree t argets (gel + skin: U = 112, p = 0.07; gel + bone: U = 112.5, p = 0.19; gel + skin + bone: W = 104, p = 0.11). For arrow withdrawal force, the force required to release some of the tested arrows exceeded the meas- uring capacity of the force gauge. Based on the values we did manage to measure (n = 101), t he non-ser rated Fig. 4 Penetration depth of serrated and non-serrated arrow by target type. The two dashed lines indicate the position of the rib bone racks arrows required more force to pull out from the ballistic in the two targets that contain the bone insert gel target than the serrated arrow (W = 245, p = 0.008) (Fig.  5). However, as with penetration depth, this dif- both draw weight settings (11 kg: W = 38.5, p < 0.001; 15 kg: ference in withdrawal force disappeared when skin and W = 93, p = 0.03). However, the actual difference in average bone were added to the target. Interestingly, while the penetration depth between the two arrow types is relatively inclusion of either skin or bone did not substantially small (1.4 cm under the 11-kg draw weight; 0.8 cm under alter the arrow withdrawal force, the combination of the 15-kg draw weight). both additional elements in the target led to consider- ably higher and more variable force values than the Arrow performance by different target type range observed among the other experimental settings under a constant draw weight (Fig. 5). This difference is unlikely to be an outcome of measurement error as other targets were recorded under Overall, the arrow penetration depth decreased as the the same experimental setting. Instead, the cause of this structural complexity of the target increased (Fig.  4). discrepancy is currently unclear. 1 3 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Page 9 of 17 152 burin-like fractures were observed. Between the two point types, the majority of the non-serrated arrowheads (11 out of 14, or 78%) exhibit macrofracture only at the tip of the point, with scars parallel to the point axis typical of pro- jectile impact fracture. In comparison, the distribution of macrofracture is more variable among the serrated points, with the majority displaying macrofracture scars not only at the tip but also along the adjacent lateral edges (15 out of 22, or 68%; Fig. 7b, d). This more variable scar distribution on the serrated points is likely a result of their irregular edge configuration, which provided more places for scar initiation to occur upon impact. In terms of the surface position of the macro scars, the majority of the arrows have scars on both the ventral and dorsal surfaces (19 out of 36 or 52%), while those with ventral- or dorsal-only scaring are in the minority Fig. 5 Withdrawal force standardised by penetration depth for ser- at equal proportions (5 out of 36 or 13%). Detailed summary rated and non-serrated arrows by different targets description of the observed macrofractures are provided in Table 3 in the Appendix. Breakage and macrofracture Discussion In terms of breakage, all of the arrows fired at the gel-only Serrated margins on stone points such as the Maros point target displayed no sign of breakage after firing. In com- parison, the inclusion of skin or bone in the target led to of South Sulawesi have been hypothesised to provide func- tional benefits to stone-tip projectiles (e.g. Frazzetta 1988; some damage on the arrowheads (Fig. 6), with the rib bone inserts causing a higher proportion of breakage (6 out of Hughes 1998; Ellis 1997). Yet, previous controlled experi- ments by Loendorf et  al. (2015, 2017) observed no sig- 29, or 17%) than the skin add-on (1 out of 36, or 3%). The damage rate is at the highest when the target contains both nificant difference in the performance of serrated and non- serrated points when fired into ballistic gel targets. In this skin and bone, with 10 of the 36 tested arrows (28%) show- ing varying degrees of breakage. Between the two arrow study, we hypothesised that the effect of edge serration on stone projectile points like the Maros point is conditioned by types, while there are proportionally more non-serrated arrows with breakage (17%) than serrated arrows (7%), the the projectile delivery speed. By using a bow with a higher draw weight than that employed by Loendorf et al. (2015, difference is not statistically significant (X = 2.40, df = 1, p = 0.12). Similarly, no statistical difference in breakage 2017), the serrated points in our experiment consistently penetrated deeper into the ballistic gel target than the non- rate was detected between the two arrow types among the individual target types (gel + skin: X < 0.001, df = 1, p = 1; serrated points across the two draw weight levels tested. This finding supports the hypothesis that serrated margins do gel + bone: X = 2.02, df = 1, p = 0.15; gel + skin + bone: X = 0.14, df = 1, p = 0.71). confer a functional benefit to projectile performance when using a larger bow. It is likely that the larger draw weight A total of 36 arrowheads exhibit macrofracture after fir - ing, all of which occur on the distal end of the points. The allowed the arrows to impact the target with greater speed and energy, allowing the serrated edges to better tear through observed macrofractures include macro scaring with varying termination types (feature, hinge, step) (Fig. 7b, d), spin- the target and cause deeper penetration wounds (Frazzetta 1988; Ellis 1997). However, looking across the two draw off scarring along breakage (Fig.  7a) and larger damage at the tip of the point typical of impact fracture (Fig. 7c). No weight levels tested here, while the overall penetration depth Fig. 6 Experimental arrowheads showing different breakage pat- terns after firing 1 3 152 Page 10 of 17 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Fig. 7 Examples of macrof- racture observed among the experimental arrowheads. a Spin-off initiated from break- age on a non-serrated point (30 × magnification); b serrated point with a scar with step ter- mination initiated from the tip on the dorsal side and another scar with hinge termination on the lateral margin beside the tip (50 × magnification); c large scar with step termination initi- ated from the tip on the ventral side of a non-serrated point (30 × magnification); d serrated point showing signs of crushing (yellow arrow) at the tip with overlapping scars of step and hinge terminations, and multiple macroscarring with step and hinge terminations to the side of the tip (red arrows) (60 × mag- nification) did increase with a higher draw weight, the penetration dif- represent a larger ‘rib cage’), it is possible that the arrows ference between the serrated and the non-serrated points did would penetrate even deeper into these targets. not become greater. One possibility is that the two levels of In terms of withdrawal force, our results show that the draw weights tested here are not sufficiently large enough non-serrated arrows actually required more force to with- to cause notable changes in the effect of serrated points. draw from the ballistic gel target than the serrated arrows. Alternatively, the influence of edge serration may operate as This finding rejects the hypothesis that edge serration acts a ‘threshold effect’—that it occurs once the levels of certain as barbs to prevent arrow withdrawal. Instead, the serrated delivery parameters (e.g. draw weight and projectile veloc- arrows required less withdrawal force, perhaps because ity) are met, but the strength of the effect itself does not the serrated margins tore through the target and produced increase subsequently with these parameters. larger wound tracks that in turn facilitated the release of the With increasing structural complexity of the ballistic arrows. In contrast, wounds caused by non-serrated margins target in our experiment, the average penetration depth of in the ballistic gel could actually ‘close up’ following the the serrated arrows was consistently higher than that of the passing of the arrowhead in the target, thereby increasing non-serrated arrows, though these average differences were the amount of force required to withdraw the arrow. How- no longer statistically meaningful when the gel target con- ever, as with penetration depth, this difference in withdrawal tained additional elements. Instead, the inclusion of skin or force between the two arrow types went away when the skin bone caused the overall penetration depth of the two arrow and bone components were added to the ballistic target. types to decrease, reflecting the higher penetration resist- Moreover, the withdrawal force increased considerably when ance introduced by these components. When both skin and the target contained both the skin and the bone, especially bone were included, we saw the lowest overall penetration among the non-serrated arrows. This change may reflect the depth achieved among all of the targets tested. Contrary to arrows getting caught by the skin and bone elements upon our prediction, however, the addition of the rib bones led withdrawal. If this was the case, however, it is unclear why to a greater amount of variation in the arrow penetration we did not observe similar increases in withdrawal force depth. In hindsight, this makes sense as the rib bone is not in the other two targets that contain the skin and the bone a homogenous structure, such that some of the arrows can components separately. As mentioned earlier, the withdrawal hit the bone at different locations while others pass through force for some of the arrows in our study were beyond the the flesh in between the rib bones. Moreover, the placement detection range of the force gauge used. While this issue did of the rib bones in the targets here likely influenced the not affect the relative comparisons among arrow types and arrow penetration depths observed. If the second rib rack targets, it does mean that the recorded force values reported was placed farther back within the gel targets (which can here only capture the lower range of the arrow withdrawal 1 3 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Page 11 of 17 152 force values. Future studies should ensure to adopt force non-serrated point types perhaps because the functional gauges with greater measuring capacities. advantage offered by edge serration is highly dependent Taking these findings together, we suggest that edge ser - on the context of use and the anatomy of the hunted prey ration on stone points, such as those associated with the (Vierra and Heilen 2020). Our experimental results sug- Maros point, can provide functional benefits to the per - gest that serrated arrows would perform better than non- formance of stone-tip projectiles, though these effects are serrated arrows if the prey has thin skin (relative to the pig context-dependent. First, serrated points can produce deeper skin tested here) and/or more muscle mass. On the other penetration than non-serrated points when the delivery hand, as noted earlier, there remains the possibility that the velocity is above a certain threshold that gives the projec- performance of serrated points would improve with the use tile point sufficient energy to tear through the target. The of larger bows. Judging by the average penetration depth of implication of this is that, if the serrated stone points were the serrated points being consistently higher than that of adopted for functional effects, a certain bow size and draw the non-serrated arrows across all of our experiments, the weight would have been required to achieve these effects in penetration difference between the two arrow types may the past. Comparing the bow used in our experiment and that actually widen under the use of larger bows and become by Loendorf et al. (2015, 2017), this threshold of bow size more systematic across different target types. Future stud- is between 14 and 18 kg in terms of bow draw weight. As ies can clarify this issue by testing a wider range of bow mentioned earlier, it is currently unclear whether increasing draw weights. the bow draw weight beyond this threshold would widen Importantly, the fact that serrated points can have a func- the penetration difference between serrated and non-serrated tional effect on projectile performance does not preclude points. However, if larger bows and higher projectile speeds the possibility that these edge modic fi ations were embedded were used, we expect to see a greater variation in the durabil- with stylistic and symbolic meanings in the past. Studies ity of the two arrow types. In our experiment, we observed have suggested that serrated points are associated with war- that the serrated points tend to have more variable distri- fare or the hunting of dangerous animals because of their butions of macrofracture on the tip than the non-serrated perceived ability to create terrible wounds (Ellis 1997). It is points due to the irregular edge morphologies. With higher entirely plausible that these social meanings were derived projectile impact speeds, it is anticipated that these differ - from empirical relationships. As mentioned already, experi- ences in macrofracture size and frequency would persist, if ments have demonstrated that serrated knives create mark- not widen (Iovita et al. 2014), which could affect the durabil - edly different damage than non-serrated knives on soft ity and reusability of the two arrow types. Other factors that tissues (Pounder et al. 2011; Thompson and Inglis 2009). influence the size of macrofracture scars and hence point In our experiment, we also showed that serrated arrows durability include the angle of incidence, which would have required less force to withdraw from the ballistic gel target, also depended on the projectile impact velocity and the pro- implying that the serrated margins created larger wound pulsion system (Coppe et al. 2022). Related to this, a higher tracks than the non-serrated margins in muscle-like tissues. percentage of the non-serrated arrows was broken than the These functional effects could have led edge serration to serrated points after firing at the targets containing skin and/ take up functional and social meanings, such that the mor- or bone. Although this difference in breakage proportion was phological characteristics become associated with notions not statistically significant in our sample, there is the possi- of lethality and violence. As a consequence, the production bility that variation in breakage rate may become more pro- of edge serration on stone points may be applied to situa- nounced if the arrows were fired using larger bows. If this is tions that were perceived to be dangerous or require more the case, edge serration could represent a design strategy that lethal weapons. Equally, we can envision these meanings improves both the penetration performance and durability to be attached to social groupings at a larger scale, where of stone points, as opposed to other approaches to enhance functional effects and social values become entangled in projectile performance at the expense of durability, such as material expressions of identity and social relations (Loen- allowing arrows to break within target preys to increase tis- dorf et al. 2015; Loendorf et al. 2017). For instance, if edge sue damage and bleeding (Rudner 1979). serration was perceived as more dangerous and lethal, the Another implication of our findings is that the effect of trait could have been employed as a material symbol for serrated points varies by target type. The inclusion of skin intra- or inter-group aggression and competition. Of course, and bone in our test targets reduced the penetration differ - these scenarios are purely speculative at this stage. The point ence between the serrated and the non-serrated arrows. here is that, since edge serration is an ‘isochrestic’ part of This variation in functional performance can help explain the tool that delivers the functional outcome (i.e. cutting or why we do not see a more widespread uptake of serrated penetration into the target) (sensu Sackett 1990), attempts to points in the past. While edge serration on stone points is separate out the functional factors from the stylistic among a global phenomenon, it is much less prevalent than other the serration may be unproductive. 1 3 152 Page 12 of 17 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 et al. 2001). Specifically, the diatom assemblage this time Maros points and the Toalean in the lake became dominated by littoral taxa, indicating a change to more shallow water and swampy conditions. As noted earlier, there is a general assumption in the archae- ology literature that the Maros point of South Sulawesi However, records from elsewhere in Sulawesi show some- what different patterns for the early-mid Holocene. Data represents the tip of projectile armature such as arrows. It is important to make clear that this assumption remains a derived from Lake Lantoa in South Sulawesi indicates peak abundance of lowland forest types and arboreal taxa, as well hypothesis that needs to be tested against the archaeological record (Maloney et al. 2022; Perston et al. 2021a). However, as the expansion of tropical conifers between ~ 8 ka and 5 ka (Hamilton et al. 2019). Sedimentary cores from Mandar Bay if the Maros points were indeed used as arrowheads, the experimental findings here suggest the possibility that the in Central Sulawesi also do not show any decline in δ13C until 5000–4000 years ago (Wicaksono et al. 2017). These serrated edge design was adopted for functional reasons in the mid-Holocene. While the actual increase in penetration regional variations likely reflect heterogeneous Holocene climatic conditions across Sulawesi. Indeed, while much of depth by using points with serrated margins may not be vast when compared to non-serrated points, the difference could the vegetation in Sulawesi today is characterised by ever- green rainforest due to year-round high precipitation, parts have contributed to the hunting success of certain prey types. In addition, the larger wounds produced by serrated points of Sulawesi, including South Sulawesi, are dominated by tropical deciduous forests because of the more pronounced would cause more bleeding and are harder to heal. Consider- ing these functional benefits, the appearance of the Maros dry seasons during parts of the year, caused by the south- eastern trade winds bring dry air from Australia (Wicaksono points in South Sulawesi during the mid-Holocene may point to changes in foraging practices involving innovative et al. 2017). There are signs that the trade winds from Aus- tralia strengthened in the mid-Holocene 8000–6000 years strategies to increase hunting success. The unserrated, hol- low-based Lompoa point (Perston et al. 2021b) that occurs ago (Ding et al. 2013). The more intense dry seasons dur- ing this time would have led to shifts in the South Sulawesi in the Toalean thus may either represent unfinished Maros points, or be used for different prey types. To clarify these vegetation, such as the increase of non-woody grasslands in place of closed canopy forest as documented in the Lake issues, detailed traceology studies are urgently needed to verify the function of these Toalean points (Maloney et al. Towuti and Lake Matano sedimentary records mentioned above (Russell et al. 2016; Vogel et al. 2015; Wicaksono 2022). To this end, our use-wear observations here provide an important point of reference for the identification of et al. 2017). In this context, it is possible that the occurrence of the projectile use among serrated point types like the Maros point and the Mallindrung point. Namely, compared to non- serrated Maros points and other Toalean tool types during the mid-Holocene signals a major reconfiguration in sub - serrated points where impact fractures tend to be limited to the distal apex, our experimental results show that serrated sistence practices in response to changing resource avail- ability. For instance, the fragmentation of closed-canopy points can exhibit impact fracture not only at the apex but also along the adjacent lateral margins. rainforests and the expansion of grasslands could have led to greater seasonal variation in the distribution of animal Aside from the Maros point and other retouched point types, several other Toalean artefact types have also been and plant species (Simons and Bulbeck 2004), prompting past people to invest greater time and energy in the manu- related to composite projectile weaponry, such as backed artefacts, sawlettes and bone points (Perston et al. 2021b). facture and use of technologies, such as projectile weapons, that can improve hunting success and buffer against forag- The co-occurrence of these novel tool forms indicates tech- nological transformations in South Sulawesi during the ing risk and cost (Bleed 1986; Torrence 2008; Hiscock 1994). Moreover, a decline in local resource abundance mid-Holocene, possibly under backdrop of shifting environ- mental conditions. Based on the δ13C of epicuticular waxes could have also promoted inter-group interactions over ter- ritorial boundaries and social arrangements for resource from C4 plant and titanium concentrations in the sedimen- tary record of Lake Towuti in South Sulawesi, studies have access and information sharing (Mackay et  al. 2014; Ambrose and Lorenz 1990), with material culture playing shown a reduction in precipitation and an increase in open grassland in the region between ~ 9 ka and 3 ka (Russell et al. a role in the maintenance of social cohesion under height- ened social and economic tensions (Hodder 1979; David 2014; Vogel et al. 2015; Tamuntuan et al. 2015). A similar drop in δ13C during the early-mid Holocene indicating the and Lourandos 1998; Clarkson et al. 2018; Hiscock 1994, 2018, 2021). From this perspective, the uptake and spread onset of relatively dryer conditions was also observed in the environmental record of the nearby Lake Matano (Wicak- of the Maros point and other distinctive Toalean tools in South Sulawesi may be functionally driven but socially sono et al. 2017). The sedimentary record at Lake Tondano in North Sulawesi also suggests increasing disturbance to mediated, through the signalling and negotiation of social identity and relations within and between groups. This surrounding forest vegetation in the mid-Holocene (Dam 1 3 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Page 13 of 17 152 process of social interaction can help explain the spatially 2017). Contrasting to previous findings by Loendorf et al. circumscribed distribution of the Toalean techno-complex. (2015, 2017), our results indicate that serrated points do pro- As mentioned earlier, Bulbeck et al. (2000) noted that the duce deeper penetrations and possibly larger wound tracks distribution of ‘classic’ Toalean sites correlates with the under some settings, though these effects are complicated by current spread of the Makassar Austronesian languages in the structural variation of the targets. The observations here South Sulawesi, and proposed that Toalean assemblage var- suggest that the benefits offered by edge serration to projec- iations towards the late Holocene were relate to the arrival tile performance are not universal, but rather contingent on of Austronesian speakers and the introduction of farming. other contextual factors, including the projectile delivery Recent review by Perston et al. (2021a) demonstrates that system and the type of prey for which the points were used this general geographic distribution for the Toalean still (Vierra and Heilen 2020). By clarifying the relationships stands based on current archaeological evidence. How- among these different factors, it may be possible to better ever, given that the appearance of the Toalean predates the infer the range of technological behaviours associated with arrival of the Austronesian speakers, this geographic divi- the application of serrated points in the past. sion between the Toalean/non-Toalean site distributions in The experimental findings here suggest the possibil- South Sulawesi could reflect a deeper socio-cultural separa- ity that the serrated margins on the Maros points of South tion dated back to the mid-early Holocene, intertwined with Sulawesi were adopted to improve hunting success through regional environmental history. the use of projectile armature. The occurrence of the Maros points and other Toalean tool types during the mid-Holocene in South Sulawesi signals major reorganisations in techno- logical and foraging practices, possibly in relation to declin- Conclusions ing resource availability and heightened social interactions under drying conditions. In this setting, the functional and The archaeological occurrence of serrated stone points is the symbolic aspects associated with the distinctive serrated a global phenomenon, yet few experimental studies have margins may have become intertwined in ways that facili- investigated the possible effect of edge serration on the tated the maintenance and transmission of the Maros point performance of stone-tip projectiles (Loendorf et al. 2015, overtime in the region. 1 3 152 Page 14 of 17 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Table 3 Summary of breakage and macrofracture on the experiment pieces ID Type Shaft mass Point mass Total mass Target Fracture group Macrofacture location Macrofracture termination Surface Edge expn13 Non 18.3 1.3 19.6 Gel and bone Breakage exps2 Serrated 18.6 1.6 20.2 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Step, hinge exps1 Serrated 18.1 1.3 19.4 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Mix expn11 Non 18.7 2 20.7 Gel and bone Breakage expn9 Non 17.6 1.6 19.2 Gel and bone Breakage Ventral Tip Feather, hinge expn4 Non 18.6 2.2 20.8 Gel and skin Breakage exps21 Serrated 18.7 1.9 20.6 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Step, hinge exps11 Serrated 19 1.1 20.1 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Mix expn2 Non 19.2 3.3 22.5 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal Hinge and step exps30 Serrated 17.4 3.1 20.5 Gel and bone Impact fracture Ventral Distal, both lateral Step, feather expn16 Non 18.2 2.4 20.6 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal Feather, hinge exps19 Serrated 18.6 1.9 20.5 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Step,hinge,feather expn17 Non 18.7 2.9 21.6 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Step, hinge expn28 Non 17.8 1.5 19.3 Gel, bone, skin Breakage Both Mix exps29 Serrated 15.6 1.6 17.2 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Both Tip Mix exps23 Serrated 16.9 2.2 19.1 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Step, feather exps5 Serrated 17.3 1.9 19.2 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Mix exps35 Serrated 16.9 2.2 19.1 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Both Tip Mix expn27 Non 23.1 1.2 24.3 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Both Distal Feather, hinge, step expn6 Non 20.3 1.4 21.7 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Both Distal Hinge and step exps34 Serrated 17.8 1.3 19.1 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Mix expn 5 Non 19.1 2.7 21.8 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Step, hinge expn 15 Non 21.7 1.5 23.2 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal Step, hinge expn 8 Non 20.1 2.3 22.4 Gel and bone Impact fracture Dorsal Distal Hinge and step exps 24 Serrated 18.3 1.5 19.8 Gel and bone Impact fracture Dorsal Distal Hinge and step exps 13 Serrated 18.3 1.7 20 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Dista, lateral Hinge and step expn 24 Non 19.3 1.1 20.4 Gel, bone, skin Breakage expn 22 Non 19.3 2.3 21.6 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Dorsal Distal Hinge and step exps 15 Serrated 17.9 2 19.9 Gel and skin Impact fracture Both exps 7 Serrated 21.2 1.8 23 Gel and skin Breakage Both Distal Hinge and step expn 2 Non 19.2 3.3 22.5 Gel and bone Impact fracture Dorsal Distal Step exps 10 Serrated 17.6 1.9 19.5 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Step, hinge, feather expn 34 Non 18.2 1.1 19.3 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Dorsal Distal Feather exps 9 Serrated 19.2 3.1 22.3 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Hinge and step exps 20 Serrated 19.8 3 22.8 Gel and bone Impact fracture Ventral Distal Step expn 4 Non 18.6 2.2 20.8 Gel and skin Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Hinge and step expn 1 Non 17 1.5 18.5 Gel and bone Impact fracture Ventral Distal Hinge and step exps 27 Serrated 18.5 2.2 20.7 Gel and skin Impact fracture Ventral Distal, both lateral Feather,hinge expn 3 Non 17.8 1.8 19.6 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal Hinge and step exps 4 Serrated 17.7 1.3 19 Gel and bone Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Mix exps 3 Serrated 18.9 2.4 21.3 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Both Distal, both lateral Hinge and step exps 38 Serrated 16.9 1.1 18 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Both Distal Feather, hinge exps 8 Serrated 18.7 1.9 20.6 Gel, bone, skin Impact fracture Ventral Distal Feather expn 37 Non 18.6 2 20.6 Gel, bone, skin Breakage expn10 Non 17.6 1.9 19.5 Gel and bone Breakage expn12 Non 17.3 2.3 19.6 Gel and bone Breakage expn20 Non 18 1.4 19.4 Gel and bone Breakage expn27 Non 23.1 1.2 24.3 Gel, bone, skin Breakage 1 3 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Page 15 of 17 152 Table 3 (continued) ID Type Shaft mass Point mass Total mass Target Fracture group Macrofacture location Macrofracture termination Surface Edge expn30 Non 16.9 1.8 18.7 Gel, bone, skin Breakage expn36 Non 19.9 1.9 21.8 Gel, bone, skin Breakage expn9 Non 17.6 1.6 19.2 Gel and bone Breakage exps12 Serrated 18.6 1.6 20.2 Gel and bone Breakage exps36 Serrated 17.4 1.2 18.6 Gel, bone, skin Breakage exps6 Serrated 18.2 2.2 20.4 Gel and bone Breakage Akerman K, Bindon P (1995) Dentate and related stone biface points Appendix from Northern Australia. Beagle Rec Mus Art Galleries North Territ 12:89–99 Akerman K, Fullagar R, van Gijn A (2002) Weapons and Wunan: production, function and exchange of Kimberley Points. Aust Acknowledgements AF and TS are supported by the Austral- Aborig Stud 1:13–42 ian Research Council through a Centre of Excellence Grant Ambrose SH, Lorenz KG (1990) Social and ecological models for (CE170100015). SCL is supported by the Australian Research Coun- the Middle Stone Age in southern Africa. In: Mellars P (ed) cil through a DECRA Grant (DE200100502). Experimental equip- The Emergence of Modern Humans: An Archaeological Per- ment and materials were funded by the University of Wollongong. AF spective. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, pp 3–33 thanks Glenn McMahon and the Illawarra Archers Club for provid- Anshari K (2018) Teknologi Lancipan Maros di Situs Leang Pan- ing the venue and supervision for carrying out the experiments. Chris ninge, Kecamatan Mallawa, Kabupaten Maros. Unpublished Clarkson, Corey O’Driscoll and Mike Finlayson provided valuable undergraduate thesis. Archaeology Department, Universitas comments and assistance to the design and logistics of the experimen- Hasanuddin tal setup. Yinika Perston read an early draft of the paper and offered Aubert M, Setiawan P, Oktaviana AA, Brumm A, Sulistyarto PH, valuable comments. Three anonymous reviewers also provided useful Saptomo EW, Istiawan B, Ma’rifat TA, Wahyuono VN, Atmoko comments that improved the paper. FT, Zhao JX (2018) Palaeolithic cave art in Borneo. Nature 564(7735):254–257 Bellwood P (2007) Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago. Funding Open Access funding enabled and organized by CAUL and ANU E-Press, Canberra its Member Institutions Bleed P (1986) The optimal design of hunting weapons: maintain- ability or reliability. Am Antiq 51:737–747 Declarations Blitz JH, Porth ES (2013) Social complexity and the bow in the Eastern Woodlands. Evol Anthropol 22:89–95 Consent for publication The authors agree to the publication of this Brumm A, Hakim B, Ramli M, Aubert M, van den Bergh G et al paper by journal Archaeological and Anthropological Science. (2018) A reassessment of the early archaeological record at Leang Burung 2, a Late Pleistocene rock-shelter site on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. PLoS One 13:e0193025 Conflict of interest The authors declare no competing interests. Bulbeck D (2018) Holocene site occupancy in Sulawesi. In: O’Connor S, Bulbeck D, Meyer J (eds) The Archaeology of Sulawesi: Cur- Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attri- rent research on the Pleistocene to Historic Period. ANU Press, bution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adapta- Canberra, pp 93–116 tion, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long Bulbeck D, Pasqua M, Di Lello A (2000) Culture history of the as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, Toalean of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Asian Perspect 39:71–108 provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes Bulbeck D (2004) Divided in space, united in time: the Holocene pre- were made. The images or other third party material in this article are history of south Sulawesi. In Quaternary Research in Indonesia, included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated edited by S. G. Keates & J. M. Pasveer, pp. 129–166. A. A. otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in Balkema, Leiden the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not Catlin G (1975) Letters and notes on the North American Indians. permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will Gramercy Books, New York need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a Cattelain P (1997) Hunting during the Upper Palaeolithic: bow, spear copy of this licence, visit http://cr eativ ecommons. or g/licen ses/ b y/4.0/ . thrower, or both? In: Knecht H (ed) Projectile Technology. Springer, Boston, MA, pp 213–240 Christenson AL (1986) Projectile point size and projectile aerodynam- ics: an exploratory study. Plains Anthropol 31:109–128 Clarkson C, Hiscock P, Mackay A, Shipton C (2018) Small, sharp, and References standardized: global convergence in backed-microlith technol- ogy. In: O’Brien MJ, Buchanan B, Eren MI (eds) Convergent Abler WL (1992) The serrated teeth of Tyrannosaurid dinosaurs and Evolution in Stone-Tool Technology. Massachusetts Institute of biting structure in other animals. Paleobiology 18:161–183 Technology Press, Cambridge, MA, pp 175–200 1 3 152 Page 16 of 17 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Clason AT (1989) Late Pleistocene/Holocene hunter-gatherer of Hester TR, Heizer RF (1973) Arrow Points or Knives? Comments on the Sulawesi. In: Waterbolk HT (ed) Palaeohistoria. CRC Press, Proposed Function of “Stockton Points.” Am Antiq 38:220–221 London, pp 67–76 Hiscock P (1994) Technological responses to risk in Holocene Aus- Coppe J, Lepers C, Rots V (2022) Projectiles under a new angle: a tralia. J World Prehist 8:267–292 ballistic analysis provides an important building block to grasp Hiscock P (2018) Horizons of change: entanglement of paleoenviorn- Paleolithic weapon technology. J Archaeol Method Theory :1–27 ment and cultural dynamics in Australian lithic technology. In: Coppe J, Rots V (2017) Focus on the target. The importance of a trans- Robinson E, Sellet F (eds) Lithic Technological Organization and parent fracture terminology for understanding projectile points Paleoenviornmental Change. Springer, Cham, pp 79–90 and projecting modes. J Archaeol Sci Rep 12:109–123 Hiscock P (2021) Small signals: comprehending the Australian micro- Cundy BJ (1989) Formal variation in Australian spear and spear lithic as public signalling. Camb Archaeol J 31:313–324 thrower technology. British Archaeological Reports International Hodder I (1979) Economic and social stress and material culture Series 546, Oxford patterning. Am Antiq 44:446–454 Dam RAC, Fluin J, Suparan P, van der Kaars S (2001) Palaeoenviron- Hoffman CM (1997) Alliance formation and social interaction during mental developments in the Lake Tondano area (N. Sulawesi, the Sedentary period: a stylistic analysis of Hohokam arrow Indonesia) since 33,000 yr B.P. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Pal- points. Unpublished PhD dissertation, Department of Anthro- aeoecol 171:147–183 pology, Arizona State University David B, Lourandos H (1998) Rock art and socio-demography in north- Högberg A, Lombard M (2020) ‘I can do it’ becomes ‘we do it’: eastern Australian prehistory. World Archaeol 30:193–219 Kimberley (Australia) and Still Bay (South Africa) points Ding X, Bassinot F, Guichard F, Fang NQ (2013) Indonesian Through- through a socio-technical framework lens. J Paleolithic flow and monsoon activity records in the Timor Sea since the last Archaeol 3:633–663 glacial maximum. Mar Micropaleontol 101:115–126 Hughes SS (1998) Getting to the point: Evolutionary change in pre- Ellis CJ (1997) Factors influencing the use of stone projectile tips. In: Kne- historic weaponry. J Archaeol Method Theory 5:345–408 cht H (ed) Projectile Technology. Springer, Boston, MA, pp 37–74 Hutchings WK (2016) When is a point a projectile? Morphology, Eren MI, Lycett SJ, Patten RJ, Buchanan B, Pargeter J, O’Brien MJ impact fractures, scientific rigor, and the limits of inference. (2016) Test, model, and method validation: the role of experi- In: Iovita R, Sano K (eds) Multidisciplinary Approaches to the mental stone artifact replication in hypothesis-driven archaeol- Study of Stone Age Weaponry. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 3–12 ogy. Ethnoarchaeology 8:103–136 Iovita R, Schönekeß H, Gaudzinski-Windheuser S, Jäger F (2014) Eren MI, Bebber MR, Knell EJ, Story B, Buchanan B (2022) Plains Projectile impact fractures and launching mechanisms: results Paleoindian projectile point penetration potential. J Anthropol of a controlled ballistic experiment using replica Levallois Res 78:84–112 points. J Archaeol Sci 48:73–83 Fackler ML, Malinowski JA (1985) The wound profile: a visual Johnson EN (1940) The serrated points of central California. Am method for quantifying gunshot wound components. J Trauma Antiq 6:167–170 25:522–529 Junkmanns J (2013) Pfeil und Bogen—Von der Altsteinzeit bis zum Fakhri, Hakim B, Yulastri, Salmia, Suryatman (2021) Pemanfaatan fauna Mittelalter. Verlag Angelika Hörning, Ludwigshafen vertebrata dan kondisi lingkungan masa okupasi 8.000–550 BP di Jussila J (2004) Preparing ballistic gelatine—review and proposal for situs Leang Jarie, Maros Sulawesi Selatan. Amerta 39:17–34 a standard method. Forensic Sci Int 141:91–98 Fakhri (2017) Fauna dan strategi subsistensi penghuni situs Pangngani- Leihitu I, Permana RCE (2018) Looking for a trace of shamanism, kang 4000 tahun yang lalu. In Butta Toa: Jejak arkeologi budaya in the rock art of Maros-Pangkep, south Sulawesi, Indonesia. toala, logam, & tradisi berlanjut di Bantaeng, edited by M.I. Kapata Arkeologi, p 15–26 Mahmud, B. Hakim, pp. 49–74. Penerbit Ombak, Yogyakarta Lepers C, Rots V (2020) The important role of bow choice and arrow Flenniken JJ, Wilke PJ (2016) Typology, technology, and chronology fletching in projectile experimentation A ballistic approach. J of Great Basin dart points. Am Anthropol 91:149–158 Archaeol Sci Rep 34:102613 Forestier H (2007) Ribuan Gunung, Ribuan Alat Batu, Prasejarah Song Lin SC, Rezek Z, Dibble HL (2018) Experimental design and experi- Keplek, Gunung Sewu, Jawa Timur. KPG (Kepustakaan Popular mental inference in stone artifact archaeology. J Archaeol Gramedia), Jakarta Method Theory 25:663–688 Forestier H, Grenet M, Borel A, Celiberti V (2017) Les productions Loendorf C (2013) Historic period Akimel O’Odham projectile lithiques de l’Archipel indonésien. J Lithic Stud 4:231–303 points and settlement patterns. Kiva 79:83–103 Frazzetta TH (1988) The mechanics of cutting and the form of shark Loendorf C, Oliver TJ, Tiedens S, Plumlee RS, Woodson KM et al (2015) teeth (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii). Zoomorphology Flaked-stone projectile point serration: a controlled experimental 108:93–107 study of blade margin design. J Archaeol Sci Rep 3:437–443 Glover I, Presland G (1985) Microliths in Indonesian stone indus- Loendorf C, Plumlee RS, Tiedens S (2017) Projectile point design: tries. In: Bellwood P, Misra VN (eds) Recent Advances in Indo- flaked-stone projectile tip selection, function, and style. J Ariz Pacific Prehistory. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co., New Delhi, Archaeol 4(2):83–98 pp 185–196 Lombard M (2005) Evidence of hunting and hafting during the Mid- Hakim B, Fakhri, Suryatman, Murti DB, Nur M, et al (2019) Sebaran dle Stone Age at Sibudu Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: a Dan Jejak Hunian Manusia Prasejarah Wallacea Di Kawasan multianalytical approach. J Hum Evol 48:279–300 Karst Simbang, Maros, Sulawesi Selatan (Tahap II). Balai Arke- Lombard M, Wadley L, Jacobs Z, Mohapi M, Roberts RG (2010) ologi Sulawesi Selatan, Makassar Still Bay and serrated points from Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter, Hamilton R, Stevenson J, Li B, Bijaksana S (2019) A 16,000-year Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. J Archaeol Sci 37:1773–1784 record of climate, vegetation and fire from Wallacean lowland Mackay A, Stewart BA, Chase BM (2014) Coalescence and frag- tropical forests. Quatern Sci Rev 224:105929 mentation in the late Pleistocene archaeology of southernmost Harrison R (2004) Kimberley points and colonial preference: new insights Africa. J Hum Evol 72:26–51 into the chronology of pressure flaked point forms from the south- Maloney TR (2020) Kimberley points of Western Australia: pressure east Kimberley, Western Australia. Archaeol Ocean 39:1–11 flaking, projections and prestige. J Lithic Stud 7:1–26 Maloney T, O’Connor S, Balme J (2014) New dates for point tech- Harrison R (2006) An artefact of colonial desire? Kimberley points nology in the Kimberley. Archaeol Ocean 49:137–147 and the technologies of enchantment. Curr Anthropol 47:63–88 1 3 Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 152 Page 17 of 17 152 Maloney TR, Oktaviana AA, Setiawan P, Suryatman, Perston Y, Shea J, Davis Z, Brown K (2001) Experimental tests of Middle Pal- Aubert M (2022) Making impact: towards discovering early aeolithic spear points using a calibrated crossbow. J Archaeol projectile technology in Island South East Asian archaeology. Sci 28:807–816 Archaeol Res Asia 29:100351 Simons A, Bulbeck D (2004) Late Quaternary faunal successions in Mohapi M (2013) The Middle Stone Age point assemblage from South Sulawesi, Indonesia. In Quaternary Research in Indone- Umhlatuzana rock shelter: a morphometric study. South Afr sia, edited by S. G. Keates & J. M. Pasveer, pp. 167–189. A. A. Humanit 25:25–51 Balkema, Leiden Moore MW (2011) Simple stone flaking in Australasia: patterns and Sisk ML, Shea JJ (2011) The African origin of complex projectile tech- implications. Quatern Int 285:140–149 nology: an analysis using tip cross-sectional area and perimeter. Moore MW (2015) Bifacial flintknapping in the Northwest Kimberley, Int J Evol Biol 2011:1–8 Western Australia. J Archaeol Method Theory 22:913–951 Sitton J, Story B, Buchanan B, Eren MI (2020) Tip cross-sectional Mulvaney DJ, Soejono RP (1971) Archaeology in Sulawesi, Indonesia. geometry predicts the penetration depth of stone-tipped projec- Antiquity 45:26–33 tiles. Sci Rep 10:1–9 Newman K, Moore MW (2013) Ballistically anomalous stone projectile Sliva RJ (2015) Projectile points of the early agricultural southwest; points in Australia. J Archaeol Sci 40:2614–2620 Typology, migration and social dynamics from the Sonoran Olsen SL, Glover I (2004) The bone industry of Ulu Leafing 1 and Desert to the Colorado Plateau. Archaeology Southwest, Tuscon Leafing Burung 1 rockshelters, Sulawesi, Indonesia, in its Smallwood A, Smith H, Pevny CD, Jennings T (2018) The convergent regional context. In Quaternary Research in Indonesia, edited evolution of serrated points on the Southern Plains-Woodland border by S. G. Keates & J. M. Pasveer, pp. 273. A. A. Balkema, Leiden of central North America. In: O’Brien MJ, Buchanan B, Eren MI Patterson LW (1996) Major arrow point types in Southeast Texas. (eds) Convergent Evolution in Stone-Tool Technology. Massachu- Houst Archaeol Soc J 123:16–25 setts Institute of Technology Press, Cambridge, MA, pp 203–227 Perston YL, Burhan B, Newman K, Hakim B, Oktaviana AA, Braumm Smallwood AM, Pevny CD, Jennings TA, Morrow JE (2020) Projec- A (2021) Technology, subsistence strategies and cultural diver- tile? Knife? Perforator? Using actualistic experiments to build sity in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, during the Toalean Mid- models for identifying microscopic usewear traces on Dalton Holocene period: Recent advances in research. J Indo-Pacific points from the Brand site, Arkansas, North America. J Archaeol Archaeol 45:1–24 Sci Rep 31:102337 Perston YL, Moore M, Suryatman, Langley M, Hakim B et al (2021) A Suryatman, Hakim B, Mahmud MI, Fakri, Burhan B et al (2019) Arte- standardised classification scheme for the Mid-Holocene Toalean fak Batu Preneolitik Situs Leang Jarie: bukti teknologi Maros artefacts of South Sulawesi Indonesia. Plos One 16:e0251138 point tertua di kawasan budaya Toalean, Sulawesi Selatan. Pounder DJ, Bhatt S, Cormack L, Hunt BAC (2011) Tool mark stri- Amerta 37:1–17 ations in pig skin produced by stabs from a serrated blade. J Tamuntuan G, Bijaksana S, King J, Russell J, Fauzi U et al (2015) Forensic Med Pathol 32:93–95 Variation of magnetic properties in sediments from Lake Towuti, R Core Team (2021) R: a language and environment for statistical com- Indonesia, and its paleoclimatic significance. Palaeogeogr Pal- puting. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. aeoclimatol Palaeoecol 420:163–172 https:// www.R- proje ct. org/ Thompson TJU, Inglis J (2009) Differentiation of serrated and non- Roth R (2004) Histoire de l’archerie: arc et arbalète. Les Editions de serrated blades from stab marks in bone. Int J Legal Med Paris Max Chaleil, Paris 123:129–135 Rots V, Plisson H (2014) Projectiles and the abuse of the use-wear Torrence R (2008) Thinking big about small tools. Archaeol Pap Am method in a search for impact. J Archaeol Sci 48:154–165 Anthropol Assoc 12:179–189 Rots V, Lentfer C, Schmid VC, Porraz G, Conard NJ (2017) Pressure Unrath, G., Owen, L. R., van Gijn, A., Moss, E. H., Plisson, H. & flaking to serrate bifacial points for the hunt during the MIS5 at Vaughan, P. (1986). An evaluation of use-wear studies: a multi- Sibudu Cave (South Africa). PLoS One 12:e0175151 analyst approach. Early Man News 9/10/11, 117–175. Rudner J (1979) The use of stone artefacts and pottery among the van Heekeren HR (1957) The Stone Age of Indonesia. Martinus Khoisan peoples in historic and protohistoric times. S Afr Nijhoff, The Hague Archaeol Bull 34:3–17 Van Heekeren HR (1972) The stone age of Indonesia (p. 150). Brill. Russell JM, Vogel H, Konecky BL, Bijaksana S, Huang Y et al (2014) This first edition of The Stone Age of Indonesia has been Glacial forcing of central Indonesian hydroclimate since 60,000 replaced by the second edition, which is published as Volume y B.P. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 111:5100–5105 61 (1972; ISBN 9024713005) in the series Verhandelingen van Russell JM, Bijaksana S, Vogel H, Melles M, Kallmeyer J et al (2016) het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde. The Towuti Drilling Project: paleoenvironments, biological evo- Vierra BJ, Heilen M (2020) Projectile point technology: understand- lution, and geomicrobiology of a tropical Pacific lake. Sci Drill ing the relationship between tool design and hunting tactics. J 21:29–40 Archaeol Sci Rep 34:102560 Sackett JR (1990) Style and ethnicity in archaeology: the case for isoch- Vogel H, Russell JM, Cahyarini SY, Bijaksana S, Wattrus N (2015) restism. In: Conkey M, Hastorf C (eds) The Uses of Style in Depositional modes and lake-level variability at Lake Towuti, Archaeology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 32–43 Indonesia, during the past ~29 kyr BP. J Paleolimnol 54:359–377 Saiful AM, Hakim B (2016) Interaksi Manusia Terhadap Binatang di White AA (2019) A comparison of functional variability among Early Gua Batti. Jurnal Walennae 14:1–10 Archaic notched points from the Lower Savannah River. South Sarasin P, Sarasin F (1905) Reisen in Celebes Ausgeführt in den Jahren Carolina Antiquities 51:1–21 1893–1896 und 1902–1903. Kreidel, Wiesbaden Wicaksono SA, Russell JM, Holbourn A, Kuhnt W (2017) Hydro- Schoville BJ, Wilkins J, Ritzman T, Oestmo S, Brown KS (2017) The logical and vegetation shifts in the Wallacean region of cen- performance of heat-treated silcrete backed pieces in actualistic tral Indonesia since the Last Glacial Maximum. Quat Sci Rev and controlled complex projectile experiments. J Archaeol Sci 157:152–163 Rep 14:302–317 Shea JJ (2006) The origins of lithic projectile point technology: evi- Publisher's note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to dence from Africa, the Levant, and Europe. J Archaeol Sci jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. 33:823–846 1 3

Journal

Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences – Springer Journals

Published: Aug 1, 2022

Keywords: Projectile point; Serration; Maros point; Experimental archaeology

There are no references for this article.