CHAPTER FORTY THREE

TWO EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMS TO STUDY

THE BONE TOOLS FROM THE MIDDLE
PALEOLITHIC HUNTER-GATHERERS
MILLN MOZOTA
IMF-CSIC, C/Egipcaques, 15, Barcelona
E-08001, ESPAA;
millanm@imf.csic

Abstract
Here I present two experimental programs, which are in different
stages of development. The first item is an already finished experimental
program about the collection and use of retouching tools made on macro
mammal diaphyseal fragments. The second is an ongoing program on the
use of unmodified bone diaphyseal fragments to work hide and wood.
Both programs are directly related to the archaeological evidence found in
a series of Middle Palaeolithic sites in the North of the Iberian Peninsula.
Keywords: Middle Paleolithic, Mousterian, Bone tools.

1. Introduction
Middle Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers (which are broadly identified with
Mousterian evidence in the Iberian Peninsula) are typically characterized
as groups that did not use bone as raw material for tools. In my research of
a series of excavated archaeological sites, I found small samples of faunal
remains showing marks, stigmas and erosions that could not be easily
related to butchery or consumption practices by humans. A more detailed
examination showed that those traces were also not related with other
taphonomical agents. Some bone remains showed typical features of an
already well-known tool type: the retouching tool on macro mammal

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diaphyseal fragments (Henri-Martin 1910). Other fragments showed less

typical or recognizable features, but their marks and modifications
suggested that they were also used as tools. The specific sites with both
kinds of artefacts are Axlor (Gonzlez-Urquijo et al. 2005), Covalejos
(Sanguino and Montes-Barqun 2005), Cueva Morn (Gonzlez-Echegaray
and Freeman 1978), Pea Miel (Utrilla et al. 1987) and Prado Vargas
(Navazo et al. 2005).

2. Collection and use of retouching tools

The first experimental program was designed to analyze and understand
the collection and use of retouching tools. Complementary objectives were:
(1) to find patterns (on fracturing and use marks and wear) which would
be specific to particular strategies and technical solutions, and (2) to
generate a robust experimental corpus to compare, on a dynamic and
dialectic way, with the archaeological material and data.
The first part of this experimental program was the blank collecting
phase, which comprised 38 experiments of massive percussion and breakage
of Cervus elaphus and Bos taurus long bones and metapodials, using lithic
macro-tools (Fig. 1). A series of quantitative, statistical variables was
defined and recorded. Independent variables were: the species and anatomical
element, bone freshness and fracturing strategies. Dependent variables were
initial fracture delineation, descriptive features of the fractures, the usable vs.
non-usable number of blanks, and morphology/morphometry of blanks
(length, width, thickness, curvature, etc.).
The results on the bone freshness variable are coherent with existing
research in this matter (Pickering and Egeland 2006) and indicate that
fresh bone produces a higher number of oblique initial fractures (58%), a
scarcity of very small splinters, and slightly smaller usable blanks (length
=88 mmBos Taurus sample only). In contrast, dry bone produces
transversal initial fractures (83%), an abundance of very small splinters or
fragments, and bigger usable blanks (length =107 mmBos Taurus
sample only). From a qualitative point of view, dry bone typical fractures
are straight or stepped, with irregular edges, while those of fresh bone are
straight or helical, with smooth edges.
Some interesting observations were found from an anatomical and
taxonomical perspective: within the deer bone sample, long bones showed
a relative abundance of transverse fractures (75%) that resulted in a high
percentage of tubular blanks. In contrast, deer metapodials showed an
abundance of oblique (70%) fractures, followed by longitudinal ones
(20%), which resulted in a higher number of straight and non-tubular

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blanks. The Bos taurus sample showed an abundance of oblique fractures

(61%), followed by transversal ones (23%), which translated into a higher
variability of blanks. Yet, within this variability, a typical shape
dominates: elongated, rectangular and plane-convex blanks.

Fig. 1. Aspects of bone fracture for blank collecting. A: Dry Bos taurus long bone
with transverse (and irregular) initial fracture delineation. B: Cervus elaphus
metapodial with longitudinal (and smooth-edged) initial fracture delineation; a
parasite flake is still attached to fragment. C: Percussion impact during the fracture
tasks (corresponding to the fat extraction strategy). D: Fresh Bos taurus long bone
with transverse (and helical) initial fracture delineation. E: Cervus elaphus
metapodial showing fracturing impacts near the epiphysis and longitudinal initial
fracture delineation. F: Cervus elaphus metapodial usable blanks, from the blank
producing strategy.

A series of different fracture strategies were implemented in the

experimental program. The main two had opposed technical objectives: fat
extraction versus blank collection. The main difference between both
strategies is the control of percussion: in the blank collection strategy it
was deemed necessary to keep a thigh control of percussion movements
and to carefully choose the impact point of each strike. The results indicate
that, when the objective was bone fat extraction, the percussion produced a
higher number of non-usable splinters (76% of fragments), and a more
heterogeneous morphology of blanks (length =0.25deer metapodial

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515

sample only). At the same time, in the blank collection strategy, the
percussion produced a relatively lower number of non-usable splinters
(65% of fragments), and a less heterogeneous morphology of blanks
(length =0.15deer metapodial sample only).
The second phase of this experimental program addressed the use of
blanks in different retouching tasks. 177 experiments were carried out,
doing both pressure and percussion (Quina, simple) retouch on flint and
quartzite tools. In this case, independent variables were bone freshness,
specific retouching task, lithic raw material, and intensity of use (measured
both in working time and number of impacts). On the other hand,
dependent variables were discriminated into two groups. The first was
related to the whole of the use area (morphometry, position and
description), and the second group was related to the traces of use,
specifically its size (length) and number. The studied traces of use were
the linear impressions, trihedral impressions, striations, and massive
chipping.
For the used areas, the most interesting result was the realization that a
clear pattern of lateralization, directly associated with the fact that the
experimenter was right-handed, made itself evident when considering the
position of such use areas on the blanks: 53% of the use areas were
lateralized to the right side of the blank, in contrast with the 32% that
showed left-side lateralization. In the remaining 15% of blanks, use area
reached both sides of its width, so no lateralization could be measured in
them.
The study of the traces of use allows other conclusions, which relate to
bone freshness, retouching task, lithic raw material and intensity of use. In
the bone freshness variable (Fig. 2: A, B), dry bone shows a smaller
number of linear impressions while, at the same levels of intensity of use,
fresh bone shows a higher number of those traces. At medium intensity of
use, there are 35 linear impressions per use area on dry blanks, while the
same mean is of 49 impressions on fresh blanks. Also, the qualitative
appearance of linear impressions on dry bone is different from the ones
made on fresh bone. On the other hand, when considering the remaining
types of traces (trihedral impressions, striations and massive chipping),
only small and relative differences were documented in dry vs. fresh bone
comparison.
When considering the features of stigmas in relation to the different
tasks, first and foremost a difference arises between pressure and percussion
(including both Quina and simple types) retouch (Fig. 2: C, D). In this
pairing of tasks, percussion is characterized by longer linear impressions
(length =1.8 mm), a low presence of massive chipping on use areas

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(31%), and a relatively high presence of trihedral impressions (46%).

Therefore, pressure is characterized by shorter linear impressions (length
=1.1 mm), a higher presence of massive chipping (50%) and a lower
presence of trihedral impressions (21%). Within the percussion tasks,
Quina and simple retouching tasks (Fig. 3: A, B) were compared
(subsample of flint retouch with medium intensity). Quina is characterized
by longer and more abundant linear impressions (length =2.9 mm;
number of impressions per use area =46), a scarcity of striations ( =6 per
use area) and a high incidence of trihedral impressions (60%) and massive
chipping (60%). The same data for simple retouch are as follows: linear
impression length =1.7 mm; number of impressions per use area =41,
striation number per use area =11; and a low incidence of trihedral
impressions (17%) and the massive chipping (9%).

Fig. 2. Different aspects of use traces on retouching tools (related to bone freshness
and percussion versus pressure tasks) as observed at low augmentation (x15-x30).
A: Use area and traces from retouching tasks made with dry bone. B: Use area and
traces from retouching tasks made with fresh bone. C: Use area and traces from
percussion retouching tasks. D: Use area and traces from pressure retouching tasks.

Plotting both simple and Quina retouch on flint and comparing with
the same tasks on quartzite (Fig. 3: C, D) produces a slightly less specific
pattern, but two differences can be pointed out: retouch on flint always

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517

produces longer linear impressions, and fewer striations per use area, e.g.
within the Quina retouch, tasks on flint have linear impressions with a
length of =3 mm, and a mean of striations per use of 10; compared to
that, tasks on quartzite show linear impressions with a length of =1.6, and
a mean of striations per use area of 20).

Fig. 3. Different aspects of use traces on retouching tools (related to Quina versus
simple tasks and lithic raw material) as observed at low augmentation (x15-x30).
A: Use area and traces from Quina retouching tasks. B: Use area and traces from
simple retouching tasks. C: Use area and traces from retouching tasks made while
retouching flint. D: Use area and traces from retouching tasks made while
retouching quartzite.

3. Bone fragments to work hide and wood

The second item presented here is an experimental program about the
use of unmodified bone diaphyseal fragments to work hide and wood. The
starting point is a small but significant sample of bone tools found in the
Mousterian sites from Iberia mentioned at the beginning of this paper.
Those implements are retouched and unretouched bone fragments, with
probable traces of use. Traces show similarities with wood and skin traces
seen on other bone tools from different chronologies and regions. Those
types of tools are relatively well-known and studied, but the research effort

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is biased towards recent prehistoric times, and has been very limited for
the older stages of European Palaeolithic. Specifically, there is a scarcity
of technological and use-wear studies (with notable exceptions such as
Burke and dErrico 2008, or Vincent 1988).
For this experimental program I preferred a classical and traceological
high augmentation use-wear analysis (Semenov 1964). The main goal of
this second program is to describe and quantify the use-wear on each stage
of work, in order to understand its development process, with the
aforementioned constraints (time, working material, worked material and
the shape of active parts of the tools).
Thus, a series of experiments have been designed, using fresh and dry
bone splinters to work hide and wood. The program is at its beginning and
only two sets of experiments (Fig. 4) have been carried out: fresh hide
working with unmodified fresh bone splinters (including three different
rows of working times of 5, 10 and 20 minutes), and the same kind of set,
but for dry hide working.

Fig. 4. Hide working traces at high augmentation (x200). A: 5 minutes fresh hide
working with unmodified fresh bone. B: 20 minutes fresh hide working with
unmodified fresh bone. C: 5 minutes dry hide working with unmodified fresh bone.
D: 20 minutes dry hide working with unmodified fresh bone.

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Acknowledgements
I want to thank Xavier Terradas Batlle (IMF-CSIC) and Jesus E.
Gonzlez-Urquijo (UC) for their supervision during experimental
programs, and the participation of the students and colleagues from UC,
UPV, UAB and IMF-CSIC on experiments.

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