4th Meeting of the Worked Bone Research Group, ICAZ,

Institute of History in Estonia, Tallinn, 26 31 of August 2003 (Pre-Actes and Poster)

BONE AND ANTLER INDUSTRY

IN THE UPPER PALEOLITHIC OF ROMANIA:
PROJECTILE POINTS

Dr. CORNELIU BELDIMAN

Christian University Dimitrie Cantemir, Faculty of History, Bucharest, Romania
www.ucdc.ro; corneliubeldiman@hotmail.com

In the past half a century the excavations in the Upper Paleolithic open-air and cave sites in
Romania (circa 32/30 24 ka B.P. = Aurignacian; 24 12 ka B.P. = Gravettian) have enriched the data
concerning the bone and antler industry. Recently this set of data was systematically analyzed
(Corneliu Beldiman, The Bone and Antler Industry in the Paleolithic, Epipaleolithic, Mesolithic and Early
Neolithic of Romania, unpublished PhD dissertation, Institute of Archaeology Vasile Prvan of the
Romanian Academy, Bucharest, 2000). Thus it is drawn a first coherent image of the problematic
related to this specific organic artifacts.
In context, an important and characteristic typological and functional category of the
assemblages consists in 12 spear (projectile) points, most of them (8) worked in reindeer antler and
4 in bone: 9 were recovered from four Aurignacian sites and 3 from two Gravettian sites (see the
table). The poster presents for the first time in the light of recent methodological approaches (H.
Camps-Fabrer, ed., Fiches typologiques de lindustrie osseuse prehistorique. Cahier I. Sagaies, Universit
de Provence, Aix-en-Provence, 1988; H. Knecht, in G. L. Peterkin, H. M. Briker, P. Mellars, eds.,
Hunting and Animal Exploitation in the Later Palaeolithic and Mesolithic of Eurasia, AP3A No. 4,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., 1993) a synthetic view on various aspects of analysis of
these artifacts: context; relative and absolute chronology; raw material; morphometry; typology,
technology of manufacture and traces of use (fractures). The direct examination of pieces has
permitted the correct raw material identification (since then generally determined as bone or
ivory). The presence of projectile points in Aurignacian and Gravettian assemblages suggests
standard hunting strategies used by Paleolithic groups in the South-East Europe.
In typological point of view the artifacts belong to three types: 1. Mladec type (lozenge-
shaped) point; 2. Spindle-shaped point; 3. Point with double groove.
In technological point of view there are attested the most ancient organic artifacts (i.e.
hunting weapons in organic materials) ever known in Romania. In this respect a special place is
occupied by the two Mladec type (lozenge-shape) reindeer points discovered at Mitoc Yellow
Bank (MMG 12) in an Aurignacian level dated at around 3229 ka. The techniques of
manufacture are common and simple (chiseling/chopping, longitudinal scraping using flint tools
or simple flakes) or sophisticated (groove and splinter technique). The raw material or organic
support (blank) for artifacts (antler and bone) is furnished by large or middle hunting mammals:
reindeer most frequent; horse; unidentified herbivore; cave bear) and presents two distinct
situations: 1. partially transformed morphology of anatomical piece was adapted to the final
shape/function of artifact (example: lateral metapod of horse, BST 1; segment of reindeer antler
beam, CTM 2324); 2. totally transformed fragments (blanks) extracted by blows/splitting-
wedging or by groove and splinter technique and modeled by intense longitudinal scraping (most
of cases: MMG 12, CRP 12, CRS 1, BFR 13, PST 1). Two points are decorated by engraving linear
short elements (BST 3 and PST 1). The estimated age of the piece BFR 3 at 30 ka is able to make it
probably the most ancient decorated object in the Prehistory of Romania. In cultural point of view,
the MMG 12 and CRP 12 points prove current relations of the North-Eastern parts of Romania
(Moldova) with the Central Europe regions at 30 ka and 25-24 ka, i.e. the probably migration of
small groups of Aurignacian hunters from actual Moravia, Czech Republic; they have analogies in
Hungary too (Istallosko, Pesko sites). As far these Mladec type points are the extreme Eastern such
discoveries from Europe.
The BFR 13 points suggests the integration of South-Western parts of Romania (Oltenia)
in the large area of Central European and Balkanic Aurignacian, including the territories of actual
Bulgaria (Bacho Kiro site), Slovenia (Potocka site) and Austria (Krems site).
The CRS 1 and CTM 2324 points suggest the integration of Eastern region of Romania
(Moldova) in the large area of Eastern Gravettian; they have analogies in well-known sites from
Republic of Moldavia (Cosauti), Ukraine (Anetovka, Molodova V) and Russia (Raskov VII).

Type Raw material Initial Technique

Type of
Artefact Type Region of Datation (species, lenght of
fracture
site anatomical piece) (mm) manufacture
BFR 1 1 Oltenia Herbivore Bone ? GS, S In shaft
BFR 2 1 Oltenia Estimate Reindeer Antler ? GS, S In shaft
Cave
30 ka
BFR 3 2 Oltenia Reindeer Antler 180 GS, S, ED In target
Open
BST 1 2 Moldova 25-24 ka Equus Bone 151 H, S In shaft
air
CRP 1 1 Moldova Open Estimate Reindeer Antler 125 GS, S In shaft
CRP 2 1 Moldova air 25-24 ka Reindeer Antler 117 GS, S In shaft
MMG 1 1 Moldova Open Reindeer Antler ? GS, S In target
32-29 ka
MMG 2 1 Moldova air Reindeer Antler 128 GS, S In shaft
Transil- GS or H, S,
PST 1 1 Cave ? Cave bear Bone ? ?
vania ED
Open GS or H,
CRS 1 3 Moldova ? Equus Bone 120 In target
air S, BG
CTM 23 3 Moldova ? Reindeer Antler ? H, S, BG ?
Open
air
CTM 24 3 Moldova 18 ka Reindeer Antler ? H, S, BG ?

BG = burin grooving; ED = engraved decoration;

GS = groove and splinter technique; H = hammering; S = scraping

Aurignacian

Gravettian
 35
30
25
CRS 1 Estimated initial length
(in mm) 20
MMG 2

CRP 2
15

CRP 1 10 Absolute datation of artifacts (ka)

BST 1 5
BFR 3 0
0 50 100 150 200 BFR BST CRP MMG CTM

9
8
Q ua ntita tive distr ibution of Point w ith
7 S p e c ie s a nd a na tom ic a l p ie c e s double groove
(3)
6
5
Spindle-
4 shaped point Qu an t i t at i v e d i s t r i b u t i o n
3 (2) o f t y pes

2
1 Mladec type
(1)
0
Bone A ntler Herbivore Horse Cave Reindeer
bear 0 2 4 6 8
BFR 1 Mladec type (lozenge-shaped) bone point Baia de Fier Womens cave, Gorj County, Oltenia Cave
site Aurignacian level Middle Aurignacian (circa 30 ka) Constantin S. Nicolescu-Plopor, 1953 Long bone
large herbivore (Bos sp., Equus sp.) Proximal fragment L 55 mm
BFR 2 Mladec type (lozenge-shaped) reindeer antler point Baia de Fier Womens Cave, Gorj County,
Oltenia Cave site Aurignacian level Middle Aurignacian (circa 30 ka) Constantin S. Nicolescu-Plopor, 1953
Reindeer antler Proximal fragment L 66 mm
BFR 3 Spindle-shaped reindeer antler point Baia de Fier Womens Cave, Gorj County, Oltenia Cave site
Aurignacian level Middle Aurignacian (circa 30 ka) Constantin S. Nicolescu-Plopor, 1951 Reindeer antler
Mesio-distal fragment L 137 mm Engraved linear decoration

BST 1 Spindle-shaped bone point Bistricioara Clay Carreer, Neamt County, Moldova Open air site terrace of
Bistricioara river, Depression of Ceahlau, Carpathian Mountains Aurignacian level Middle Aurignacian 24.760 170 B.P.
(GrN-11586) Alexandru Paunescu, 1981 Habitation, near hearth Lateral metapod (stylet) of Equus transylvanicus L 132
CRP 1 Mladec type (lozenge-shaped) reindeer antler point Corpaci-Ms, Edinet county, Republic of Moldavia
Open air site terrace of left bank Middle Prut river, Republic of Moldavia (ancient Basarabia, Romania) Aurignacian
level Middle Aurignacian 25-24 ka Ilie A. Borziac, 1975 Habitation Reindeer antler, compacta L 121
CRP 2 Mladec type (lozenge-shaped) reindeer antler point Corpaci-Ms, Edinet county, Republic of Moldavia
Open air site terrace of left bank Middle Prut river, Republic of Moldavia (ancient Basarabia, Romania) Aurignacian
level Middle Aurignacian 25-24 ka Ilie A. Borziac, 1975 Habitation Reindeer antler, compacta L 112

MMG 1 Mladec type (lozenge-shaped) (?) reindeer antler point Mitoc Yellow Bank, Botosani County,
Moldova Open air site terrace of right bank Middle Prut river Aurignacian level Early Aurignacian 32 ka
29 ka B.P.: 28.910 480 B.P. (GrN-12636); 31.100 900 B.P. (OxA-1646); 31.160 550/510 B.P. (GrN-20444);
30.240 470/440 B.P. (GrN-20443); 30.920 390 B.P. (GrN-20442); 31.850 800 (GrN-12637) Vasile Chirica,
1990 Habitation Reindeer antler, compacta Mesio-distal fragment L 83 mm

MMG 2 Mladec type (lozenge-shaped) reindeer antler point Mitoc Yellow Bank, Botosani County,
Moldova Open air site terrace of right bank Middle Prut river Aurignacian level Early Aurignacian 32 ka
29 ka B.P.: 28.910 480 B.P. (GrN-12636); 31.100 900 B.P. (OxA-1646); 31.160 550/510 B.P. (GrN-20444);
30.240 470/440 B.P. (GrN-20443); 30.920 390 B.P. (GrN-20442); 31.850 800 (GrN-12637) Vasile Chirica,
Marcel Otte, Pierre Noiret, Ignacio Lopez Bayon, 1992 Habitation Reindeer antler, compacta L 105 mm

CRS 1 Bone point with double groove Crasnaleuca Staniste Creeks Bank, Botosani County, Moldova
Open air site terrace of right bank Middle Prut river Gravettian level 21.700 800 B.P. (GrN-12671) Mihail
Brudiu, 1974 Habitation Horse (?) long bone (metapod?) L 152 mm
CTM 23 Reindeer antler point with double groove Cotu Miculinti Large Creek, Botosani County,
Moldova Open air site terrace of right bank Middle Prut river Gravettian level II No absolute dates Mihail
Brudiu Habitation Reindeer antler, segment of beam Proximal-distal fragment L 138
CTM 24 Reindeer antler point with double groove Cotu Miculinti Large Creek, Botosani County,
Moldova Open air site terrace of right bank Middle Prut river Gravettian level V 18.810 300 B.P. (GrN-
12.661) Mihail Brudiu Habitation Reindeer antler, segment of beam Proximal-distal fragment L 410 mm
PST 1 Mladec type (lozenge-shaped) (?) bone point Pestera Igrita Cave, Bihor County, Transylvania
Cave site Aurignacian level Early Aurignacian Marton Roska, Henri Breuil 1924 Cave bear long bone (?)
Distal fragment L 67 mm Engraved linear decoration
Reconstructed production sequence of Paleolithic antler projectile points (groove and splinter
technique) after Camps-Fabrer 1976, p. 720, fig. 2.

Types of damaged projectile points: mesial-distal fragments recuperated from target; proximal
fragments fixed in shaft.