Flint Arrowheads - Lithics – The Journal of the Lithic Studies Society

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FLINT AllltO\IEEADSI TYPOLOOY ANI: DlTElU'RiTATI ON
by StepheD Green
Shennan, S.J . PorthcomiDi. The exca.vatiOll of a Lat. Neol1thic ring:Utch at 'I'ye Field, Lavford. Al'Chaeol J.
SimpeoD, D.D.A . 1968. Food vee8s11l; 1I.88Qciatl ons and ch=nolosy. ID.
J.M. Coles and D.D.A. Simpaon (eds.), §tud1es in Me1ent Euxope.
E88axa presented to stuart Piggott, 191- 211 . Lelcnter.
Smith, LP. 1965. windmill Hill and Avebury. Orlord.
'ia1mrriSh t , G.J . 1971 . The nint industry. In I.B. Longv:)rth, G.J.
lrid.1mrright and K.E. WllBon, The grooved wa.re site at Lion Po1l:l.t,
Claoton. Brit Mue Quart 35. 117- 12}.
Wa1nvr!sbt , G. J. 1912. The excavation or a l!IeQllth1.c B8ttlement at
Broo:Dlll Heath, Dltohin,gham, Ro:d'olk. Prog Prehlet Sac }8, 1- 97.
Wainwrisb t , G.J . and Lonsworth, I.B.
1911 .
I first besan work. OD flint arrowheads in 1965 with the preparation of
an undergraduate dissertation (Green 1967) and this worll: wae continued
with 111¥ PhD thesis (Green 1977) , which was substantially published as
a British ArchaeolO£1cal Reports Vol\IIM (Green 1980) . The purpose of
this paper 11 to set out 111¥ typolOi1 iD a clear and simple f
and
alllO , to outline aome of the oonelusione of m:t worlc and. to c~t ~.:l
them in the light of published reviews. My chronoloEt'/" of the princ1pal
arro-whaad type, defined ie set out in '!'able 1.
Durrillgton Wallsl excav-
ati ons 1966-1 968 . London •
..arren t S.H., Pigsott, 5., Clark:, J . G.D., lIurkitt. M.C. and Godw1n, R.
and M.S. 1936. j,zchaeolog or the submerpd l and- lUdace
Esse:z: coast. Frog PrehUit Soc 2, 178-210.
ot the
December 1984·
L~
1-----+--+---+---104,y ~lIOO!::---:_±:---,-~I----_-l----.".~~---.~
J
Loo
'rable 1 .
The chronology of the princ1pal arrowhead types .
21
20
!.Ell' WC1oiH!i:US .
metrical b--'.
menta in la);
1 Principal Components Analysis vu u . .d to define a
typology on the baa18 of two dimensional shape (Pig. 1).
chara.etar and diatribu.tion ot flaking yent not included.
Data on the
Retouched
leaf- _bap" ninta still r.taining theiX str1k1n8 plat!or!U and. bulb of
pareuaaion ware excluded. ArroWea.de with a L2IL valua ot 0. 15 or bell
. en :nprded as tr1.aDgular. Lau:rel leaves (C1a:dt 1960. 22:5; Smith
1965. 99-100) , diat1ngu.iabed bl theu characteristics of oomparativ.
crudeness of manufacture, Q.lJYDIIletry , and the absence of It. cu-tully
vo:dced point, war. QIII1tted without prejudice to their 90sIIlbla us. as
arrowheads in soma C8.88 • •
LEAF ARROWHEAOS
r~\
lw:G
; B
PiB. 1 •
a
...
Th.
TEE TYPOLOGY
a
-.
" th.
_.v ......
_.
~-l
~ 1'" ogJ
-~wh
lenqth x breadth
'
....
1s SOl follows (mea.mae-
lenqth/breadth :ranq.
lA
> ..00
< 1. 7S
le
> '400
> , 400
,
1.75- 2.24
2 . 25
2A
1000-1399
2B
1000-1399
2c
1000-1399
, 2 . 25
lA
450-999
< I. 75
Ja
450-999
Jc
450-999
,
< 1. 7S
1. 75-2 . 24
1.75-2.24
..
<
.SO
< 1.75
<
.SO
<C
<
.SO
,
< .. le8 8 th.u\;
) .. i xeater than I
2 .25
1.75.2.24
2.25
~. 9r. .. ter than Or equal to
o
I
Leaf a.rrowheads; recorded. ~ionaJ. var1,a.blel.
The typolOQ', defined init1al.1y through two colllputer-generated Co:apon ent valuel, va8 transfol'!lled. to one based. upon s izllple ratios. Kere,
COlllpDnent I wu approxia:lated by leDg1:h mul.tiplied by breadth (LB) and
Component 11 by lell&th divided by breadth (L/B). The diltribution of
leat_ arrowhead shapes and their typological divilion il ahDwn pietQ rially in FiBS. 2- 3 and two trends lJla.y be seen. arrowheads deereue in
ablOlute size trom top to bottom of the d~ and inOrea.. 1:11 slendllrneell from 111ft to rlsbt . The arroYhead 'tfPOlogy thus defined (:&'iB.
4) ha. four Bize groupa (1 - 4. large to amaJ.l) and three llhape groupe
(.A.- C. squat to slBnder) forming twelve ' typSS'1 1.1, l B, eto. throUih to
4C. Vithin these types eertain other characteristio8 have been uQed to
pe:tmit 81lbdivillion tnto of[1val, kite-shaped. and
arrowhead
eub-typel, thelle an denoted by a lower ease
respeotively 0, le and pI e . g. Up, 2Ck , }l!o etc .
Kitj&:ehaPed. arrowhead. pollse•• 11 value of 1.20 or less for the l'3.tio a
I(a dth 8Zid v11l po.se•• a value in the range a.OO-O. 25 tor the
+ 0
ratio
a,/Breadth) - (o/l!read:th)
80_ kite-shaped arrowheads
possess concave u.pper ind/or lover sides but the s1lllila.rity of
of
!oth upper and lover aide. vID d.1.t1ngu.1ab tite-shaped from ogival
rrovheads. (The vertical line bmckete 1Dd.1cate that the ruult al
vay. hall a pollitive (+) value).
-
I.
sha~
(
I
~~~~:~::~ \.~:::::l,)
value
in the range
0.25-0. 50
arul., second,
be recognizl'3.tio. The arrowhead
a value
0 · 36 or greater tor the t;L
f
pol,e'l two concave upper sides to qual1.f'y
or description as ' o/l1val ' . Bonv,r, not all lea!
ith
ccncave lid,s lead1nl to the tip 11IIAY be classed as
thsais (Gresn 1980, 60) , I made an important distinction between my
he~s which vere ' ogival ' cd other ' with 'attenuated. points ' !~v­
ua ion l s generally a devioe wed to produce a sharp point OD ' small en:~t arrowheads of aize group 4 .
Conversely ogival IUTOwheads are I
e eve a, genuinely ' fancy' typs and I have confined them to size'
groups - , sincs I doubt the li&nificanee of exam les made on v
1980,66,74). I
the
attenuated.
a tenuated points by means ot the t; L ratio, with
points possellsille: a valus ot 0.35 or less and ogival ex_
amplell havin& a value ot 0 . 36 or greater. ( ' t ' is the di.stance trom
,=~~adS :r:
1
::!~ =~t:!alt(Grlen
define~
d1fferen~~be-
2,
22
the tip to the place on the longitudinal u1 a froll1 which a line drawn
at right IIllilee to that axil would cut the point of contact of a line
.id., ot
drawn from the tip at a tansent to t he
Fig. 1 ) .
Polished arrowhead" are 8elt explanatory.
a1l1 conf'ined to I1"eland.
,.l:,
lA
the arrowheadl eee
A. a type, they are virtu-
'-',
lC
,
0
•
6
>
••
>
•
,
2.,
2'
2C
,,~
u
•
<
"
, ,
,
3C
3.
3'
1'1&. 2.
~
,
0
J
0
"
0
10 cm.
6
4.
- 1"
-.
5
,
SQU",T
,
'.
o '
,
4.
"
600 B
o 0 0~O~OO
o ~ 0
o0
1
_ 10
4' .
g~6g .
.10
1
' ,
\
4C
r
+ 1"
0
"~
0
2
•
Fig. 3.
Lea!' arrowheads : typolosy based upon
COmponents .
SlfNOlR
Lea! arrowhead, : ahape dilltdbu.tion as nveal.c1 by
Principal Components ~iB.
t>to Principal
25
24
'rlUBSVERSE ARROWHElll$ (Pip . ~) . 'rhe te= ' transverse arrovhea:!' is
used to ~bracs the whole petit tranehet and petit tranchet ds~ivativs
es~ies.
'rhe poeition of mea.auremente is giveo in Fig. 5 .
TRANVERSE
t
LEAF ARROWHEADS
,
,.
Type lA
'0
0 0
0 66
Type 3A
''
'l'ralaverse arrowhead8; position of mea8'.ll"eIDents.
(FiS. 6) .
A clear ba:!!is for the division of
was found in ths distribution of the r ot ratio,
20
(;)
0
<C
FiB· 5 ·
Petit tranchet type. Tbie fo= ooneiets of a ssction of p~imru:y .flaks
or blade of q~a~ form with the outtiIla' sdge parallel to the malll
a.x1s of the nake; ths 8idee are blunted. by vsrtical or stee,il retouch.
At least one edge invaxiably consists of the llIlWOrked primary flaks o~
blacle edge . In no oa.. ie there 88COnd.ary working on either of the
main faces of the implellltlnt.
30
3.
6 0,.
Type 4A
....
2.
Type 2A
,,
~
,
(Type 3bJ
v
T ype 2cl
is the length of the line fxom the prieary unretouched, or partially retouched , tranchet edp to the base of the art_
fact, BDd ' t ' is the width of the tranchet (o~ p~1ma.r:y f'laka) ed&s
(eee FiS. 5) . The two d1. t~ibutioo.e oxoes at 0 . 74. Chisel arrowheadJI
generally have an r l t ratio above 0 . 74 and oblique arrowheads lie below thie value . 'rhe chi..l and oblique typee correspond rougbl.:y to
Clark.'e petit tnnehet derivative claseee lI-D and E-I respectively
(Clark.19}4) . The overlap d1etribution has a mean of 0 .70 and a etandard. deviation of O. OS. It i. clear, therefore, that there is a 'loons
in the ranp of ons .ta:Idard deviation (0 . 62~ . 79) or two standard
deviatione (0.54-0.86) 'IIhen the pNCiee classification of 1nd1vidua!
ElrtefaotD IIIIA:y be uncerta.1n. Whil s t it will be impossible to refer
Doze enmpleD iD the overlap zone to either chieel o r oblique cat_
soriBe, there are oerta.1n characteristics 'llhich ma;y indicate the type
to which the uco'llhes4 should be ass!&ne:i. These DO:}-\Iletrical I"..hELrBCterietice are :
Chisel. '!'hese missUe points nollPEllly lack seconda.r:y na.kJng on the
t:ranchet or pr1ma:c:y flake adp. Their shape is coanonly suh-rect-
...,u=.
Oblique. The tranohet edge i8 usually eecond.arlly flaked to produce
a point, but often only on one f llee or Just below ths tip. Ths shape
ie sub-tri8llgular, often with s hollowlfd aBsyaletrical base Wld it ~
possess a deliberately-ehaped eingle barb. The transverse cxosssection is ,.nerally skIVed, the poeition of maximum thickness being
located off- centre and oloae to the FL edge (F1&'. 5 snd belOW).
(p14. 6). No chisel IIlb-types were defined metrically al81"Oup fl)&de on I..va.lloil flakes IIIA1 be diat1n&u1ehed (cf. Pig.
left). Obliqla arrowheads can be .ub-d1vided into three a.x'Cb•• ol,'gJl~"y aignificant cllUlses . 'These an:
1. 'Rippl ...flaked Oblique Arrowheads'.
'l'bis type la de£ined on ths grounds of teclmology and compriaee a
variant of Britieh oblique arrowhead. (intra) with ripple flaking.
'The distribution map of these arrowheadl ahoWs a concsntrat i on on ths
Yorkl)hinl Woldl).
..
TRANSVERSE ARROWHEADS
Chi se l
2. 'British Oblique J.rrowheadl)'
' British' and 'Irish' Oblique
UI/FL ( sel Fi6. 5)1 i.e. the
of the l ength of the primary flake
or tranchet edge (UL) to the length of the secondarily flaked edge
(PL) conti&uollB to the point. 'The PL edge is nol.'llllllly of convex outline iD plan and is to be dil't1n&u1ehed from the bue by the fact
that thl latter 18 frequently conca va in plan, with often a dil)t.inct
sin8le barb. The trI/FL distributions of cblique arrowhead typee 2
and .3 are in sharp contrast. It'1eh oblique arrowhead. rarely havs a
value in IJl:cess of 1 . 00 , whereu the bulk of the British e:umples
have value. of 1.00 or greater. llritilb obliqul arroWeads typically
have the pr1lllarY nake edge (n) as the longest aide, which is rrquantly continued into a barb, but Irish obliques lack. well defined
11Dgle barb. and bave cnly a short pri.mary flake edge. I have followed l'lanagan ' . division or Irish Oblique arrowb.ads into ' point.d '
and ' elonpted ' type. (l'lanapn 1%6, 524). Thl r:t value. of hi.
types typically tall into the rsDg8. 0.40-0· 60 and 0.25-0. 40 reapeot.ively.
,:elongated'
:.
Rlppla-/lakad
Oblique
BrlliSh
Pell! tranchet
--1
29
26
BA.RBED AND '2ANGED ARRC7f/EEll)S (1'1!'8 . 1-8). The name 'bar'Ced & tanpd~
Cb '" t) was de£1nad as a generic term to embrace both barbad '" tange
arrowheads s ensu strioto and abo ta:Iged arrowheads lacldng barb ••
Al thQ~ these shape s have been idealized as g(oOIIIetrie f orms for the
~rpo ses of illustration, it should be recogniz ed that acme elasses
(for exampl e , barb shapes B aod D and tang shapes P and G) ahade ~
percep tibly one into the other. The tyPes d efined are (:rig. a) :
cognized on the basis of tmether tbe tOllll
Two principal groups webre re
tul'~ shaped ( ' fancy ' ) or not ( ' nonwas con:J1dered to have een can
~
ha
and
fancy' )
These are further sub-grouped accordiDg t o lI ize, 1~1 pe 't
r.lat1v~ proport ions or barbe aIld ta:Jg (see Fig. 7 tor pos on 0
....
Non Faney Arrowheads
Ballyclsre roe . Wdebt is equal to or grOl\te:r than 8 srwos. {Lensth
times breadth (in millialetres) is pnerally equal to or greater t han
1400) . Thil an'QVhead is nsJiIOd the :Ballycl are type with subdiVisions
m~nt8).
~.
BARBED AND TANGEO
BallYcla.J:'e a .
Onbarb~vestigial-barbed (barb length/tang length
ratio :;;::: 0. 19 ) .
Round o r square-barbed (barb length/tans length ra';io
Ba.rb 8lld. tang combination ro, IlP, :00.
.:> 0 . 20) .
:Ballyclar. c .
11 & t arrovmtada: position of lII8IUNrIHIIents.
,..".
.",
V
U
'Squared' tanq or barba. either with s harp
ang les or with markedly .-malter radH of
C1.UVature lilt the basal corners . It the basal
angles ot barbs are not right angles one ,may
both anq l ea should
lie in the range 60-120
C
LJ
BUs of barb obliquely cut . with an oblique anqle
nearest the tang and an acute angle . t the l owest
point ot the barb .
D .", G
U
Rounded or s1.lb-squar••
•
Barbs ab •• nt below a 1in. drawn aero.s the hi'lhes t
point of the t ang and at right ang l es to the axi.
o f the raisane point.
IJ
V
Onbarbedjvellt1g.1al barbed (barb/tang length ratio ":::0 . 19).
SUtt.<.r.t b.
Round. or squar.-ba.rbed (barb length/tang length ratio
::>-0. 20) . Barb aDd tan&" combination :00, M, :00.
Sutton c.
Pointed_barbed (barb length/tMg l sngth ratio ~0.20) .
1Ia.rb aml. tang combination AF, AG .
of triengl.llar
T.""
b. . . (whieh lIUIy be
FanCY J.rrovbeads
l!!m.
Poi nted blIrbs .
be acute end. one ob~S.;
,
Barb and tang
Sutton a.
Description
B.
,
• ,
3t 0.20).
Sutton type. VeiBbt less than 13 ara- , l ength times breadth ratio
leas than 1400 . There are three subdivisicns, a.-c.
Barb shape!! (A- D), abeenca of barbs (E) and tang shape- (F- H) may be
defined u follows :
,-
Pointed-barbed (BL/l'L ratio
combination AF, AG.
.<
tang with pointed
s hape
s harp or rounded) •
These are erlremely rare and do not merit s epa.rs.te claSSificaticn . Where they cccur they shO".1ld be given th~ namee of the small
arrovbead cll.lls1f'icat ion "hich follows , preceded by the 1o/Ord ' Enlarged' ; e. g. Enl.arged KllmaIDOCk type . The definition of' large i a ,
apin, that we18ht is > a gra:as. I f the weiBbt meaaurem&nt Is not
available a value .for LEI > 1400 should be used.
§.!!l!.
"lID
Wtllebt less t hllJl 8 grams.
namell have
given:
LEI less than 1400.
The .fol1owing
Cony8¥' Rill type. Barb and tang combination BP. The barbll are
either shorter than the tang or DlII.Y be of the same length. The
overall .form o.f ths arrowhead i ll thlls that of a con'1ex-baaed or
nat-based trianglll.
"';-=;;,~:;; Barb &Dd taDg combinations CF, and (X;; CH "!lent
,
uceeds tang 10Dgth. 'l'he haxbs are always longer than
the tans'. glvq a concave outline to the base of the arro"head.
K1lmarv.ock tYps. Barb and. tans' combinations JJI, lIl, CH. In the
latter cue tang leDgth lIIUat exceed barb leogth o r ths arrowhead ill
of' Gnten Low type. 'rhe barbs do not uceed the tang in length.
3'
30
This ia an uncolllllOn type in Britain. I be_
lieve them to b, a pnuine type, probably with Irish affinities .
Hollow- based. IU"rQvheads ar. BOmetillMB contused with oblique arrowheads but dUrar !'mm them iD havq barba of equal length, a IDOrll
resuJ,ar d18tribution of retouch t:Dd. • lenticular transverse section .
HOLIm-BlSED ARROIrffiE.UlS.
TlUJ.lfGUL.lB.~.
Thi, type b d,rined aa baving an L2 : L value
of 0 . 15 or less (1'1&". 1) . I doubt the integrity 01' this type . So_
e UlllPlea mII¥ b. nr1antl ot lIat arrowhead., whi.h t others are blank.
for b & t arroweade; othU8 yet ap1n - generally detectable by their
distribution ot retouch and. tranlJVera. oroll$-seotlon - may be var1.8nb
of oblique anovbeade (se8 above p . 25) .
DISCtI'SSIO!i
The PhD thallill vas bS4fW1 in 1967 and had its basis in my earlier unpl,ib111lhed BA DiBeertatioIl vhlcb dealt with the flint lu"rowheads of
SOlllerset, Gloucestershire, and Brittarq (Green 1967). The bulk of' the
data col leet1on was don. between 1961 and 1911. The thesis was presented in 1977 . The roote of the theeia U, in the intellectual f ramework of archaeolosy in thl 1960e but it renected, at its inception, a
deliberate move away from t he conteUlporar,y pottery- dcminated cultur&histori cal approach. I t "'as i ntended - I believe rishtly - to be part
of iI. eeries of material cu.lture studies delll!gDed to l ay t he groundwork
for the underatandina of British prehietory. The thesis ..as loIider angingl it embraced metrical &Dd .tati.tical analysee _ some complex _
of the al'ro'oIhead. types, taking account of raw material. factors; dist r ibutional studies, including .~tial. &Il&lysesj and traditional
Imalyses ot conten, ch%onoloCf and "locations . Overall, some 4U,OOO
arrowheads were studied in inglaDd and ....ales alone and comparative material was studild fl:om Scotland and Ireland.
()~b6
6:o~
Some ot the more important result. ot the thesie are set out belo"'.
The chapter reterencea BZlIl/or pa,p nwriber3 wbich to11o", each pa.ra,graph
r e t e r to Green (1980) . Q:lly select re!erenc. . are given .
y
i1&".e . B
1 • i'n'OLOGY
'rypologil. vere produced ot all the COIlQOQ Bri tish and Irish foJ:IIIS of
arro16lad. Study ot tindl tmlll archaeological ccnterlu along "'ith
s tray finds has made it pollible to difterentiate between specialist
r itual products and ' evel')'da¥' &rrow'head • . (Ch. II. )
&< t arrowheads I typology.
\
\
!,
2.RA.... MAT&UAL
The influence of raw material. on arrowhead fauns ",as evaluat ed. It ",as
f ound to be a sisnilicant oaule of typological. variation. In particular ' f ancy ' arrowheade cannot gene rally be produced on t he of ten ema11
and 10'" quality raw ma.terial typical of the north and ",est cf Brita.1n
and shape variaticn in l ea! arroweads ie closely relat ed to raw materi al . One raw material. SOUrcl (Portland Chert) is virtually 11Jllited
to l ea! and petit tranchet/chisel arrowheads and I believe the
33
32
aiglUicance or this to ba ou1tural or chronolo&ioaJ..
3. DIS'l'RIBIl'l'ICIi
I
(1 )
The distribu.tion of arxowheads ls b.1ghl.y oluatered with particulari.y hi8h concentn.tlons occurring in the llJ:aelt:lande and on the Yo:rkshire Wolds and north Cotlwolds , with lesser oonclntn.tlons elsewhere.
TheslI concent ration" PlI.Y ldllntif'y the denser population areall . III
general the spatial treque ncy of the main arrowhaad type. - l.~ and
b & t _' ls positively oO);'related. The overall ploturto seams to be one
of continuity with land, onee sattled. seneraUy rema1n1ni in constant
or cyclical use.
f'requanei.. ot large and kite-shaped urowhaads f'ToCD these co::lterta ere
not ren.cted by a .1JIdlar le-£iJl of representation a.aong surface t'1ods.
(pp.B5-86.)
(Ch. Ill .)
(Ch.VII. )
(11). Rollow-baeed arrovhe~. whilst ran • .my a preferential westerly distribution 0 11 the CUlllbr1an and Welsh OO&llta , IlUfPsUve ot a
lizlk with Ireland ..mare they are COID)D. (pp. 146-1 47.'
.
Moat reBionl po ••• " fairly even percenta&ee (about 4QII> each)
of leaf and b &< t type.. In ....8118.1:, the Peak Dietrict, and poeeibly
the York:6hi.re Wolds, than are hisb 1'requenciee of transverse arrowheads. (p.147 and Table VII.5 . p . 258 . )
I
I
(vUi).
Large lot arrowheads occur in neolithic earthen b!LrrOw. (long
J.n:ovheadlJ from chamber tollb., by contraat, tend to be unexcapticnal apart from a fev instanclIs in Sevarn_Cotllwold tombs and in
aDd. round).
Orkney-Cromarty tombs vhan specialiat produet. seem to be present .
Tomb-robbing ~ be relavant here. (pp. 84- 90, 92-93 . )
(ix). Leaf arrowheads appear with male buriala rathsr thav. femal e buriala in the ratio 3: 2 . A fev of the f e.ma.l.e alll/l'ooiations cccur in
bronze ap contarls , a pat tern mirrored by carta.1n barbed &, tan,ged
arrowhaad asaociations , hintin& perbapa at the j3aibllit y of chanpa
in social· pattem1ng in the bronz, age. (p.91.
(x ) , Leat-a-"TOlIhead IUlsociations of full early bronze 11,!8 date &.re
a ttested, apparlllt11 indiea.t1ng cont.inu.1n& Wle of the type. (pp . 9}-
91. )
(111).
(iV). An analysis ot th. relat ionship between quality of land and
arrowhead denaity Bhows that arrowheads tend to ooour in similar denslti.s over all sra4.a ot land. (pp.156-158.)
(v). Large 'arrowhaadll' _ more probably ap.a.r-pointl - occur collJm()Illy
in Inland. In Er:i&laod and Walee the1 are OOIIIDOn.st in th. bi4!b1and
zone. (pp. 75 and 118.)
4. L&U"
JlIRt:M!EAm
(i). Anal1aes ot tinds from the Windmlll J!111 cauJilew,yBd camp show
none to be exceptional in size, refinell1ent , or typolosy. :B;y contrast
special arrowheads eometimea oocur in aepulchral and oth.r contexta.
(pp. 16S-169.)
(i). 'rhere ia no cerlain avidanca that petit tranchat arrovhaada
fOI:llled part of lIritish masolithic assemblagea . 'rhar& are nons from
aealed maaolithic contarls a:ul. almoat ev.ry- mesolithic sits to have
produced petit tranc:heta haJJ also produced neol1thic/bronza &ge tlintvo.rk. (pp. t OO , 111 , 113.)
(11). Pat1 t tranehets are rare in Britain, onlJ SOIDG 300 be1ng known .
ThIl1 are vexy rare in the ~am zone BZId. ere abaent from Irela.'ld.
Coneantrations occur In tbe 'iindmill l!1ll ar.a, near :Bath, in Surrey,
Sussex, and on the YorkBh1re 'ioldll. (p. 103 . )
(11i) . Both chisBl aDd. obl1/pe arrowheads ~ve hi&b-detUlity foci in
"'eaaex, tha bckland., and the YorkBhire Wolds, e'li dene1ng tha lCIlf
acceptad relationslUp baween tha two aariea ot artafacts. (p.l03.)
(11) . Qgival arrowhpd. occur IQCst fnquantly on the Cotswolds and in
the Sclll1e=et/Borth Davon regions. (pp .14, 98-99.)
.
(iv). Two_thirds of all rippla-naked o blique arrowhead!! en .. 135)
come from a small area of the Yorl:ahin Wolds vast of Bridlington .
'rhese specialllt produots III&Y vall havs baen the product of a single
crattman ' s wo%:kshop. (pp.10}, 115-11 5.)
(11i). JUt_abaped arrovheada are COlllllOnellt 1ll Inland aDd Scotland
and , to a l esser extent, in Northam Er:i&land. ( pp .14-15.)
(v) . Irish obliQ.ue arrowheads &.re tnologicaJ.l]" distinct and ere probably uneotltleoted with the Briti sh aeries . (p.}9.)
(iv) . Small l ot arrovheads are COlIlDOI1eat in Weetem Britain. 'nl1s
probably renect. rarity ot large raw \IlB.terieJ. there. (pp.61-6a.)
(vi).
(v) . Earl1 neol1thic pottery- is 1llvari.abl1 a. eociated with leaf arrowheeds. (p.8}.)
(v11 ). Than ia acme ..,idenoe to fnl8geat that chinl srrovhsads tend
to be associatad vith the Woodlands aub-a tyl e of groo'£ed ware and
oblique arrowheeds with the Clacton and DI1.rr1.ngtcn Wal ls llUb-style8.
The explanation of thia is proba bly chronclogicaJ.. (p.108.)
(vi). !.ear and transvsrsa arrowheads are both UBOc1ate-d with PeterboroU8h ware. (pp.B4, 100.)
(vil). Large leat arrowhead.u are COllxDClnl1 assooiated with 'Towthorpe
tradition' burial s in Eaat Yorkshb:'e. In the lame area, kit .. ahaped
arrovheads typically appear vith ' III:l88leby pllUe ' buriall . 'rhe h18h
Tre.n.av.ree arrowheada are v1rtual17 tb. 0Illy type lcnown from
(p.1 06 . )
' pure' grcovBd ware aattlement aitlS.
( Viii) . Ten hengs CDOnUCDants have produced arrovheads and transvarae
typaa are tbe do:n!nant or only fom preaent at e1sht eites. Thia refl ects, in part, tha usooiation vith grooved. ware notsd at aettlement
35
34
(ll).
(viii). Gresn Low
be!i.kers . (P.1 }O . )
(p , 109. )
sites.
Transverse axrowhea.ds are the COlWlOnest type in late neolithlc .
flint mine contexts and . at Gr1mes Graves, there are stratified finds
of oblique arrowheads and grooved ware.
(pp.103- 11 0.)
(x). Radiocarbon dates suggest an origin for chisel arrowheads io the
earlier third lIlillenni'llII be and thei:r disappearanoe by .£.1500 be at
lateat. (pp.111 - 114.)
(xi) .
Fetit tranchets generally oocur in later noolithlc contexts and
are possibly not always a distinct type
chisel arrowhead.
but, rather , a simple form of
(p . ll3.)
(:xii). Chisel arrowheads occur in some ohambered tombs of paesa.gegrave type or affinity. (p.1 13. )
(xiii).
Where early beaker pottery (steps 1-2) is aSllociated with
txansverse arrowheads, the COJmlOnest types are petit tra.nchet/ohiesl.
Conversely. in later beaker assooiations (steps 3-7) oblique. arrowheads are COlllDlOneet. This distinction is probably chronological.
(p.114.)
(xiv).
1500 boo
Oblique arrowheade !leem to be oonfined to the period 2000(pp.114-1 15.)
(i). The Cl.'Uder ' Sutton' ~ of arrowhead is not, o.,erall, more
denaely dietributed, as one miSht expeot, in the non-flint areae of
Britain. This may imply that some traffic in ' fancy' foms wok .Place.
The highest ooncentration of fanoy arrowheads is in East Anglia where
contemporal'Y flint m:1niJ:l& waa tak.1n&" place , and large high-quality
flint waa available. (p . 112.)
(ii).
'Tri.angu.lar' arrowheads are a rare fol.1ll in :Britain (n - 465).
I sus:peot that many of these are no more tha:! blllZlka for Con,ygar Hill
~rrowheads
are tytlical1y aasooiated with southern
(u).
There is no one b &: t arrowhead tytl8 tytlioally assooiated with
oollsred urns, except that the Green Low tytls is absellt . (pp.130-31.)
(x). The evidence of' bronze assooiations sugges~s the eclipse of' archery as e. common or presti€;a method of' warf'are in the early bronze age
and its rep1acl!lllent by hand- to-hand combat using b_ronze wea;pons . (pp.
132, 192.)
(n). Analysis of' arrowileads assooiated with :inhumaticns and oremation
gra"TeS demonstrates patternills. The ratio in the oas!l of' ths 10ng.-lived
Sutton type is 1:1. However, the Green ww type generally ocours with
beaker inhUlllatlon!l, the Con;ygar Hill type with food vessel cremations,
and the Kilmarnook type with inuxned cremations . (p.1%.)
(X11). B &: t arrowheads fro.m beaker graves are generally associated
with male skeletons placed on their left side, wheNas Conygar Hill
arrowheads (generally absent !Tom be!lk:er oontexts) OCOUl' with 3keletons
placed on their r~t Side . (P.132.)
(nU). The Stonehenge grave-group (Eva.na 1963) presented the anomaly
of' one or more Con;ygar Hill arrowheads in assooiation with a beaker
skeleton, but it is now olear that theJ were not grave-goods but the
cause of death. This demonstrates WBrfar;! between people of' dtif'eraClt
Jll2.terial culture and Sl16g8sts that sooial inferences may sometimes be
Validly made from suc.1t artefactua1. data. (pp. 139, 192.)
(nv). The Armorican arrowheads from the First Series barrows in Brittany are quite unlike the ' f'ancy' Green WW and Conygar IIill types
whioh actually have a lower frequenoy in Wessex than eloewhere. These
fanoy types also ocour in varicUB contexts in Brittany with res:pective
f'requel:lOies of 2}6 and 1}Jl, (n _ 250) and COIl¥g&l' Hill arrowheads iiIX8
associated with Breton beakers. I ~ g,uite sure that the Armorican
arrowheads are a wholly Braton phenomenon; that none oocur in Britain;
and that the only ;possible point of' oontact is the shared custom cf
produoing objeh d ' art in £lint for placing with the dead. (pp.19}194. )
arrowheads.
(11i) . The distribution of Green ww arrowhe ads , within Br_itain, is
virtually restricted to England and Wales. (p.119.)
(iV). Killllarnook arrowheads are esaeot1al1y Scottish in distribution.
Their dating span appears to be 1500-1000 bc. (pp.119, 141 .)
(v).
Only b &. t arrowhsads occur in sraves with beakers.
(p.129.)
(vi) . In settlement ccntens, where beaker is the ollly ;pottery tytle
represented, b & t arrowheads ars twice as ccmmon as other types. Hcwever some lea! arroWheads are present with early beaker associatione
(ste;e 1- 2) and oblique arrowheads with later, typioal1y 'southsrn' ,
beakers. (p.120; Table VI.4; p.243.)
(v11). TyJlica1 Conygar Hill arrowheads are abssnt f'rolll beaker sravss
but occur cOllllllOnly with food vessel s . (p.1}O.)
WARFABE, THE SD::OlIllARY NEOLIl'HIC, AND
THE aDiY~LACTOtl Cct1PLElC
Two .reviews of' !I\Y publbhed thesis have appeared (Kinnes 1961; Bradley
1962a) with further oOllGent elseWhere L'l the literature. I pro;pose to
restriot rIJ;.f oomnents to three subjeots - warfare , the seoonda.r,y neolitbio, and the Rinyo- Clacton complex _ as it is these whioh have generated the most cOlIGent . 1 - shall ooni'ine m.Yself here to a brief statement in anticipation of ful 1.er discussion cf theoe problems in the
future.
I :rugested in !I\Y thesiS that the primary :function of' arrowheads in
neolithic/brome ~ Britain was for warfare . My view was based on
direot and unambiguous eVidenoe for their use against human targets
and, also, on the relative rarity of' the bones of' wild B.."limals on
neolithic/bronze a,gs sUa8 combined with the abaence ot convinc!.D&
direct evidence of arrowhead. lIOunds in animal bones. '!'here have b. .n
no new studies in the lut rev years which V(luld. encourage me to r.consider this position (v1de D=gees 1980, 264) . There is no doubt,
however but that the raw data &re in urgent need or reass essment by
faunal ~p.clalilltB_ Moreover, the likelihood ot local variability in
food procurement ",trat_giee makes i t desirable thllt IIUCh a study lhould
be as nationally-based 8a poll11blll .
I shall treat the secondal:y neol1th1c and ~o-Clacton (RC) p~blemll
e.eparatel.y aiDee IlIJ sooio-ecollOJllic view of the RC complex doe' DOt d ...
pend upon my IJU8gfIstiona as to its possible o riain a •
I 8uageatad. that the RC complex m..1gbt be 'aecondary neolithic' in eta.-
tue.
By
this I meant that the complex, a a represented sxt.ractually
and monumentally. vas composed of a eslf-awa.r., recognizable human
which waa compolUld ot the de:!lcendantl ot the llu:to chthonoul maEtOl1th1~ huntu_gatheren. In calendar years thie would mean that the
group
population remained IJUbetant:LI.Uy intact over a period of oome 1000
years (!l."OID at least c.4m B:: to 3m B::). The pneral propo.ition of
the poesibility of suCh .urvival. can suxely not b. iD doubt . The pNpenllity ot human beinp to fODII eocially and otten .conomically diet1nct groups ....i thiD the llama pograph1cal turitori.' is a 1Il&thr ot
everyd8y oballrvation and it is easy to cite examples of such groupe ....ha
have eurvived. _ distinguished cften by relisiou, practice, l~,
or race _ for centuries or even millennia. One thinks he~e ot Jewillh
co!llllW'litiel tbrolJ8hout the world, the ma;ny Indian peoples ot the .lmIirieas the C.ltic peoplle ot Britain, the ' ....hih' peoplee ot louthem
.lfr1~, the Copts ot B.:D'Pt, or the Ciroaallianll of Jordan. In abert, I
b.lilv. that archaeolosi't. IIIUIt propound h,ypotheaea that take iDto
account the fat. of the :lDd~ peopllllll ....h.n coloniza tion ha. tak.n
plac.. Suoh colonization lIisht iDvolv. the arrival of whole COllllUllit1ee or f8lllilies .... ith plant. and liveetock or merely of adult malel,
silDilarly equipped, who would have taken .... ivee trom among the indipnous population. Tbie latt.r proceae was typical of ilIllch cf the Spanieh
colonization of Central .laIerica. I would sugpst, however , that 8B1'iculture sensu st~icto ie pnerally a sufticiently complex activity to
r equire IJOIII8 movel)lsnt ot population, particularly since Brit111h lii0i110lithic peoplee w.re not adapted to the proceedna- ot eeeds tor food..
It ie difficult aloo to Inviaa.p the sort ot preslJlll'8S which IIlisbt
have induced a BritiBh late lDIeolithic populaticn, perhape puIDbIr1D8'
no more than 5000 soule (llrothws n 1972, 79), to adopt ara1Jle cultivation eua e ponte.
Th. poeaibl. l1Dks which I saw b.tween tb. I118ll1Olithic peopl.e and thl
RC complex were alwa,ys tenuous and I would now re3lQV. tbe artetactual
.videncl _ -called p.ti t trancbet derivative arrowheads and pebble
ma.ceheade _ tro.m account aa n.ither type i8 certainl;y derived trom a
lIIeeolith1o prototype (Green 1980, 100, 111, 113; Bae and Radley 1968 ,
174-175). The othel." posdble links were economic - _the inVolvement ot
RC as tOl.'llllllrly of mesolith1c , ' peopls' iD lons-dietance t:rattio in raw
mate rial. and the appannt exclusive pastorali8lll of the RC ' people '.
Th.se links remain. I will take up two specific points of Bradl.y ' l
h ere . Fi~at hs s tates (19S0b, 29), rs.ferrins to my S'!;acey Bushllll report (Green 1976) that ' the consistent association between gro.oved ware
and Pi&' bon.e is upla.1ned by allovins tbese ~atoral1sts t(I live a .... q
frolll other groups, on the edge of the forest lGrlllln 1976)'. Stud,y of
the report in question will reveal. that the &n.1mal bonea found at
Stacey lIwIhee ccns1sted ot cattl. aDd (posaibl.y) shllllP, but no pip
(Green 1976 , 14) . Bradle,. allO cites :le1ol evidence by Martin Jone. tor
cereal. cultivation from RC lites whlch would app.&J: to dismiss the
idea that RC ' peoples ' were paltoralists (Jon" 1980). Jones himself
is IllUcb more cautious in hil conaideration ot hil results, pointing to
tbe strons representaticn ot woodland tood plante on all three lngl1ab
sitee, and. indeed, to the d.irect evidence of contemporary tree ~b
at one . Indeed, hia t entativI results d.emollAtratl only that cereale
were possessed, not that they were cultivated. J.&ain, stwi,;r ot DIY
St&ce,. :&ah" report w;luld draw out m;r specitic su,ggestion that grain
ma,y ha.". been used in exchanse tor the services ot RC pastoralilts
(Green 1976 , 24) . Indeed, Bradley'a ovn interpretation ot arable/
pastoral pollen ratios (1978, 52) points to a progresaive s:nansion ot
pastoral t~, with a cc=esponding decline in cereal cultivation,
from ,£.2500-1600 be - the precise period ot development and flore ecence
of the Rinyo-Clacton ocmplex. However, I would not arSUe strcnsJ,y
that tbe ~o-Clacton phenolllllocn ~ rityreaent the material culture
of acculturated mssol1th1o survivors t or tbe evidence is s1.mply too
thin. ~ real &rgIlUIeIlt ooneema the iutegrity ot the grooved 1oIa:e1 00.
plu: as a IOcial and economic entity .
JIb' concept ot
the RC com.lllex waa a regional one with.!2£i in "'eaSH ,
the Yoritlh1re Volds , and the Peak District (Green 1980, 190). Ih dietinct1v. (not always exclusive) features include itll unique pottery
style, chi.lJll and oblique arrowheads, stone ma.ceheads, poUshed_edp
knivea, diacoidal. and prepared-core knappin& tschniquea, various typee
ot bone pin, the absence ot a resular and diltinctive buri5l.l rite, soma
benge monumenta, and flint
I sail the locatio.c ot the areas ot
noreecence ot the RC complex, in regions ot arl8Illlive pasture and
assooiated with vast cerlllllK>n.ial (perhaps also pMt(lral) enchves, U
s1Sn1ticant. Indeed, thil l.1JDplitied statement do . . no .acre than to\lch
upon tbl l"aW.!ications of the RC ccmple::z:. It lleeD18 to ;ne that tbe :recurrins artefacts, monument-typ .. , and economic evidence .S2. hsDa' together. It ms.y be, of cour", that this cchesicn 18 more appe.rent than
real and that other thsorie. - such as Bradley'. 'ranked sphere. ot e:r_
chan&e' (1982b, 36) - provide a bethl.' ansIfll'. In the meant11lla.
Bradley's premise ' that it 18 ha.rdly possible to acoept the existencl
ot a grooved vare peo.,le' (1982b, 32) seems to prejudge this complex
problem.
1Bine..
THE WAY FOR\Ji,lRD
JIb' thelia trod IIlUCh
ths seale ot the
I have now been able to quantity
to be done . I arrived at
my typology 0Dl.y at the end of the work.. '1'b1e could now be applied.
intra-reSiooally - where raw material fact(l1'l should not obscure the
resulte _ to e::z:all11.ne a whole range of distributional probl81118. Study
of the technol ogy ot the arrowheads should permit retinement ot my r.sulte, particularl y in the ease ot the 'fancy' b'" t arrowileads. The
non-destructive study ot nint and chert (Clayton 1984) could elucidate patterns of 'trade' or excbanse. Certain arrowbead types chiael, oblique, and Irisb oblique _ have never been f ound hafted and
m.1crowear analysis should be able to dete=1ne it scme f ol'lllS ~ net,
atter all, be toola rather than arrowheads .
,.
39
In BIlIII, there ill oonalderable IIcopa in 11 thic research whether on an
arte:fa.ct_ type or ngionaJ. basis, or 1110 a componeut of a widar regional
or national study. I look fo:nfard to produoing lIlY own eynthesil ot the
British neol1th1c within the next feY year.. tak1n8 rq results into
account.
lCiM•• , I.
!t
Smith, I.P.
~cknowl~ntll
I am illd..bted to KinDda Green and Gordon Hilllllllll for valuabl e discussion or aspects of thie pape r.
RE'"",,,,,,
Bradley, R.
1918.
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~thvell. D.R.
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_
"-1"-'
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",.