Gravettian weaponry: 23,500-year-old evidence of a composite barbed point from Les Prés de Laure (France)

Understanding hunting technology is pivotal in the study of adaptive and innovative forces that influenced the evolution of prehistoric societies. The manufacture, design and use of hunting weapons involve technical processes such as those of tool miniaturization, blank standardization and projection modes, but also influence broader demographic structures such as human subsistence strategies, territorial organization and socio-economic structures. Here we present a unique discovery from a newly uncovered site at Les Prés de Laure (Var, France). Excavations revealed a multi-stratified open-air site with archaeological units that were rapidly buried by the alluvium of the Jabron River. In 2015, 11 backed points were discovered in direct association with the remains of a bone point in a Gravettian layer dated to 23.5 ka cal BP. Wear and residue analysis of the lithic points in combination with complimentary experimental data converge to indicate that the find represents a bone point armed with lithic barbs and used as hunting weapon. This discovery is the oldest direct evidence for the manufacture and use of a composite hunting weapon and stimulates discussion on the style, function and design of prehistoric weapons.