Finding your strong points: Exploring the Design and Resilience of Barbed Composite Weapons

Laterally hafted projectiles are a subject of significant interest in the field of archaeology and are identified on every continent and throughout time. While composite finds incorporating organic shafts and points with stone barbs have been discovered in Europe as early as the Gravettian, researchers argue that their existence could be traced back to the Early Upper Paleolithic in Europe, with Protoaurignacian bladelets. However, the identification of lateral stone elements still faces significant methodological challenges and a robust interpretative framework is still lacking. Experiments involving lateral projectiles have been rare, and the research objectives, protocols, and results have varied significantly, making it difficult to achieve a consensus on how to identify lateral insets when found without their organic counterparts. Moreover, the fragility of lateral hafting systems presents another challenge because when insets detach upon impact, little characteristic wear forms and diagnostic criteria cannot be proposed. In this paper, we aim to contribute to an improved understanding and identification of lateral hafting systems by studying their resilience and damage formation in experiments. We test different adhesive options and examine the relevance of a groove. We document impact-related use-wear and evaluate its diagnostic value for identifying laterally hafted armatures. We argue that a robust framework is a first and crucial step to improve the archaeological identification and interpretation of laterally hafted armatures and the understanding of the evolution of hunting weaponry