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Palaeolithic Barbed Point from Gransmoor, East Yorkshire, England

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 February 2014

Charles Sheldrick ,
J. John Lowe  and
Michael J. Reynier
Charles Sheldrick
Affiliation:
Centre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX
J. John Lowe
Affiliation:
Centre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX
Michael J. Reynier
Affiliation:
Department of Classics and Archaeology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD
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Abstract

An Upper Palaeolithic, uniserially barbed antler point, discovered during excavations of a Devensian Lateglacial sediment sequence in a quarry near Gransmoor, Yorkshire, England, is described. The stratigraphic context of the find is summarised, and the age of the implement can be confidently estimated to between 11,500 and 11,100 radiocarbon years BP on the basis of (i) a series of AMS radiocarbon dates, (ii) radiometric dating of the wood within which the barbed point was lodged, and (iii) biostratigraphic considerations. The barbed point from Gransmoor is probably unrivalled in Britain in terms of the stratigraphic and chronological context within which it can be assessed. Some suggestions are made concerning the manufacture and function of the barbed point on the basis of markings on the antler surface and remains of some of the original mastic, features which are extremely well preserved.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society , Volume 63 , 1997 , pp. 359 - 370
Copyright
Copyright © The Prehistoric Society 1997

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References

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