Experimental and archeological observations of Northern Iberian Peninsula Middle Paleolithic mousterian point assemblages. Testing the potential use of throwing spears among Neanderthals

Abstract

The use of ranged weapons among Neanderthals is an important issue in paleoanthropology, due to its implications for understanding the adaptive advantages of modern humans as opposed to Neanderthals. This debate has been hindered by the existence of some preconceived ideas, such as Mousterian points being too bulky to be used as projectile points. In the last years we have analyzed several Middle Paleolithic assemblages in Northern Iberian Peninsula that included Mousterian points with impact traces. One of the main features of these points was that they were substantially lighter than expected, which made them appropriate as archeological reference to test if Neanderthal groups used these kinds of points as throwing spear tips. We developed an exploratory experiment to test if they were suitable for throwing, and to identify which variables were more important to demonstrate it. Finally we discuss the results from an evolutionary and historical perspective.