The trapeze innovation: experimental approach to the functioning of geometric bitruncations of the Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic

Résumé En

During the 7th and 6th millenium cal.BC, in much of western Europe, a cultural rupture transforms the Mesolithic societies. For the lithics industries, these changes occur at different levels, including the introduction of new knapping technics, the pressure and the indirect percussion and the introduction of new trapezoidal shaped microliths, manufactured on the regular blades using the microburin technique. Probably echoing changes in the different registers - technical, economic, social or symbolic - of the hunting system, these new shapes of arrowheads reflect new functional roles which are still little known.In order to characterize and interpret these innovations, we have set up a progam of archery experiments centered on the Late Mesolithic (Castelnovian) but which also finds extensions in the Early Neolithic (Impressa).The creation of a large-scale reference collection by the implementation of experimental shooting sessions following different protocols, on animal carcass and on ballistic gel, allowed us to obtain a model of impact damages to the symmetrical and asymmetrical trapezes according to their shape and their mode of hafting but also enabled us to evaluate their wounding efficiency.In this paper, we will present the main results of this program, from which we will discuss the functional hypotheses that can be formulated for the archaeological trapezes.