Marta, Liviu (szerk.): Satu Mare. Studii şi comunicări. Seria arheologie 29/1. (2013)
Laura Dietrich: Projectile weapons of the Late Bronze Age int he Easter Europe. The case of the Noua-Sabatinovka-Coslogeni cultural complex
big and the shapes of the analysed projectile points differ markedly. But with the assumption that the TCSA mainly describes mechanical properties, these values can be nevertheless used for comparison, however with largely hypothetical results. Of course, these values do not indicate categorically that the Bronze Age specimens are darts; some arrow heads can have high values, too. But some other finds attributable to the NSC add some support in favour of the presence of atlatls respectively dart points. The pieces in question are bone hooks, which could represent end pieces of atlatls (fig. 6 with possible reconstructions). Two bone hooks were until now published: one from the settlement of the SC from Novokievka, which has a perpendicular hole for attaching it to a shaft, and another one from the NC settlement of Giurcani. The latter has a groove, maybe for attaching it to a wooden shaft using strings. It is very probable that more hooks were found in NSC sites but have not been recognized and/or published. It is also possible, that most atlatls were made entirely of wood and their recognition is a matter of archaeological visibility. The presence of atlatls in the NSC seems thus possible; the cluster represented in the TCSA could contain arrow heads and darts with similar shapes (types 3, 4 and 5). Projectile weapons of the Late Bronze Age in the Eastern Europe. The case of... Fig. 5: Metrical analysis of tip cross sectional area (TCSA) of the projectile points. To sum up, by calculating the TCSA values different clusters of projectile weapons, possibly each with own properties and functions, could be identified. A cluster of small, narrow arrows can be differentiated from a cluster of wider arrows with medium TCSA values and a cluster of narrow arrows with big TCSA values. This could indicate different levels of efficiency and effectiveness, as arrows with different shapes and sizes produce different wounds. The most efficient shape seems to be that of points of type 5 C, D and E, which are aerodynamic and have a bigger entry power, can produce big wounds and due to their barbs cannot be removed easily. In addition, two more clusters with considerably higher TCSA-values appear. But even if a distinction between the fourth and the fifth cluster is clear, an interpretation in the lines of different functions, like for example throwing and thrusting spears, is not certain. Experiments with penetration depths of Levallois points69 have shown that potential values for thrusting spears lie between approximately 80 and 250 mm2 (see also the calculations of Bretke et al. 2006). However, these experiments were made with stone points and a transfer of the results to metal points is probably not possible. Anyhow, experiments on the efficiency of metal and stone axes have shown that the thickness of the stone axes decreases their penetration depths in comparison to the bronze axes70. This variable would also change the TCSA value range for stone and metal projectile points, the first being thicker. Another essential variable to take into account analysing throwing and thrusting possibilities is weight, which cannot be used here to control the results. Some studies have revealed furthermore that spears can be used for multiple purposes, having similar properties to swords71. It is for this reason difficult to say if the fourth and fifth clusters represent different functional categories, even if the specific shapes could indicate 69 Shea et al. 2001,2005. 70 Mathieu/Meyer 1997. 71 Anderson 2011. 189
