A discovery made in the cave of La Garma (Cantabria, north of Spain) has shed new light on the hunting techniques used by our ancestors over 16,000 years ago. An international team of researchers, led by Dr. Marián Cueto from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, has recently published a study detailing the discovery of a horse jaw with an embedded lithic projectile, providing tangible evidence of hunting practices from the Magdalenian period.
The study has been published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. This exceptional finding not only represents the first case of its kind in the Iberian Peninsula but also highlights the importance of taphonomic analysis of bone surfaces in understanding past human behaviors.
The cave of La Garma, an archaeological complex located in a karstic system about 6 kilometers from the current coast, has been the subject of extensive archaeological research. The specimen in question was discovered in La Garma A, one of the complex’s cavities located 86 meters above sea level. The horse jaw comes from layer L3, corresponding to the Middle Magdalenian and dated by radiocarbon to between 17,300 and 16,200 cal BP (before present).
The exhaustive analysis of the specimen revealed that it was the right hemimandible of a horse (Equus caballus) more than 5 years old. What makes this finding truly extraordinary is the presence of a lithic fragment embedded in the lingual (inner) surface of the jaw, approximately 3 mm below the fourth premolar. The researchers have interpreted this lesion as a possible projectile impact mark (PIM) generated during hunting activities.
Dr. Cueto and her colleagues employed a combination of macro and microscopic analysis techniques, including stereoscopic microscopy and paleoarchaeological radiology, to meticulously characterize both the bone lesion and the embedded lithic artifact. The impact-associated marks, including a bisected drag and a chipped area, suggest a ventral-dorsal trajectory of the projectile.
This discovery is particularly significant given that artifacts embedded in osteological remains are extremely rare in the archaeological record, especially in faunal remains from prehistoric sites. The preservation of an in-situ lithic projectile provides a unique window into the hunting strategies employed by Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherers.
The archaeological context of the find adds additional layers of complexity and interest to the interpretation. Layer L3 of La Garma A has provided a rich assemblage of faunal and lithic remains. Notably, horse remains dominate the faunal assemblage, representing 47% of the identified specimens. This predominance of equine remains is unusual for the Cantabrian Magdalenian, where red deer or mountain goats generally prevail.
The associated lithic assemblage is composed exclusively of tools made from flint, with an emphasis on blade technology. Backed blades, triangles, and Microgravette points are particularly abundant, suggesting a focus on the production of composite projectiles. Use-wear analysis links this lithic assemblage to activities related to the processing of skins and bones.
The unusual location of the projectile in the horse’s anatomy has generated considerable debate among researchers. While hunting injuries typically concentrate in vital areas such as the shoulder, lungs, and heart, this case presents an impact in the cranial region, specifically on the lingual surface of the jaw. The authors suggest that this could represent a previously undocumented hunting strategy, possibly involving a shot from below with the animal’s head raised extremely high.
However, the researchers are cautious in their interpretation, recognizing the inherent limitations of a single case. They have considered alternative explanations, such as the possibility that Paleolithic hunters practiced target shooting on dead prey for training purposes. Nevertheless, based on previous research, the authors assume it is unlikely that prehistoric hunters shot at dead animals and that the presence of an embedded projectile generally indicates active hunting activities.
The marks that allow for the reconstruction of a trajectory, the location within the animal’s anatomy, and the characteristics of the lithic fragment, all integrated, allow for a regressive interpretation of the possible hunting strategy implemented to ambush the equid: from a lower position and with a high-speed weapon. Such observations are consistent with previous archaeological cases from the European Paleolithic and with experimental approaches, although this is a unique piece of evidence of an embedded lithic artifact from the Iberian Paleolithic, the researchers state.
And they add that, however, clear limitations are identified given the complexity of the analysis and the lack of referential and comparative cases within the archaeological record, in addition to the equifinality regarding the presence of embedded lithic fragments. Nonetheless, identifying these cases can represent direct evidence of an implemented hunting strategy and the use of specific technological development.
SOURCES
Cueto, M., Camarós, E., Chauvin, A., Ontañón, R., & Arias, P. (2024). An Upper Paleolithic horse mandible with an embedded lithic projectile: Insights into 16,500 cal BP hunting strategies through a unique case of bone injury from Cantabrian Spain. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, e3346. doi.org/10.1002/oa.3346
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