An experimental investigation of the functional hypothesis and evolutionary advantage of stone-tipped spears

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dc.contributor.authorWilkins, Jayneen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorSchoville, Benjamin Jen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBrown, Kyle Sen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-11-18T07:07:46Z
dc.date.available2015-11-18T07:07:46Z
dc.date.issued2014en_ZA
dc.description.abstractStone-tipped weapons were a significant innovation for Middle Pleistocene hominins. Hafted hunting technology represents the development of new cognitive and social learning mechanisms within the genus Homo , and may have provided a foraging advantage over simpler forms of hunting technology, such as a sharpened wooden spear. However, the nature of this foraging advantage has not been confirmed. Experimental studies and ethnographic reports provide conflicting results regarding the relative importance of the functional, economic, and social roles of hafted hunting technology. The controlled experiment reported here was designed to test the functional hypothesis for stone-tipped weapons using spears and ballistics gelatin. It differs from previous investigations of this type because it includes a quantitative analysis of wound track profiles and focuses specifically on hand-delivered spear technology. Our results do not support the hypothesis that tipped spears penetrate deeper than untipped spears. However, tipped spears create a significantly larger inner wound cavity that widens distally. This inner wound cavity is analogous to the permanent wound cavity in ballistics research, which is considered the key variable affecting the relative ‘stopping power’ or ‘killing power’ of a penetrating weapon. Tipped spears conferred a functional advantage to Middle Pleistocene hominins, potentially affecting the frequency and regularity of hunting success with important implications for human adaptation and life history.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationWilkins, J., Schoville, B. J., & Brown, K. S. (2014). An experimental investigation of the functional hypothesis and evolutionary advantage of stone-tipped spears. <i>PLoS One</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15127en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationWilkins, Jayne, Benjamin J Schoville, and Kyle S Brown "An experimental investigation of the functional hypothesis and evolutionary advantage of stone-tipped spears." <i>PLoS One</i> (2014) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15127en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationWilkins, J., Schoville, B. J., & Brown, K. S. (2013). An experimental investigation of the functional hypothesis and evolutionary advantage of stone-tipped spears. PloS one, 9(8), e104514. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0104514en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Wilkins, Jayne AU - Schoville, Benjamin J AU - Brown, Kyle S AB - Stone-tipped weapons were a significant innovation for Middle Pleistocene hominins. Hafted hunting technology represents the development of new cognitive and social learning mechanisms within the genus Homo , and may have provided a foraging advantage over simpler forms of hunting technology, such as a sharpened wooden spear. However, the nature of this foraging advantage has not been confirmed. Experimental studies and ethnographic reports provide conflicting results regarding the relative importance of the functional, economic, and social roles of hafted hunting technology. The controlled experiment reported here was designed to test the functional hypothesis for stone-tipped weapons using spears and ballistics gelatin. It differs from previous investigations of this type because it includes a quantitative analysis of wound track profiles and focuses specifically on hand-delivered spear technology. Our results do not support the hypothesis that tipped spears penetrate deeper than untipped spears. However, tipped spears create a significantly larger inner wound cavity that widens distally. This inner wound cavity is analogous to the permanent wound cavity in ballistics research, which is considered the key variable affecting the relative ‘stopping power’ or ‘killing power’ of a penetrating weapon. Tipped spears conferred a functional advantage to Middle Pleistocene hominins, potentially affecting the frequency and regularity of hunting success with important implications for human adaptation and life history. DA - 2014 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0104514 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - PLoS One LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2014 T1 - An experimental investigation of the functional hypothesis and evolutionary advantage of stone-tipped spears TI - An experimental investigation of the functional hypothesis and evolutionary advantage of stone-tipped spears UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15127 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/15127
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0104514
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationWilkins J, Schoville BJ, Brown KS. An experimental investigation of the functional hypothesis and evolutionary advantage of stone-tipped spears. PLoS One. 2014; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15127.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Archaeologyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en_ZA
dc.rights.holder© 2014 Wilkins et alen_ZA
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0en_ZA
dc.sourcePLoS Oneen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://journals.plos.org/plosoneen_ZA
dc.subject.otherPaleoanthropologyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherGelatinen_ZA
dc.subject.otherWeaponsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherPleistocene epochen_ZA
dc.subject.otherBallisticsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherHuman evolutionen_ZA
dc.subject.otherArchaeologyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherAntlersen_ZA
dc.titleAn experimental investigation of the functional hypothesis and evolutionary advantage of stone-tipped spearsen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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