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Researchers use a variety of target materials, and sometimes combinations of materials, in their archaeological experiments to examine thrust‐spear or projectile penetration, impact angle, durability, and other issues involving prehistoric hunting weaponry. This variety of target materials is beneficial to archaeological science in several ways, but it may also hinder the comparison of results because many of these target materials do not necessarily share similar physical properties. Here, we assess the penetration properties of four different target materials—store‐bought meat, clay, and two types of gelatin—via static penetration tests of a modern broadhead‐tipped arrow and a stone‐tipped projectile attached to an Instron Universal Materials Tester. Our analyses of load‐deflection curves, peak load, and work energy demonstrate how the four target materials are similar in some ways but different in others, which suggests that researchers may strategically employ one or several depending on the question asked or hypothesis tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Projectiles of sintered tungsten alloy were fired directly at two kinds of steel target plates. The microstructures near the perforation of a medium, 0.45% carbon steel target plate can be identified along the radial direction as: melted and rapidly solidified layer, recrystallized fine-grained layer, deformed fine-grained layer, deformed layer and normal matrix. The adiabatic shear bands cannot be found in this intermediate strength steel. The microstructures along the radial direction of perforation of 30CrMnMo steel target plate are different from that of the medium carbon steel. There was a melted and rapidly solidified layer on the surface of the perforation, underneath there was a diffusing layer, and then fine-grained layer appeared as streamlines. Several kinds of adiabatic shear bands were found in this higher strength steel; they had different directions and widths, which were relative to the shock waves, as well as the complex deformation process of penetration. The deformation of the projectiles was rather different when they impacted on target plates of medium carbon steel and 30CrMnMo steel. The projectile that impacted on the medium carbon steel target plate was tamped and its energy dissipated slowly, while that which impacted on the 30CrMnMo steel target plate was sheared and the energy dissipated quickly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]