Expedient and efficient: an Early Mesolithic composite implement from Krzyz Wielkopolski

The Northern European Mesolithic is well known for the manufacture of composite tools and weapons for specialised purposes. A composite implement recovered from the Early Holocene site of Krzyz Wielkopolski 7 in Poland, dated to the Preboreal/Boreal transition, raises questions about expediency versus efficiency in the fabrication of these artefacts. Here, the authors characterise its materials and production: a bone splinter mounted on a shaft of pine wood, secured with bast ligatures coated in birch bark tar. While the manufacture of the implement's individual components can be characterised as 'expedient', the finished implement is, however, complex, efficient and durable. Keywords: Northern Europe, Early Mesolithic, tool production, chaine operatoire, hunting technology
Introduction Krzyz Wielkopolski 7 is one of the few Mesolithic peatbog sites of the North European Plain that has the necessary conditions for outstanding preservation of organic materials, due to [...]