Shark-tooth artefacts from middle Holocene Sulawesi

Shark-tooth artefacts from middle Holocene Sulawesi

Although first identified 120 years ago, knowledge of the Toalean technoculture of Middle Holocene Sulawesi, Indonesia, remains limited. Previous research has emphasised the exploitation of largely terrestrial resources by hunter-gatherers on the island. The recent recovery of two modified tiger sha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antiquity Vol. 97; no. 396; pp. 1420 - 1435
Main Authors: Langley, Michelle C., Duli, Akin, Stephenson, Birgitta, Nur, Muhammad, Matherson, Carney, Burhan, Basran, Hakim, Budianto, Sumantri, Iwan, Oktaviana, Adhi Agus, Syahdar, Fardi Ali, McGahan, David, Brumm, Adam
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01-12-2023
Subjects:
Ancient civilizations
Anthropological research
Archaeological evidence
Archaeology
Charcoal
Excavation
Exploitation
Fossil teeth
Fourier transforms
Historic artifacts
Holocene
Hunter-gatherers
Hunting and gathering societies
Morphology
Sharks
Spectrum analysis
Teeth
Teeth, Fossil
Weapons
Indonesia
Sulawesi
Southeast Asia
Toalean
use-wear
residue analysis
hafting
weapons
Indonesia
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Summary:Although first identified 120 years ago, knowledge of the Toalean technoculture of Middle Holocene Sulawesi, Indonesia, remains limited. Previous research has emphasised the exploitation of largely terrestrial resources by hunter-gatherers on the island. The recent recovery of two modified tiger shark teeth from the Maros-Pangkep karsts of South Sulawesi, however, offers new insights. The authors combine use-wear and residue analyses with ethnographic and experimental data to indicate the use of these artefacts as hafted blades within conflict and ritual contexts, revealing hitherto undocumented technological and social practices among Toalean hunter-gatherers. The results suggest these artefacts constitute some of the earliest archaeological evidence for the use of shark teeth in composite weapons.
ISSN:0003-598X
1745-1744
DOI:10.15184/aqy.2023.144