Life and death written in bones

A new article written by Osipowicz, G., Lõugas, L. & Luik, H. titled: Bevel-ended bone artefacts from Pulli, Estonia: Early Mesolithic debarking tools? has been published in the journal  Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences!

This paper reports the results of the first attempt of traceological studies (technological and functional) of bone products from the unique Early Mesolithic site of Pulli, Estonia. The analysis covered a group of specific tools made primarily from elk’s metapodial bones, referred to as Pulli-type bevel-ended tools. Through microscopic studies, the complete biography of these artefacts was reconstructed, considering all stages of their production and the phases of use and abandonment. Use-wear analysis and studies in the field of experimental archaeology allowed the interpretation of the function of these products, which can be perceived as specialised tools for obtaining bark (debarking). The results of the conducted studies were compared with those of singular technological and functional studies on similar early Holocene bone tools from European contexts.

Article can be found here:

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-025-02187-6

An article titled “Notched implements made of scapulae (Bruszczewo-type tools) – a problem solved? Discovering cereal- and legume-threshing techniques in Early Bronze Age Europe through traceological analysis and residue studies” has been published in the prestigious journal PLoS One. The paper presents the results of studies on the function of specific bone tools made from animal scapulae discovered in an Early Bronze Age fortified settlement in Bruszczewo (Greater Poland). Tools of this type are known from numerous European sites, and the discussion regarding their probable use has been ongoing for over 100 years.

The research detailed in the article includes traceological analyses of these tools, studies of residues found on their surfaces, and experimental archaeology. The results suggest that these tools were used for threshing (a method of separating grains) and applied to cereals and legumes. The research was conducted with international cooperation, including specialists from the DANTE – Diet and Ancient Technology Laboratory at the Sapienza University of Rome and BIAX Biological Archaeology & Environmental Reconstruction, Zaandam, The Netherlands.

The article can be downloaded for free using the link: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.03087

The warm summer days have given our team the perfect chance to get stuck into some new and exciting experimental projects One of these was an experiment testing bone spearheads in the context of hunting aquatic animals – what an experiment it was!

We look forward to sharing the results with you!

P.s. Just to be clear, no animals were harmed during this project. We love all animals, and we only used dead ones for scientific purposes.

In the past two weeks, we were in Latvia, mainly at the Museum Storage Facility in Riga. We documented and analysed unique prehistoric bone points and fishing hooks from Lake Lubāns. Prof. Osipowicz also examined a small wooden boat recovered from a swamp in the late 19th century, revealed by radiocarbon dating to be a Mesolithic artifact!

We invite all interested to read a new article which presents the first results of both dryland and underwater investigations at the multi-period Garnys riverine site situated on the Žeimena River in eastern Lithuania, which appeared in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports!!!

Gytis Piličiauskas, Elena Pranckėnaitė, Aldas Matiukas, Grzegorz Osipowicz, Kęstutis Peseckas, Justina Kozakaitė, Aldona Damušytė, Erika Gál, Giedrė Piličiauskienė, Harry K. Robson (2023). Garnys: An underwater riverine site with delayed Neolithisation in the southeastern Baltic. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104232

EXARC/EAC held its first fully hybrid conference this year at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland on 1-3 May. The conference was a huge success. Among the many exciting presentations, we were pleased to present the first results of traceological studies of the wooden artefacts from site Sventoji in Lithuania: Traceology on Prehistoric Wooden Artefacts. Is it Possible? By Grzegorz Osipowicz (PL), Justyna Orłowska (PL), Giedrė Piličiauskienė (LT), Gytis Piličiauskas (LT). Right now, its time to prepare a nice article!

Dear Colleagues, let me introduce the logo of our project. It will allow the ones interested in our studies to recognize them easier on the internet.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!