Nineteen 7,500-year-old wooden bows from Lake Bracciano made from six tree species
Archaeologists recovered 19 Neolithic bows preserved in the mud of Lake Bracciano, Italy. Wood analysis showed six tree species chosen for different properties.
Researchers at the La Marmotta site on the bed of Lake Bracciano in Italy have recovered 19 wooden bows about 7,500 years old, Super Rádio Tupi reports. tupi.fm
Super Rádio Tupitupi.fmOpen source ↗ The bows were made by early farming communities of the Neolithic that lived on the lake shore. Analysis of the wood fibres identified six distinct tree species used to make them.
Preservation in lake mud
The bows survived because of anaerobic conditions at the bottom of the lake. Buried in mud, the wooden objects were shielded from the degradation caused by oxygen and decomposing bacteria over thousands of years. As a result, the structure of the 19 bows remained almost intact, and underwater archaeologists could examine fine details of the woodworking.
Six species, different properties
Taxonomic analysis of the fibres showed that the makers used hornbeam, viburnum, alder, dogwood, ash and oak. Each species was selected for its specific mechanical properties, which gave the weapons different levels of flexibility. According to the material, the makers could therefore adjust the strength and elasticity of each bow.
The study also describes cutting and shaping adapted to the features of each trunk, and polishing and wear to adjust the curvature of the bow. tupi.fm
Super Rádio Tupitupi.fmOpen source ↗ The bows served both for hunting and for defence of the settlement.
La Marmotta was one of the more developed agricultural communities of the Mediterranean Neolithic. Life by the lake combined fishing, grain growing, animal husbandry, hunting and forest resource extraction. Making a bow, the material notes, took time, knowledge passed between generations and careful management of local forest resources.
The results were published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports in the paper "Archery technology in the Neolithic: Management of the Mediterranean mixed forest and woodworking activities at La Marmotta (Italy)". Its authors are L. Caruso Fermé, P. Monteiro, V. Brizzi, M. Mineo, G. Remolins, N. Mazzucco, B. Morell and J. F. Gibaja. Work at the underwater site continues.
