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Thanks!

@@exarc do you think some people would just start polishing the edge when it got dull from chopping down trees all day?

​@@Zane-ItNo, not on this type of axe / adz. However, it can be resharpened by taking off a flake across the edge, using the side-edge as a platform. This technique is commonly used on the Early Mesolithic flake axes from Norway. Sometimes, if there was not a good edge to begin with, this would be a way of shaping the primary cutting edge. (Based on refitting of edge flakes to flake axes in Early Mesolithic assemblages).

We currently do not have contact with this colleague, and are therefore unable to get a reply for you. We apologise.

Hello! Yes, Shishlina’s work is familiar to us, in Russian also. The earliest examples of composite bows are found in the Baikal region in Eastern Siberia already in the local Neolithic times, from where it spread in the East Asian region began, and by the Bronze Age the distribution area probably included steppe spaces. These bows described in the work of Okladnikov in 1950. But there are no clear finds in the steppe. There are features in the Catacomb culture that can be interpreted as parts of composite bows. There are a couple of images on stone steles that are difficult to interpret unambiguously. Unfortunately, there is no example yet of such good preservation of organic bow parts as in Eastern Siberia.

Thank you for the response. Are you familiar with the stelae of the Chemurchek culture which depict double curve bows in the hands of warriors? Since their existence overlapped with the Andronovo culture, and assuming the Andronovo were the ancestors of the Indo-Aryan migrants into South Asia, is it reasonable to assume the Vedic aryans used a double curved/ “gull wing” composite bow, as noted in the Dhanurveda? Unfortunately the Dhanurveda provides limited clues as to the form and construction of the Vedic period horn bows.

Amusing to see you talk about confirmation bias as you literally display it.

@@Eyes_Open Do please explain. It's beyond ridiculous to believe such rudimentary tools and methods are capable of the precision pieces. To think it can be, just shows a lack of understanding of precision engineering. They did achieve some amazing work with such tools, but the precision pieces aren't a part of that at all. I think you're perception of confirmation bias, is someone who doesn't believe nonsense, based on century old interpretations. It looks like our civilisation's advancement is purely based on technology, not intelligence 😉

@@martinsanders5418 You started with an unsupported assumption and use it as a reference for all further discussion. There are no proven precision artifacts. There are only claims.

@@Eyes_Open That's ridiculous, and you know it. The only way you don't see the evidence for precision artifacts, is if you refuse to look. I won't waste my time

The point of this exercise was to 'prove' something. She simply didn't. The burden of truth is hers to prove, not mine to prove otherwise. If you take this as proof of something, you definitely do fall under confirmation bias. What you saw was a few clips, not proof of any process. It doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Of course if she uploaded an unedited film of the process, for her peers to examine, that'd be a different matter. If she satisfied that, the only criticism is that it is nowhere near the precision or symmetry, and cannot be defined by a clear exact mathematical ratio, that we find on the earliest examples of vases. Then you've got the 100 ton basalt boxes, with walks and angles cut with extreme precision that just can't be achieved by any humans, then or now. Nobody can claim that they're sawn, because the saw can't work the interior of the box. A box made of one of the hardest forms of rock. I can accept that the dynastic Egyptians achieved some amazing feats with their rudimentary tool sets, and they can work some very hard stone in some cases, but there are many examples where these tools just can't physically be possible in some spaces, and when you see them emulate these already ancient, inherited, pieces of work. The dynastic Egyptians were successful civilisations, then usurped by the then successful Romans. So how did they lose this knowledge of this highly valued techniques, if not for them disappeqring at some point prior to they discovered the sites. The ancient Egyptians always claimed their culture and civilisations were legacy based. What do you think they actually meant by that? I don't claim to have all the answers, there are many mysteries. Mainstream Eyptologists and historians can't stand mystery, and so, come up with the most half arsed theories, to account for things that they clearly should be puzzled and intrigued by. There you go, I wasted my time after all 🙄

we'll ask John to comment

@uthyrgrewwick5702 Thank you for your question. When the daggers are examined, the use wear primarily appears in the region of the blade. One must remember that every dagger was not "treated" the same way either. Many served as objects of quotidian utilization, whereas others were likely objects of status or power. Regardless of utilization, when the daggers are examined, the use wear primarily appears in the region of the blade. Primarily these appear as longitudinal striations which have been interpreted as wear from being drawn repeatedly out of a sheath comprised of some organic material. Others still show wear, but of a completely different nature. These show differing types of wear from hafting (Danish Neolithic/Early Bronze age daggers show evidence of the pommel region being utilized as a strike-a-lite, remnants of mastic hafting material in the handle area flint daggers from what is now Northern Europe/Scandianvia, Ukraine, Spain etc). So what does this all mean? It shows that the blade region, with its more tapered, acute point is utilized just as it would appear...a distal region designed for penetration just as modern knives are. Most exhibit a taper from the handle region to the distal end. However, this brings into question dagger types such as the Type II long-tanged flint dagger from the Bell Beaker Culture from the U.K. These, the Type II daggers exhibit a very broad, not acute distal tip, more akin to slicing and skinning (refer to modern knives designed for combat and those for hunting and or skinning). These daggers likely had and different role. This said, the reason for this experiment was to show, that though primarily never designed as a primary weapon of warfare, no matter what type of dagger, or region found, they could be utilized as an effective weapon. When we examine flaked stone tools, their primary use is normally fairly obvious when these objects are scrutinized. However, their biographies can be much more complex. Though objects of power/status the show use in cutting tasks as well as resharpening. Look at how many objects today are utilized for tasks they were never designed for. Whether it be composite daggers from the Mesolithic, to the earliest copper daggers, they are designed with a smaller distal region and a broader proximal region that tapers to become, or is pointed or rounded for insertion into a handle. IMO the broader proximal area helps with the distribution of force if utilized. I hope this starts to answer your question... there are many questions yet to be answered...that's the beauty of true experimental archaeology. For further exploration of this topic, Id recommend "Flint Daggers in Prehistoric Europe" edited by Catherine J. Frieman and Berit Valentin Erikson, published by Oxbow Books, 2015. Again, thank you for your question. Be well.

@@johnkiernan6576 Thank you for your reply. I will check out the book you recommended. Good day.

it indeed is thesame neighbourhood!

hahahahahaha

graag gedaan!

you can find the author here: www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-pitchford-100aaa17a/?originalSubdomain=uk

You are right, fire is always an issue. Birch bark is a very good fire starter in the area, even when damp. My concern is more being able to start a flame from the amber. I will be using flint, marcasite and fomes fomentarius (Tinder fungus)

@@MarkusKlek I’m rooting for you. A friend does survival techniques & uses feather sticking, that may be helpful to you too.