An Arrow from the Mesolithic

An Arrow from the Mesolithic

Mesolithic (8,000–5,000 BCE)

Our arrow replica is based on a find from a Danish moor near Lillehult.

The shaft is made from pine wood. Because the fletching was not preserved on the Lillehult arrow, we chose a local bird species with suitable flight feathers (golden eagle).

The flint points (microliths) and the knives used to work the shaft and fletching were made from a flint nodule originating in the Frankenalb mountain range. It was heated to improve cleavage. Animal (roe deer) tendon was used to attach the fletching, birch pitch to glue the points to the shaft.

Shooting trials have shown that such a projectile could be used to kill a large animal (e.g. elk or deer) from a distance of 30 m.

Under ordinary conditions, only the stone components would remain of the arrow and the waste from butchering the animal.