Shark-tooth artefacts from middle Holocene Sulawesi

• Autores: Michelle C. Langley, Akin Duli, Birgitta Stephenson, Muhammad Nur, Carney Matherson, Basran Burhan, Budianto Hakim, Iwan Sumantri, Adhi Agus Oktaviana, Fardi Ali Syahdar, David McGahan, Adam Brumm
• Localización: Antiquity, ISSN 0003-598X, Vol. 97, Nº 396, 2023, págs. 1420-1435
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • 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.