In a comparative approach the archaeological record of the Levant is compared to that of Southeastern Europe, and several structural similarities are discussed.
Other technologies were not directly affected, but on the contrary, lithic technique and ceramic styles show great elaboration. Surprisingly complex metallurgy started already in the middle of the 5th Millennium BC and caused changes in social distinction, exchange systems and ideology. Chronological errors and socio-economic misconceptions have been shrouding a clear view on the sequence of events and their interregional consequences. The notion of the change caused by smelting and melting technology during the 5th and 4th Millennium in the Levant is not well understood. The method preview the research of the toxic molecules starting from the present plants and working backwards through the study of the historical and ethnographic weapons. Using a completely non-invasive method, samples were taken from the ethnographic materials preserved in the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology of Cambridge (UK), and samplings are scheduled at the Pitt Rivers Museum of Oxford (UK) and Museo Etnografico Pigorini of Roma (Italy). The plants of the Ranunculaceae family, particularly monkshood, as well as other common toxic plants such as hemlock or andstrychnos toxiferia (curare) are those on which we have more historical information and form the basis of this work. The investigation makes use of mass spectrometric analysis to establish the presence/absence of potentially toxic substances even after thousands of years. of Chemical and Forensic Sciences of the Northumbria University, Newcastle. This research is part of a wider project on the analysis of residues on the prehistoric projectile points in collaboration with the Dept.
In this paper we present the development of a method for the detection of toxic substances on European Upper Paleolithic stone and bone points. Ethnographic documentation tells us that very often hunters poison their weapons with toxic substances.The ease with which poisons can be obtained from plants and animals, and the benefits arising from their application on throwing weapons (a safe distance from the hunter’s prey, killing large size prey relatively quickly) suggests that this practice could be widespread among prehistoric hunters.In particular, the poisonous substances can incapacitate the animal, irrespective of whether the weapon causing a mortal wound: this is crucial for the recovery of meat and furs in good conditions.
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