Hunting beneath the waves : Bone and antler points from the North sea Doggerland off the Dutch coast

Bone and antler barbed points form one of the most common categories of finds from the submerged prehistoric landscape of the North sea, also known as ‘Doggerland’. They are usually found in redeposited sediments from the off-shore coastal zone. Some 30 years ago a first analysis of these hunting weapons was published, based on more than 400 finds. Meanwhile their numbers have doubled and verge on 1000, making them one of the larger artefact groups from this relatively unknown area. Also the number of sites from which these points derive has increased due to coastal reinforcement and the extension of Rotterdam harbour. Gradually more information is becoming available that these points can contribute to inter-site distinctions and different subgroups. While there is a need for further dating and chronological control, this find group, in combination with for instance characteristic lithic finds and human remains, might in the future provide a better grip on the communities of hunter-gatherers that inhabited this area. This is of particular importance since within the spectrum of finds there are two size groups. The smaller points, of a length of up to 88.5 mm, appear to form a separate group of points in the find spectrum of Western and Northern Europe.