Against the strain – a diachronic perspective on prehistoric European and Near Eastern protective/symbolic archery equipment. (German)

MIDDLE East; MESOPOTAMIA

The article by Thomas Zimmermann examines the function of decorative plates made of bone or stone in the pre-ceramic Neolithic period in Mesopotamia and the Near East. These plates are referred to as arm protection plates and have a symbolic meaning in relation to hunting. The article also deals with the function of arm protection plates from the late Neolithic period in Europe and finds that they are considered as protection or symbolic jewelry. During this time of transition from hunter-gatherer communities to settled lifestyles, central places with ritual installations played an important role. Hunting had a metaphysical dimension and body ornaments were used to create identities. The text also emphasizes the active role of women in hunting and archery. It is noted that the exact purpose of some archaeological finds remains unclear, but some objects could be interpreted as possible wrist guards. [Extracted from the article]

This contribution reviews selected bone and stone plaques with double or multiple opposite perforations from Pre-Pottery Neolithic Near Eastern contexts in the light of them having possibly served as symbolic or protective archery equipment. The presence of perforated plaques from Later Neolithic Europe is a well-attested phenomenon in funeral contexts and is commonly labelled as bracers or wrist-guards. With their actual practical purpose of efficiently preventing the forearm from the slashing of a bowstring being probably of subordinate importance, there seems to be a consensus that they were, if not protective, then symbolic adornments in connection with hunting as being not only a profane, food-acquiring routine but simultaneously a ritually loaded, status-enhancing endeavor. The same is assumed for specific "plaques" from much earlier post-Pleistocene contexts in Upper Mesopotamia, which might have served an identical purpose in the frame of cultural synchronisms. Zusammenfassung: Folgender Beitrag versucht eine Neubewertung ausgewählter Zierplatten aus Knochen oder Stein des präkeramischen Neolithikums in Mesopotamien und Vorderasien, die eine gegenüberliegende zwei- oder mehrfache Durchbohrung aufweisen. Sogenannte Armschutzplatten mit doppelter oder mehrfacher Durchbohrung sind ein gut dokumentiertes Phänomen des Endneolithikums in Europa. Deren eigentliche Schutzfunktion gegen die zurückschnellende Bogensehne und daraus resultierende mögliche Verletzungen des Unterarms wird als eher gering betrachtet – hier mögen dicke Stoffe aus Wolle oder Leder wesentlich besseren Schutz geboten haben. Ihr symbolischer, statusbildender Aspekt im Kontext der Jagd als gleichzeitig profane und rituell aufgeladene Tätigkeit scheint jedoch generell akzeptiert. Im Rahmen kulturmorphologischer Überlegungen wird eine identische Funktion für die zeitlich wesentlich früher zu datierenden "Zierplatten" mit gegenüberliegender Perforation aus frühneolithisch-obermesopotamischem Zusammenhang angenommen. Diese mögen gleichsam ihren wesentlich später zu datierenden europäischen Pendants einen symbolisch überhöhten Zeigerwert für das Individuum besessen haben. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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