Hunters at Hengistbury: Some evidence from experimental archaeology

Abstract

Abstract The first part of this paper describes arrow‐firing experiments using copies of English Mesolithic points slotted into arrowshafts and shot into an animal carcass. 'Impact fractures' on the experimental flint points are compared with breakages observed on several microliths from the Powell Mesolithic site at Hengistbury Head, in Dorset. In the second part, the authors examine artefact distribution patterns from the Mace/Campbell Upper Palaeolithic site at Hengistbury and compare them briefly with those from the Belgian site of Meer, also in sands. In addition, some recent flint‐scatter experiments in sands are described and their relevance to site formation processes discussed.