Dear Microburins,
This informative article by Jake Rowland (Digital Digging) offers insights into the design, construction and use of the mesolithic bow discovered at Holmegaard (Holmegårds Mose) in Denmark, dated to around 7000 BC. Two bows were discovered in 1944, one complete, and are now in the Nationalmuseet, Copenhagen.
“For our Mesolithic ancestors, the effectiveness of the stone tools used by the bowyer who made original Holmegaard bow couldn’t be measured by how much wood they removed or how easy they were to use, ultimately it came down to the effectiveness of the bow itself. It wasn’t something made for recreation: it represented the survival of an entire people. It was the tool that put food on the table and ensured the longevity of our Mesolithic ancestor’s survival.”
- Read the article »
- More on Wikipedia »
- Natsmuseet Website | Mesolithic (English) »
Jake takes us through each of the steps, including the lithic (flint) technology brought to bear – and not without some damage to his adze which makes for interesting testing against our lithic artefactual records. He makes good observations about the effectiveness of flint versus chert (adze) and scrapers versus blades.
♦ Spence
Image | Creative Commons | Holmegaard1 CC BY-SA 3.0 |
microburin 
This is what happens when you cut your archaeological teeth as a member of the Young Archaeologists’ Club! Glad to see he’s still at it. More power to Jake’s elbow…
Favourited! Good on Jake!