Towards a morpho-technical typology of Magdalenian barbed points in the Cantabrian Region: a statistical proposal

Abstract

Magdalenian barbed points have been an enigma in prehistoric research since its beginnings. We still do not know their function, and no precise and updated typology defines these tools based on all their morphological characteristics. Throughout research history, numerous hypotheses about their use and taxonomic characterisation have been outlined, but the lack of microscopic, statistical, and experimental analyses, in addition to issues with the archaeological record, have prevented most of these uncertainties from being resolved. The present study addresses the state of the art and confronts the different existing hypotheses about the chronology and typology of these tools. A total of 106 barbed points from the Cantabrian region in the Iberian Peninsula were analysed morphometrically with an innovative 2D methodology, followed by multivariate statistical analysis to objectively characterize the morphology of the points. Based on these analyses, a new typology is proposed that corresponds to the main historiographical trend regarding the differentiation of this type of tool.