Antler Harpoon Point

Accession No. T9700043
Period Neolithic
Material Bones
Findspot San-bao-pi Site
Geographic Location Anding Village, Anding District, Tainan City
Dimension L. 14.2 cm; W. 2.4 cm; D. 0.1 cm

Description

This harpoon point is made from an antler.It is shaped like three arrowheads arranged in a row, forming three sets of barbs on the side of the artifact. At the bottom of the artifact is a drilled hole below which friction marks are apparent on the surface. The harpoon point has a narrow end at the base. The backside is flat and has been polished in several areas.


Few bone tools have been found from adjacent sites of the same period. The majority were points made with sea mammal long bones or antlers, some of which have drilled holes on one end, which could have functioned as needles for sewing, or as harpoons or fishhooks.