Research finally answers what Bronze Age daggers were used for

The analysis of Bronze Age daggers has shown that they were used for processing animal carcasses and not as non-functional symbols of identity and status as previously thought.

In Bronze Age Europe, copper-alloy daggers were widespread. Archaeologists have debated what these objects were used for.

As daggers are often found in weapon-rich male burials, many researchers speculated that they were ceremonial objects used in prehistoric funerals to mark out the identity and status of the deceased. They may have been used as weapons.

The lack of a targeted method of analysis for copper-alloy metals left this problem unresolved.

The world's first extract of organic residues from ten copper-alloy daggers excavated in Italy from a Bronze Age settlement site has been enabled by a revolutionary new method pioneered by an international research team. For the first time, the method reveals how these objects were used, what tasks they were used for, and what materials they were made of.

The project team developed a method to stain the daggers with a red solution. Several types of microscopes were used to observe the residues. The team was able to identify micro-residues of bone, muscle, and bundle tendon fibers, suggesting that the daggers had come into contact with multiple animal tissues and were used to process various types of animal carcasses. The slaughtering of livestock, butchering carcasses, and carving the meat from the bone are some of the uses that have been included.

The project team used replicas of the daggers created by an expert bronzesmith. This showed that this type of dagger was good for processing animal carcasses. As part of the research, the experimental daggers were analyzed and matched with the archaeological daggers.

The chair of archaeology at the university says that the research has shown that it is possible to extract and characterize organic residues from ancient metals. The new method allows the analysis of a wide variety of copper-alloy tools and weapons from anywhere in the world. The possibilities are endless, and so are the answers that the new method can and will provide in the future.

Scientific Reports published the research.

More information: Isabella Caricola et al, Organic residue analysis reveals the function of bronze age metal daggers, Scientific Reports (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-09983-3 Journal information: Scientific Reports Citation: Research finally answers what Bronze Age daggers were used for (2022, April 29) retrieved 29 April 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-04-bronze-age-daggers.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.