Page 21 - J. C. Turner - History and Science of Knots

Pleistocene Knotting 9

confusing one during which several groups or subspecies of archaic Homo sapi-
ens developed, migrated and, with varying success, replaced previous groups,
sometimes after a long coexistence. The details are still very unclear, and will
probably remain so until much more evidence is found.
The best known of these groups comprises the Neanderthals, who are
usually taken to be responsible for the Mousterian tool industry, lasting from
about 200 000 to about 35 000 years ago. However, some non-Mousterian
Neanderthals and some non-Neanderthal Mousterian tools are known.
During this period, there is copious evidence of fitting points to spears
and the like from various sources and up to at least 80.000 years ago. It
even includes moulded hafting resin with imprints of the wood shaft and the
chipped stone tool, found at two German sites [19]; hafted points from Greece
[26]; tools clearly intended for hafting due to their form, such as the tanged
points of the Aterian industry of northern Africa; and stone tools with clear
hafting wear [2]. Since resin setting by itself is not often adequate for effective
hafting, the use of cordage was probably often involved.
The settlement of the temperate regions of Eurasia may have promoted
the construction of substantial dwellings. In the loess plains of eastern Europe,
this led to the construction of large shelters built of mammoth bones and
tusks, perhaps covered with hides, thatch or turf, and possibly held down by
cordage, no doubt fastened with knots. Although these tent-like structures are
more typical of the later Upper Palaeolithic period, they first appear in the
Mousterian of the Ukrainian sites Molodova I and V, over 40 000 years ago
[10].
Other indirect evidence of the use of cordage comes from the proposition
that long parallel cut marks on some bone cutting boards indicate where thongs
of animal skins had been cut [20]. We have no knowledge of their use, but
such evidence can be safely assumed to date back to beyond 100 000 years in
Europe.
Early crossings of short stretches of water, such as rivers or small lakes,
might have been made with the aid of driftwood logs or vegetation mats, but
these are not suitable for extensive journeys. Almost any more-robust craft
would need the use of cordage and knots. Whether bamboo rafts, inflated
animal skins, coracles, reed boats, canoes or wooden rafts were used, they
had to be tied, strapped or sewn together in some way. Dugout canoes might
not need cordage, but they are very unstable unless provided with one or
two outriggers, which do. Kefallinia Island, off the west coast of Greece, was
visited by people of the Mousterian [30]. That island can be approached from
the mainland by several routes, but all involve water crossings not less than
6 km, which implies that Neanderthals had the capacity of sea-going. Much
earlier, humans crossed the Wallacean Line when they journeyed from Java to
Flores at least 700 000 years ago [29] and later on to Timor [15].