This volume presents the current state of knowledge on the osseous projectile weaponry that was produced by Pleistocene cultures across the globe. Through cross-cultural and temporal comparison of manufacturing methods, design, use methods, and associated technology, chapters in this volume identify and discuss differences and similarities between these Pleistocene cultures. The central research questions addressed in this volume include: (a) how did osseous weaponry technology develop and change through time and can these changes be tied to environmental and/or social influences?; (b) how did different Pleistocene cultures design and adapt their osseous weaponry technology to their environment as well as changes in that environment?; and (c) can we identify cultural interaction between neighboring groups through the analysis of osseous weapons technology ¿ and if so ¿ can we use these items to track the movement of peoples and/or ideas across the landscape? Through addressing these three central research questions, this volume creates an integrated understanding of osseous technology during a vital period in Modern Human cultural development which will be useful for students and advanced researchers alike.

Highlights the importance of including osseous projectile weaponry in investigations of Pleistocene cultural complexity

Late Pleistocene Osseous Projectile Technology and Cultural Variability.- Part 1.- Africa.- Osseous Projectile Weaponry from Early to Late Middle Stone Age Africa.- Bone Point Functional Diversity: A Cautionary Tale from Southern Africa.- Part 2.- Europe.- Early Upper Paleolithic Osseous Points from Croatia.- Spanish Aurignacian Projectile Points: An Example of the First European Paleolithic Hunting Weapons in Osseous Materials.- Projectile Weaponry from the Aurignacian to the Gravettian of the Swabian Jura (Southwest Germany): Raw Materials, Manufacturing and Typology.- Gravettian Projectile Points: Considerations about the Evolution of Osseous Hunting Weapons in France.- Upper Paleolithic Bone and Antler Projectiles in the Spanish Mediterranean Region: The Magdalenian Period.- A Review of the Osseous Projectile Points from the Upper Paleolithic of Portugal.- Diversity and Evolution of Osseous Hunting Equipment during the Magdalenian (21,000 - 14,000 cal. BP).- Osseous Projectile Points in the Magdalenian: 'True' Points versus Pointed Waste-Products.- Part 3.- Southeast Asia & Australia.- Bone Technology in South Asia from Late Pleistocene Cave and Rockshelters of Sri Lanka.- The Walandawe Tradition from Southeast Sulawesi and Osseous Artifact Traditions in Island Southeast Asia.- Bone Projectile Points in Prehistoric Australia: Evidence from Implements, Ethnography, and Rock Art.- Part 4.- The Americas.- A Review of Late Pleistocene North American Bone and Ivory Tools.- Hunter-Gatherers of the Old and New World: Morphological and Functional Comparisons of Osseous Projectile Points.