Thrusting spearheads from the Mesolithic of the Eastern Europe forest zone

A wide spread of large smooth thrusting spearheads from the Mesolithicof the Eastern Europe forest zone and their large quantities at the sites that yieldedrepresentative series of bone weapon items is an evidence of high importance and wideapplication of thrusting spears among Mesolithic hunters of the forest zone from the Balticsto the Trans-Urals region. At the same time, spearheads with a blade with denticulateedges are typical for the Upper Volga Region. Large smooth thrusting spearheads wereused throughout the Mesolithic, from its beginning to the final stage; however, theirlargest number is found at the sites dated to the second half of the Pre-boreal - first halfof the Boreal periods. Judging by the use traces, large thrusting spears were used to huntlarge animals and also finish off mortally wounded animals and were an important partof hunting gear. Examination of carefully made finishing, rich ornamentation and usetraces demonstrates that the socketed spearheads from Ivanovskoye 7 and Veretye, whichare very rare finds, were, most likely, ceremonial weapons rather than everyday huntingweapons.