My son, "Swamp Badger" did a science fair project with a buddy. They tested several arrowhead material types to see which one might provide better penetration potential. He made all of the arrowheads except the stone points and alligator gar scales. I wanted to share what he found and then some discussion.
He used a digital scale to record maximum force upon penetration. Each replicate was with a fresh new arrowhead.
I will post his write up below.
Control Variables:
• Leather thickness
• Person pulling scale/leather
• Shape of arrowhead
Independent Variable: Material for arrowheads
Dependent Variable: Amount of force needed to puncture leather
Materials:
Leather to represent animal hide
Digital Scale
Clamps
Arrowheads made of:
• Bone
• Flint/chert (stone)
• Rawhide
• Alligator gar scale
• Bison horn
• Hardwood (persimmon and dogwood)
Testable Question: Does the type of arrowhead material affect ability for penetration through an animal hide
Hypothesis: One material will pierce the leather with less force than the other materials making it better to use for arrowheads. We think stone will do best.
Introduction: Arrowheads have been crafted by prehistoric Native Americans for over 2,000 years, from a variety of materials. However, it has never been clearly determined which material works best. Even some states, based on opinion, have outlawed the use of stone arrowheads for hunting. Tests show stone points are effective arrow points. Experiments concerning material for points have differing results. One project showed wooden points go deeper, but stone does more damage. Another study showed the opposite. Neither test used the same shaped tip for the differing materials. Having a differing size and shaped arrowhead can drastically change the results. They had too many variables. We have decided to conduct a test as fairly as possible with arrowheads of the same style and shape but with different materials. This test could answer the long going question, which material makes that superior arrowhead?
Procedures:
1. Gather materials
2. Make arrowheads with assistance
3. Attach hide to scale (Kg)
4. Place leather on arrowhead
5. Puncture and record
6. Repeat steps 3-5
Conclusion: After the results of this test, we have reached the verdict that our hypothesis, although it was close, was incorrect. The results proved that in this experiment, the bone arrowheads demonstrated better penetration than other arrowheads, including the stone points. Of course there is no such thing as the perfect test, there are so many other variables that can affect the test, such as the angle of penetration, the overall sharpness, and how strong the arrowhead is. Some of our arrowheads broke during testing. Materials Then we also found that the serrations, the small indentions on an arrowhead, could affect the penetration and stability of rawhide points. If we were to do this again one thing we would change would definitely be elimination of serrations. In conclusion, this test has proven to be helpful in determining the materials that might provide a sharp but sturdy arrowhead that will effectively penetrate an animal for hunting purposes.
REFERENCES:
B. Berger. 2008 Putting Bird Points to the Test: Primitive Archer volume 16:3 pg. 14-22.
M. Larson. January 2010 Friction and Penetration in Archery: Target vs. Animal Penetration: Archery Report: http:// archeryreport.com/2010/01/friction-penetration-archery-target-animal-penetration/
J. Wilkins, et.al. August 2014 Study Shows Advantage of Stone-Tipped Spears for Prehistoric Humans: Popular Archeology
N.M. Waguespack, et.al. 2009. Making a Point: Wood – Versus Stone-tipped Projectiles. Antiquity 83 (2009): pg. 786-800.
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