'Fire hardening' spear wood does slightly harden it, but makes it much weaker and more brittle

Ennos, Antony Roland; Chan, Tak Lok

Abstract

It is usually assumed that 'fire hardening' the tips of spears, as practised by hunter-gatherers and early Homo spp., makes them harder and better suited for hunting. This suggestion was tested by subjecting coppiced poles of hazel to a fire-hardening process and comparing their mechanical properties to those of naturally seasoned poles. A Shore D hardness test showed that fire treatment slightly increased the hardness of the wood, but flexural and impact tests showed that it reduced the strength and work of fracture by 30% and 36%, respectively. These results suggest that though potentially slightly sharper and more durable, fire-hardened tips would actually be more likely to break off when used, as may have been the case with the earliest known wooden tool, the Clacton spear. Fire might first have been used to help sharpen the tips of spears, and fire-hardening would have been a mostly negative side effect, not its primary purpose.

Citation

Ennos, A. R., & Chan, T. L. (2016). 'Fire hardening' spear wood does slightly harden it, but makes it much weaker and more brittle. Biology Letters, 12(5), Article 20160174. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2016.0174

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 14, 2016
• Online Publication Date: May 18, 2016
• Publication Date: May 18, 2016
• Deposit Date: Apr 19, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: May 18, 2016
• Journal: Biology letters
• Print ISSN: 1744-9561
• Publisher: The Royal Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 5
• Article Number: 20160174
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2016.0174
• Keywords: Wood; Spears; Fire hardening; Hardness; Mechanical properties
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/436314
• Publisher URL: http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/12/5/20160174
• Additional Information: Authors' accepted manuscript of article published in: Biology letters, 2016, v.12, issue 5, article no.20160174
• Contract Date: Apr 19, 2016