Cue burn occurs because the stylus has a 15 degree angle (in the forward direction).
When back-cueing the record, the stylus "digs" into the vinyl.
Conical styli cause less damage than elliptical styli.
But when we think back to the cartridges used in the late 50's and early 60's, they were things like the VRII which became a chisel on backwards motion. And after a while, they would simply break off.