Stone hammer-axes in the context of the Early Bronze Age features in Moravia

Abstract

Finds of stone hammer-axes are relatively uncommon in the context of the Early Bronze Age, not just in Moravia. They are more frequently encountered in the funeral environment while their occurrence in settlement contexts can be described as exceptional. The two newly presented boat-shaped doubleedged hammer-axes originate from both a settlement site (Držovice, ‘Díly odvrahoviční’) and a grave (Olomouc-Slavonín, ‘Horní lán’) of the Únětice culture in central Moravia. What had been a common and significant male attribute in graves of the Corded Ware culture (and partially in the EpiCorded complex) became a rarity during the Early Bronze Age. This was especially in the milieu of the Únětice culture, as the stone industry gradually gave way to the metal industry. Finding analogies to the custom of depositing a stone hammer axe in settlement pits or graves as an offering is not uncommon in Moravia, Bohemia and the neighbouring regions. This is usually the heritage of the Corded Ware culture and it remains speculative whether these were clearly secondarily used objects (archaics) or contemporary imitations of earlier models. Both of the recently found hammer-axes differ from those of the Corded Ware culture, raising questions about Únětice’s own production, as local materials (siltstone, sandstone) were used in their making. The archaeological assemblage from the Držovice settlement is dated to the earlier period and the inhumation grave from Olomouc-Slavonín to the classical period of the Únětice culture. The practical function and the symbolic role of these artefacts are not yet precisely understood. Their finds are not abundant, but they come from diverse archaeological contexts, ranging from common settlement pits to modestly equipped graves and even rich male burials.