Stone Tool Production, Distribution and use during the Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic on the Tehran Plain, Iran

Abstract

ABSTRACTPreliminary investigation of lithic assemblages from six late prehistoric sites on the Tehran Plain provides numerous insights into the production, distribution, use and craft specialisation of flaked stone technology. The analyses include the study of the technological, morphological, petrological and wear characteristics of the assemblages to reconstruct the production sequence for manufacturing stone tools, to identify the kinds of raw material used and their sources, and to assess how selected tools were used. The results indicate that stone tool production was organised around a blade production system with some materials worked by craft specialists and others worked as part-time activities within the household economy. There is a regional division in the use of raw materials and a dramatic shift from use of good quality material during the Late Neolithic through to the Early Chalcolithic, to use of primarily poor quality local material and limited quantities of very high quality imported material during the Middle Chalcolithic. Finally, the analyses indicate that the collapse of lithic craft specialisation corresponds with an increase in the use of copper tools during the Middle Chalcolithic.