Abstract
Greenstone axes produced during the Late Mesolithic in east central Sweden are notoriously dissimilar. Each axe appears to have been given its own special charac- teristics. These axes were not made into a certain shape by following a technological template. In this article, the authors present the interpretation that people believed the form of an axe was already present in the stone se- lected for work. Making axes was about releasing es- sential forms from stones. The essence of stone effec- tively determined the appearance the axe was destined to have. This is the reason that axes in the region have such variable appearances.
Highlights
If we want to understand why a certain axe was given a specific appearance during the Late Mesolithic we need to appreciate the various beliefs that guided axe makers in their work
Most of the area comprising east central Sweden today was submerged during the Mesolithic
Numerous archipelagobased sites have been excavated in recent years and locally made greenstone axes are common in assemblages
Summary
Greenstone axes produced during the Late Mesolithic in east central Sweden are notoriously dissimilar. Our objective is to follow a similar approach in an attempt to create an understanding of the significance of stone tool production during the Late Mesolithic in east central Sweden. The analysis of how stone tools were made during the Stone Age in eastern Sweden is in itself a well-established field of research (Callahan 1987; Knutsson 1988; Callahan et al 1992; Sundström & Apel 1998; Apel 2001) Is it possible to acquire a deeper understanding of the kinds of ideas that guided the creating and shaping of stone tools?. If we want to understand why a certain axe was given a specific appearance during the Late Mesolithic we need to appreciate the various beliefs that guided axe makers in their work
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