Flint Artefacts Research Articles

What has the sea taken from us? Cognitive possibilities of studying artefacts from newly-discovered submerged prehistoric sites in Puck Bay (Gulf of Gdańsk, Baltic Sea)

The article presents the latest results of research in the area of the Bay of Puck. After the last glaciation, the Bay of Puck was gradually flooded by sea water. As a result, we can expect submerged Stone Age sites in this area. The article discusses the latest results of underwater research in this area and analyses in detail four new underwater sites from this region, including a loose find of a bâton percé from Hel dated to about 7000 BC, a collection of flint artefacts, including a flint dagger and pottery from Late Neolithic/Protobronze Age site on Seagull Sandbar and two antler adzes from Site 23 in Puck. A typological and technological analysis of the artefacts was carried out, including analyses of working traces and radiocarbon dating.

Organisation of activities in settlements of the southeastern group of the Funnel Beaker Culture. Patterns of use and deposition of lithic artefacts from Zawarża, Site 2, Pińczów commune

The aim of the study is to provide an insight in the possible modes of use of space and organization of work within the settlements of the south-eastern group of Funnel Beaker Culture (FBC SE) utilizing framework for integrating use-wear of lithic artefacts and intra-site analyses of their deposition patterns. Those analyses concerns Site 2 in Zawarża, Pińczów commune. Excavations on the site spanned from 1959 to 1963, culminating in the uncovering of 58 ares of the site, which equals approximately 60% of its supposed area. This fact along with already published set of data concerning archaeological remains, and short occupation period make it a nearly ideal candidate for testing new analytical approaches. This study utilizes traces of use recorded on 32 of the 119 flint artefacts, as well as the data on their deposition to identify possible functional areas of the site linked to butchering and related practices and other activities such as production or repairing of tools.

Identifying organic residue on ground stone tools from Mesolithic sandy sites: selected examples from Paliwodzizna 29 in Central Poland

During excavations at the Mesolithic site Paliwodzizna 29 (central Poland), in addition to the flint artefacts typical for this period and region, a collection of 175 non-flint stone artefacts was discovered. This collection included various “macro-lithic tools” displaying visible intentional modifications and usage traces. This observation prompted a preliminary traceological analysis of a selection of tools. The primary goal of the presented research was to assess the possibility of analysing and interpreting use-wear traces and potential residues on these tools. The ultimate aim was to investigate the feasibility of conducting such analyses on macro-lithic tools from the sandy sites of the Polish Lowland dating back to the Mesolithic.

Taphonomy of the fauna and chert assemblages from the Middle Palaeolithic site of Vajo Salsone, Eastern Italian Alps

The Vajo Salsone site is located at an altitude of 376m a.s.l. on the right slope of the Valpantena valley, in the Veneto Pre-Alps, north of the town of Verona. The site was discovered in 2017 during the construction of a truckable road. It is a small and narrow karst cavity filled with Pleistocene sediments that yield abundant Middle Palaeolithic artefacts and faunal remains, often coated by carbonate encrustations. The lithic assemblage shows the predominance of the Levallois method and is characterised by a large number of retouched elements, including foliated points. These artefacts, typical of the Late Middle Palaeolithic period in central and south-eastern Europe, make Vajo Salsone an exceptional case, as their recovery is rather sporadic west of the Balkan Peninsula and south of the Alps. The fauna is dominated by ungulates, the most abundant being the red deer followed by roe deer, chamois and elk. Among the carnivores, wolf is common, while fox and bear are rare. This fauna suggests an environment characterised by open glades and closed forests, with a discontinuous presence of alpine grasslands and wetlands. Taphonomic analysis of the bone surfaces is complicated by the presence of concretions on most of the remains, which also show a high degree of fragmentation. Post-depositional fractures are common, and weathering is light. Only cervid bones show anthropogenic modifications related to hunting and hominin exploitation such as cut marks, scraping, impacts and burnt modifications. Some long bone diaphysis bear marks testifying to the use of these fragments as retouchers for flint artefacts. Such use has been evidenced at other Middle Palaeolithic sites in the area. Furthermore, the good state of preservation of the occlusal surface enamel of the cervid teeth allowed us to carry out meso and microwear analyses which provided data on seasonality and site occupation. With regard to dental wear analysis, the red deer from Vajo Salsone had mesowear suggesting a mixed feeding and grazing diets, whereas microwear analysis showed that the individuals had a diet between mixed feeding and browsing. The taphonomic study of the site has been integrated by X–RFS analysis of the alterations occurred to the lithic artefacts, which include deep patination and the formation of calcareous crusts. All the data presented here are consistent with the hypothesis of a short-distance displacement of the material from a single archaeological deposit possibly related to human occupation during the warm season.

Investigating the Post-Discard alteration of flint artefacts at Medzhibozh 1 Lower Palaeolithic Site, Ukraine

The analysis of two lithic assemblages at Medzhibozh 1, dated to MIS 15–13 and MIS 11, reveals significant variability in the post-depositional modification of artefacts. We conclude that the differential weathering of flake scars on the surfaces of artefacts are the product of an unusual combination of anthropogenic effects and natural processes. Post-depositional freeze–thaw cycles affected artefacts produced by the human occupants of the site. We distinguish the freeze–thaw effects from the flake removals by the degree of weathering. We label this combined human-and-natural post-depositional alteration “time-delayed spalling.”

Early Neolithic settlers on the border of the loess of Eastern Poland: new data from the Nałęczów Plateau

This article is an interim presentation of the colonisation of the loess upland border of the western Lublin Regionby LBK societies. The main point of reference are materials discovered in Bogucin (Nałęczów Plateau) in 2011,which are currently the only homogenous Early Neolithic collection from this region. The results of the research indicate that the LBK settlement on the loess borderland started at least at the end of the 6th millennium BC, in the classical stage of the Music-Note phase (NII). It clearly intensified during its latest part (NIII), which was linked with the adaptation of the early-Želiezovce ornamentation style. The obtained data confirms the existence of at least two settlement micro-regions in the discussed period. They dynamically developed through intense and far-reaching interregional contacts and exchange of goods (especially flints and flint artefacts). The initial territories of the LBK societies inhabiting the analysed loess borderland were most probably the areas of the northern foreland of the Sandomierz Upland.

New deposit of chocolate flint in Załęże gully (Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, Poland) – Raw material characterization and its availability for prehistoric communities

One of the valued chert raw materials used by prehistoric communities in Central and Eastern Europe was chocolate flint. Despite finding artefacts made of it over a wide area, for many years, it was thought to occur only in one location - in the Holy Cross Mountains in Poland. However, the discoveries of recent years have shown that deposits of this raw material also occur in another region of Poland, in the northern part of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland (KCU). The result of intensive field surveys conducted in this area is the finding of a new outcrop of chocolate flint in Załęże gully (Lesser Poland voivodeship) described in this paper. Based on the results obtained from the radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating of sediments co-occurring with the flint deposit, a history of the paleogeographic development of this gully has been proposed. Access to the deposit in its present form is limited to modern times, but it was likely accessible elsewhere in this area. Macroscopic and microscopic (using optical and cathodoluminescence microscopy) examinations showed a high similarity with the material of other KCU provenance from the prehistoric mine in Poręba Dzierżna, site 24. In the vicinity of Załęże gully there are many archaeological sites where chocolate flint artefacts were found. Preliminary research suggests that they could have been made from the raw material from the newly discovered outcrop. The new location of chocolate flint occurrence in the KCU region described here is another premise to re-think the existing interpretations related to the extraction, use and distribution of this important chert raw material in prehistoric times in Central and Eastern Europe.

New virtual approach to the study of metallurgy through the analysis of slice marks from the Chalcolithic site of Zanjillas (Torrejón de Velasco, Madrid, Spain)

AbstractAlthough the discovery of metal objects is not common in Chalcolithic or Bronze Age sites, the study of bone surface microscopic grooves from animal butchering can yield evidence of the use of metal artefacts in these contexts. Additionally, the presence of slice marks made with metal objects in Chalcolithic and Bronze Age sites has highlighted the use of metal in common practices beyond their ornamental application, as usually expected at the early stages of metallurgy. Here, we present the study of the slice marks found at the Chalcolithic site of Zanjillas, using geometric morphometrics and machine learning algorithms, with the aim of identifying the nature of the tools used for carcass processing at the site. For this purpose, we replicate previous analyses considering slice marks produced with lint flakes and metal tools to generate a referential framework that serves as comparative to the Zanjillas sample. Our results suggest that most of the domestic activities related to carcass skinning, defleshing, or evisceration in Zanjillas were still performed with flint artefacts.

Heat Treatment of Flint at the Late Neanderthal Site Sesselfelsgrotte (Germany)

We examined lithic artifacts from the late Neanderthal site Sesselfelsgrotte (Bavaria, Germany) in order to evaluate the possibility of fire use and intentional flint heat treatment performed by late Neanderthals. We analyzed 1113 flint pieces from the G-layer complex (~60 to 45 kya; Micoquian) and 946 from the lower-layer complex (~115 to 70 kya; Mousterian). Based on macroscopic traits associated with the exposure of flint to heat and fire, we assigned artifacts to one of three groups: burnt, unburnt, and possibly intentionally heated. Our results show that while both complexes demonstrate the clear presence of fire, fire is more common in the younger G-layer complex. Moreover, possibly intentionally heated pieces are significantly more frequent in the G-layer complex, especially among the tools and specifically among side scrapers, suggesting a link between heat treatment and the production of these tools, most probably due to their functional and cultural significance. We therefore suggest that the flint in the G-layer complex of Sesselfelsgrotte underwent intentional heat treatment. The proportions of burnt flint artifacts in both complexes suggest an intensification in fire use at the site over time, while the appearance of possibly intentionally heated artifacts in the G-layer complex suggests the development of this advanced pyrotechnology by Neanderthals sometime between these two timeframes. Our results are supported by sedimentological and faunal data. We view these results as further indication of the advanced cognitive and technological capabilities of Neanderthals, which did not fall short of those of early modern humans.

Surovinové aspekty silicitové produkce na konci eneolitu v západním Malopolsku

Rich inventories of flint artifacts originate from the graves of the Corded Ware culture in western Lesser Poland. Additionally, materials from settlements have also been found in this area. The significant increase in available data in recent years has provided us with a deeper understanding of the raw material conditions of the flint industry during the Final Eneolithic Period. The grave inventories reveal the special significance of Świeciechów flint in the production of axes, while chocolate flint is primarily used for creating blade and flake tools. The use of K-type flint for axe production is specific to the western Lesser Poland region. The evident selection of raw materials is not merely utilitarian but is also influenced by the ideological system prevalent in Final Eneolithic communities.

The quantification of surface abrasion on flint stone tools

AbstractLithic artifacts are some of the most common and numerous remains recovered from paleolithic archaeological sites. However, these materials can undergo multiple post‐depositional alterations after their introduction into the archaeological record. Due to the high quantity of lithic remains recovered, a quick, flexible, and effective method for identifying degrees of alteration on the surface of lithic implements is highly desirable. The present study examines the use of gray level images to obtain quantitative data from the surface of flint artifacts and determine whether these images can detect the presence of post‐depositional alterations. An experimental collection of flints was subjected to sequential episodes of rounding in a tumbling machine. After each episode, photographs were taken with a microscope, resulting in quantitative surface values using gray level values. The quantitative surface values were used as variables in machine learning models to determine time of exposure and the most salient variables for discrimination. Our results indicate that the extraction of metrics from gray level images successfully capture changes in the surface of flint artifacts caused by post‐depositional processes. Additional results provide insight into which areas to sample when seeking post‐depositional alterations and underscore the importance of particle size in the generation of alterations.

Местонахождение Шапи — новый памятник энеолита в Рын-песках Северного Прикаспия

Introduction. A continental stage in the Northern Caspian geological history began with the Mangyshlak regression when sands that would shape the Ryn Desert were freed from marine waters, and the region started being actively invaded by humans, which is evidenced by numerous Stone Age sites. The bulk of the latter are represented by ‘open-air’ materials — some mixed complexes with few ceramic remains — and this does complicate chronological attributions of such archaeological collections. So, the study of monuments with preserved ‘cultural layers’ instrumental in obtaining a series of absolute dates is a primary task in understanding historical and cultural processes of the Mesolithic/Eneolithic in the Northern Caspian. Goals. The article aims to introduce into scientific circulation some materials discovered at the site of Shapi in the Ryn-Peski Desert. Materials and methods. The site of Shapi is located in the north-northwest of the Ryn Desert, 30 km south of Lake Aralsor in present-day Bokey Orda District of West Kazakhstan Region. The stone artefacts obtained are few enough, mainly of quartzitic sandstone, and number 67, e.g., 6 items are tools — arrowheads, an arrowhead fragment, a notched piece, a flake with a distinguished point, and a flake with retouch. There are 8 flint artefacts, including 5 tools — an arrowhead, fragments of blades with retouch, and two flakes with retouch. A pit was dug out on the spot abundant in finds, and it yielded bone remains of cattle, goats and sheep, a horse, a camel, and a dog (wolf). Results. Despite tool forms are few enough, one can note the presence of pieces with bifacial retouch and concave-based arrowheads with small wings. Species composition analysis of the bone remains shows those are dominated by cloven-hoofed animals, essentials of the examined bone complex attest to these are kitchen waste. Bone remains at depths of 20–40 and 40–60 cm yielded a series of calibration dates between 4048 and 3956 BCE. Conclusions. Chronologically, the site clusters with Late Eneolithic ones, and may be attributed to the late Khvalynsk and Altata cultures.

The Blackwater is not a Back Water: Locating the Mesolithic and its Environment at Eversley Quarry, Fleet Hill Farm, Finchampstead, Berkshire

Archaeological fieldwork at Eversley Quarry, Fleet Hill Farm, Finchampstead, Berkshire documented evidence of Mesolithic activity, associated with paleoenvironmental deposits, on the Blackwater River floodplain, a river for which activity of this period was previously unknown. The discovery evolved from initial recognition of worked flint artefacts across a well weathered, stripped subsoil surface in part of the site. Additional material was collected subsequently from the summit of an adjacent low knoll. The findings were of sufficient extent and importance to warrant supplementary archaeological fieldwork using a gridded test pit strategy to evaluate the Mesolithic potential in remaining parts of the site. This resulted in the identification of additional clusters of worked flints, which were preserved in situ.The clusters were predominantly of Mesolithic date but also included Neolithic and Bronze Age artefacts, indicating prolonged use of the landscape. Concentrations were consistently located on slightly elevated sand bars flanking palaeochannels of a formerly braided river system. The contemporaneity of the palaeodrainage and Mesolithic activity has been confirmed by radiocarbon dates from peat that formed during the Holocene. The collective results mark a significant contribution to knowledge of the Blackwater River valley, a major communications artery in the Mesolithic period linking the west end of the Wealden Greensand to the Rivers Thames and Kennet. These findings also highlight the importance that river valleys can make to locations that have been less well studied but nevertheless enjoyed prolonged use.

Nieborowa – Campsites of a Mesolithic Community in the Context of Spatial-Functional Studies (Poland). Interpretation of the Settlement Model

ABSTRACT The reconstruction of the spatial organisation of Mesolithic camps was presented using the example of two selected concentrations of flints from a site located in central eastern Poland. The basis for the spatial-functional studies was the use of the refitting of flint artefacts, identifying microwear on tools, and the analysis of the horizontal distribution of finds expressed through maps generated with the use of the Surfer software. This paper presents the outcomes of the authors’ studies in a wider European context using results obtained by researchers from other academic centres. The key question discussed in this paper is whether the processes generating the specific arrangements of finds in both campsites seem to be the same, and if so, whether their identification at the level of the selected areas of activity, which are the basis for the reconstruction of space use, is possible and to what extent.

A probabilistic approach to provenance studies using whole object elemental composition: Chert (flint) as a case study

Provenancing archeological artefacts and “whole rock” fragments, such as cobbles and pebbles, is important both for studying past societies and reconstructing geomorphological and sedimentary processes. Determining the provenance of archaeological artefacts, for example, is helpful in the study of various aspects of human society such as mobility, trade routes, raw material procurement strategies and societal development, whereas whole rock fragments are useful indicators of sediment transportation routes and landscape evolution. In this paper, we introduce a novel probabilistic approach for exploring the limitations and potential of provenance studies utilizing trace element composition of archaeological artefacts and bulk rock fragments through a set of statistical analyses, demonstrated using a dataset of chert (flint) samples from the eastern Mediterranean as a case study. Because our general goal is to identify sediment provenance at the highest possible resolution, and attribute it to specific outcrops, the robustness of such classifications must consider the inherent variability of the studied samples, which poses a complex problem when an entire suite of elements is considered.In the current study, a scheme for evaluating the possible resolution and potential of provenance studies of flint artefacts is illustrated by applying a set of statistical techniques. The data is investigated across the different labelling hierarchy using Spearman correlation and the Kruskal-Wallis test, and a synthetic dataset that follows the statistical properties of the original data is generated using multidimensional copulas that mimic the correlation of the different elements within each subset. The synthetic dataset is then iteratively sampled, filtered and passed into a classifier that is evaluated using a set of classification metrics (e.g., accuracy, recall, etc.). Using this probabilistic approach, the power of supervised classification is determined for the different hierarchy levels and classes based on their distributions, and the number of specimens required for distinguishing sources at different levels (e.g., era, age, formation and site) is evaluated. We show that 10–20 specimens are needed to determine the geological era and age of the strata from which flint was collected with reasonable certainty (accuracy >0.9), whereas specific outcrops cannot be reliably identified even when a large number of specimens are considered. This approach has the potential to enable the classification of items of unknown origin and the associated uncertainty by comparing them against a dataset of possible sources that can be expanded over time.

Верхнепалеолитическое поселение Анетовка II: некоторые вопросы планиграфии культурного слоя

The Upper Palaeolithic settlement of Anetovka II was discovered in 1978. Since then, an area ca. 2000 square meters have been uncovered. The collection includes about 2 million flint items and 0.5 million fragments of animal bones. V. N. Stanko identified three structurally and functionally different complexes within the excavated area: a) a macrocluster of flint and fauna (up to 500 square meters) with buffalo skulls painted with ocher found in its southeastern part; b) a group of 40 individual microclusters, consisting of animal bones and flints interpreted as butchering areas; c) a complex of microclusters presumably associated with the manufacture of flint artifacts. According to V. N. Stanko, these complexes form either a single ritual center associated with ceremonial and theatrical festivities of buffalo hunters or a joint production and ritual center used by all hunting communities that co-inhabited the region. According to alternative views the settlement should be considered a sanctuary (T. I. Shcherbakova) or a waste dump (I. V. Sapozhnikov). In fact, the production area considered to have been associated with flint production only, includes two types of clusters of archaeological material: small ones, with flint inventory, stone anvils, hammersstones and retouchers, and larger ones, containing numerous animal bones. The available evidence allows reconstructing the process of the macrocluster formation and suggests that Anetovka II was a place for the production of flint items and utilization of hunting prey, which included a small cult center.

Повернутися з небуття: загадкова історія колекції кам’яних артефактів стоянки Іскорость із розкопок В. Хвойки

In the modern realities of the aggressive war started by the russian federation against Ukraine, the problem of preserving museum collections is more relevant than ever. Our essay highlights the history of the collection of stone artefacts from the Iskorost site, which was discovered by V. Khvoika more than 110 years ago and which managed to “survive” a number of extreme events, retaining its scientific and exhibition potential. The Iskorost site (now Korosten, Zhytomyr Oblast) was discovered in 1911 during V. Khvoika’s research of the mounds near the city of Ovruch and in the Iskorost village. V. Khvoika recorded traces of three hearths surrounded by flint artefacts on the site. He selected approximately 500 stone objects and distributed them between the Imperial russian Archaeological Society (today, these artefacts in the amount of 253 items are stored in the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the russian Academy of Sciences) and the Kyiv Art, Industry and Science Museum (now the National Museum of the History of Ukraine). The total number of artefacts in the Ukrainian part of the collection is 265: 246 come from the excavations of V. Khvoika in 1911, the other 19 possibly from the reconnaissance works of I. Levytskyi, F. Kozubovskyi, and K. Korshak in 1920–1940s. Until 1936, the materials left in Ukraine were stored in the Archaeological Museum of the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, where they were transported from the All-Ukrainian Historical Museum (the name of the Kyiv Art, Industry and Science Museums since 1924). Then this collection became part of the Central Historical Museum. At that time, K. Korshak and T. Teslia worked with this (Ukrainian) part of the collection. 79 artefacts from Iskorost were presented in a new exposition of the “Pre-class Society” department of the Central History Museum (1938–1941).During World War II, the Iskorost collection was moved from the Kyiv-Caves (“Kyiv-Pechersk”) Lavra (where the Central Historical Museum was located) to the building of the former Lenin Museum (now the Kyiv City Teacher’s House). The archaeological collection became the basis for creating an exposition of the Museum of Prehistory and Protohistory. In the autumn of 1943, the materials from the Iskorost were taken to Kraków, and from there were transported to Höchstädt. In 1947, the cultural values moved from Höchstädt to Munich were delivered to the Soviet occupation zone of Berlin and from there to Kyiv. At the beginning of 1948, the experts of the special commission began to inspect collections returned from Germany. This process spanned decades. Because of the difficulties during the identification of museum objects, artefacts of the Iskorost were attributed to collective collections: 29 items to “a3 Volyn”, the majority to “a252 Zhytomyr Polissia”. For some time, it was believed that the only finds from the excavation of V. Khvoika at the site, which have “survived” to this day, are contained in the collection of “a3 Volyn”. Another part of the artefacts from the Iskorost site was identified during the last inventory of the collections. Key words: Iskorost, Ukrainian Polissia, Vikentii Khvoika, museum collection, history of research.

Mesolithic campsite from Nowe Miasteczko (western Poland)

Archaeological site 1 in Nowe Miasteczko has been known since the mid-1920s. It is most often associated with a La Tene period cemetery of the Gubin group of the Jastorf culture. Since September 2022, archaeological excavations have been carried out at the site in connection with an ongoing construction project. The research identified a younger Mesolithic phase of the site occupation. Recovered from the fills of archaeological features were flint artefacts, bone remains, macroscopic plant remains with accumulations of hazelnut shells (Corylus avellana), and samples for absolute dating.

Learning how to knap flint on the Aurignacian site of Bourg-Charente (Charente, France): cognitive interactions and societal implications

Abstract. The Palaeolithic site of Bourg-Charente (Charente, France) is a multi-level site on a calcareous slope on the left bank of the Charente River (France). The Aurignacian level, which is the subject of this article, has been preserved over a surface of 1,000 m2 and includes 12 concentrations of flint artefacts representing as many knapping areas. According to the taphonomic and dynamic analyses (including refitting), seven of them can be considered contemporary and can be the subject of a palethnological analysis. Bones are not preserved, but the functional analysis carried out on the lithic remains makes it possible to identify specific activity areas with, on the one hand, cutting and butchering activities conducted in synchrony with flintknapping and, on the other, scraping activities requiring tools produced in advance. One of the concentrations of flint artefacts corresponds to a knapping learning area. Although distinct from the other activity areas while not far from them, the links between areas testify to interactions between learners and experienced tailors/tutor. The relationships observed between these groups enable us to propose that the main objective of these knapping exercises was the acquisition and control of the gestures required to obtain flakes.

Particle size distribution: An experimental study using southern African reduction methods and raw materials.

We experimentally created a particle size dataset that is based on reduction sequences and raw materials typical of the Middle and Later Stone Age in southern Africa. The reason for creating this new dataset is that current particle size frameworks are based, almost exclusively, on flint and western European knapping methods. We produced the dataset using knapping methods and raw materials frequently encountered in the southern African archaeological record because we wanted to test whether it has the same distribution as particle size datasets experimentally created in Europe, and to initialise the production of a database for use in the analysis of lithic assemblages from southern African Late Pleistocene deposits. We reduced 117 cores of quartz, quartzite, jasper, chalcedony, hornfels, and rhyolite. The knapping methods selected were unidirectional, discoidal, Levallois recurrent and bipolar flaking. In this article we compare this new particle size distribution dataset with the results obtained from previous experiments. We found that the southern African dataset shows a wider size range distribution, which seems to be explained by differences in knapping methods and raw materials. Our results show that there is overlap between the distribution of the southern African experimental knapping dataset and the sorting experiment conducted by Lenoble on flint artefacts in a runoff context. This article shows that a particle size analysis is not sufficient on its own to assess the perturbation of an archaeological assemblage and must be coupled with other analytical tools.