Flint Axes Research Articles

Creating World Views: Work-Expenditure Calculations for Funnel Beaker Megalithic Graves and Flint Axe Head Depositions in Northern Germany

Abstract The creation, maintenance, and modification of prehistoric built spaces and structural landscapes required communities that engaged and interacted collectively. Starting from the appearance of early monumentality and depositional behaviour in Funnel Beaker communities, we trace the variation in this phenomenon among three study areas in what is now northern Germany. In doing so, we build on a specific perspective and approach, namely that of work-expenditure calculations for megalithic graves and flint axe heads. In the process, variable dynamics of construction and deposition activities within the Early and Middle Neolithic are revealed, which we regard as differentiated translations of widespread impulses, adapted to the needs of different socio-cultural communities. The similar developments seen in flint axe head depositions and in the construction of megalithic monuments are indicative of evolving spaces of memory, landscapes of cooperative collaboration, and an increasing structuring of local environments that seem to follow a specific understanding of, and interaction with, space.

NEW RESEARCH ON BURIALS OF THE GLOBULAR AMPHORAE CULTURE IN TERNOPIL REGION

The article introduces the results of archaeological research in the tombs of the Globular Amphorae culture near the Bilyi Potik and Ozeriany villages of Chortkiv district, Ternopil region (Western Podillia). The description of the archaeological material found during the excavations has been provided.
 Both tombs from Bilyi Potik and Ozeriany differ in number and composition of the buried individuals. All those buried in Bilyi Potik were men. There were two men, two women and a child in Ozeriany. The question of their family relations remains open before additional research. The set of accompanying items is also different: in Bilyi Potik — 10 pots and a lid, two flint axes, a chisel, three knife-like plates, four parts of bone buckles, a bone pricker, two fangs and a small pig bone; in Ozeriany — 11 pots, a lid, one flint ax and two fragments from axes, four amber beads, a half of a bone buckle, three pig tusks and one large bone (part of a leg?) of a cattle (?).
 The pottery also differs in the affinity of the ornaments. The vessels in Bilyi Potik varied by its clay mass (ceramics with chamotte and plant remains predominated, ceramics with predominance of sand admixture was in a smaller amount). The pottery ornamentation was not only with triangles filled with scaly ornamentation, but also with pseudo-cord ornamentation. The bottom of the pots is flat in 8 cases, convex in 2 cases. Pots had two symmetrical handles. In two cases, the engobe is fixed.
 Handmade vessels from the tomb in Ozeriany are mostly made of clay with the addition of a large amount of sand with crushed flint or crushed shell. All pots have a flat bottom, in three cases the pots have two symmetrical handles, one has 4 handles, and one has 4 pseudo handles. Three pots from a ceramic set have no ornamentation. The surface decoration of other pots is more diverse. In addition to the traditional subtriangular ornament with a scaly filling, the pots are decorated with zig-zags, double horizontal and vertical lines, stamped with round teeth, and bands of short vertical and horizontal lines.

Two flint axes from Sadłowice, Opatów District, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship: Contribution to the research of the Globular Amphora settlement in the Sandomierz Upland

Two axes made of striped flint were discovered in Sadłowice (Opatów District), located in the central part of the Sandomierz Upland, by the Opatówka River. One of them is exceptionally large. These artefacts probably come from a damaged grave (or graves) attributed to the Globular Amphora culture.

Kaizer Hill (Modi'in), a pre-pottery neolithic a quarry site - the terraced slopes.

The research of the Kaizer Hill site (the Hilltop and its Terraces), recognized as a Pre Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) quarry site, involved studies of the rock damage associated with the quarrying activities as well as of the recovered material remains, mostly chipped stone artifacts. We present here the results of our on-site explorations (excavations, surveys and surface-collections), focusing on the findings deriving from the Terraces. Diverse rock damage patterns were identified and described, portraying systematic rock mass-exploitation through quarrying fronts, natural rock joints and fissures enlargement, drilling and chiseling. There are multiple indications that the local bedrock (Bi’na Formation, Turonian) comprising flint and limestone was quarried under a systematic quality evaluation, leaving residual flint unsuitable for exploitation. Of interest to note that nearly all of the flint artifacts excavated and collected on the Terraces were made on raw material transported from the Hilltop (Mishash Formation, Campanian), knapped in-situ, on the quarried rock surfaces of the slopes. The flint tools bear witness to intensive use involving mainly boring and drilling. The dominant tool type is the flint axe for which a variety of waste products related to its production were found in-situ, enabling the reconstruction of axe reduction sequence. Similar axes and waste products were found in many PPN sites indicating that there was a common, widely-used scheme of making flint axes during the PPN. Interestingly, besides the flint waste, there were also limestone waste products typical of the last shaping and thinning stages of axe production, indicating that limestone axes were shaped technologically similar to the flint ones, contrary to what has been assumed before. Rare findings, such as obsidian pieces, originating from much further a-field indicate ties with other PPN communities, near and/or far. Overall, this study provides unique and novel insights on Levantine PPN lifeways.

Some remarks on a German chipped stone lithic assemblage of uncertain origin in the collection of the Institue of Archaeological Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University

András Marton has recently come into the possession of a small, chipped stone assemblage from the legacy of a German amateur mineral collector from Hamburg. Unfortunately, very little is known about the deceased and his collection. A part of the finds, including tools, was donated to the Institute of Archaeology of the Eötvös Loránd University. The lithic assemblage contains a total of 27 chipped stone artefacts made exclusively of Baltic flint. Concerning the raw material used, these flint varieties with the banded structure are rather unusual in Schleswig-Holstein. They are much more likely to originate from Lower Saxony or perhaps Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Apart from the general technological description of the assemblage, some pieces from these non-formal tools have been selected for a detailed description. The application of the “direct percussion with a hard hammer” technique and the presence of the thick artefacts contradict the Palaeolithic or Mesolithic origin of the assemblage, except for the flint axe (“Kernbeil”), which has a possible Mesolithic association. Alternatively, if the edges of the artefacts are not worn out or rolled, then along the edges of all artefacts traces of some kind of “cryoturbation retouch” are observable. In this case, the Palaeolithic dating of the finds is more plausible.

Fra grænselandet mellem to kulturer

Fra grænselandet mellem to kulturer

Topoare de silex descoperite în așezările culturii Gumelnița de la Urlați (jud. Prahova), Ciolăneștii din Deal, Țigănești (jud. Teleorman), Surdulești (jud. Argeș) și Uzunu (jud. Giurgiu)

Although flint axes are characteristic discoveries in the settlements of the Gumelnița culture, their approach in specialized studies is rather isolated. This type of piece is the proof of the skill of the prehistoric craftsmen and shows the existence of complex woodworking techniques. In this study, we analysed nine unique pieces coming from three distinct areas, respectively the north of Muntenia (Urlați), south (Uzunu) and the southwest of the same region (Ciolăneștii din Deal, Țigănești and Surdulești). From the Urlați settlement we publish an axe discovered during the systematic investigations in 2018. The five axes from Ciolăneștii din Deal were discovered in the Măgura Țui tell, located in the meadows of the Câinelui stream/rivulet, a tributary of the Vedea River. This site was archaeologically surveyed in 1964-1965 and systematically investigated in 1966 by A. Nițu and Al. Marinescu. From the tell Țigănești comes a large axe representing an isolated find, without no connection to the 19th century researches of C. Bolliac and D. Butculescu. The axe from Surdulești comes from the excavations performed by M. Petrescu-Dîmbovița in the tell settlement called Movila de la Eleșteu. It was located on the right bank of the Burdea River, a tributary of the Vedea River and was surveyed in 1946. The large axe from Uzunu (Giurgiu County) is part of the patrimony of the Prahova County Museum of History and Archeology, being purchased along with other 124 other pieces by the respective institution in 1959.

Becoming and Individuation on the Encounter between Technical Apparatus and Natural System

Becoming and Individuation on the Encounter between Technical Apparatus and Natural System

Flint axes from the Funnel Beaker and Funnel Beaker-Baden settlement phases at site 1 in Książnice Wielkie, Proszowice district

Wykopaliska na miejscu 1 w Ksiąznicach Wielkich prowadzone byly w latach 1921–1924 przez Jozefa Żurowskiego. Jest to jedno z najwazniejszych miejsc kultury pucharow lejkowatych (FBC) w zachodniej Malopolsce. Materialy FBC z elementami Baden zostaly opublikowane przez Barbare Burchard i Anne Eker, a groby kultury Corded Ware - Jan Machnik (Burchard i Eker 1964; Machnik 1964). Artykul koncentruje sie na zagadnieniach związanych z osiami krzemienia odkrytymi w kontekście zespolow FBC i Funnel Beaker-Baden. Jak dotąd nie byly przedmiotem szczegolowego opracowania.

The role of the Globular Amphora Culture in the development of the Upper Neman communities

The paper discusses the problems of the Globular Amphora Culture (hereinafter the GAC) in the Upper Neman region. According to the proposition of M. Shmyt the sources related to the GAC have been divided in two groups. The first group is made up of the so-called pure sources i.e. the materials directly related to the GAC although hypothetically at times. It includes cemeteries, flint mines and workshops as well as finds of the quadrangular ground flint axes and chisels. The second group comprises so-called syncretic sources associated with the broad understood GAC traditions. The traits genetically linked to the GAC could be identified in materials of the Neman Culture as well as the local groups of the Corded Ware cultures Range. The presence of the GAC people and traditions in the area in question is dated to the second quarter III - first quarter II BC. Two main forms of transfer the GAC traditions have been distinguished. Firstly, the Upper Neman region was the territory of the direct contacts between the GAC people and the local populations. Secondly, the GAC elements had been distributed in the synthesized forms. The major source of the synthesized GAC traits was the Rzucewo Culture as well as the Middle Dnieper Culture. The prospects of the archaeological research are discussed. On the current stage of the research, the issue of the chronology of the GAC traditions spreading in the area in question requires a more detailed study. Top priority should also be given to a thorough investigation of the GAC role in the socio-economic transformation of the Upper Neman population in the III - the beginning II mill. BC.

The organization of basanite bifacial production at Giv’at Kipod Quarry, Israel: Towards an ‘Alyawara Day’ model of extraction

Hunter gatherers as well as farmers used a variety of lithic raw materials to shape their world, in which some were perceived as having symbolic or mythical content. While the anthropological literature demonstrates that the extraction of raw materials of special significance was often performed differently from that of other more 'ordinary' raw materials, identifying this in the archaeological record is difficult. In this paper we wish to shed new light on this topic using the Late Neolithic-Early Chalcolithic basanite bifacial tool production site of Giv‛at Kipod, Israel. In the southern Levant basalt axes and adzes have long been understood to embody greater symbolic content than the flint axes and adzes that dominate the Neolithic and Chalcolithic bifacial assemblages. By comparing the results from our excavations at the site of Giv‛at Kipod to other production and extraction sites we exhibit how the organization of production was different than that related to the more common flint extraction in the region. While at most production and extractions sites the manufacture of various types of items is documented and the presence of tools, especially ad hoc tools, indicates that a variety of activities were performed at the locale of extraction, in the case of Giv‛at Kipod the production was focused solely on the manufacture of bifacials with a marked lack of evidence of other significant activities. We attempt to provide guidelines to characterize different exploitation patterns between raw materials of varied social significance using these differences.

The Chaîne Opératoire of the Flint Axes of the Myky Indigenous Tribe (Mato Grosso, Brazil)

This paper presents the results of ethnoarchaeological research carried out among the Myky tribal group in Brazil. The intention of this research is to document the chaîne opératoire of the flint axes used by this indigenous group in the past. The Myky were first contacted in 1971, and knapped and used different stone tools in their daily life up until that point. This paper explores some of the reasons why the Myky used flint axes and how this allowed them to develop a horticultural economy without having a sedentary way of life. The principal value of this research is to document a specific element of this group's cultural heritage, as well as its past material culture. These are critical aspects to document, since they are likely to disappear in the space of one or two generations. Presented here are a unique set of observations of stone tool manufacture activities by a group that has not been previously studied.

Flint complex of the Mariupol burial ground

The Mariupol burial ground is one of the largest Neolithic sites of Eastern Europe. The funeral complex consists of 124 burials many of which include rich grave goods. Flint artifacts, usually single plate-like flint knives, have been found in 40 graves. In burials there also were end and oval scrapers, microlithics, axes, triangular arrowheads with bilateral treatment. The industry has been based on squeezing plates of average size. Flint tools were selected specially for burial. Flint artifacts have only been found in graves with other grave goods. In some graves there were rather numerous congestions of flint tools from 10 to 25 tools and their workpieces. In these backpack sets plates and tools made of them also prevail. Backpack sets of the Mariupol burial ground are divided into two types. The first type includes mainly unspecialized stone tools. Backpack sets of the second type consist of stone tools and household objects, i.e. jewelry made of bone, shells and stone, ochre. The trapezes and plates were used as arrowheads and their parts. Two flint axes with polished edges are found in one of the burials. The flint industry of the Mariupol burial ground is comparable to the industry of a Neolithic layer of the Kalmius settlement in Mariupol on the opposite right river bank. Probably, the burial ground has been made by residents of the settlement. Flint products are found both in male and in female burials.

Evidence of interpersonal violence or a special funeral rite in the Neolithic multiple burial from Koszyce in southern Poland – a forensic analysis

This study uses anthropological and forensic medical analyses to determine the cause of fractures found in the remains of 15 individuals buried at a site associated with the Globular Amphora Culture (2875-2670 BC). The intent was to determine the mechanism underlying the injuries and to indicate the types of tools that might have inflicted the blows. The fractures were diversified in their forms, but the majority of the injuries appear to have been inflicted by a flint axe, which is frequently found in graves of the Globular Amphora Culture. Apart from the forearm being severed in one of the victims, all the remaining skeletons showed from 1 to 4 injuries involving solely the skulls. The grave might contain victims attacked by invaders who executed the captives, or else the feature is ritual in character and it reflects the beliefs of the Neolithic community.

Finalna obróbka krzemiennych siekier i narzędzi siekieropodobnych. Studium eksperymentalne

This article discusses the final processing of flint axes and wedge-shaped tools. The author in his considerations focuses primarily on the use of two hypothetical processes, i.e. hand grinding or grinding with extra weight at the final stage of manufacturing these tools. Thus, he refers to the work by Danish archaeologist B. Madsen of 1984, entitled “Flint Axe Manufacture in the Neolithic: Experiments with Grinding and Polishing of Thin-Butted Flint Axes”, in which the researcher discussed, for the first time, an occurrence of these techniques in the axe-production process. The author of the article makes an attempt to repeat Madsen’s achievements, to check validity of the concept, and to include also an issue of using so called abrasive materials to support a grinding process in prehistory.

More from Yiftahel (PPNB), Israel

This paper presents some important fi nds from the PPNB site of Yiftahel, Israel. The fi nds were discovered during the initial excavations, 1982-1983, and have never been published. Among them there are eleven greenstone beads, a lump of green mineral, three miniature votive axes, two flint axes, one basalt axe, two seashell pendants, two bone tools, fragments of a white-ware bowl, two small obsidian blades and two small clay fi gurines. Besides a description of the items, we have attempted to relate them to funerary and cult practices according to their archaeological context.

Lystrup Østergård – En værkstedsplads fra yngre stenalder

Lystrup Østergård – En værkstedsplads fra yngre stenalder

The expansion of agrarian societies towards the north – new evidence for agriculture during the Mesolithic/Neolithic transition in Southern Scandinavia

Radiocarbon dates on new evidence of agriculture in Southern Scandinavia document the introduction of domesticated animals and cereal cultivation during the period 4000–3700 cal BC. The speed of the expansion was so rapid that smaller groups of pioneering farmers from Central Europe must have been involved in this process. These farmers cleared the forest and settled on inland sites. For reasons of poor preservation conditions for organic finds, bioarchaeological evidence from these inland sites is rare. However, the small amounts of available evidence clearly points to a dominating agrarian subsistence supplemented by hunting and fishing. Furthermore, the distribution of archaeological stray finds, such as pointed butted flint axes, is in certain cases located around easy accessible inland flint mines, where pioneering farmers settled on easily-workable arable soils.Evidence from contemporaneous coastal and lake shore sites show, on the other hand, a slow and gradual process of change towards agrarian subsistence, thus supporting the availability model. Our results support the theory of cultural dualism, assuming the migration of smaller groups of farmers from Central Europe. The transition towards an agrarian way of life probably happened during a complex and continuous process of migration, integration and gradual assimilation between pioneering farmers and local hunter–gatherers.

Water and fire as transformation elements in ritual deposits of the Scandinavian Neolithic

Flint axes are the most common Neolithic (4000–1800 calBC) artefacts found in southern Scandinavia. The vast majority of the tens of thousands that we know of have been recovered from former wetlands. In fact, detailed work in southern Sweden suggests that flint or stone axes were deposited in almost every single bog. There is also evidence that many axe blades underwent forms of treatment that involved transformation by fire, deliberate destruction and purposive deposition. These details of context, form and treatment suggest that axe blades were often of great symbolic significance to Neolithic communities, and implicated in the reproduction of the social world.

De dødes flækker – Slidsporsanalyse af flækker fra et megalitanlæg og en boplads

De dødes flækker – Slidsporsanalyse af flækker fra et megalitanlæg og en boplads