Flintknapping Research Articles

THE GARINO TRADITION OF BIFACIAL FLINT KNAPPING AND THE PROBLEM OF SEARCHING FOR ITS ORIGINS

The paper focuses on the results of studying of the bifacial flint knapping by the bearers of the Garinskaya culture (Chalcolithic, east of the Russian Plain and the Ural region). Based on the analysis of processing traces on the artefacts of certain target forms, the specifics of their production and workshop organization were identified. Bifacial knapping during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic of the Russian Plain has not been studied properly. This can be explained by a number of problems: absence or insufficient number of homogeneous complexes, deficiency of technological contexts, outdated insight into the problem of bifacial treatment, misunderstanding of the nature of archaeological sources and their information potential. Due to lack of knowledge of the phenomenon and absence of provable data the sources of the tradition under study cannot be clearly defined. They are either lost in context of different periods or have not been identified by researchers. Probably, the emergence and evolution of the intensive production of flint arrowheads is connected with prestigious economy and an increase in artefact exchange in the Chalcolithic.

THE ISSUE OF THE LARGE DWELLINGS OF TRYPILLIA CULTURE

This paper aims at the analysis of remains of the Trypillia culture dwelling of a large size. The study includes the comparison of large houses’ inventory. More specifically, the analysis included the data from the cluster of ploshchadka from the settlement of Talianki (the so-called ‘Potter’s family I’ complex), which included five houses. The largest of these dwellings differs from the others not only by its size but also by the number and importance of the material.
 Besides this, the study included the dwelling remains of a size of 200 m2 and of a useful size of 100 m2 and more. Population estimates indicate the possibility of such structures’ inhabiting by 20―35 people. Therefore, the author proposes to distinguish ploshchadkas group by the parameter of their useful size for the whole Trypillia culture. Such dwellings belong to different periods of the culture. This distinguishing is exemplified by house remains from Ozheve-Ostriv. The analysis of dwellings’ inventory indicates that the Dwelling 3 was not only inhabited by a large group of people but it also served for conducting certain craft processes, i.e. tanning, flint knapping, bone and antler processing. Moreover, the inventory of this structure included a high number of weapons (arrowheads, spearheads).
 In general the author concludes that the large size dwellings of this group may be interpreted as men’s houses. Such dwellings were inhabited by the young people belonging to a certain sex-age group, and served for training in various fields of crafts and activities. Men’s houses were also used for gathering the male part of the tribe for magic rituals and feasts. Patriarchs taught young people the rules of common living and taboos of their society. This explains the dwelling size used to gather a particular or supposed number of the representatives of sex-age groups of patriarchs and young men.

Report: Pedagogy and skill acquisition in flint knapping

The recent application of a new pedagogical workflow for flint knapping training showcases the high degree of skill acquisition that can be reached in 10 hours of guided practice.

Примеры ученического расщепления кремняна стоянке Зарайск B

The paper presents the evidence of flint knapping by people with different skill levels at the Eastern Gravettian site of Zaraysk B on the Russian Plain. The basic methodological approach used in this study is the analysis of “deviations from the technological norm”. In addition, the results are verified via more traditional methods of spatial and technological analysis of the refit sets. The analysis of the totality of cores and core preforms leads to the conclusion that flint knapping was carried out by both expert craftsmen and novices, as well as intermediate-level knappers. All core preforms and most cores in the collection appear to have been the result of knapping by craftsmen with a low or intermediate level of knapping skills.

КРЕМНЕВЫЕ ИНДУСТРИИ ЭНЕОЛИТА НА КРАЙНЕМ СЕВЕРО-ВОСТОКЕ ЕВРОПЫ: ЯВЛЕНИЕ НОВОЙ СЛОЖНОСТИ

The article presents the results of studying the flint knapping dynamics according to the distribution of the early metal. The model region is far northeastern Europe (The Republic of Komi, Nenets autonomous area and eastern part of the Archangelsk region). The reference data are informative assemblages of 3rd millenium BC with the evidences of the copper use and its processing. According to modern concepts, they are related to the “Chirkovo-Seimino” cultural type and the Garino (Choinovty) culture. For comparison, regional data submitted to the L’yalovo and Chuzhyayol’ traditions were chosen. The research is based on the concept of technological criteria of archaeological periodization and definition of the Eneolithic as a period of the use of stone tools and copper artefacts made by forging or melting. The methodical basis of studying flint knapping is E. Yu. Girya’s works. The region specifics are the presence of population of the Russian Plain, Urals and Western Siberia cultures, and this fact allows comparing two ways of variability of flint industries during the distribution of the early metal. The bearers of the “Chirkovo-Seimino” cultural type inherit and keep the L’yalovo culture tradition of flint knapping of the Neolithic. It is characterized by manufacture and use of tanged arrowheads. In the Urals, the Garino culture population spread technology of bifacial secondary thinning for making arrowheads and figurines, the amount of them exceeds domestic consumption. The artefacts are given esthetic, symbolic and maybe game functions. In the region under study such cardinal changes are related to the migration of new populations, probably provoked by the challenges of the Eneolithic.

Micro-regional variants of the flint knapping traditions in the Late Neolithic from the perspective of Prokopiak's Mount

The distinctive sandy structure of Prokopiak’s Mount in Opatowice stands out from the surrounding black soils of the Kujawy Upland, and therefore attracted the interest among the Late Neolithic communities of the region. A program of comprehensive archaeological research was conducted here in 1985-1998, eleven sites were investigated and the materials obtained from five of them were published. These sites all produced rich flint assemblages.Three of these assemblages, being relatively homogeneous, (Opatowice 33, 36 and 42), were selected for research on the formation of local traditions of flint production in the Late Neolithic in Kujawy. The presented assemblages cover the entire chronological span from3650 BC to 2600 BC. And chronologically correspond to the classic Wiórek horizon (Opatowice 33), the Luboń-Radziejów horizon (Opatowice 42) and the classic GAC horizon (Opatowice 36).

Technological study of the lithic materials from the site Wołkusz 3 in NE Poland. The concept of the preferential blades' production

The article aims to present the results of the technological analysis of the lithic artefacts from the site Wołkusz 3. This comprises a detailed characterisation of one of the two reconstructed flint knapping strategies described as the concept of preferential blades. The Wolkushian culture inventory consisting of almost 3000 pieces was subjected to the analyses. The collection includes the debitage products – cores, flakes and blades, as well as the products of debitage modification – retouched tools and the spalls connected with the process of their production and repairing. The conclusions are based on refitting studies supported by the analyses of the relief of negatives and the morphological attributes.

Radiocarbon Chronology of Chuzhjajol Culture

Authors summarize and analyze the data on the 14C chronology of the Chuzhjajol culture in the Far northeast of the Europe (the Komi Republic and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug or the basins of the Pechora, Vychegda and Mezen rivers). As a result of the study of dwellings at the sites Vadniur I/7A, Vadniur I/5 and Muchkas, 17 new dates were obtained and its most probable age was determined within the framework of 4th – mid. 3rd millennium BC. These data make possible to attribute more convincingly the earliest manifestations of the Chuzhjajol traditions in the region to the Neolithic, and their further development to the Chalcolithic. However, evidence of metalworking at the sites of this culture has not been identified, and its dynamics is so far expressed only in pottery: the use of natural organic inclusions in clay and the simplification of the design of «lips». This probably indicates a connection with the bearers of porous ceramics of the Garino tradition. It was determined that dwellings of the Vadniur type on the Vychegda and Mezen rivers are the oldest structures in Northern Eurasia with a complex system of ventilation and heating of living space in the form of horizontal channels connected with fireplaces. The materials obtained as a result of the excavation of the basic complexes of the Chuzhjajol culture allows to date those using different materials and to determine the possibilities of using geochronometric methods on the archaeological sites of the taiga zone. The total volume of the obtained information determines the problem of finding the origins of Chuzhjajol traditions of housebuilding, flint knapping and pottery, which are unique for the region under study.

Using mechanical experiments to study ground stone tool use: Exploring the formation of percussive and grinding wear traces on limestone tools

Ground Stone Tools (GST) have been identified in several Levantine archaeological sites dating to the Middle Paleolithic. These tools, frequently made of limestone, are often interpreted based on their morphology and damage as having been used for knapping flint, and sometimes for breaking animal bones or processing vegetal materials as well. However, the lack of experimental referential collections on limestone is a major obstacle for the identification of diagnostic traces on these types of tools and raw material. In this sense, the understanding of the specific function of these GST and the association between tool types and activity often remains unknown or merely speculative.Recent discoveries at the site of Nesher Ramla revealed one of the largest Middle Paleolithic assemblages of limestone GST. Our use-wear analysis has identified several types of both macro and micro-wear traces on different tools. Such diversity highlights the need for developing an experimental reference collection that can enable detailed comparison between experimental and archaeological use-wear evidence.In this paper, we present the results of mechanical experiments specially designed to understand and quantify major characteristics of macro and micro use-wear traces on limestone GST as a result of three main activities: 1) animal bone breaking, 2) flint knapping and 3) grinding acorns. This study pursues three main goals: a) improving our ability to distinguish natural from anthropogenic alterations on limestone; b) identifying and characterizing differences between wear-traces (macro and micro) produced by different activities, and c) building a reference collection for thorough comparisons of use-wear and residues on archaeological tools.Our results indicate that it is possible not only to identify anthropogenic alterations but also to specifically distinguish the use-wear traces formed on limestone as result of percussive activities of bone and flint. This is shown by controlled experiments allowing variables other than the worked material to remain constant.This study aims to contribute towards establishing an experimental and multi-scale library of use-wear traces on limestone.

Кременеобробний комплекс четвертого житла Межиріцького верхньопалеолітичного поселення

In order to determine the degree of relatedness of archaeological sites, it is important to study lithic assemblages originated from relatively closed archaeological objects and which can serve as a reference for a comparative analysis of several industries. This article analyses a separate archaeological object - a flint Workshop 1 - against the background of the overall structure of the lithic assemblage of the fourth household unit. The Workshop 1 was discovered during the excavations of the fourth dwelling of the Mezhyrich epigravettian site in 2018-2020. The history of the study of this dwelling and lithic assemblage of the fourth unit, the conditions of detection and the context of the Workshop 1 location, the typological-statistical and technological features of the flint artifacts, obtained as a result of the latest excavations of the fourth dwelling filling, are given. Analysis of the distribution of finds together with stratigraphic observations allow us to assert at least two living surfaces into the dwelling. Planigraphic features of the trench studied in dwelling demonstrate the functional specialization of different parts of the interior space. The study revealed two different areas on both sides of the central part with the remains of the hearth. Cultural remains in the south-western part testify to fur and leather processing operations here, while in the north-eastern part of the trench there is clear evidence of flint knapping operations and the manufacture of tools, which in turn related to leather processing. Data on the spatial distribution of flint products in other dwellings of the Mezhyrich settlement reveal common features in the organization of living space. Such peculiarities of the behaviour of the prehistoric inhabitants require the search for more distant analogies on the mezhyrichian industry sites and among the Upper Palaeolithic population of Eastern Europe in general. Keywords: Upper Palaeolithic, Epigravettian, household unit, workshop, lithic technology.

THE LITHIC INDUSTRY FROM THE SITE OF KOBULETI

The Kobuleti site is located on the territory of the Kobuleti village in Adjara (Georgia). The site was discovered on the cape of the left bank of the Kintrishi River. The cape formed by two ravines occupied the area ca. 50 Ч 50 m, towering 16—25 m above the river level. The site height above the sea level is 60 m. The cape is composed of basalt rocks, only its upper part is associated with sediments of a pack of paleosoils.
 Geographically the site is connected with the Colchis Plain which occupies the part of coastal territory. The Kintrishi River flows along the southern part of the plain at the very border with the foothills. Currently the Colchis Plain is associated with a subtropical climate zone but this does not mean that the climate was the same at the beginning of the Holocene when the site was abandoned. At the beginning of the Holocene the territory of Western Georgia had a rather temperate climate where coniferous species of trees including fir, spruce, and pine were widespread.
 The inhabitants of the site, therefore, chose a strategically important place for settlement, only 20 km from the sea coast, on the banks of the river flowing into the Black Sea, on the border of two landscape zones of the plain and foothills.
 In total, 1529 artifacts have been found, including 911 made of flint and 618 made of obsidian.
 The technique of blanks removal is focused on obtaining blades and microblades by manual pressing method. Findings of round tablets are also associated with the same cores, with the negatives of removing flakes to correct the working platform.
 In general, we can say that flint knapping occurred mainly outside the site. This is evidenced by the ratio of blades and flakes. There are almost three times more blades than flakes. This circumstance suggests that the site was visited sporadically, that the base camp of visitors was situated in a different place.
 The complex has 257 tools. The most numerous are retouching blades, bladelets, and microblades and their segments. Mostly, such products have a small semiflat retouch along the edges, but there are also products with alternative retouching. There are blades with notches. Marked products with single wide notches and products with 2—3 edge notches.
 Burins also are represented in a large series. Burins show a great typological diversity. There are burins on truncated facetted blades, including bilateral burins. There are many angle burins on broken blades. Often, such blades are double. There is a symmetrical dihedral burin. All of the listed burins are made on blades. All transverse and dihedral angle burins are made on flakes. There is one combined tool: burin on truncated facetted blade — the endscraper.
 Scrapers are very few in comparison with burins. All of them are made on flakes, they are the endscrapers. There is a series of chisels on massive segments of blades and on flakes. Probably, some retouched flakes were used as scrapers and chisels.
 Truncated facetted blades are found, including oblique truncated facetted blades and oblique truncated facetted blade with a negative of microburins spall. A fairly representative complex associated with hunting weapons. This is a series of bladelets and microblades with abrupt retouch.
 In general, the typology of the assemblage indicates that the site was used as temporary hunting camp where a minimal number of production activities were carried out.

Vadniur I/7 — the final Neolithic and Eneolithic site of the Vychegda River

The author presents the results of his own survey of the Vadniur I settlement carried out in 2017. The site is located on the right bank of the Vychegda River in the Syktyvkar city, the Komi Republic (north-eastern Europe). The danger of destruction of the site by the river erosion erged the comprehensive excavation of the total area of 210.5 m2. This has made it possible to preserve the historical and cultural information from the site and to obtain new data for the study of the Neolithic and Eneolithic cultures of north-eastern Europe. Based on stratigraphy, planigraphy and comparative-typological method, two complexes of different periods — Vadniur I/7A and Vadniur I/7B — have been identified. The former includes the remains of a rectangular 11x5 m dwelling with the total area of ca. 55 m2, with three hearths (nos. I, II and IV) and two horizontal ventilation channels (nos. I and II). The construction is associated with a ca. 8.5 m2 section of redeposited cultural layer containing artefacts, which is probably the result of cleaning of the living space in ancient times. The dwelling complex includes 428 stone items, fragments of two ceramic pots and three ceramic objects, small unidentifiable fragments of calcified bones. According to two radiocarbon measurements, the Vadniur I/7A complex dates to the first half of the 4th mil. BC. This data, together with construction features, technical and typological charac-teristics of ceramics and flint tools, allow attributing it to the early period of the Chuzhyael'skaya Culture in north-eastern Europe. Currently, Vadniur I/7A is the oldest structure of this type in Northern Eurasia. The research opens new per-spectives for the study of genesis of the Chuzh"yael'skaya Culture, which is also associated with searching for sources of origin of housebuilding, flint knapping and pottery traditions unique for the northeast of Europe. The Vadniur I/7B complex has been identified as a compact cluster of ceramic vessel fragments and few flint artefacts. They were related to the traces of hearth no. III and together may represent remains of a short-term camp. The comparative-typological method allows to identify it as a site of the Choynovtinskaya Culture of the Eneolithic Volosovo-Garinskaya cultural com-munity of the 3rd — first half of the 2nd mil. BC.

Turonian flint economy in the easternmost Magdalenian: new data from Stare Baraki, site 1 (eastern Poland)

Magdalenian communities exploited mostly local and regional good-quality lithic raw materials. In south-eastern Poland, being the easternmost fringe of the Magdalenian range, Turonian grey flint had a particular importance. Outcrops of this raw material occur both at the west and at the east sides the Vistula River Gorge. The varieties from the eastern area (called here “eastern Turonian flint” or ETF) are common among inventories of the Magdalenian sites situated to west of the Vistula river. This fact points toward the frequent penetration of the ETF outcrop area by those societies. However, no Magdalenian sites were known directly from the ETF deposit area, and this gap in knowledge restricted further understanding of the character and diversity of Magdalenian activity there. Therefore, in this paper, we present the results of searching for Magdalenian sites within the ETF outcrop zone. Applied methodology included study of the archive archaeological materials, followed by detail survey and excavation of the selected site—Stare Baraki 1. This site documents a short stay or multiple stays of Magdalenian people, who were focused on Turonian flint knapping. Lithic inventory records collecting of several local flint varieties at the distance up to around 20 km from the site, followed by almost all stages of flint working. The material from Stare Baraki is the first known and currently the only trace of the Magdalenian people inside the zone of Turonian flint deposits on the right bank of the Vistula river. The study in Stare Baraki delivered new data for the reconstruction of territory exploitation strategies used in the easternmost Magdalenian.

Formalized Reduction Sequences from the Site of Kerkhove, Belgium – New Perspectives on Early Mesolithic Flint Knapping

ABSTRACTThe refitting of eight Early Mesolithic artefact clusters yielded a detailed image of the flint knapping methods applied at the site of Kerkhove (BE). Apart from apparent intra-site variability, the analysis revealed a greater investment in core-shaping than is traditionally present in Early Mesolithic assemblages, combined with a clear preference for bladelet production organized from alternatingly used, opposed striking platforms. Both elements, unprecedented to some extent in Northwestern Europe, indicate continuity between Early Mesolithic technological traditions and those of the preceding, Final-Palaeolithic period.

КАМСКАЯ НЕОЛИТИЧЕСКАЯ КУЛЬТУРА НА СЕВЕРО-ВОСТОКЕ ЕВРОПЫ

The author summarizes and systematizes the data on the Kamskaya Neolithic culture in the northeast of Europe (the territory of the modern Komi Republic, Arkhangelsk Oblast and the northern part of the Perm kray). At present 18 sites belonged to this culture have been identified in the basins of the rivers Vychegda, Pinega and Vishera. They represent its northern province of distribution, the length of which in the region is more than 1000 km (from southeast to northwest). The data of geochronometry and comparison of analogies from the territories of the East European and West Siberian plains determine that the most probable time of existence of this culture in the region was the VI millennium BC. A stable feature of the Kamskaya culture is ceramic ware made of clay with an admixture of chamotte and decorated with comb ornament. Its peculiarities in the basin of the Vychegda River are a small number of pots in complexes (from 1 to 5) and typological homogeneity. It indicates the short-term duration of this tradition and the lack of links with the population of other cultures. Ceramics in the basin of the Vyshera River are characterized by a great variety of decoration and provide an evidence of the connections between the population of different cultures. Flint knapping is situational and selective. The special and most stable feature of toolkit is the bifacial diamond-shaped or leaf-shaped arrowheads of short proportions. The tools made of other rocks are relatively well represented with chopping tools, abrasives, and fishing weights. In the assemblages of the Vishera river basin the signs of correction of traditions of stone processing to the peculiarities of raw materials of the region are revealed. It can indicate their more significant metamorphoses as they moved away from the original territory of culture. The complex data such as topography of monuments, qualitative and quantitative characteristics of stone tools, indicate a signifi cant role of fi shing in the Kamskaya culture’s economy. As a result of the research the peculiarities of this culture in the northeast of Europe and possible transformations of its elements in different habitats of the Vychegda and Vishera rivers basin were revealed. The main factors that influenced this difference were natural and climatic conditions and different population densities.

Preliminary results of an investigation of a single Barrow near the village of Serteya (Smolensk region)

A single burial mound is located on the right bank of the Serteyka River (north-western Russia). It was discovered by E.A. Schmidt in 1951 and is attributed to the Old Russian Period. New researches on the burial mound conducted in 2013 and 2014 have uncovered several diachronic constructions. The first stage was connected to a flint knapping site, which was located on a natural ele- vation. It can be attributed to the 6th millennium BC on the basis of the Early Neolithic pottery fragments found nearby. The next period is dated to the second half of the 3rd millennium BC, when a ritual platform was created. Moreover, on another mound, a ditch was created, which can be attributed to the Long Barrow Culture due to a ceramic fragment found there. Samples from burnt bones and charcoal indicate that the first and second stages of this construction could be dated to between the middle and the second half of the 3rd millennium BC – the late stage of the Zhizhitskaya Culture of pile-dwellers and the initial stage of the Uzmenskaya Culture. Animal bones were cremated along with bronze items, as evidenced by the patina visible on the surface of the bones. Such a rite has been recorded for the first time. Furthermore, a ritual fire-place was set on a flat platform, and additional fireplaces were situated on the slope of the burial mound. This complex, which can be interpreted as a site of worship from the Late Neolithic through the Early Bronze Age, existed for a long period of time. Nowadays, it is difficult to find analogies to such ritual complexes from the 3rd millennium BC from the territory of Poland and the Upper Dnepr region; only the kurgans and burial mounds of the Corded Ware Culture dating to the 3rd millennium BC are known. It might also be supposed that some of the sites with such a sepulchral rite, usually attributed to the Long Barrows Culture, could also be ritual sites – this, however, would require further research.

From Stone to Metal: the Dynamics of Technological Change in the Decline of Chipped Stone Tool Production. A Case Study from the Southern Levant (5th–1st Millennia BCE)

The shift from stone to metal has been considered one of the main technological transformations in the history of humankind. In order to observe the dynamics underlying the disappearance of chipped stone tools and their replacement with metal implements, we adopt an approach which combines two different levels of analysis. At the first, by focusing on the Southern Levant as a case study, we consider the developmental forces internal to the technology itself and the conditions favorable to the invention, spread, continuation, or disappearance of technical traits. At the second, by considering specific historical scenarios, we test the existence of general principles which guide technological changes. Flint knapping and metallurgy, and notably their relationship, are particularly appropriate to observe regularities which operate at different scales, the first one within the developmental lines of objects, techniques and technologies, and the second one within the conditions of actualization of technological facts. On the one hand, following the “rules” of technical tendencies, a techno-logic perspective allows observation of how metal cutting objects, overcoming the “limits” of knapping technology, represent the logical development of flint tools. On the other hand, the analysis of the socioeconomic contexts in which chipped stone tools were produced permits identification of regularities which conditioned changes in lithic production systems, their decline, and the final replacement with metal tools.

Investigations at Naḥal Roded 110: a Late Neolithic ritual site in the southern Negev

Abstract

Contribution to the research on the use of flint and stone by the Lusatian culture population during the Bronze age and Early Iron age in the Lublin region (remarks of a non-lithic expert)

The population of the Lusatian culture inhabiting the Lublin area during the Bronze age and Early Iron age used various items made of flint and stone. The most spectacular finds include sickles and sickles inserts with surface retouch. Items made from flint and stone were used mainly as tools, but also as weapons, as well as prestige indicators. They also had symbolic function. These artefacts were probably produced on site at settlements and they were among the accessories of everyday life of the population living then. In the Early Iron age, in the valley of the Vistula River, local flint deposits were exploited. Flint knapping workshops were set up here. Extremly numerous flint artefacts were recorded at these workshops and they represent the so-called Kosin industry.

A long and winding road: Towards a palethnograpic interpretation of the middle-Gravettian site of la Picardie (Indre-et-Loire, France)

After nine years of excavation (1998–2008) the site of La Picardie has delivered a significant lithic collection (more than 13,000 artefacts coordinated) chronologically related to the “Raysse burin” phase of the Gravettian (second phase of Middle Gravettian ca. 25–23 ky BP uncal.). The study of the lithic material has provided several important results, including the chronological attribution of the site, the description of a new type of retouched bladelet, and the reconstruction of the flint knapping process for blade and bladelet production on site. The palethnographic study and interpretation of the site have, however, not been discussed to date. In spite of some taphonomic issues the coalescence of different studies has allowed us to further our understanding of the site, notably via the functional analysis of stone tools, the evaluation of different skill levels in flint-knapping, the vertical and horizontal distributions of artefacts and tools, and finally the study of the different organised “structures” made of limestones blocks. Using several examples we will describe in a step by step manner the various elements that helped us to rebuild the probable function(s) of the site and propose a first palethnographic assessment.