Danai Chondrou

Grinding technology is an integral part of the prehistoric material culture, implicated in various food-processing and craft activities. Over the last two decades, research on grinding stone toolkits has demonstrated the existence of divergent technological choices and traditions and the importance of specialised studies in highlighting this variety. In this framework, the first extensive use-wear analysis performed on selected artefacts from various prehistoric settlements in north and central Greece has a significant impact on our understanding of past grinding systems. A multi-scale use-wear analysis conducted with various means of observation and in multiple magnification scales (stereomicroscopy, metallographic microscopy, confocal microscopy) enabled the identification of specific use-wear patterns and their correlation to particular uses. The results revealed a palimpsest of diverse practices and traditions regarding the manipulation and use of grinding implements. Multifunctional tools employed in various tasks (e.g. processing of a variety of organic matter) coexist with tools reserved for specific functions (e.g. processing of oily substances) as well as secondarily used or recycled artefacts incorporated into new contexts of function. Diverse food processing methods and practices, such as the grinding of cereals with or without prior dehusking, suggest the existence of different technical choices for the same activity, while the typological and morphometric diversity of grinding equipment testified on an intra- and inter-site level has a possible functional dimension that needs further investigation. Overall, a much more generalised tendency for secondary use and recycling of the grinding gear is evident in the Bronze Age assemblages, a practice that may be coupled with a diachronic amplification of the range of functions of the grinding tools. If not associated with economic factors such as the introduction of new species into the range of human-exploited plants, it could be an indication of social changes.

The paper attempts a detailed examination of the ground stone tools from two neighbouring, partially contemporary settlements in north-western Greece, in order to approach aspects of the organization of the Neolithic societies that produced and used them. The data testify to the existence of many manufacturers with a shared technological background at the settlement level, with some deviations also present, as well as finds of exogenous origin. Signs of deliberate actions of destruction or disposal of intact, functional tools reveal their complex manipulation. The analysis showed that, beyond the existence of long-lasting cultural norms and a general impression of homogeneity in terms of the technological repertoire used, the two settlements present substantial deviations. They exploit different raw material sources, have different access to exchange networks, present changes in the manufacturing techniques, and the spatial distribution of their activities. Finally, an overall examination suggests various social, cultural and economic changes through time.

Οι Εικαστικές Δράσεις, με όποιο όνομα κι αν παρουσιάζονται (happening, event, body art, aktion, performance), εισάγουν στην καθημερινότητα μη ορθολογιστικές, μη παραγωγικές, μη κερδοφόρες μορφές συμπεριφοράς αναδεικνύοντας τοπία εσωτερικής ενέργειας, ιχνηλατώντας σχέσεις αχαρτογράφητες, διασαλεύοντας την τυποποίηση. Τέτοιες συμπεριφορές παρατηρούνταν ανέκαθεν (να θυμηθούμε τον Διογένη που έψαχνε στην αγορά για ανθρώπους με αναμμένο φανάρι μέρα μεσημέρι), πώς έφτασαν να αντιμετωπίζονται ως τέχνη; Πώς εμφανίζονται στην Ελλάδα; Ποια στοιχεία τις χαρακτηρίζουν, και πώς μπορεί κανείς να τις προσεγγίσει πληρέστερα; Αυτά είναι μερικά από τα ερωτήματα που επιχειρεί να απαντήσει το παρόν βιβλίο.

Stone grinding tools (i.e. querns or grinding stones / millstones / metates and handstones or grinders / upper milling stones / manos) constitute an important part of the material culture recovered in prehistoric excavations. These implements, as well as the technological category in which they are traditionally attributed, known by the generic term ‘ground stone tools’, and by the more recently proposed term ‘macrolithic tools’, received the interest they deserve not long ago, through specialized studies.

The present paper offers a short overview of aspects related to the grinding technology and its spatial dimension in two Late/Final Neolithic settlements in Northern Greece. An attempt is made to understand how grinding tools are manipulated in different spatial and social scales and through that to gain a glimpse at the traditions and practices that synthesize the cultural milieu in which these tools were made and used. To this end, contextual analysis is combined with a special emphasis on aspects of the tools’ life-cycles, their state of preservation and taphonomic factors.

The article offers a detailed analysis of the grinding tool assemblage from the two neighbouring, partially contemporary and almost entirely excavated Late/Final Neolithic settlements of Kleitos, northwestern Greece. The data shed light on various choices regarding the organisation of the production and management of these implements. According to the evidence, grinding tools were not only used as part of the daily routine, but were also often used in special events. The limited rates of exhausted implements, the extreme fragmentation, and special patterns of deposition indicate the complex manipulation of grinding implements beyond their primary functions.

"The paper presents an experimental investigation into the processing of cereals and pulses with a replicated grind stone, similar to those occurring in prehistoric Greece. The species used in the experiments are einkorn wheat and grass pea, a cereal and a pulse species that occured very commonly in the region during the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. The end products resulting from the experimental grinding are selected on the basis of recently identified archaeobotanical remains consisting of ground einkorn possibly boiled in water and split bitter vetch. The efficiency of using small-sized grinding stones for processing cereals and pulses is discussed within the context of food preparation and consumption among prehistoric communities of Greece. The results of the experiment may be applicable to other areas where cereals and pulses are consumed."

This dissertation attempts the analytical examination of a part of the ground stone tool assemblage retrieved from Toumpa Kremastis Koiladas, a Late Neolithic site in Northern Greece. The main objective is to explore the various aspects of ground stone lithics, as part of the material culture with multiple functions and meanings, alongside the investigation into the different stages of their life cycle, from the production and use to their final disposal. The study of this material focuses on its particular context, that of a non-domestic space, which is located outside a settlement’s residential area and incorporates a large number of subsurface features, pits and ditches, containing anthropogenic deposits. The discussion of the findings suggest the existence of cultural activities that may have resulted in a differentiated treatment of specific artifacts which bear a common final destination - their disposal in the pits. In fact, specific tool categories are characterized by a very high degree of fragmentation, while specific artifacts exhibit signs of intentional breakage, suggesting the possible symbolic aspect of the ending of their cycle of life and their “burial” into the pits.