Macrolithic Tools

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.

This work has as main object the study of heavy stone tools from "Poggio di Spaccasasso" mine (Alberese-GR). Precisely, through the development of an analytical form created ad hoc, the stone tools have been carefully cataloged, taking into consideration typological, typometric, lithological, technological and functional parameters. In this way, through the identification of types connected to the various phases of the mining activity, an attempt was made to better characterize the extraction process of cinnabar that took place on the hill and that seems to have had a considerable importance in the production and marketing of this mineral.

Η διατριβή πραγματεύεται τα λίθινα τριπτά αντικείμενα που προέκυψαν από τις ανασκαφές στο νεολιθικό οικισμό Αυγής Καστοριάς (Μέση-Νεότερη Νεολιθική, περ. 5700-4500 π.Χ.). Οι ανασκαφές στη Νεολιθική Αυγή έφεραν στο φως ένα πολυπληθές σύνολο τριπτών τεχνουργημάτων, που περιλαμβάνει ποικίλους εργαλειακούς τύπους, όπως τριβεία, τριπτήρες, στιλβωτήρες, ακόνια, εργαλεία κοπής, κρουστήρες, πολυλειτουργικά εργαλεία, αλλά και διάφορα τριπτά αντικείμενα, όπως λίθινα αγγεία, λίθινες πλάκες και «κεφαλές ροπάλων», καθώς και πρώτες ύλες και υποπροϊόντα από τις ακολουθίες κατασκευής των παραπάνω τεχνολογικών προϊόντων. Στόχος της διατριβής είναι να διερευνήσει τη σημασία των αντικειμένων αυτών για τις νεολιθικές κοινωνίες της Βόρειας Ελλάδας, χρησιμοποιώντας ως μελέτη περίπτωσης το τριπτό υλικό του νεολιθικού οικισμού Αυγής Καστοριάς. Μέσα από τη τεχνολογική και συγκειμενική πραγμάτευση των τριπτών αντικειμένων επιχειρεί να ερευνήσει διαφορετικές όψεις της βιογραφίας τους (π.χ. πρώτες ύλες και κατασκευή, συντήρηση, χρήση, καταστροφή και απόθεση), όπως αυτές αποτυπώνονται κατά τη διάρκεια της ζωής μιας νεολιθικής κοινότητας. Η εν λόγω μελέτη εξετάζει τους πολύπλευρους τρόπους με τους οποίους η νεολιθική κοινωνία της Αυγής παράγει και καταναλώνει τα τριπτά προϊόντα μέσα σε διαφορετικά χωρικά και κοινωνικά πλαίσια (π.χ. σε οικήματα/ιδιωτικούς χώρους, σε κοινόχρηστες, ανοιχτές περιοχές, μέσα στα πλαίσια καθημερινών οικιακών πρακτικών ή με αφορμή ιδιαίτερα γεγονότα συμβολικού χαρακτήρα) και ερευνά τον ρόλο τους στην παραγωγή ποικίλων κοινωνικών νοημάτων.

This dissertation investigates the ground stone objects from the neolithic settlement of Avgi (Middle-Late Neolithic, circa 5700-4500 cal. B.C.), Kastoria, Northwestern Greece. Excavations at Neolithic Avgi brought to light a large ground stone assemblage comprising several tools, such as grinding slabs, grinders, polishers, abraders, cutting tools, percussion tools, multiple-use tools, numerous ground stone objects, such as stone vases, stone slabs and maceheads, and also the raw materials and debitage from the manufacture sequences of these technological products. Using as a case study the ground stone assemblage from Neolithic Avgi, this dissertation seeks to address the significance of ground stone technology for the neolithic societies of Northern Greece. Through the detailed technological and contextual analysis of the ground stone artifacts it explores different aspects of their biographies, related to their manufacture, use, maintenance, destruction and discard, throughout the life of a single neolithic community. The goal is to shed light on the multiple ways through which the neolithic society of Avgi produced and consumed those technological products in various social occasions, practices and places (i.e. individual houses and communal activity areas, daily routine activities, special events of communal or symbolic character) and explore their role in the formation of social identities and the production of social meaning.

During the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE, crucial changes took place in the way communities lived and organized production in the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula. The relatively mobile and permeable communities of the Copper Age with a highly productive economy were subjected to state organisation
during the Early Bronze Age, known as the El Argar society. This entity collapsed around 1550 BCE and gave way to a social reorganisation of the productive forces during the Late Bronze Age. One sphere, where the effects of these changes are more clearly evidenced, is subsistence production, as consumption habits and food processing technologies are deeply rooted in the economic, social and ideological structure of society.
This comparative study aims to investigate the consumed and stored food remains that reach the archaeological record, concentrating on the means of production and consumption
used to process and to serve food during each prehistoric period. Botanical data are evaluated against the technological
information obtained through the analysis of several thousand macrolithic artefacts that have been studied during the last two decades. This interdisciplinary approach is developed
in order to assess questions about quantity, quality and intensity of subsistence strategies and the way food resources were managed in markedly different social and political structures. The correspondence between qualitative
and quantitative results, supported by analytical procedures (i.e. use wear analysis, tribology, spatial analysis, etc.) is used to
characterize the different modes of production (and consumption) that developed during Iberian recent prehistory. Ultimately, the question is addressed how economic exploitation and social asymmetries become reproduced
through specific subsistence habits and technologies.

Since the Siret brothers excavated the Argaric settlements of South-eastern Iberia at the end of the 19th century a large volume of lithic artefacts has been recovered, which usually are referred to as “mining hammers” in the bibliography. Taking into account the lack of specialized studies oriented to define the specific activities that were developed with these tools, the presence of hafting traces has become almost the only feature for their classification in the archaeological deposit.
This paper presents a full technological study, in which the petrographic nature of artefacts has been analyzed, as well as their mor- phometric features and the functional aspects of their active surfaces. The comparison between these artefacts and others directly coming from mining contexts allows to define the features that ruled the production of the so called “mining hammers”. The obtained results lead to the recognition of at least two types of artefacts, which have no functional relation with mining activities.

ROBITAILLE J., 2020. Analyse fonctionnelle et expérimental de matériel macro-lithique des galeries d’ayn Soukhna, Egypte, in Georges Castel, Pierre Tallet (éd.) Ayn Soukhna IV Le matériel des galeries-magasins. Mission archeologique francaise (I.F.A.O). Chapter III, p 189 - 315.

El trabajo de la piel es una actividad artesanal compleja que comprende diferentes operaciones y puede implicar el uso de diversos tipos de útiles. Estudios etnográficos y experimentales muestran la participación de útiles macrolíticos y óseos durante varias etapas del tratamiento de la piel. Nuestro programa experimental se centra en evaluar el uso complementario de ambas categorías de instrumentos en las secuencias de limpieza, depilado y flexibilización de pieles. Este estudio forma parte del análisis global de las industrias macrolíticas e industrias óseas del poblado neolítico de Tell Halula (Siria). Procesado de piel, útiles de hueso, útiles de basalto, PPNB, Siria.

The article presents the methodology, data acquisition and the recorded data of a collection of grindstones from three sites in the Southern Alps. For this purpose, several archives in Trentino and South Tyrol were visited. The tool parts were first examined macroscopically, descriptions were made and tabulated, and then individual photos, detailed photos and photographs were taken for photogrammetric reconstruction. In most cases, the state of preservation was extrapolated to an assumed complete tool part. The data was evaluated for inter-site similarities and differences.

Full data: http://dx.doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/4Y5CG

The study on a long and marrow shaped sedimentary rock discovered in the Upper Palaeolithic levels excavated in 1972 at the Valencian site of Hort de Cortés-Volcán del Faro was carried out. This is an argillaceous limestone with a compact and soft appearance 19.43 cm long, 4.16 cm wide and 4.79 cm thick. The stratigraphic associated materials place this object between the Gravettian and Solutrean levels. However, there are no other references about its context and association that would provide elements. Indeed, similar objects have not been found in any other Valencian Palaeolithic site so far.
The elongated morphology, with rounded ends and a flattened section, suggests its inclusion in the category of lissoirs. Throughout its surface, it preserves a large number of stigmata and use wear, together with the presence of residues. Diferent types of use-wear, in some cases connected to each other, have been distinguished. On the one hand, there are longitudinal striations associated with traces of red dye and polished areas. At the same time, a significant loss of material has been detected, together with pitting, especially in the two extremities of the piece, but also in medial areas. All these observations allow us to consider uses involving diferent actions and materials.
Several non-destructive spectroscopic techniques were employed (pED-XRF, Raman and DRIFT) to determine its composition and to identify on its surface the residues of materials probably related to its use. In particular, it has been observed that the piece is predominantly composed of Ca and Si in the forms of calcite and clay minerals. In addition, the areas with red and brown stains have higher levels of elements such as Al, K, Ti, Mn and Fe, possibly related to the employment of the piece during diferent anthropogenic tasks carried out by the Paleolithic groups in the region.

Data on the implementation of macro-lithic tools in pottery production during the Late Neolithic of the central Balkans
are very rare. This paper presents experiments in smoothing, polishing pottery surface in order to examine several
topics. Fourteen vessels were made of various tempered clay and diff erent moisture levels. Their surfaces were processed
by smoothers made of shells and the experimentally made stone axe. Polishing has been performed by pebbles and a boar
task. The experimental tests resulted in a comparative collection of micro-wear traces considering the objects originating
from an archaeological context. This can reveal pottery workshops and possible technological varieties in pottery production
within the settlement or between settlements. At the same time, it has been documented that types of use-wear
traces on stone polishers appeared and developed in various time, depending on pottery temper. Observations also show
a correlation between the productivity and morphology of stone polishers, the shape of the vessels and decoration. It has
been also concluded that to the working effi ciency of the implemented artefacts made of various materials such as stone
and the boar tusk depends on technology implemented in pottery production. These experiments can assist in completing
an economic picture of the Neolithic settlements on the Central Balkans. It encourages further examinations of wear
resistance, mechanical property, effi ciency of the pottery smoothers and polishers made of various materials such as stone,
bone and shells.

This paper seeks to provide an overview of the grinding and pounding stone tools of Greece during the Neolithic and the Bronze Age (7th to 2nd millennium BC). Through the comparative examination of the published data, we explore how grinding and pounding technologies and their associated practices have appeared and evolved in this vast geographical area in the course of prehistory. Our goal is to map the technological attributes of the grinding and pounding implements, check their consistency, and investigate aspects of their production, consumption, and discard patterns through a diachronic perspective. Under the light of the freshly emerged data, we will revisit and reexamine some old, deep-rooted notions regarding the grinding equipment of Prehistoric Greece (e.g., the sizes of the grinding slabs and their supposed expansion from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age), often encountered in the related literature. This research was conducted within the framework of the ERC Project PLANTCULT (Consolidator Grant, Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program, Grant Agreement No 682529).

Use-wear analysis of macrolithic tools is a key issue for reconstructing
the palethnography of the last Mesolithic hunter-gatherer societies of
western Europe (9,600-5,500 BP), by questioning the organization of food
and craft activities in relation to the functioning of different types of sites
(open-air pit settlements, preserved in-situ artefact levels, rock shelters).
This study demonstrates a clear technological break from the preceding
Palaeolithic assemblages, and a shared background for the Mesolithic
toolkit supported by long-distance raw material supply strategies.
Mesolithic macrolithic tools reveal a highly diverse range of activities,
though quite specialized use in precise stages of hide, ochre and other
mineral material processing, as well as for flint debitage. The composition
of the assemblages, the transportability of the tools, and the duration,
intensity and final use of the tools also highlight the complexity of the
chaînes opératoires, the expression of regional traditions and the practice
of specific economic activities (bevelled tools, Asturian picks) adapted to
contrasting environments.

Grotta della Monaca is a karst cave located in Calabria, the southernmost region of the Italian peninsula. About half a kilometre deep, the cavern has drawn the attention of people since the Palaeolithic period due to the abundance of metal ores within (mainly iron hydroxides but also copper carbonates). These easily reachable minerals were exploited during prehistory, especially between the late Neolithic and the early Copper Age.Research conducted from 2000 to 2012 has allowed us to understand various aspects of ancient mining activities performed within the site and to reconstruct a basic operational chain concerning the procurement and the primary processing of such resources, from the choice of tools to the various extractive techniques, from the disposal of mining debris to the early operations of ore processing.In this paper we focus on two categories of macrolithic tools: those used to extract minerals, and those used for their primary processing. The first group is composed...

Activity patterns at large prehistoric sites are often difficult to interpret, as they frequently combine productive, domestic and funerary components. Valencina, the largest of the Copper Age mega-sites in Iberia, has proved particularly challenging in this regard. Macrolithic tool assemblages have been generally neglected in these debates but can provide specific insight into the nature and patterning of activities. In this study, 185 grinding tools from seven separate excavations across this 450 ha mega-site were subjected to multiple lines of analysis including quantification, morphology, raw material, use-wear and depositional context. A surprising feature of this assemblage is the high degree of fragmentation, with more than half of the items representing less than 25% of the original artefact and only a small minority of them (< 10%) complete. The absence of intact quernstones is particularly striking. The results indicate a ritualization of deposition at Valencina, and throw new light on the interpretation of this complex site. Furthermore, they emphasize the central role that grinding technology should play in future discussion of European prehistoric mega-sites.

O presente capítulo é dedicado ao estudo
do material lítico dos sítios de Moinho de
Valadares 1, Monte do Tosco 1 e Mercador,
cronologicamente enquadráveis no Calcolítico.
Trata-se de contextos intervencionados arqueologicamente
no âmbito dos trabalhos de
minimização patrimonial da área do regolfo da
barragem do Alqueva e, portanto, localizados
no contexto da bacia do curso médio do Guadiana.
No que se refere aos líticos, estes correspondem
a conjuntos industriais macrolíticos
ou, mais concretamente, a um conjunto caracterizado
pela exploração e configuração quase
exclusiva de seixos rolados de rio, em quartzito.