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An application of micro-wear analysis to bone experimentally worked using bronze tools
Abstract
The recognition of the metal tools used to work bone in archaeological sites can aid in the reconstruction of patterns of bone artifact production. Moreover, when metal tools are rare as a result of past curation practices or preservation conditions, the analysis of the manufacturing traces on bone is essential for ascertaining the presence and specific uses of these tools. This paper presents research on the application of experimentation and high-power optical microscopy to the identification and description of the manufacturing traces created on bone by bronze knife-blades and burins, and focuses on two activities, scraping and grooving. Analytical data suggest the presence of distinctive micro-wear patterns associated with the use of these tools.
... Previous important works are repeatedly Marks left by metal tools usually have a very regular profile, with deep and steeply sides (Greenfield 1999). They procure a more intense removal of material than stone tools, causing an absence of superimposed traces (Christidou 2008, Cristiani & Alhaique 2005. The wall of these striations are mainly regular and they can have above all a parallel and flat bottom shape ("|_|") or a "V-like" shape (Cristiani & Alhaique 2005, Greenfield 1999). ...
... It is developed by Semenov (1964) as an approach for lithic industry, giving the birth to the term traceology. Although soon adopted in lithic studies, the first applications to bone industry are quite late (Christidou 2008;LeMoine 1994;Maigrot 2003;Peltier & Plisson 1986;Peltier 1986;Sidéra 2005). It is based on the tribology of matter, which means "The science and technology of interacting surfaces in relative motion and of the practices related thereto", i.e. the study of alterations of a matter due to friction and wear for contact with other matter (by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD] 1969in LeMoine 1994. ...
... consulted during the analysis(Christidou 2008, Cristiani & Alhaique 2005, Greendfield 1999, Krasinski 2016, as they explain how to distinguish between traces left by metal and stone tools throughout observation and experimentation. Stone and metal tools procure very different stigmata that can be identified observing features such as profile and bottom of traces, as well as the presence and morphology of secondary striations. ...
... The typological classifi cation follows Fiches typologiques (Camps-Fabrer ed., 1990, 1998Patou-Mathis ed., 2002), as well as typological schema proposed for the prehistoric assemblages in South-eastern Europe (Vitezović, 2016, and references therein). The traces of manufacture and wear were analysed with hand magnifi cation up to 20x, and interpreted following the published data, in particular those focused on traces left by metal tools (Christidou, 2008a;2008b;2010;Cristiani, Alhaique, 2005;Olsen, 1988;Provenzano, 2001;Ramseyer ed., 2004;Semenov, 1976). The site of Zók-Gradina is situated in the area of the village of Zók, 15 km to the south-west from Pécs, in present-day Hungary. ...
... Metal tools produce sharp V-shaped grooves, unlike more U-shaped grooves usually left by stone tools, and they either leave no stria- tions or the striations are more uniform (Greenfi eld, 1999;2000;2006). Metal knives produce a cleaner cut or a cut with sharp parallel edges (Greenfi eld 1999;2000;2006;Christidou, 2008a;2008b). Scraping with metal tools -such as a long blade -leaves wide longitudinal facets, and the striae running along inside these facets are straight, with shallow, uniform depth (see Baron, Diakowski, 2018: fi g. 4A;Olsen, 1988). ...
Vučedol culture is a Late Eneolithic / Early Bronze Age cultural complex that occupied the area of the southern Carpathian basin, in present-day Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary and in later phases it was widespread even in Austria, Slovakia and Slovenia. The Vučedol culture is characterized by the rich and diverse material culture, including extraordinary ceramic vessels and metal objects. Bone industry, although abundant, is still insufficiently explored. The assemblages from excavations carried out in the late 19th–early 20th century from the sites of Vučedol, Sarvaš–Gradac and Zók provided some very interesting results regarding the use of osseous raw materials. Particularly rich are items made from antler, predominantly red deer antler, hence, manufacturing procedures, typological repertoire, as well as the place of the antler industry within the everyday activities of the Vučedol culture communities will be analyzed in this paper. Predominant techno-types are artifacts made from basal and beam segments with a cutting edge at the distal end, or double sided – the basal part used as a percussion tool and the distal end modified into a cutting edge. Tines were mainly modified into some sort of smaller chisels and wedges. Toggle harpoons represent the most carefully made objects, produced through several stages, finalized by scraping and burnishing. Also, peculiar small elongated artifacts discovered at Zók, in a shape of short rods, should be mentioned, some with incised decoration – zig zag and transversal parallel lines. These objects do not have analogies, and their function is not certain; they were most likely some sort of decorative items. These assemblages also include large amounts of manufacturing debris, and it is very interesting to note that these items show evidence of being processed with metal tools, as this is the earliest evidence of the use of metal tools in the bone industry of the region. The antler industry was well developed, production can be characterized as relatively large-scale, and the working areas of workshops were present at all three tell sites, thus pointing to the possibility of a certain level of craft specialization.
... The use of metal tools on bone or antler objects has been observed sporadically since the Neolithic (e.g., Osipowicz et al., 2018). Due to the gradual spread of knowledge about the production of metal objects starting from the late stages of the early Bronze Age, the distinction between the types of tools (usually metal vs. flint) used in bone and antler processing has been a primary area of research (Greenfield, 1999;Cristiani and Alhaique, 2005;Christidou, 2008;Baron and Diakowski, 2018;Osipowicz et al., 2018;Diakowski, 2019;Luik et al., 2022;Okaluk and Greenfield, 2022;Baron et al., in press). In most cases, however, only the worked materials were analyzed, not the applied tools. ...
... The movement was performed in both directions, and changing directions combined with even medium pressure resulted in bows, chips, and serrated edges. That also resulted from the fact that the experimental tool has a relatively thin blade compared to, for example, a knife used in an experiment by Christidou (2008), which was 0.36-0.44 cm thick. ...
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... The rationale for these studies has been the reconstruction of palaeo-environments and depositional histories, and the differentiation of pseudo tools from bona fide ones. Fluvial environments transport variously sized sediments that move at different rates and in different ways, depending on their size (Charlton, 2008). These movements can abrade pieces of bone that get trapped in the transport load or which happen to become lodged in a manner that partly obstructs the flow of water (Behrensmeyer, 1988). ...
... Fernandez-Jalvo and Andrews, 2003Andrews, , 2016Gümrükçü and Pante, 2018), their illustrations do not show a reflective surface, a necessary criterion to describe something as polished (Bradfield, 2020). We suppose that smoothing, which is the flattening of bone surface topography through the attritional loss of material and is a precursor to polish (Griffitts, 2001;Christidou, 2008;Bradfield, 2015), is meant instead. Smoothing and rounding are part of the same continuum, and they occur on most of the same specimens. ...
Several taphonomic processes can alter the surface of archaeological bone in a manner that may cause them to superficially resemble bone tools used as digging implements. Under close examination, however, the resultant microwear is usually quite distinct. While many experiments have been done to document the effects of fluvial processes on bone surface alteration, there are many mass soil movement process whose microwear effects have not yet been properly investigated and which could conceivably produce microwear similar to digging implements. One example, which pertains to the Cradle of Humankind landscape, is soil creep. We present the results of an experiment that assesses the resultant microwear on stationary bones occasioned by artificially accelerated soil creep processes. We show that the passage of saturated sediments over stationary bones produces rounding and pitting, and does not resemble microwear occasioned either by fluvial transport or experimental digging in sediments. Although there is room to test additional variables, we conclude that the purported bone tools from the Cradle of Humankind sites were not affected by soil creep processes, at least not to the extent that they caused surface alterations.
... Although polish may form due to a variety of causes unrelated to usage (Grace 1990), it is generally understood that its formation on stone and bone artefacts is a dynamic process that differs from one type of contact material to another (Ibáñez, Mazzucco 2021). It is this dynamic nature of polish accrual that allows analysts to distinguish between different types of contact materials, whether it is in a general sense of hard and soft materials, or more specifically such as between fresh hide, wood and iron (Christadou 2008;Stone 2013;Bradfield 2015: table 2). ...
... 7) and wrought iron ( fig. 8) present similar features to Christadou 2008) are visible between 50x-200x, but indistinguishable at lower and higher magnifications. Among these three hard materials only metal polish displays characteristic micro features at 32x magnification, whereas wood and bone polish are scarcely distinguishable at this low magnification range. ...
The interpretative potential of microscopic use-wear polishes is a factor of the scale of analysis. Observational surface area decreases in inverse proportion to magnification. In this paper I present the results of polishes on bone tools that have developed from fricative contact with nine different materials. Microwear polish is viewed at five different magnifications. I show that 50x―200x magnification, or observational areas of 0.4―2.0 mm2, is the most appropriate scale of analysis of use-wear polishes regardless of whether one is conducting morphological identifications or relying on surface texture analysis software. The images presented here are meant to serve as an online reference collection to allow use-wear analysts to visualise how polish appearances change at different levels of magnification.
... The adopted terminology is based on a popular conceptual system (e.g. Newcomer 1974;d'Errico et al. 1984;Korobkova 1999;Legrand 2007;Christidou 2008;Osipowicz 2010;Buc 2011;Orłowska 2016), that was adjusted to the needs and requirements of the conducted analysis. Traces were recorded in accordance with their type, development, and location and distribution on the analysed tool. ...
... Drawing by G.Piličiauskas. others, research on prehistoric hunting techniques (e.g. Cattelain 1997), the function of camps and settlements(Cattelain 2005;Piličiauskas et al. 2020), processing and ornamenting techniques used with objects made of osseous raw materials (e.g.Zhilin 1998;David 2005;Langley et al. 2016;Osipowicz et al. 2020), and the symbolic sphere of Stone Age peoples (e.g.Langley 2015;Osipowicz et al. 2019). ...
This article presents the results of traceological analyses of bone points and harpoon heads discovered at hunter-gatherer-fisher sites 1, 3, 4, 6 and 23 in Šventoji, coastal Lithuania, c. 3500–2700 cal BC. The data obtained through the studies were used to interpret technological processes and operational chains resulting from the production of these artefacts, as well as in answering questions surrounding the function of some specimens. Another important result of the presented research is the confirmation, thanks to an SEM-EDX analysis, of the presence of an inlay in the decoration visible on one of the harpoon heads.
... Use-wear analyses on bone tools have been performed since the beginning of the traceological discipline (Semenov, 1964), both on archaeological and experimental artefacts (Newcomer, 1974;Campana, 1979;Olsen, 1988;Shipman and Rose, 1988;Runnings et al., 1988;Bonnichsen and Sorg, 1989;LeMoine, 1994;Griffits and Bonsall, 2001;Maigrot, 2003;Christidou and Legrand-Pineau, 2005;van Gijn, 2005;Buc and Loponte, 2007;Legrand and Sidéra, 2007;Christidou, 2008;Pétillon, 2008;Clemente Conte et al., 2010;Buc, 2011;Provenzano, 2014), although they have always had a secondary role with respect to functional studies of lithic industries. ...
... Usually, traceological studies on bone tools have been performed with optical (e.g. Peltier and Plisson, 1986;Campana, 1989;LeMoine, 1994;Christidou and Legrand-Pineau, 2005;van Gijn, 2005;Legrand and Sidéra, 2007;Christidou, 2008;Maigrot, 2010;Clemente Conte et al., 2010;Soressi et al., 2013;Álvarez et al., 2014;Turk and Košir, 2017), scanning electron microscopy (e.g. Rose, 1983, 1988;Shipman et al., 1984;d'Errico et al., 1984;Olsen, 1988;Runnings et al., 1988;Shipman, 1989;d'Errico, 1993;d'Errico et al., 1995;Fehlmann, 2010;Zhang et al., 2016;Bouzouggar et al., 2018) and more recently with 3D digital microscope (Arrighi et al., 2016;Borgia et al., 2016). ...
Bone artefacts have been widely studied because they can be difficult to identify in ancient chronologies. Taphonomical and zooarchaeological studies have demonstrated problems of equifinality of biotic and/or abiotic agents that create pseudo-tools: marrow fracturing of green bone by hominins and carnivores, trampling, etc. In particular, minimally elaborated bone tools are especially subject to the problems of identification of bone artefacts, as the criteria for characterizing their patterns of elaboration are not clearly defined.
The aim of this study is to experimentally reconstruct the manufacture and use of minimally elaborated bone artefacts in order to evaluate their potential as tools involved in different activities, and to study the resulting use-wear traces. To achieve this goal, bovid long bones were experimentally broken via direct percussion on an anvil to extract the marrow and obtain blanks. Unmodified fragments were used in different tasks: scraping hide and wood, sawing wood, and cutting flesh. Another set of bone blanks were retouched to shape bone tools, which were then used in the same activities. This latter process was sequentially performed and recorded.
Thus, using techniques supported by experimentation and microscopy, this study presents the use-wear analysis on minimally elaborated bone tools. The operative chain of used bones and knapped bone tools and their effects on the formation of different traces is explored. Further technological and taphonomical studies will complete our understanding about these processes, proving new clues for the study of hominin subsistence strategies.
... One suggested method is through indirect investigation; by examining and consequently dating the traces that metal tools leave on objects that they have created (cf. Christidou 2008). Experimental archaeology and microwear analysis can contribute to this investigation. ...
... The first experimental studies that addressed this idea considered the morphological characteristics of butchering tool marks on bones, and suggested that it was possible to see a difference between grooves left by metal versus stone tools (Walker and Long 1977;Greenfield 1999;Greenfield 2008). Similar experiments on bone were also carried out by Christidou (2008), but rather than looking at butchery marks, the author examined the differences between intentionally carved marks left by bronze, iron, and steel tools. Christidou (2008) argued that there was a definite difference between those marks left by bronze and iron, and those left by steel. ...
A significant step in the history of society was the onset of metallurgy. It is however unclear when metal first started to be used as a standard, functional material in prehistory. Much of the earliest evidence of metal artefacts within the archaeological record was deposited in a potentially ritual context, which suggests that the origin of the use of the metal as a functional material cannot be based on the presence of metal objects within the archaeological record. The deposition of supposedly ritual objects in the past does provide evidence for the presence of metal as a material, however this does not necessarily correlate to the presence of everyday, working metal objects and tools. While stone tools could have been immediately discarded once they are broken and so their stratigraphic placement in the archaeological record can be approximately correlated with the date that they were used in the past, metal tools can be remelted and so recycled over a much longer period of time. It could therefore be argued that he earliest stratigraphic location of metal tools in the soil does not necessarily correlate with their time of origin in prehistory. In order to address this problem, many studies have instead studied the presence of metal indirectly, by investigating the microwear traces left by different tool materials in order to determine whether certain traces can be considered characteristic of metal tool use. These studies have ranged from an examination of cut marks in butchered bones to an investigation of drilling technology during bead production. The present study used experimental archaeology complemented by microwear analysis to investigate traces left by stone, antler, and metal tools during the production of amber beads, focusing particularly on the cutting and drilling stages of bead production. From an analysis of the experimentally produced pieces, it was then possible to create a list of distinguishing features for each tool material. This list of distinguishing features was then compared to those traces identified on archaeological collections from three sites in the northern Netherlands: the Late Neolithic settlement site at Kolhorn, a coffin burial in a tumulus at Emmerdennen, and grave goods from several tumuli at Hijken Hooghalen. The results demonstrated that it is possible to identify which tool material had been used to create the archaeological pieces, and thus potentially contribute towards existing studies in microwear analysis of tool traces, and also further towards detecting the onset of metal as a functional material in prehistory.
... Archaeologists have adapted tribology to understand the patterns of wear found on artifacts and many have carried out research devoted specifically to developing the field of usewear analysis on bone tools [19,[21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. Traditionally, use-wear analyses on bone have been qualitative in nature using light microscopy or scanning electron microscopy [19,24,[26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. ...
... Different states of a particular material (e.g., fresh versus raw versus softened animal hide) may also confound results and be difficult to distinguish. Use-wear traces may take on different forms based on characteristics of the raw material, such as the natural microtopography of the bone surface itself [23,30]. For these reasons, the development of a quantitative methodology for studying bone tools that produces replicable results is essential. ...
Use-wear analysis provides a means of studying traces produced on animal bone during manufacture and use in an effort to reconstruct these processes. Often, these analyses are qualitative and based on experience and expertise. Previous studies have focused on interpreting final traces, but little is known about how these traces develop and change over time. We propose the use of an innovative quantitative method for studying bone surface traces that aims to reduce any unreliable or non-replicable results that can confound more traditional qualitative analyses. We seek to understand the basics of use-wear formation over Time by taking incremental molds of bone specimens subjected to a controlled, mechanical experiment. This study assesses how bone wears during extended use on three Material types (fresh skin, processed leather, or dry bark), from three initial Manufacturing states (unworked, ground with sandstone, or scraped with flint). With data obtained from a confocal disc-scanning microscope, we then apply 3D surface texture analysis using ISO 25178 parameters: surface roughness [Sa], autocorrelation length [Sal], peak curvature [Spc], and upper material ratio [Smr1]. We employ a multilevel multivariate Bayesian model to explain parameter variation under experimental conditions. Our findings show how duration of use strongly affects the transformation of the bone’s surface. Unworked bone is completely distinguishable from bone used for long time intervals and those modified by scraping. Interestingly, material wear does not often produce type-specific traces, but does affect the rate of bone alteration and how it is transformed. Specifically, fresh skin transforms bone at a faster rate than other materials. This novel quantitative and experimental approach enhances our understanding of the use of bone as a raw material for making and using tools and provides a foundation for future exploration of archaeological materials and questions.
... The applied traceological terminology was based on a terminology system that exists in the subject literature (e.g., Korobkova 1999;Legrand 2007;Christidou 2008;Buc 2011;Orłowska 2016), which has been adapted for the purposes and requirements of the conducted analysis. ...
The article presents the results of typological and traceological analyses that involved seven objects made of osseous raw materials found around the church of Saint James in Toruń. Owing to technological analysis, it was possible to reconstruct the methods applied for working osseous materials by craftsmen of past times, whereas the analysis of use-wear traces allowed us to formulate conclusions regarding the function of the examined specimens. The objects were compared to other analogous finds in an attempt to recreate the techniques used for making them, the context in which they were used, and the role they could have played in the past.
... The applied traceological terminology was based on a terminology system that exists in the subject literature (e.g., Korobkova 1999;Legrand 2007;Christidou 2008;Buc 2011;Orłowska 2016), which has been adapted for the purposes and requirements of the conducted analysis. ...
The article presents the results of typological and traceological analyses that involved seven objects made of osseous raw materials found around the church of Saint James in Toruń. Owing to technological analysis, it was possible to reconstruct the methods applied for working osseous materials by craftsmen of past times, whereas the analysis of use-wear traces allowed us to formulate conclusions regarding the function of the examined specimens. The objects were compared to other analogous finds in an attempt to recreate the techniques used for making them, the context in which they were used, and the role they could have played in the past.
... For this specific stage of analysis, the specimens were examined using a Hirox digital microscope RH-2000 equipped with an MXB-2016Z Low Range High-Resolution Zoom Lens attached to a camera unit at magnification 20-160x. All observations were made based on well-known approaches and nomenclature dedicated to the investigation of osseous materials (Le Dosseur 2004;Christidou 2008;Buc et al. 2014;Averbouh 2000;Averbouh 2016;Choyke and O'Connor 2013). ...
This paper introduces a group of 19 osseous fishing hooks in different stages of completion and integrity, discovered in the Late Neolithic settlement from Şoimuş–La Avicola (Ferma 2), Romania. These artifacts currently represent the sole evidence for fishing at the site, despite its vicinity to the watercourse of Mureş River. To analyze the fishing hooks, we applied an integrative approach by performing a combination of technological, morphometric, morphological, and fracture studies paired with statistical analyses and ethnographic comparisons. Our results demonstrate that the hooks were designed and manufactured in a systematic, homogenous fashion with the main scope of securing the desired catch while withstanding stress for the longest duration possible. Besides the hook assemblage changing the local picture in regards to the fishing practice, the methodology proposed here could be relevant for future inter-site analysis.
... Experimental archaeology has suggested that using a metal versus a lithic tool during manufacture leaves different microscopic traces (cf. Christidou 2008;Olsen 1988;Sebire 2016;Walker and Long 1977). However, many of these differences relate to the shape of the tool edges used, which, while often directly associated with the physical properties of the raw material being used, are not Table 1. ...
... The features on the scraped surfaces recorded so far are numerous densely packed, narrow striations, absence of superimposition of the linear marks, and frequent chattering (see Figure 10C-D). They are comparable to traces created by metal blades (Olsen 1988;Cristiani and Alhaique 2005;Christidou 2008b), suggesting further differences between pin and tool production. Of the two fragments which could be from pins, one (7049) is a point with rounded cross-section and narrow scraping striations on the surface. ...
We present two significant patterns of osseous artifact production during the Final Late Bronze Age at the settlement mound of Thessaloniki Toumba in the northeastern Thermaic Gulf region in northern Greece and compare with data published from the same and neighboring regions. One pattern is the use of long bone fractures for shaping awls. The other is the production of pins from deer antlers. Awl manufacturing is consistent with the practice of the use of broken bones for a variety of tools, which had been common since the Early Bronze Age. The antler pins and some rare, elaborate objects, such as barbed-and-tanged points and horse bits, indicate innovation and interactions across different spatial scales toward the end of the Bronze Age. Research into the manufacturing processes may provide a more detailed understanding of the cultural and technological significance of these artifacts.
... Given the lack of historical, archaeological, and ethnographic literature to know these artifacts' manufacturing processes and functions, an experimental approach was considered optimal in this study for these objectives. Earlier work in the field of experimental work also shows the importance of experimental programs (Christidou, 2008;Gates St-Pierre, 2007;Legrand and Sidera, 2007;Maigrot, 2005;Sidéra and Legrand, 2006;Gijn van, 2005Gijn van, , 2007 to understand the production process (chaine operatoire) and use of bone objects. Hence, an experimental program was designed to address the questions raised earlier. ...
This paper presents a techno-functional analysis of two perforated bone artifacts recovered from Indor Khera and Rohana Khurd, North India, dated to c. 6th-2nd century BCE and 4th century BCE, respectively. These artifacts are made from bone walls of the unknown limb of medium/large-size mammals. Based on their morphology and parallels from archaeological sites of India, they have been identified as pendants and daggers. However, a close microscopic analysis of these artifacts tells a different story. The use-wears generated by threads around perforations contraindicate suspending (string-up) assumption. An experimental program has tested this by employing replicas of these artifacts as suspenders and fasteners. The result of this experiment and their comparison with archaeological ones suggest that these artifacts were probably used as fasteners rather than suspenders, thus challenging the conventional hypothesis that they were used as pendants. Apart from the functional aspects of these artifacts, the same experimental program was also used to understand the manufacturing process, i.e., the chaine operatoire.
... Likewise, the differentiation between cut marks and other striae identified on bone surfaces produced by several agents, such as trampling (Binford, 1981;Shipman, 1981b;Bromage, 1984;Andrews and Cook, 1985;Behrensmeyer et al., 1986;Olsen and Shipman, 1988;Fiorillo, 1991;Pineda et al., 2014;, have also been considered. However, the topics around cut marks have addressed other aspects such as the correlation of cut marks with specific butchery activities (Binford, 1981;Nilssen, 2000), the different tools or raw material employed (Walker and Long, 1977;Greenfield, 1999;Choi and Driwantoro, 2007;Christidou, 2008;de Juana et al., 2009;Merrit, 2012;Galán and Domínguez-Rodrigo, 2014;Moclán et al., 2018;Courtenay et al., 2019b), or the sequence of access to carcasses by hominin groups and other predators (Binford, 1981;1988;Bunn, 1981;1982;Shipman, 1981a;Blumenschine, 1986;1987;1988;1995;Bunn and Kroll, 1986;Selvaggio, 1994;Capaldo, 1997;1998;Domínguez-Rodrigo, 1996;Domínguez-Rodrigo and Pickering, 2003). ...
... Its dimensions are 226 Â 7 mm; epiphyses were cut at both ends and thus an object in the shape of an elongated tube was obtained. Manufacturing traces show it was carefully cut by transversal sawing, most likely with some metal implement (traces were compared with published experimental traces obtained by chipped stone and metal tools- Christidou, 2008aChristidou, , 2008bChristidou, , 2010Cristiani & Alhaique, 2005;Newcomer, 1974;Semonov, 1976) (Figure 3c,d). The bone was carefully sawn throughout its circumference, that is, the bone was not partially sawn and partially snapped off, as was done, for example, in case of transversal division of antlers (Vitezovi c, 2018, 2019, in press). ...
Bird bones were rarely used for production of artefacts, due to various reasons – they were much smaller and thinner than bones of mammals usually selected for tool production; they also have specific shapes and fine structure, inadequate for the majority of common artefact types. They were occasionally used for some specific objects, such as flutes, pipes, needle cases, amulets, etc. When it comes to the Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age periods in south‐eastern Europe, bird bone artefacts are rare; only few have been discovered thus far. In this paper, we will present one additional finding of a bird bone artefact, from the site of Zók–Gradina, situated in present‐day Hungary. Excavations carried out in 1920 by the National Museum in Belgrade revealed a multi‐period site, with major parts of the stratigraphic sequence belonging to the Late Eneolithic/Early Bronze Age Vučedol culture (2900–2500/2400 BC). Vučedol layers yielded relatively large quantities of worked bone, including one artefact produced from a bird bone, that will be presented here. The object in question was produced from the right radius of a Cygnus sp.; it is in the shape of an elongated tube; carefully cut at both ends. The function of this item is uncertain – it may have served as some sound‐producing instrument (flute), or it was some sort of a handle or needle case. It is interesting to note that bird representations, in particular ornithomorphic vessels, are among the specific traits of the Vučedol culture; therefore, the choice of a bird bone for the production of this artefact may have had a certain symbolic significance as well.
... e terminology applied in the traceological studies was based on the conceptual system existing in the literature (e.g. Newcomer, 1974;d'Errico et al., 1984;Korobkova, 1999;Legrand, 2007;Christidou, 2008;Osipowicz, 2010;Buc, 2011;Orłowska, 2016), which was adjusted to the needs and requirements of the conducted analysis. ...
This monographic work “Late Magdalenian Campsite at Krucza Skała Rockshelter” presents the results of interdisciplinary research at the rock shelter Krucza Skała. The research, carried out by the team of archaeologists, geologists, palaeozoologists, palynologists, physicist and geneticist, permitted the interpretation of the consecutive phases of human inhabitation of the site in relation to changes in the natural environment.
Krucza Skała is situated in the Kroczyce Rocks, in the central part of the Częstochowa Upland (southern Poland). Interdisciplinary research in the shelter was conducted in the years 1989 – 1993 and 2016, under the supervision of K. Cyrek. Over five seasons of excavations, an area of 123 sq m was excavated in the shelter, under the overhang and at the entrance to the collapsed cave. The morphology of the area and spatial distribution of the finds indicate that almost the whole site, potentially inhabited in the Palaeolithic, has been excavated. In the stratigraphy of the site, four lithostratigraphic series of the Late Glacial origin were distinguished. Within those, three stages of the site’s inhabitation by Magdalenian communities were discovered. It occurred between GS-2.1a and GI-1a, i.e. during the time span of over 2000 years. This was the time of late Pleistocene warming and cooling of the climate, starting with the Oldest Dryas, through the Bolling, Older Dryas, Allerød, Younger Dryas, up to the Holocene period of warming. Diverse landscape permitted hunting, obtaining shed reindeer antlers, and catching birds, mainly the ones connected with aquatic environment. After 10 000 year-interval, the place was occupied by a settlement in the late Roman period. At the turn of the 13th and 14th c. the site was a place of campsites.
... We realise, that the lines can be parallel as in the case of the use of metal tools, however, the latter ones produce traces composed of more regular and shallow strations resulting in the regularity of worked surfaces (Cristiani and Alhaique, 2005). Moreover, scraping with a metal tool allows for performing even very long, regular movements (Christidou, 2008). We focused not only on traces of manufacturing and use which is a standard procedure but also on thermal modifications likely resulting from the cremation process whose impact on at least human bones is well known in the literature (e.g. ...
Objects made of osseous materials are extremely rare in the urnfield burial contexts dated in SW Poland to the late Bronze and early Iron Age (ca. 1300-550 BCE). That may be the result of the cremation process which made the bone/antler artefacts fragmented and difficult to distinguish from human bones, usually densely packed in ceramic urns. We compare data about 95 specimens from four urnfields (Dunino [2], Jarząbkowice [1], Wicina [1], Sękowice [5]) and one bi-ritual cemetery (Przeczyce [76]). The analysis of micro traces showed that these usually simple and small objects were manufactured both with flint and metal tools. The observation of their colour and surface alterations suggests they were exposed to high temperatures, probably cremated together with the bodies, and then carefully deposited in the urns.
... The terminology applied in the traceological studies was based on the conceptual system existing in the literature (e.g. Newcomer, 1974;d'Errico et al., 1984;Korobkova, 1999;Legrand, 2007;Christidou, 2008;Osipowicz, 2010;Buc, 2011;Orłowska, 2016), which was adjusted to the needs and requirements of the conducted analysis. ...
... Significantly, the reading proposed here is independently validated by the microwear analysis of butchered animal remains from Chalcolithic and Bronze Age sites, which frequently show metal cut marks [56][57][58][59][60] . Of course, daggers may have had additional uses, e.g., as close-range weapons. ...
The article discusses results of organic residue analysis performed on ten copper-alloy daggers from Bronze Age Pragatto, Italy, c.1550–1250 BCE. Metal daggers are widespread in Chalcolithic and Bronze Age Europe, yet their social and practical roles are still hotly debated. Are they symbolic or functional? Are they tools or weapons? How were they used? For what tasks and on what materials? The research addresses these questions through a novel application of biochemical staining and SEM–EDX analysis. The method has proved successful in extracting and identifying animal residues located on cutting edges including bone, muscle, and tendons. These are interpreted as evidence of prehistoric carcass butchering and carving. Further residues were observed on blade faces and hafting plates or tangs; these are interpreted as remnants of bone handles and sheaths, the latter made of either wood fibers or processed hide and fur. The readings proposed in the article are validated by original experiments with replica daggers, as detailed in the Supplementary Materials. The analysis and experiments shed new light on Bronze Age metal daggers, showing that they were fully functional tools (and perhaps tool-weapons) primarily utilized for the processing of animal carcasses. This original research result contributes significant knowledge towards interpreting an under-studied, yet socially salient, prehistoric metal artifact.
... The only traces of use were glossy spots that were irregularly distributed in the centre of each of the bone shafts (Figure 4). Although careful scraping with a metal knife could produce a similar polish (Christidou 2008), the gloss clearly overlays and obscures the tool marks caused by scraping during the manufacturing process. The micro-wear may therefore indicate holding unbound tubes in the hand. ...
The microscopic analysis of tool marks on objects from the Late Bronze Age 'shaman's grave' at Przeczyce, Poland, has demonstrated that two wild boar tusk pendants, a bone disc and a set of bone tubes were manufactured exclusively using metal tools. We argue that the tubes were a musical instrument that originally consisted of several separate pieces, rather than a pan flute, as has previously been suggested.
... 2 | Simón Sierralta Navarro artefactos paleolíticos, se ha pasado al uso de técnicas avanzadas de análisis de imagen digital (Toselli et al. 2002), a la incorporación del Microscopio Electrónico de Barrido (Mansur-Franchomme 1983), y a la ampliación del objeto de estudio a otras materialidades como el hueso (Kononenko et al. 2010), la concha (Mansur y Clemente 2001;Lucero 2004), el vidrio (Clemente y Gómez 2008, De Angelis et al. 2009) y los metales (Christidou 2008). ...
El giro arqueométrico de la arqueología chilena en la última década ha implicado la incorporación de nuevas técnicas al análisis de materiales. El estudio de las huellas microscópicas de uso en instrumentos líticos ha comenzado a ser incorporado de a poco, tras treinta años de escaso desarrollo, pero la traceología permanece como una subdisciplina poco constituida. Este trabajo presenta una revisión crítica de los estudios funcionales en la arqueología nacional, centrada en aspectos metodológicos y de presentación de los datos. A partir de dos estudios de caso propios, de contextos ambientales y arqueológicos muy distintos, se discuten elementos problemáticos y se sugieren aspectos a considerar en relación al uso de instrumentos ópticos de alto aumento, el desarrollo de programas experimentales, y la explicitación de protocolos y observaciones en los reportes de datos.
... The method utilized here is briefly summarized next, but is more fully described elsewhere and is based on extensive and replicable experimental research (e.g. Bello and Soligo 2008;Christidou 2008;Greenfield 1999Greenfield , 2000Greenfield , 2002Greenfield , 2006Olsen 1988;von Lettow-Vorbeck 1998;Walker and Long 1977). It consists of several procedures, each of which is described below. ...
The origin of metallurgy is usually monitored via the appearance and frequency of various types of metal items. Quantifying the distribution of metal versus stone tool types over time and space can provide insight into the processes underlying the introduction and diffusion of a functional metallurgical technology for subsistence activities, but is a very limited approach. By quantifying the relative frequency of metal versus stone tool slicing cut marks in butchered animal bone assemblages, it becomes possible to identify and map the introduction and spread of metallurgy into and across a region. Prehistoric data from central Poland (from the Early Neolithic, ca. 5400 b.c., through the Early Iron Age, ca. 450 b.c.) are used to calculate the frequency of use and relative importance of stone and metal implements over time. The results clearly demonstrate that metal tools are adopted slowly throughout the entire length of the Bronze Age and that the advent of the Bronze Age did not entail the wholesale disappearance of lithics for butchering animals.
... The criteria and variables for technological interpretations in the present study are mainly based on assumptions already defined in the literature (e.g. Christidou 2008;David 2005;d'Errico et al. 1984;LeMoine 1991;Newcomer 1974;Olsen 1984). Traces of manufacturing techniques were recorded taking into account their kind, development, location, 82. ...
The Late Glacial and Early Holocene bone and antler artefacts have been recovered from across the Polish Lowlands. Unfortunately, the vast majority of this type of find comes from uncertain contexts with minimal contextual information. This in turn often makes stray finds either underappreciated or even overlooked in the studies of worked bone implements. Fortunately, this situation has begun to change recently, and many collections or single finds have been re-analyzed. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of selected stray finds from Poland in order to reflect on their usefulness for interpreting manufacturing techniques, traces, and patterns related to bone and antler processing by hunter-gatherers. To do so, an attempt is made to describe and understand the supposed process of manufacturing the tapered, double-bevelled point from the site of Witów, Łódzkie district.
... Metal knives produce sharp V-shaped or hard cornered |_|-shaped cuts (Fig. 2 a, b) and they either leave no striations or leave striations that are more uniformed depth and spacing than when done by stone tools. Generally, metal knives produce a cleaner and even cut with sharp parallel edges, with an exception of serrated-edge blades (saw-like) that leave very distinctive marks (Fig. 2 c) (Greenfield 1999;Christidou 2008). Stone tools produce a shallower, less even cut mark that in cross-section has two distinctly different sides: a smooth and a rough side. ...
Methodology and Archaeometry (MetArh) is an annual scientific conference organized since 2013 by the Department of Archaeology of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Zagreb, and the Croatian Archaeological Society. The goal of the conference is to entice interdisciplinarity, critical thinking, new insights and approaches as well as new theoretical frameworks in contemporary archaeological science.
This, second edition of the conference Proceedings contains eight scientific papers from the 6th MetArh conference which was held at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Zagreb, from 6th - 7th of December 2018. Papers are focused on different aspects of archaeological methodology and archaeometry, including case studies from Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Greece and Russia. In order to create a volume of high scientific quality, each of the conference paper was reviewed in the peer review process in which the identity of both reviewers and authors, as well as their institutions, are respectfully concealed from both parties.
... The traceological analyses were performed using a Nikon SMZ-745T microscope fitted with a Delta Pix Invenio 6EIII camera. The differences between the technological traces created as the result of working with the flint and metal tools were classified according to the information published previously (Olsen 1988;Cristiani and Alhaique 2005;Greenfield 2006;Christidou 2008;Osipowicz et al. 2018). ...
In 2015, professional diver and amateur archaeologist A. Matiukas discovered an extraordinarily rich and well-preserved underwater multi-period archaeological site, Kaltanėnai, at the point where the Žeimenys Lake feeds into the Žeimena River in East Lithuania. Over the duration of three years of multiple diving expeditions, he collected ca. 800 archaeological finds made of wood, bone, antler, flint, stone, iron and glass. Moreover, in eroded places of the river bed, he observed numerous wooden piles of potential constructions. These initial finds attested the newly discovered site's great scientific value and potential, and therefore a scientific investigation of the site was initiated. This paper presents the first results of underwater survey at this site and analyses of its various finds. These include the site's plan with a mapping of stationary fishing gear, a geological profile made from boreholes, 23 14 C dates of various artefacts and wooden constructions, wood and animal taxa determinations including ZooMS, and traceological analysis of osseous tools. Our research demonstrates that the site was intensively used for fishing via various methods starting from the Late Mesolithic to the modern era, while most of the finds date to the Subneolithic and the Bronze Age. Further research at the site, including underwater excavations of stratified archaeological layers will shed even more light onto the history of inland fishing in the East Baltic.
... This method was first developed by S.A. Semenov (1964), and was later expanded upon -in the field of analysis of artefacts made of osseous materialby G.M. LeMoine (1994), F. d 'Errico (1993b'Errico ( , 1994 d 'Errico, Villa (1997), Fritz (1999), H.J. Greenfield (1999), A. van Gijn (2005, I. A. Legrand (2006, 2007), Ch. Gates St-Pierre (2007), Y. Maigrot (2003Maigrot ( , 2008, R. Christidou (2008), N. Buc (2011) and others. The microscopic examination of the ornamented artefact was supplemented by experimental work contributing to a more comprehensive and in-depth interpretation of the observed traces. ...
... Experimental archaeology can support the comprehension and reconstruction of past function of a tool, as it allows to match acquired data such as the experimental ones, with the archaeological data which have to be decoded. Firstly born as an approach aiming at the study of lithic industry, the use-wear analysis has been later applied to bone industry as well (Álvarez et al., 2014;Christidou 1999Christidou , 2008Claud et al., 2009;Cristiani, 2009;Griffitts, 2006;Legrand and Sidéra, 2007;LeMoine 1994;Maigrot 2003;Peltier & Plisson 1986;Pétillon et al., 2016;Plisson 1985;Sidéra 2005;Sidéra and Legrand, 2006;Van Gijn, 2007). The use-wear analysis on animal hard material tools aims at the identification of surface modification given by friction of artefacts with the worked material, as well as the tools kinematics. ...
The aim of this study is the reconstruction of past use and function of bone and antler tools, referring to two archaeological sites of Copper Age occupation: Farneto rockshelter (Bologna, Italy) and Sa Osa site (Oristano, Italy). The collections respectively result from a museum old collection, and a preventive excavation rescue. Besides, a de-contextualisation and the nearly total lack of manufacturing waste are recorded: the collections are mainly composed by finished tools, with pointed tools and bevelled tools as recurring typologies. The applied methodology take instance from the bone industry studies and functional analyses, which allow identifying the modalities of exploitation of osseous materials during Prehistory for utilitarian purposes. Observations under stereomicroscope and metallographic microscope highlight the presence of anthropic marks formed on tools surface during their use in past recurring activities. An experimental activity is also performed, in order to create a reliable reference collection to compare with the macro and micro traces recorded on the archaeological tools. The resulting data and the integration of different approaches in an interdisciplinary research, allowed reconstructing the past use for the most recurrent tools typologies identified at Farneto rockshelter and Sa Osa sites' collections.
... Metal knives produce sharp V-shaped or hard cornered |_|-shaped cuts (Fig. 2 a, b) and they either leave no striations or leave striations that are more uniformed depth and spacing than when done by stone tools. Generally, metal knives produce a cleaner and even cut with sharp parallel edges, with an exception of serrated-edge blades (saw-like) that leave very distinctive marks (Fig. 2 c) (Greenfield 1999;Christidou 2008). Stone tools produce a shallower, less even cut mark that in cross-section has two distinctly different sides: a smooth and a rough side. ...
... As already observed and described, metal knife blades create characteristic traces in both grooving and whittling. With a metal knife blade, the groove is usually V-shaped with steep flat sides and undulations on the surfaces; the scraped surfaces exhibit long, straight and fine longitudinal striations, often arranged in bands with extensive chattering in the form of regular undulations (Christidou, 2008;Cristiani and Alhaique, 2005;Le Mouël et al., 2004;Olsen, 1988). Almost all the artefacts are shaped by whittling and/or scraping, some being partly or completely abraded ( fig. ...
Naujan is located on the north coast of Repulse Bay in Eastern Arctic, a region occupied by the Aivilirmiut at the beginning of the 20th century. This site, the first professionally excavated in the Arctic, is generally considered as the ‘type-site’ for the Eastern Arctic Thule culture. In 1922, during summer, Therkel Mathiassen from the National Museum of Denmark participated in the well-known 5th Thule Expedition led by Knud Rasmussen, and was in charge of the archaeological investigations. With the help of his Greenlandic assistant Jacob Olsen, he carried out excavations during six weeks and brought back a rich collection of artefacts. Of these about 2,800 artefacts were recorded from twenty structures. Houses VI and VIII were the first and most carefully excavated. All of the artefacts from these two features, which represent about 17% of the whole collection, were recorded and mapped. Information on spatial distribution as well as stratigraphic position were also carefully reported, but less precisely for the houses excavated later. Therkel Mathiassen used a continuous numeration for the whole site, the numbers assigned to artefacts corresponding to the order of their discovery. The osseous assemblages from Houses VI and VIII have been carefully analyzed. The present thorough technological study provides new information regarding the manufacturing processes for antler, bone and ivory artefacts. Grooving for the debitage sequence and whittling for the shaping dominate. The raw material selection, the techniques of manufacturing and hafting, as well as the perforations, clearly distinguish the technological traditions of the craftsmen who occupied House VI from those of House VIII. Our study leads to the conclusion that at least two distinct chronological stages of occupation can be identified. The Naujan site as a whole can thus no longer be considered as a reference site for a specific Thule phase of the Eastern Arctic occupation.
... The terminology applied in the traceological studies was based on the conceptual system existing in the literature (e.g. Campana 1989;Korobkova 1999;Sidéra and Legrand, 2006;Osipowicz 2010) and referring especially to experimentation (such as Newcomer 1974;d'Errico et al 1984;Christidou 2008;Vanhaeren et al. 2013;Orłowska 2016), description of the volume and surface alteration/deformation (such as Sidera 1993;Bonnardin 2007) and polish topography (such as Vaughan 1985;van Gijn 1989;Juel Jensen 1994;Legrand 2007;Buc 2011), which was adjusted to the needs and requirements of the conducted analysis. ...
This article presents the results of a zooarchaeological, technological and functional analysis of a collection of animal tooth pendants from the Subneolithic sites in Šventoji, Lithuania. The technological research carried out on the artefacts showed minimal interference in the material and the use of three basic techniques for drilling the holes. Traseological research of the use-wear traces legible on the pendants established a long period of use and was a premise for making inferences on the likely differences in their way of use. These inferences were tested with an experimental programme testing different ways of wearing pendants and with different types of strings.
The article also presents the results of the analysis of the spatial distribution of pendants of different types at the site Šventoji 23. The discussion compares the results of the analyses carried out with the results of studies of other European collections of animal tooth pendants of similar chronology.
... The analytical method utilized here is only briefly summarized since it is more fully described elsewhere (e.g. Bello and Soligo 2008;Binford 1981;Christidou 2006Christidou , 2008Dominguez-Rodrigo and Barba Egido 2005;Greenfield 1999Greenfield , 2000bGreenfield , 2002Greenfield , 2006Olsen 1989;Shipman 1981aShipman , 1981bWalker and Long 1977;Walker 1978;von Lettow-Vorbeck 1998). Also, some common characteristics for the identification of the tool's raw material have been described (Greenfield 2006). ...
Microscopic analysis of butchering marks on bones from Neolithic to Hellenistic deposits at Çatalhöyük, Turkey, are employed as a proxy measure for identifying the rate and nature of adoption of metallurgy for quotidian activities. During the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods, only stone tools were being used for butchering. In the post-Neolithic strata, however, chipped stone tools continue to dominate the assemblage. This stands in contrast to the larger regional pattern where metal butchering marks dominate after the end of the Early Bronze Age. The authors propose that the continued use of stone tools for processing animal carcasses long after the advent of hard metal alloys is because of the nearby and abundant source of obsidian. Obsidian flake and blade tools remain the raw material of choice for animal-carcass processing over time. The analysis demonstrates that the replacement of stone and adoption of metal butchering tools was not a straightforward affair.
... Hesse measured the skeleton (Table 1) using the standards developed by von den Driesch (1976). The method for distinguishing between types of tool marks and their relevance for understanding the butchering process is outlined in a series of publications (e.g., Walker and Long 1977;Walker 1978;Potts and Shipman 1981;Shipman 1981;Olsen 1988;Greenfield 1999Greenfield , 2000Greenfield , 2002aGreenfield , 2002bGreenfield , 2006Christidou 2008;Bello, Parfitt, and C. Stringer 2009). ...
The discovery of a sacrificed puppy at Tel Miqne-Ekron, a major Philistine settlement in Israel’s southern coastal plain, highlights the role of dogs in Iron I Philistia. Though dog sacrifice is described in Hittite religious texts and attested in lands bordering the Aegean during the second- first millennia BCE, evidence for this practice, or even of dog bones, is largely absent from Late Bronze and non- Philistine Iron I (ca. 1550-1000 BCE) Levantine contexts. What distinguishes the Tel Miqne-Ekron puppy interment from later Persian- and Hellenistic-period dog burials, is the placement of its severed head between its hind legs. Microscopic analyses of cut marks on several vertebrae indicate that the iron knife found nearby was likely used in its decapitation. This article examines the Tel Miqne- Ekron puppy burial within its eastern Mediterranean milieu and explores the ritual role of dogs and cynophagy (dog-eating) in second- first millennia society.
Data from eight early Bronze Age (ca. 2300–1650 BC) locations in Poland, including three fortified settlements, show two various modes of the application of metal tools in the processing of bone and antler. On the objects from high-rank sites, metal tools were applied as early as in the early Bronze Age, while on the other sites use of flint tools dominated at least until the end of the early Bronze Age.
Objectives
To test a hypothesis on interpersonal violence events during the transition between Chalcolithic and Bronze Age in the Eastern Pyrenees, to contextualize it in Western Europe during that period, and to assess if these marks can be differentiated from secondary funerary treatment.
Materials and Methods
Metric and non‐metric methods were used to estimate the age‐at‐death and sex of the skeletal remains. Perimortem injuries were observed and analyzed with stereomicroscopy and confocal microscopy.
Results
Among the minimum of 51 individuals documented, at least six people showed evidence of perimortem trauma. All age groups and both sexes are represented in the skeletal sample, but those with violent injuries are predominantly males. Twenty‐six bones had 49 injuries, 48 of which involved sharp force trauma on postcranial elements, and one example of blunt force trauma on a cranium. The wounds were mostly located on the upper extremities and ribs, anterior and posterior. Several antemortem lesions were also documented in the assemblage.
Discussion
The perimortem lesions, together with direct dating, suggest that more than one episode of interpersonal violence took place between the Late Chalcolithic and the Early Bronze Age in northeastern Spain. The features of the sharp force trauma indicate that different weapons were used, including sharp metal objects and lithic projectiles. The Roc de les Orenetes assemblage represents a scenario of recurrent lethal confrontation in a high mountain geographic context, representing the evidence of inferred interpersonal violence located at the highest altitude settings in the Pyrenees, at 1836 meters above sea level.
The article discusses results of organic residue analysis performed on ten copper-alloy daggers from Bronze Age Pragatto, Italy, c .1550-1250 BCE. Metal daggers are widespread in Chalcolithic and Bronze Age Europe, yet their social and practical roles are still hotly debated. Are they symbolic or functional? Are they tools or weapons? How were they used? For what tasks and on what materials? The research addresses these questions through a novel application of biochemical staining and SEM-EDX analysis. The method has proved successful in extracting and identifying animal residues located on cutting edges including bone, muscle, and tendons. These are interpreted as evidence of prehistoric carcass butchering and carving. Further residues were observed on blade faces and hafting plates or tangs; these are interpreted as remnants of bone handles and sheaths, the latter made of either wood fibers or processed hide and fur. The readings proposed in the article are validated by original experiments with replica daggers, as detailed in the Supplementary Materials. The analysis and experiments shed new light on Bronze Age metal daggers, showing that they were fully functional tools (and perhaps tool-weapons) primarily utilized for the processing of animal carcasses. This original research result contributes significant knowledge towards interpreting an under-studied, yet socially salient, prehistoric metal artifact.
The collective volume "ΜΥΡΡΙΝΗ" ("myrtle"; μυρρίνη or μυρσίνη in ancient Greek, μυρτιά in modern Greek) honours Aikaterini Papaefthymiou-Papanthimou, Professor Emerita of Prehistoric Archaeology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, whose long and distinguished career encompassed groundbreaking excavations, wide-ranging research, and inspiring teaching and mentoring. Twenty-six contributions by colleagues and former students pay tribute to the honoree's scholarship and legacy. The studies cover a broad chronological and geographical spectrum, from the Neolithic to the Iron Age in Macedonia, Thessaly, the Peloponnese, Crete, and Anatolia. Topics range from settlement and funerary archaeology to subsistence, technology and craft, dress and bodily adornment, iconography, symbolism, figurine studies, and gender issues.
Ο συλλογικός τόμος "ΜΥΡΡΙΝΗ" τιμά την Αικατερίνη Παπαευθυμίου-Παπανθίμου, Ομότιμη Καθηγήτρια Προϊστορικής Αρχαιολογίας στο Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλονίκης, της οποίας η μακρά ακαδημαϊκή πορεία περιλαμβάνει πρωτοποριακές ανασκαφές, πλούσιο ερευνητικό και εξαιρετικό διδακτικό έργο. Μαθητές και συνάδελφοι της προσφέρουμε, ως αντίδωρο, κλάδο ευώδους και αειθαλούς μυρτιάς. Οι εικοσιέξι μελέτες του τόμου καλύπτουν ευρύ γεωγραφικό και χρονολογικό φάσμα, από τη Νεολιθική έως την Εποχή του Σιδήρου σε Μακεδονία, Θεσσαλία, Πελοπόννησο, Κρήτη και Ανατολία, και πραγματεύονται θέματα που ανακλούν τα ποικίλα ερευνητικά ενδιαφέροντα της τιμώμενης: διαβίωση, τεχνολογία, οικιστική οργάνωση, ταφική αρχιτεκτονική και έθιμα, ένδυση, κόσμηση και καλλωπισμό, εικονογραφία, συμβολισμό, ειδωλοπλαστική και θέματα φύλου.
Heavy-duty bevel-ended tools, such as adzes and mattock heads made of metapodial and
radius bones of bos/bison species are commonly found at hunter-gatherer sites from the
early Holocene in Europe. However, there are only a few such artefacts known from
Poland, and usually, they are stray finds. The primary goal of this paper is to present the
results of the technological and functional analysis of the tools of this type discovered in
Polish territory. During the traceological analysis, a broad variety of technological traces
were recognised that allowed us to reconstruct the chaîne opératoire of the production
process. It also enabled us to draw some conclusions about the probable function of the
specimens. The results of our study are discussed with the other finds of this type from
Europe.
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Abstract:
The starting point for the studies described in the article were the results of traceological studies of a collection of seal craniums discovered during archaeological excavations at a Subneolithic site complex in Šventoji, Lithuania. Microscopic analysis revealed repetitive technological traces and well-developed use damages on the surfaces, the characteristics of which most likely indicate their use during ritual practices, possibly in a similar way to that suggested for antler frontlets known from several Mesolithic sites. This is the first such discovery in this part of Europe, shedding new light on the symbolic culture of the hunter-gatherer communities inhabiting the south-eastern Baltic Sea coast between 3200 and 2700 cal BC, and especially the role of seals and their skulls, what is discussed in the article in a wider perspective. The use-wear traces described in the article are also a unique example of damage created on the surface of artefacts that are associated with ritual practices, and can, therefore, provide important information in identifying and correctly interpreting similar objects of this type elsewhere.
The paper illustrates the Wear analysis of a sample of Eneolithic copper-based artefacts, (9 axes/adzes and 6 daggers), from the area of Rome, with particular regard to those found in the recently excavated cemetery of Casetta Mistici (4th millennium BC). The observations have revealed that axe-heads and daggers are the final palimpsests of manifold technical acts, mainly centred on the mechanical alteration of the original casts, from forging to polishing, re-sharpening and wear. The resulting picture shows a diversification of manufacturing procedures and a high variety of accuracy and skills.
The artefact under study was found in 2017 in a gravel pit located in
the village of Borki, Radzymin County in Eastern Poland (Fig. 1). The
object was unearthed during the industrial extraction of sand from the
former bed of the Bug River and, according to the finder, was located
at a depth of about 16–18 m.
The tool is 21 cm long, with a width of 6 cm and a thickness of approx.
4 cm, both measured at half the length of the specimen. The blade
is bevelled on one side, and the object is cream-coloured (Fig. 2). The
mattock was made out of a radial bone of a large ruminant, probably
aurochs or European bison (Fig. 3). The radiocarbon date of 9180±
50 BP (Poz-97932) obtained for the mattock from Borki makes it one
of (if not) the oldest known objects of this kind and allows us to assume
that it was made during the Preboreal Period (Fig. 5).
The vast majority of objects analogous to the mattock described
come from the Boreal period and are associated with Maglemosian
communities. However, considering the territorial range of the
Maglemosian
Culture, which covered the area of the South Baltic
Lakelands (J. Kabaciński 2016, 263, 264, fig. 22), and the fact that
the artefact was discovered in Mazovia, it seems much more probable
that it is connected with the Komornica Culture.
As a result of traceological analysis, interesting technological and
functional traces were observed on the item. As regards the methods
employed to form the tool, the wide use of the nicking technique
(Fig. 2:B, 6:D.E; É. David 2007, 39), used to shape the blade and flat
surfaces of the specimen, draws particular attention. The traces of
use-wear registered on the mattock (Fig. 6:L–N) indicate that it was
most likely used for chopping/hewing soft wood.
The tool from Borki is undoubtedly unique in form and currently
has no strict analogies among other early Holocene objects made of
aurochs long bones from either Poland or Europe. Radiocarbon dating
places the mattock among the few Mesolithic bone artefacts from
the Preboreal Period known in Poland. Traceological analyses have
shown a number of interesting technological and use-wear traces on
its surface, which can provide a good basis for further technological
and functional studies of this type of object.
This article presents the results of traceological studies of ornaments observed on selected prehistoric osseous products from Poland and Lithuania. Included are unique artefacts from this region dated to the Late Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic, or which are connected to Subneolithic communities. The article presents the results of analyses focused on interpreting the applied decorative techniques and tools employed in making the ornaments. In some cases, the use of metal tools, rare or unknown in a given area, is suggested, which presents a significant impact on the interpretation of the socio-cultural nature. An attempt is also made to identify the roles of symbolic features hidden in the way the ornaments were created or how they were treated afterwards. For the analysis of the artefacts, stereomicroscopes, SEM, computed tomography and optical coherence tomography (OCT) have been used.
During the excavations carried out at the complex of Subneolitic-Neolithic sites in Šventoji, coastal Lithuania (sites 1, 4, 6 and 23), 27 unique bone products have been discovered. Due to the character of the use-wear and technological traces which are macroscopically readable on their surface they have been defined as scrapers. Dated to ca. 3000 cal BC, these tools are made of harp seal tibia, about 75% of them from right side bones. This article describes the procedure that was conducted in order to interpret the technology of production, ways of use and possible functions of these tools, and includes the experimental program directed to the activities which could have been carried out with such products within the specialized camps of Šventoji, such as processing of animal hides (including seal) with admixture of ochre or ash and fish scraping. The basis for the interpretations is the results of traceological and chemical (SEM-EDX) analysis of the artefacts and experimental tools. As a result of the conducted studies, it was found that the analysed tools were most probably used for scraping the hides with the use of an ochre admixture. The presented research probably concludes a long period of speculations about the functions of these unique objects.
The Late Glacial and early Holocene points and harpoons made of bone and antler are one of the most common finds from these periods in the southern Baltic zone. They are a manifestation of the well-developed hunter-gatherer economy of that time. The presented work deals with a group of characteristic, uniserial harpoon heads which are mostly well known from Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic contexts. Their common characteristics are: one row of distinct, massive barbs, distinguished tang, and wide, flat base. Originally, the finds of this type discovered on the Polish Lowland, constituted a fairly large collection, with over twenty specimens of this type mentioned in the literature. Unfortunately, the majority of them were discovered at the beginning of twentieth century and most of them were lost during World War II. This paper present the first detailed technological analysis of the seven remaining specimens. The artefacts included represent a valuable source of information on issues related to processing bone material by the Late Glacial and early Holocene communities in the Polish Lowland. Results of the study can also become an important argument in discussion about chronological affiliation of these kind of forms discovered on Polish Lowland.
In the course of archaeological research at site 2 in Osłonki (Kuyavia, central Poland), a dense deposit of
20 cattle bones was discovered, most of which are semi-finished products for production of bone chisels.
The collection was dated ab. 3350-3097 calBC. The traceological analysis of technological traces on the
artefacts and experimental studies indicate that they were processed using several metal tools with
working edges of varying shape, employed as chisels for bone splitting. Although SEM-EDX analyses did
not show the presence of a substantial amount of copper on the surfaces of the artefacts, the collection
can be considered most likely evidence for widespread use of this metal among Late Neolithic communities
in Poland or at least the people who inhabited the area of Kuyavia.
The replacement of chipped stone technologies by metallurgy cannot be viewed as a simple linear process, nor as the complementary rise and fall of competing technologies. Both technologies are complex arrays of distinct sub-technologies, each of which has its own developmental trajectory. The “replacement” of chipped stone tools by metal equivalents occurred episodically, and perceptions of the process as linear are more the result of our own foreknowledge of the importance of metallurgy to later societies than of their own absolute importance to earlier ones. The replacement process should not be seen as one based merely on the greater utility of metal tools tempered by the time it took to develop requisite technologies. As in most histories of technology, other social and economic factors played primary roles.
Use-wear analysis is a method in paleoanthropology that identifies the functions of tools and teeth by closely examining their surface damage characteristics. Microwear analysis is thus widely used to improve our knowledge of Prehistoric man way of life. After having developed a quantitative method to record a representative part of food movements between cheeks and back teeth by the enamel tooth buccal wear striae, demonstrating its utility in dietary preferences of both living and extinct species (Puech 1976; Puech 1981), we apply the methodology to study the technology of bone-implement manufacture
Characteristic markings left on bone surfaces by various kinds of stone tools were studied by taking replicas of the surfaces with a nitrocellulose-based metallographic varnish. The patterns left by unretouched flint blades, flint end-scrapers, flint burins used in various ways, and by polishing with sand, could all be distinguished.
Utilisation de répliques pour étudier la surface du matériel osseux et expérimentations d'outils lithiques sur des surfaces osseuses pour obtenir les mêmes stries
This paper presents an analytical procedure for identifying and mapping the introduction and spread of metallurgy to regions based upon the relative frequency of metal versus stone tool slicing cut-marks in butchered animal bone assemblages. The author conducted experiments to establish the relationship between the edge characteristics of metal and stone tools that create slicing cut-marks and the marks they produce when applied to bone. The type of tool used to produce such cut-marks on bone can be identified by taking silicone moulds of slicing cut-marks and analysing them in a scanning electron microscope. Quantifying the distribution of metal versus stone tool types over time and space provides insight into the processes underlying the introduction and diffusion of a functional metallurgical technology for subsistence activities. Prehistoric data from the central Balkans of southeast Europe are presented to illustrate the utility of the procedure. These data are used to calculate the frequency of use and relative importance of stone and metal implements over time in the central Balkans, from the introduction of metallurgy during the Late Neolithic (c . 3900–3300 bc) through the end of the Bronze Age (c . 1000 bc).
The existence of shaped bone and ivory points, to be used as awls or with wooden hafts, has been suggested for the Lower Paleolithic sites of Torralba and Ambrona and for several Middle Paleolithic sites, such as Vaufrey, Combe Grenal, Pech de l'Azé I and Camiac. The use of hafted bone and ivory points would imply a spear armature technology similar to that well documented in the Upper Paleolithic, often considered an innovation introduced to Europe by anatomically modern humans. The controversial ivory points from the two Spanish sites, whose fracture morphology is considered natural by G. Haynes (1991), have been reanalyzed, checking for putative traces of human manufacture and utilization as described by Howell & Freeman (1983), i.e., polish, flaking of stem, ground edges, striations from manufacture and contact with a haft or binding. We have been able to study 19 new proboscidean tusk tips from the ongoing Ambrona excavations by a Spanish team. For these and nine other Middle Paleolithic bone and antler points we use optical and SEM microscope analysis, taphonomic analysis, comparative observations of Upper Paleolithic bone points, experimental observations of manufacturing traces, modern tusk samples, and data on several bone and antler pseudo-points from carnivore accumulations. We show that none of the objects we have studied can be interpreted as an intentionally shaped point. The absence of hafted bone points in the Middle Paleolithic of Europe is contrasted with evidence of the use of hafted stone points since OIS 5 or earlier in Eurasia and Africa. We suggest that the absence of organic spear armatures in the Middle Paleolithic is not due to a deficiency in the technology of Neandertals but may be tied to the organizational strategies of the hunters and to patterns of game choice and capture.
Metal has long been awarded a central role in the emergence of complex societies in the Aegean Bronze Age. It is suggested in this paper that the prominent position of metal in the archaeological record of the Early Bronze Age of southern and insular Greece in particular is the manifestation of deliberate social strategies in the past, whose attainment was not so much the invention as the transformation of an existing medium through the imposition of radically different production and deposition mechanisms. The Early Bronze Age use of metal is contrasted with the increasing evidence for patterning in metal use in the later phases of the Aegean Neolithic. Finally, a diachronic model is suggested linking the contrasting modes of production and consumption of metal. -Author
The first part of this paper describes a relatively rich series of bone awls and bone points from Upper Palaeolithic layers at Ksar Akil, Lebanon. The raw materials, techniques of manufacture, and formal variation of these bone tools are considered. The second part of the paper concerns experiments in making bone tools, using flint tools similar to those from the relevant layers at Ksar Akil, as well as a grindstone. Traces of manufacture on bone tools and traces of wear on stone tools are described, and it is concluded that the traces of manufacture observed on the Ksar Akil bone tools can be replicated by scraping with any of a number of flint tools, but not by grinding.
Previous researchers have reported difficulties in distinguishing between surface marks on bone formed by sedimentary abrasion and those inflicted while butchering. Trampling by large ungulates and humans has been credited with producing pseudocut marks: natural alterations to the bone that mimic cultural ones. The purposes of this research are: (1) to re-examine trampling as a taphonomic process, and (2) to suggest criteria useful for distinguishing sedimentary abrasion, including trampling, from butchery. Macroscopic and microscopic comparison of experimentally trampled bones and those which have had soft tissue removed with a flint tool demonstrate significant differences between the surface modifications produced by the two processes.
Thesis (doctoral)--University of London, 1984.
Bones scraped with bronze knives: an experiment-based assess-ment Of People and Bones: The Archaeology of Osseous Artefacts
- R Christidou
Christidou, R. Bones scraped with bronze knives: an experiment-based assess-ment. In: Zidarov, P., Stancheva-Petrova, M. (Eds.), Of People and Bones: The Archaeology of Osseous Artefacts, Proceedings of the Fifth meeting of the (ICAZ) Worked Bone Research Group, 29 Auguste3 September 2005, Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria, Berlin, in press-b.
Die Siedlungen der spä Bronze-und der frü Eisen-zeit in Sü Albanien
- M Korkuti
Korkuti, M., 1982. Die Siedlungen der spä Bronze-und der frü Eisen-zeit in Sü Albanien. In: Hä, B. (Ed.), Sü zwischen 1600 und 1000 v. Chr. Prä Archä in Sü, Band 1. Moreland, Bad Bramstedt, pp. 235e253. Koukouli-Chrysanthaki, H., 1992. Protoistoriki Thasos. Dimosiefseis tou Arhaiologikou Deltiou 45. Ypourgeio Politismou, Athina (in Greek).
Patterns of bone tool production and the notions of com-plex and simple De la simplicité des out-illages pré-et protohistoriques, XXVIe Rencontres internationales d'arch-e ´ologie et d'histoire d'Antibes
- R Christidou
- L Astruc
- F Bon
- V Lé
- P Milcent
Christidou, R., 2006. Patterns of bone tool production and the notions of com-plex and simple. In: Astruc, L., Bon, F., Lé, V., Milcent, P.-Y., Philibert, S. (Eds.), Normes techniques et pratiques sociales. De la simplicité des out-illages pré-et protohistoriques, XXVIe Rencontres internationales d'arch-e ´ologie et d'histoire d'Antibes, 20e22 octobre 2005 Antibes. APDCA, Antibes, pp. 333e344.
The origins of metallurgy: distinguishing stone from metal cut-marks on bones from archaeological sites Experimental determination of the function of antler and bone 'bevel-ended' tools from prehistoric shell middens in western Scotland Crafting Bone: Skeletal Technologies Through Time and Space
- H Greenfield
- e
- J Griffitts
- C Bonsal
Greenfield, H., 1999. The origins of metallurgy: distinguishing stone from metal cut-marks on bones from archaeological sites. Journal of Archaeo-logical Science 26, 797e808. Griffitts, J., Bonsal, C., 2001. Experimental determination of the function of antler and bone 'bevel-ended' tools from prehistoric shell middens in western Scotland. In: Choyke, A.M., Bartosiewicz, L. (Eds.), Crafting Bone: Skeletal Technologies Through Time and Space, Proceedings of the Sec-ond Meeting of the (ICAZ) Worked Bone Research Group, 31 Auguste 5 September 1999, Budapest. British Archaeological Reports, International Series, vol. 937. BAR, Oxford, pp. 207e220. Heurtley, W.A., 1939. Prehistoric Macedonia. An Archaeological Reconnais-sance of Greek Macedonia (West of the Struma) in the Neolithic, Bronze, and Early Iron Ages. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
The role of Poliochni and the north Aegean in the develop-ment of Aegean metallurgy Polio-chni e l'antica età del bronzo nell'Egeo settentrionale, Congresso internazionale
- G Nakou
Nakou, G., 1997. The role of Poliochni and the north Aegean in the develop-ment of Aegean metallurgy. In: Doumas, C.G., La Rosa, V. (Eds.), Polio-chni e l'antica età del bronzo nell'Egeo settentrionale, Congresso internazionale, 22e25 Aprile 1996, Atene. Scuola Archeologica Italiana di Atene, Panepistimio Athinon, pp. 634e648.
The Bronze Age setting The Coming of the Age of Iron
- J D Muhly
Muhly, J.D., 1980. The Bronze Age setting. In: Wertime, T.A., Muhly, J.D. (Eds.), The Coming of the Age of Iron. Yale University Press, New Haven, pp. 25e68.
Report on the project 'Experimental microwear analysis of bone artifacts from Angelohori' (17 pages, 42 figures) Submitted to the scientific committee of the Wiener Laboratory
- R Christidou
Christidou, R., 2005. Report on the project 'Experimental microwear analysis of bone artifacts from Angelohori' (17 pages, 42 figures). Submitted to the scientific committee of the Wiener Laboratory, January 25, 2005, and kept in the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and Princeton Office (unpublished).
The decline and fall of flint Stone Tools. Theoretical Insights into Human Prehistory Prehistoric Technology. An Experimental Study of the Oldest Tools and Artefacts from Traces of Manufacture and Wear
- S A Rosen
Rosen, S.A., 1996. The decline and fall of flint. In: Odell, G.H. (Ed.), Stone Tools. Theoretical Insights into Human Prehistory. Plenum Press, New York, pp. 129e158. Semenov, S.A., 1970. Prehistoric Technology. An Experimental Study of the Oldest Tools and Artefacts from Traces of Manufacture and Wear. Adams & Dart, Bath.
Outils en os né du Nord de la Grèce: e ´tude technologique
- R Christidou
Christidou, R., 1999. Outils en os né du Nord de la Grèce: e ´tude technologique. Thèse de doctorat, Université de Paris X-Nanterre, France.
La fabrication des aiguilles a ` chas. Observation et expé-imentation. In: Camps-Fabrer, H Mé appliqué a ` l'indus-trie de l'os pré, Deuxième colloque international sur l'industrie de l'os dans la pré Christidou, R. L'industrie osseuse de Mureybet: e ´tude morpho-technique et fonctionnelle
- P Shipman
Shipman, P., 1981. Applications of scanning electron microscopy to tapho-nomic problems. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 376, 357e386. Stordeur, D., 1977. La fabrication des aiguilles a ` chas. Observation et expé-imentation. In: Camps-Fabrer, H. (Ed.), Mé appliqué a ` l'indus-trie de l'os pré, Deuxième colloque international sur l'industrie de l'os dans la pré, 9e12 juin 1976, Abbaye de Sé, Vaucluse. CNRS, Paris, pp. 251e256. Stordeur, D., Christidou, R. L'industrie osseuse de Mureybet: e ´tude morpho-technique et fonctionnelle. In: Cauvin, M.-C., Ibà~ nez, J.J. (Eds.), Mureybet. British Archaeological Reports, International Series, Oxford, in press.
Outils en os néolithiques du Nord de la Grèce: étude technologique
- R Christidou
Animals at ancient Sagalassos. Evidence of the faunal remains
- De Cupere
L'industrie osseuse de Mureybet: étude morpho-technique et fonctionnelle
- D Stordeur
- R Christidou
Report on the project ‘Experimental microwear analysis of bone artifacts from Angelohori’ (17 pages, 42 figures)
- R Christidou
Patterns of bone tool production and the notions of complex and simple
- Christidou
Bones scraped with bronze knives: an experiment-based assessment
- R Christidou
L'Age du Bronze en Albanie
- Prendi
La fabrication des aiguilles à chas. Observation et expérimentation
- Stordeur
Hide working and bone tools: experimentation design and applications
- Christidou
Experimental determination of the function of antler and bone ‘bevel-ended’ tools from prehistoric shell middens in western Scotland
- Griffitts
The Bronze Age setting
- Muhly
The evolution of the copper alloys in the Helladic area to the end of the Geometric period: alloying additions and technological development
- Papadimitriou
The anatomy of innovation
- Renfrew