Between History and Archaeology: Papers in Honour of Jacek Lech [1 ed.] 9781784917739

Citation preview

Between History and Archaeology Papers in honour of Jacek Lech edited by

Dagmara H. Werra and Marzena Woźny

Between History and Archaeology Papers in honour of Jacek Lech

edited by

Dagmara H. Werra and Marzena Woźny

Archaeopress Archaeology

Archaeopress Publishing Ltd Gordon House 276 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7ED

www.archaeopress.com

ISBN 978 1 78491 772 2 ISBN 978 1 78491 773 9 (e-Pdf)

© Archaeopress and authors 2018

Scientific Reviewers: Prof. dr hab. Stefan Karol Kozłowski Prof. dr hab. Romuald Schild

Linguistic consultation: Dr Beata Kita (Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology PAS) and Archaeopress

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owners. Printed in England by Oxuniprint, Oxford This book is available direct from Archaeopress or from our website www.archaeopress.com

Contents Editorial Preface�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� iv Dagmara H. Werra and Marzena Woźny Early Prehistoric Flint Mining in Europe: a Critical Review of the Radiocarbon Evidence������������������������������� 1 Susana Consuegra and Pedro Díaz-del-Río Twenty-five Years Excavating Flint Mines in France and Belgium: an Assessment������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 9 Françoise Bostyn, Hélène Collet, Emmanuel Ghesquière, Anne Hauzeur, Pierre-Arnaud de Labriffe, Cyril Marcigny in collaboration with Philippe Lavachery Flint Mining in Northern France and Belgium: a Review������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 25 Françoise Bostyn, Hélène Collet, Jean-Philippe Collin and François Giligny Flint Mining and the Beginning of Farming in Southern England��������������������������������������������������������������������� 37 Robin Holgate Women´s Work? Findings from the Neolithic Chert Mines in the ‘Krumlovský les’, South Moravia������������� 43 Martin Oliva New research at Tata-Kálváriadomb, Hungary ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 49 Katalin T. Biró, Erzsébet Harman-Tóth and Krisztina Dúzs News from the Eastern Fringe – The Baunzen Site near Vienna, Austria���������������������������������������������������������� 59 Michael Brandl, Oliver Schmitsberger and Gerhard Trnka Siliceous Raw Materials from the Eastern Part of the Polish Carpathians and Their Use in Stone and Bronze Ages�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 69 Andrzej Pelisiak Ongar: a Source of Chert in Lower Sindh (Pakistan) and Its Bronze Age Exploitation������������������������������������ 79 Paolo Biagi and Elisabetta Starnini The Chocolate Flint Mines in the Udorka Valley (Częstochowa Upland) – a Preliminary Report on the Field and Lidar Surveys�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 89 Magdalena Sudoł-Procyk, Janusz Budziszewski, Maciej T. Krajcarz, Michał Jakubczak and Michał Szubski Exploitation and Processing of Cretaceous Erratic Flint on the Polish Lowland. A Case Study of Sites in the Vicinity of Gorzów Wielkopolski�������������������������������������������������������������������������� 103 Przemysław Bobrowski and Iwona Sobkowiak-Tabaka The Latest Knowledge on Use of Primary Sources of Radiolarites in the Central Váh Region (the Microregion of Nemšová – Červený Kameň)������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 115 Ivan Cheben, Michal Cheben, Adrián Nemergut and Marián Soják The Prehistoric Bedrock Quarries Occurring within the Chert Bearing Carbonates of the CambrianOrdovician Kittatinny Supergroup, Wallkill River Valley, Northwestern New Jersey-Southeastern New York, U.S.A.����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 133 Philip C. LaPorta, Scott A. Minchak and Margaret C. Brewer-LaPorta Methodical Concepts and Assumptions Underlying Research Methods for Studies on the Erratic Raw Material of the Polish Lowland. Geology versus Archaeology��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 147 Piotr Chachlikowski i

Why Foragers Become Farmers: Development and Dispersal of Food Producing Economies in Comparative Perspective����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 157 Andreas Zimmermann Acquisition and Circulation of Flint Materials in the Linear Pottery Culture of the Seine Basin����������������� 165 Pierre Allard The Organisation of Flint Working in the Dutch Bandkeramik: a Second Approach������������������������������������� 173 Marjorie E.Th. de Grooth Jurrasic-Cracow Flint in the Linear Pottery Culture in Kuyavia, Chełmno Land and the Lower Vistula Region����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 181 Joanna Pyzel and Marcin Wąs Morphological and Functional Differentiation of the Early Neolithic Perforators and Borers – a Case Study from Tominy, South-Central Poland������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 195 Marcin Szeliga and Katarzyna Pyżewicz A Danubian Raw Material Exchange Network: a Case Study from Chełmno Land, Poland���������������������������� 211 Dagmara H. Werra, Rafał Siuda and Jolanta Małecka-Kukawka Lithic Workshops and Depots/Hoards in the Early/Middle Neolithic of the Middle Danube Basin and of the Northern Balkans��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 225 Małgorzata Kaczanowska and Janusz K. Kozłowski Considerations on the Topic of Exceptionally Large Cores of Chocolate Flint������������������������������������������������ 239 Anna Zakościelna Romancing the Stones: a Study of Chipped Stone Tools from the Tisza Culture Site of Hódmezővásárhely-Gorzsa, Hungary��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 247 Barbara Voytek Flint Knapping as a Family Tradition at Bronocice, Poland������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 253 Marie-Lorraine Pipes, Janusz Kruk and Sarunas Milisauskas The Cucuteni – Trypillia ‘Big Other’ – Reflections on the Making of Millennial Cultural Traditions���������� 267 John Chapman and Bisserka Gaydarska A Neolithic Child Burial from Ciemna Cave in Ojców National Park, Poland�������������������������������������������������� 279 Paweł Valde-Nowak, Damian Stefański and Anita Szczepanek The Settlement of Bodaki – a Tripolian-Culture Centre of Flint Exploitation in Volhynia���������������������������� 289 Natalia N. Skakun, Vera V. Terekhina and Boryаna Mateva Late Bronze Age Flint Assemblage from Open-pit Mine Reichwalde in Saxony, Germany���������������������������� 303 Mirosław Masojć Workshops in the Immediate Vicinity of a Mining Field of Flint Sickle-Shaped Knives from the Foreland of the Outcrops of Świeciechów Flint ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 313 Jerzy Libera Mining for Salt in European Prehistory��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 323 Anthony Harding Late Pre-Hispanic Stone-tool Workshops at Cayash Ragaj, Central Andes, Peru�������������������������������������������� 331 Andrzej Krzanowski and Krzysztof Tunia From the History of Polish Archaeology. In the Search for the Beginnings of Polish Nation and Country� 355 Adrianna Szczerba ii

Towards a Common Language: the Plan to Standardise Symbols on Archaeological Maps in 19th-century Europe������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 363 Marzena Woźny Izydor Kopernicki (1825–1891) and Czech Archaeology������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 373 Karel Sklenář From Poetry to Prehistory: Mary Boyle and the Abbé Breuil ��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 381 Alan Saville The Life and Work of Bohdan Janusz (1887–1930) in the Context of the Intellectual Environment of the Galicia Region����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 403 Natalia Bulyk Albin Jura (1873–1958): Social Activist, Teacher and Stone Age Researcher��������������������������������������������������� 419 Elżbieta Trela-Kieferling Striped Flint and the Krzemionki Opatowskie Mine, Poland. The Beginnings����������������������������������������������� 427 Danuta Piotrowska Archaeological Research at the Lvov University: Interwar Period ������������������������������������������������������������������ 435 Natalia Bilas Archaeology and Art: the Relationship of Karel Absolon (1877–1960) and Czechoslovak Artists in the Period Between the World Wars���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 455 Petr Kostrhun The Basket Workshop Warehouse Manager: Memory by Alfred Wielopolski on Józef Kostrzewski’s Fate During the German Nazi Occupation Time (1941–1943)���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 471 Andrzej Prinke Konrad Jażdżewski (1908–1985) – Pupil and Friend of Professor Dr Józef Kostrzewski��������������������������������� 477 Maria Magdalena Blombergowa Polish Archaeology Under Communism. The Trial of Massive Corruption of Clever Minds ������������������������ 487 Andrzej Boguszewski Forgotten History of Zespół do Badań Dziejów Szkła w Wielkopolsce (the Group for the Study of History of Glass in Greater Poland)������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 491 Jarmila E. Kaczmarek Professor Jacek Lech’s Archaeological Interest in Ojców and the Sąspowska Valley������������������������������������� 503 Józef Partyka Do you remember?...����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 509 Franciszek M. Stępniowski

iii

Editorial Preface Dagmara H. Werra

Autonomous Research Laboratory for Prehistoric Flint Mining, Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, 105, Solidarności Avenue, PL 00–140 Warszawa e-mail: [email protected]

Marzena Woźny

Archaeological Museum of Cracow, Senacka Street 3, 31–002 Cracow, Poland e-mail: [email protected]

subjects mentioned above, which have been his main research areas for the last several years. Since the beginning of his academic career, Jacek has worked on prehistoric flint mining during the Neolithic period. His first presentation at a scientific conference and his MA thesis, written under the supervision of doc. dr hab. Waldemar Chmielewski, concerned a prehistoric flint mine in Sąspów, Cracow district (Cracow-Częstochowa Upland). Jacek is one of a few pioneers who brought flint mining to international attention. His research, new insights and methods have inspired many archaeologists, as attested by the papers published in this anthology. Professor Jacek Lech began his adventure with archaeology back in secondary school, when he took part in excavations during summer holidays. Later, in 1965–1970, he studied archaeology at the Faculty of History at the University of Warsaw. In addition, he completed a three-year study programme at the Faculty of Ethnography and participated in selected classes at the Institute of History and at the Institute of Sociology at the University of Warsaw. In 1987 he was granted a doctoral degree with a thesis entitled ‘Mining and processing of Jura flint (in the area of Cracow) in Danubian cultures’, written at the Faculty of History at the University of Warsaw under the supervision of prof. dr hab. W. Chmielewski. Ten years later he achieved a post-doctoral degree based on the evaluation of his academic achievement and a dissertation entitled ‘Flint mining among the early farming communities of Central Europe’, which was later published in English. In 2000, by decision of the President of Poland, he was awarded the title of Professor of Humanities on the basis of his academic achievement after having obtained a post-doctoral degree, and the publication of his influential book ‘Between Captivity and Freedom: Polish Archaeology in the 20th Century’.

Jacek Lech. July 2008. Photo: K. Tunia.

We are proud to present this anthology of archaeological articles in honor of Professor Jacek Lech, compiled in recognition of his research and academic career as well as his inquiry into the study of prehistoric flint mining, Neolithic flint tools (and beyond), and the history of archaeology. Professor Jacek Lech celebrated a milestone birthday in October 2016. We take this occasion to present him with this anthology as a sign of our appreciation of his many efforts in archaeology. During the course of his long career he has covered many topics, but this book concentrates on the three

After graduating with a master’s degree, he embarked on a professional career at what was then the Institute of History of Material Culture at the Polish Academy of Sciences (now the Institute of Archaeology and iv

Fig. 1. Krzemionki Opatowskie, Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski dist. 1979. Jacek Lech during the excavations. Photo: J. T. Bąbel.

Fig. 2. Warsaw. 20-22 October 1994. Symposium ‘Studies of flint-mining and flint-working in the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age’. Jacek Lech in the middle. On the right Danuta Piotrowska (State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw), on the left Jerzy Libera (Institute of Archaeology, Maria CurieSklodowska University in Lublin). Photo: F. M. Stępniowski.

Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences), working at the Academy from 1970 until 2015. From 1983– 1988, he was a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of Nicolas Copernicus University in Torun, where he lectured in general archaeology. In 2011, he was nominated Professor at the Faculty of Historical and Social Sciences at Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, where he still works today. His lectures are exceptionally popular with students. Since 2015 he serves as a scientific curator at the Archaeological Museum and Reserve ‘Krzemionki’. Jacek continues to be very active — not only in academic work but in the field as well, where he leads excavations and teaches new generations of future archaeologists. Much of Jacek Lech’s professional career is devoted to the study of prehistoric flint mining, with complementary interests in the issues of extraction, processing, and distribution of siliceous rock among Neolithic communities. The Professor’s true passion, however, is the history of archaeology, of which he is a stalwart promotor. As a scholar with a broad spectrum of interests, his scientific research is not limited to one narrow subject area – he has always advocated and adopted a macroscale, transregional, and panEuropean approach to academic problems, which has resulted in extensive academic contacts fostering broad international cooperation.

Fig. 3. Warsaw. 20-22 October 1994. Symposium ‘Studies of flint-mining and flint-working in the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age’. Jacek Lech with his pupil Jolanta Małecka-Kukawka (Institute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun). Photo: F. M. Stępniowski.

Archaeological Research, chairman of the Commission of History of Archaeology, as well as editor-in-chief of the publications of the Committee. Jacek is one of the co-founders of the Scientific Association of Polish Archaeologists, and for many years he was a member of the Scientific Committee of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Jacek is a corresponding member of Deutsches Archäologische Institut, and is particularly involved in the activities of the International Union of Pre- and Protohistoric Sciences (UISPP) since 2006. He was also

Throughout his long career, Jacek performed a number of functions in numerous organisations and institutions both in Poland and abroad. He served as deputy chairman of the Archaeological Commission of the Executive Board of the Polish Archaeological and Numismatic Society (PTAiN), chairman of the Committee of Pre- and Protohistoric Sciences of Faculty I of the Polish Academy of Sciences, chairman of the Commission of the History and Methodology of v

Fig. 6. Wierzbica ‘Zele’, Radom dist. 2001. Jacek Lech during the archaeological tour for students of the Institute for Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne. Photo: A. Zimmerman.

Fig. 4. Słonowice, Kazimierza Wielka dist. 3 July 1996. In the foreground Jacek Lech. Next to him Ryszard Grygiel (Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography in Lodz) and Jan Gurba (Institute of Archaeology, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin). Photo: K. Tunia.

Fig. 7. Paris. 2007. The members of the Flint Minings in Preand Protohistoric Europe UISPP Permanent Committee. Self-timer photo: G. Trnka.

history of archaeology in Europe. His participation in numerous global conferences has earned him a reputation as a distinguished specialist. His international standing is reflected in the numerous contributions to this anniversary book. The papers were submitted by researchers from both European countries and the United States – high-ranking specialists in archaeology and the history of archaeology. Among the contributors are also young researchers who consider Jacek Lech their mentor.

Fig. 5. Abensberg, Kelheim dist. 2001. Jacek Lech first from the right. Next to him Marjorie E. Th. de Grooth, in the middle Françoise Bostyn (INRAP) and first on the left Andreas Zimmerman (Institute for Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne). Photo: from A. Zimmerman archive.

a member of its standing committee. From 2007 to 2012 he was deputy chairman and from 2012 to 2016 served as chairman of the scientific committee of ‘Flint Mining in Pre- and Protohistoric Times’ UISPP, within which he organised international sessions in Florianopolis (Brazil in 2011) and Burgos (Spain in 2014). In 2012– 2016 he was a member of the executive committee of the UISPP.

Jacek’s publications and co-authored works on the analysis of flint material and its identification of prehistoric flint mining are extremely influential. Jacek never limits himself solely to the presentation of material. The class lectures on ethnography he attended as a student had a considerable impact on his subsequent academic activities, so that his papers have always incorporated in-depth interpretation and analogies combining cultural anthropology and

Professor Jacek Lech’s academic interests have made him a leading expert on the issues of prehistoric flint mining, Neolithic flint tools (and beyond), and the vi

Fig. 10. Ojców National Park. October 2010. Photo: K. Tunia.

Fig. 8. Ojców National Park. July 2008. Photo: K. Tunia.

Fig. 9. Ojców National Park. July 2008. Photo: K. Tunia. Fig. 11. Ojców National Park. October 2010. Jacek Lech in the middle, between the editors of this book. On the right Marzena Woźny (Archaeological Museum of Cracow), on the left Dagmara H. Werra (Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences). Photo: K. Tunia.

sociology. Particularly noteworthy in this regard is his formulation of the principles of flint mining and distribution of siliceous rocks by prehistoric communities, which appeals to exchange theory (mainly the Kula exchange system described by Bronisław Malinowski and ‘The Gift’ by Marcel Mauss). Jacek is one of the pioneers of the study of flint working during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age. In vii

Fig. 14. Rydno reserve – ochre mining complex: Halina Królik Jubilee. 8 October 2015. Jacek Lech in the middle. On the right Michał Kobusiewicz, on the left Bolesław Ginter. Photo: from M. Woźny archive. Fig. 12. ‘Krzemionki Opatowskie’ reserve, Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski dist. 20 April 2013. Conference on the ninetieth anniversary of the discovery of the Krzemionki mine. Jacek Lech is summing up the proceedings at the Historical and Archaeological Museum. Photo: D. H. Werra.

Fig. 15. Jacek Lech in the Ojców National Park. October 2010. Photo: K. Tunia.

Fig. 13. ‘Krzemionki Opatowskie’ reserve, Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski dist. 20 April 2013. Conference on the ninetieth anniversary of the discovery of the Krzemionki mine. A group photo of the participants of the conference. Photo: K. Kaptur.

As noted above, Professor Jacek Lech is a true authority in the history of archaeology. It’s worth emphasizing that he has long been interested in the relations that hold between archaeology and history, their influence on one another, frictions between them, and the diffusion of ideas. He understands and emphasizes the impact of ideology and politics on the development of archaeology. In his publications and edited books he has dealt with Polish-German, Polish-Ukrainian and PolishCzech relations. One of his most highly regarded works is ‘Between captivity and freedom: Polish archaeology in the 20th century’– a treatise that cannot be forgotten when dealing with the history of archaeology in Poland of the 20th century. His interest in the influence and legacy of great figures in the world of archaeology (e.g., Vere Gordon Childe, Leon Kozłowski, Stefan Krukowski, Count Jan Potocki) resulted in numerous conferences and outstanding publications. As mentioned earlier, Jacek Lech has been connected with the prehistoric

collaboration with Hanna Lech (earlier Młynarczyk) during the 1980s he carried out research at the prehistoric ‘chocolate’ flint mine Wierzbica ‘Zele’, Radom district, where radiocarbon data unquestionably demonstrated, for the first time, the existence of flint mining during the Bronze and Early Iron Ages. Last but not least, we have to mention his outstanding efforts in popularizing archaeology and the protection of archaeological heritage, especially flint mining sites. viii

flint mine in Sąspów, Cracow-Czestochowa Upland, since the beginning of his professional career. His excavations and surface prospecting carried out there resulted in a range of publications on flint mining and flint working. At the same time he co-organized conferences and co-edited authoritative papers on archaeology and the history of archaeology of that region. His remarkable insight, spot-on diagnoses, and erudition make the works of Professor Jacek Lech fit in a whole range of various political, social and cultural contexts. The combination of theoretically informed field experience, superb knowledge of professional literature as well as judicious historical, ideological and social evaluation imbue his historical papers with unusual and rich dimensionality.

Some deal with the beginnings of archaeology as a scientific discipline, while others present significant researchers from different countries. The articles contained here present the history of research on important archaeological sites, and even links between archaeology and modern art. Readers will also find papers on the development of archaeology in the second half of the 20th century, both in political and institutional contexts. Finally, memoirs, which bring the Jubilarian closer to the reader by viewing him through the eyes of his co-workers and friends, occupy a special place in this section. We took on the task of editing Jacek’s jubilee book as the youngest of his pupils. We admire his erudition, commitment to science (which he also demands from his students) and his ability to motivate others to embark on an academic career path. As a mentor and a teacher he always has time for his pupils, pointing them toward to trends and domains worthy of scientific exploration. Jacek is now very passionate about his pedagogical work at Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw (UKSW), where he continues to support his students in their academic efforts, and encourages them to publish and deliver papers in local, regional, and international forums. It is worth emphasizing that he has not yet had his final say as a research scientist nor in the field of educating future researchers. Professor Jacek Lech belongs to the generation of archaeologists who made their professional discipline their life-long passion. We are proud to be able to call ourselves his pupils.

The anthology presented here consists of 46 articles on archaeology and history, which we have organized into three sections. The first contains texts on flint mining. Articles in this section deal with well-known mining sites as well as previously unpublished new materials. This part also contains papers concerning the location and description of siliceous rocks as well as raw materials used by prehistoric communities. The reader will find here a wide spectrum of approaches to flint mining, ways of identifying raw materials used by prehistoric communities, and an impressive overview of the history of research, methodology and approaches to flint mining in Europe, North America and Asia. The articles grouped in the second section primarily concern the use of flint by Neolithic communities, but also include younger periods. There are typological works on trace evidence analyses as well as theoretical works concerning prehistoric times in Europe and the New World. The issue of flint use is dealt with both on a microscale – focusing on minute details significant to identifying past prehistoric communities – as well as a broad scale, wherein authors formulate general rules of acquiring, utilising and distributing siliceous rocks.

Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Jacek on his exceptional birthday. Ad multos annos! We are grateful to ‘The Professor Konrad Jażdżewski Foundation for Archaeological Research’ in Lodz and the Archaeological Museum and Reserve ‘Krzemionki’ for co-funding this book.

The final section consists of articles on the history of archaeology in the 19th and 20th centuries.

ix

x

Early Prehistoric Flint Mining in Europe: a Critical Review of the Radiocarbon Evidence Susana Consuegra and Pedro Díaz-del-Río Instituto de Historia, CSIC, C/ Albasanz 26–28, Madrid, Spain e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: This paper presents the first comprehensive database for radiocarbon dates from European flint mines, result of reviewing a considerably dispersed literature. The database contains 476 radiocarbon dates relating to 56 mines in 14 European countries. Out of all, we have selected the earliest dates in order to review their quantity and quality. Our analysis suggests that Mesolithic and early Neolithic radiocarbon dates for European flint mines are few in number, many have unclear or poorly reported contexts, and most have samples of questionable quality. We conclude that efforts should be directed towards obtaining a better radiocarbon dataset, based on contextual precision, sample quality, and statistical robustness of radiocarbon sequences. Keywords: radiocarbon chronology, flint mine, Prehistoric Europe, Mesolithic, Neolithic.

Introduction

can be extended to any possible radiocarbon dated element recovered from mine pit fillings. Secondly, extraction techniques are extremely homogenous through time and, on their own, cannot be considered a reliable means of dating mines. Third, residues found in shafts and galleries, such as the operational chain for the production of flint tools or axe roughouts, rarely give solid chronological clues.

The archaeological record of flint mining is one of the most extended of prehistoric Europe in both space and time. Research in this area goes back to the 19th century, and today a large body of literature exists that contains excellent regional (e.g., Barber et al. 1999; Tarantini and Galiberti 2011) and case studies (e.g. Bostyn and Lanchon 1992; Galiberti 2005; Longworth et al. 2012; Marcigny 2010; Oliva 2010). The specificity of this research has favoured the development of a certain coordination at the European scale, as highlighted by the nine Flint Symposia (1969 to 1999) and the work of the UISPP Flint Mining during Pre- and Protohistoric Times Commission since 2006. However, with some few notable exceptions (e.g., Di Lernia and Galiberti 1993; Wheeler 2011; Lech 2013; Baczkowski 2014), this coordination has not favoured comparative studies on a continental scale. Although homogeneity of the flint mining archaeological record (result of similar mining techniques being used) could have encouraged trans-regional comparisons, the overall duration of the activity (extending from prehistoric to modern times) and the extraordinary diversity of different regional cultural contexts have no doubt hindered the undertaking of such studies (Capote and Díaz-del-Río 2015).

Certainly, most of the determinations at our disposal refer to mines in which the only datable elements have been pieces of bone, antler or charcoal fragments. Thus, unlike in other archaeological contexts with more extensive ranges of examinable materials, such as settlements or burial areas, any discussion on the chronology of prehistoric mining relies heavily on the results of radiocarbon dating. It is the purpose of this paper to review the quantity and quality of these results with three purposes. First, presenting an updated database and general discussion for most of the published radiocarbon dates recovered from flint mining contexts in Europe. Secondly, examining if and where does the radiocarbon chronology support the existence of pre-Neolithic flint mining activity. Finally, reviewing the earliest flint mining dates for the Neolithic in each European region in order to determine the likelihood of a connection between mining and the earliest Neolithic traits.

The present work reviews the quantity, quality and spatial distribution of radiocarbon dating results for flint mining in prehistoric Europe. Several facts commonly render this method as the only way to approach the age of a mine pit. First, diagnostic remains are generally missing and, when recovered, may not be coeval to the context: the nature of mining actions frequently involves the successive disturbance and redepositing of soil. In mining contexts, the probability of residual finds increase exponentially. Unfortunately, this caveat

Radiocarbon data: quantity and quality. The data analysed were gathered into what is here named C14 Flint Mine (access at http://www. casamontero.org/rec_publi.html) – a database result of collecting the considerably dispersed literature on flint mining in Europe. It contains 476 radiocarbon datings relating to 56 mines in 14 European countries (Tab. 1). 1

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 1. Map of Europe with the distribution of radiocarbon dates compiled for this paper. Figures in each country represent number of dated mines/total number of dates. Drawn: S. Consuegra and P. Díaz-del-Río.

some 41%). The nature of the dated sample was not reported in 23 cases (5%). England (110), France (38), Belgium (27), and the Netherlands (9), concentrate 95% of all short life samples (bone or antler). That is, considering the possibility of ‘old wood effects’, the overall quality of dated samples is best in the Atlantic façade, an area that is likely to be the latest in the European chronological sequence. Clearly stated, Southern, Central and Eastern Europe have less and worse dates.

These datings are not homogeneously distributed over the continent. Twelve countries from South-eastern Europe have no radiocarbon dates, even though many of these nations are home to the oldest evidence of the continent’s Neolithic settlement and are known for the quality of their raw materials. Some 51% of the datings come from the United Kingdom and France (Fig. 1), and just 12 mines or mining districts concentrate 60% of the available data. Further, nearly 30% refer to Grime’s Graves, making this the best dated prehistoric flint mine in the world (Longworth et al. 2012).

Another key issue is the quality of the contextual evidence accompanying the publication of the radiocarbon date. We have information on the nature and location for 86% of the samples. Only 11% of the total (54 dates) lack contextual data. As to the rest, the most frequent information is the code number for the pit where the sample was obtained, followed by details such as its location inside the pit. Again, the frequent lack of diagnostic remains makes these samples the

The mean of the standard deviations is 71 years, while 81 datings (17%) have a standard deviation of over 100 years. This suggests that an important amount of dates have been performed before the generalization of AMS dating procedures in our discipline. Most of the samples dated were fragments of charcoal (n=258, some 54%), followed by bone and antler (n=194, 2

Susana Consuegra and Pedro Díaz-del-Río: Early Prehistoric Flint Mining in Europe Mesolithic flint mining: the radiocarbon evidence.

Table 1. Distribution of radiocarbon dates for European flint mines by country. For details, see supplementary material. Country

# mines

# determinations

Germany

5

13

Austria

1

3

Belgium

7

39

Belorus

2

10

Spain

2

15

France

7

78

Hungary

2

4

Italy

9

28

Netherlands

2

19

Poland

6

50

United Kindom

9

168

Czech Republic

2

37

Sweden

1

7

Switzerland

1

4

Total

56

475

In the SCDPD for the Atlantic and Continental Europe regions, the exponential increase of radiocarbon dates during the Neolithic is preceded by small peaks, suggesting that Mesolithic groups did engage in deep mining practices. The possibility of such activity is not really surprising given the importance of flint as an abiotic raw material throughout prehistory. Many scholars believe such mining likely occurred in Europe, although they accept that the evidence provided by the archaeological record is scant, geographically disperse, and commonly ambiguous (Field 2011; Lech 2013). Indeed, of the 475 datings collected, just 10 correspond to pre-Neolithic times (Tab. 2), and their link with mining activities is either questionable or inexistent (see below). Among the latter are the two oldest datings for Grime’s Graves. Both correspond to charcoal samples that date a small pit and a hearth, neither of them with described associated artefacts (Longworth et al. 2012: 46, 49). Certainly, as Alex Bayliss et al. (2011: 730) indicate ‘there is no evidence for deep shafts being used for flint extraction in the southern British Mesolithic’. In addition, the Jablines mine, some 30 km east of Paris in the Marne Valley, provides three preNeolithic datings obtained from charcoal that their very reporters regarded as being unlikely to be correct (Bostyn and Lanchon 1992: 217). A single result from the ‘chocolate’ flint mine of Tomaszów (Szydłowiec, Mazovia) in Poland dates a surface concentration of material, reflecting flint-working by Mesolithic groups of the area. However, the provider of this information indicates ‘there were no Mesolithic shafts found at the mine’ (Schild 1995: 464); there is therefore no evidence for pre-Neolithic deep mining activity at this site.

best – if not the only – alternative for dating mining activity. In order to organize geographically our data we have divided it into three regions: the Mediterranean (Italy and Spain), Continental Europe (Hungary, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Poland and Belarus) and the Atlantic (Belgium, Holland, France, the United Kingdom and Sweden). They broadly reproduce the different phases/areas of expansion of the earliest Neolithic. The entries in the database examined in the present work were only those reporting an age of >3000 BP (n=434). As already noted, the regional imbalance in terms of the number of datings was substantial, with the number available for each mine increasing exponentially along a south-northwest axis.

The remaining four datings, again made on charcoal, come from the Krumlovský Les mine in the Czech Republic (Oliva 2010: 266), and are the oldest for the entire continent. One of these (GrA–34410: 9410 ± 50 BP) is at least 2000 years older than the first datings for the late Mesolithic from the same mine, and indeed of all Europe. The sample was obtained from ‘a small fireplace with red-burnt sand in the narrowed mouth of shaft I–12 […] so that in relation to mining it undoubtedly represents a ‘terminus cum quem’ or ‘ante quem’ (Oliva 2010: 355). Together with the remaining three dates, they are the only Mesolithic datings available for Europe whose age has not been put into question. The excavator specifies that ‘the Mesolithic chipped industry is very indistinct, with regard to local conditions relatively small-shaped, with irregular as well as parallel cores. In its dimensions it differs from collections of all so far investigated shafts’ (Oliva 2010: 355). If so, the evidence suggest that Mesolithic mining at Krumlovský Les was, in the best of cases, an activity isolated in time and space, difficult to associate with

A broad comparison of the summed calibrated date probability distributions (SCDPD; Shennan et al. 2013; Fig. 2) clearly reveal a temporal gradient between the ‘Neolithisation’ of the Continental Europe/ Mediterranean regions and the Atlantic region. The increase in mining activity in each of these regions was largely contemporaneous with the appearance of the earliest Neolithic ‘things and practices’ (Whittle et al. 2011: 1). At first glance, there would therefore appear to be sufficient evidence to defend a link between flint mining and the first Neolithic groups in each region, together with some previous and occasional Mesolithic mining activity. 3

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 2. Summed calibrated date probability distributions for the radiocarbon dates for each three regions of Europe: Mediterranean, Continental and Atlantic.

Table 2. Pre-Neolithic radiocarbon dates from European flint mines. Country

Mine

Lab code

BP

SD

Material

1σ

2σ

Czech Republic

Krumlovský Les

GrA-34410

9410

50

Charcoal

8750 to 8630

8810 to 8560

England

France

England

France

Czech Republic

Czech Republic

Czech Republic

Poland

France

Grimes Graves

Jablines

Grimes Graves

Jablines

Krumlovský Les

Krumlovský Les

Krumlovský Les

Tomaszów

Jablines

BM-989

Gd-4675

BM-990

Gd-5812

OxA-22462

GrA-38110

OxA-18595

GrN-7051

Gd-5817

8200

309

8150

130

7010

60

7614

6970

6775

6612

6555

6500

4

80

35

40

32

45

60

Charcoal

Charcoal

Charcoal

Charcoal

Charcoal

Charcoal

Charcoal

Charcoal

Charcoal

7550 to 6770

7450 to 6860

6570 to 6410

5990 to 5840

5900 to 5790

5710 to 5640

5620 to 5520

5550 to 5470

5520 to 5370

7970 to 6440

7500 to 6700

6640 to 6260

6010 to 5750

5980 to 5750

5730 to 5620

5620 to 5490

5620 to 5460

5610 to 5330

Susana Consuegra and Pedro Díaz-del-Río: Early Prehistoric Flint Mining in Europe Table 3. List of the earliest Neolithic radiocarbon determinations quoted in text. Country

Mine

Lab code

BP

SD

Material

1σ

2σ

France

Jablines

Gd-4674

6140

150

Charcoal

5300 to 4850

5470 to 4720

Czech Republic

Krumlovský Les

GrA-45664

6270

40

Charcoal

5300 to 5220

5330 to 5070

Poland

Tomaszów

GrN-7591E

6145

70

?

5210 to 5010

5300 to 4910

France

Poland Italy

Longrais

Tomaszów

Defensola A

Gif-2315 Gd-4166

Utc-1342

6490

160

6260

210

6990

80

Charcoal Charcoal Charcoal

5620 to 5310 5470 to 4990 5980 to 5790

5730 to 5060 5620 to 4720 6020 to 5720

any general pattern for European Mesolithic groups. We should nevertheless consider the possibility that these dates may be a result of dating residual samples or perhaps of an ‘old wood effect’, something that could only be solved by dating short life samples (that may just not be available) or increasing the amount of dates from the alleged Mesolithic contexts in order to obtain a more statistically robust sequence. The existing data, the stratigraphical complexity of the site, and the long term period of mining documented at Krumlovský Les (lasting until ca. 600 cal BC), suggest that the possibility of a deep flint mining activity during the Mesolithic would be in need of further support.

problematic. A review of the old excavation undertaken by Desloges et al. (2010) is inconclusive regarding any link with mining activity. It should be remembered, however, that an ancient Neolithic site exists in the Department of Calvados: that of Le Lazarro, dated to the end of the RBBP or the beginning of the VilleneuveSaint-Germain (Guesquière et al. 2000; Billard et al. 2004). This village must have been regionally isolated from others of the time, since Lower Normandy was neolithised after the date accepted for the Paris Basin. Thus, while the first groups of the Rubané may have been involved in mining, the available radiocarbon evidence suggests this to be improbable.

The earliest Neolithic flint mining: the radiocarbon evidence.

Only one dating contemporaneous with the Central European LBK is available, again from the Krumlovský Les mine. Certainly, the date obtained for this charcoal sample (GrA–45664: 6270 ± 40 BP) is contemporaneous with the range for the LBK de Vedrovice (Znojmo, South Moravian) cemetery obtained by short life sample dating, i.e., 5400–5250 cal BC (Oliva 2010: 355; Bentley et al. 2012: 3926). However, this mine has provided 36 dated samples from a very wide study area, and this particular charcoal dates from some 900 years before the next known mining activity dated at 4300 cal BC, in the period regionally referred to as the late Lengyel (Oliva 2010: 356). The radiocarbon data therefore suggest that, as for the Mesolithic, the mining activity of the earliest Neolithic in Central Europe was (in the best of cases) occasional and isolated in both time and space. There is no strong evidence to support a generalised pattern associated with the earliest LBK groups.

The radiocarbon evidence relating the earliest Neolithic groups in the different parts of Europe to flint mining is not very abundant and frequently problematic (Tab. 3). Just five datings from three sites exist that are contemporaneous with the first evidence of the Linearbandkeramik (LBK) groups: two from the Atlantic and one from the Continental Europe region, all dating charcoal samples. The former two come from the Jablines (Île-de-France, Seine-et-Marne), and Longrais mines (Calvados, Lower Normandy; Bostyn and Lanchon 1992: 217; Desloges et al. 2010: 6). While the Jablines sample might be contemporaneous with the start of the Rubané in the Paris Basin (Rubané récent du bassin parisien [RBBP]; Allard 2007), its predicted median age (5080 cal BC) precedes the start of mining activity (4160/4010 cal BC) in the area by 1000 years. Even the researchers who dated the Jablines sample regarded the results as being very unreliable (Bostyn and Lanchon 1992: 217), perhaps a result of an ‘old wood effect’. If it really does represent mining activity by the first groups in the area during the Rubané period, one would have to concede that it reflects an occasional activity that can be no further generalised.

The oldest flint mine on the north-eastern border of the LBK is that of Tomaszów in Mazovia Province. The earliest radiocarbon date belongs to Shaft 3, Gd–4166 6260±210, although the high standard deviation gives a considerable uncertainty, resulting in a broad range of 5470–4990 cal BC (1σ). Nevertheless, Shaft 6 showed an age of 6145±70 (GrN–7591), 5300–4910 cal BC (1σ). This may fall within the dates accepted for the expansion of the LBK communities in the south and centre–north of Poland (Whittle 1996: 157; Werra 2010). These two datings lend some support to the affirmation of Lech

The oldest dating from the Longrais site (Calvados, Lower Normandy), which was performed on a charcoal fragment stuck to some Danubian pottery, is even more 5

Between History and Archaeology (2008: 283) that ‘mining […] was a constant element of the culture of Danubian communities in Little Poland from the time of the LBK settlements’. The possibility needs to be taken into account, however, that both datings are the result of an old wood effect since they are the only samples of this age among the 51 from Poland’s flint mines that have been radiocarbon dated. In fact, an old wood effect seems to lie behind the datings for two samples (GrN–7592E: 5990 ± 110 BP and GrN–7592R: 5715 ± 65 BP) from shaft 10 at Tomaszów, the only shaft to provide two radiocarbon dates. Their median calibrated dates have a difference of some 330 years (4890 and 4560 cal BC). Thus, it would appear that the evidence for the involvement of LBK groups in flint mining, and the intensity of that activity, should rely on the distribution of ‘chocolate’ and Jurassic-Cracow flint from sites south of the River Vistula (Lech 2008), and not on the available radiocarbon chronology, which is still too weak to be conclusive.

and Díaz-del-Río 2015). All the samples tested were charcoal, except for a bone of Ovis aries, a species that did not exist in the region previous to the Neolithic. Together, they reflect a similar pattern to that seen for Defensola A. One dating (of a charcoal sample) stands out owing to its apparently greater age (Beta– 232890: 6500 ± 40 BP), but this reading is thought to have been influenced by an old wood effect. Indeed, this hypothesis was confirmed by dating a short life sample (Beta–295152: 6200 ± 40 BP on Ovis aries) from the same shaft. A Bayesian modelling of these dates (except Beta–232890) suggests that mining activities at Casa Montero started between 5380/5320 cal BC, and ended between 5290/5180 cal BC (1 σ). Thus, to date, the complete radiocarbon series for Casa Montero is coherent and displays a statistical consistency of both short and long life samples. The almost complete lack of datings from Early Neolithic domesticated species (animals or plants) in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula prevents an assessment of whether mining activity at Casa Montero was undertaken by the first generations of Neolithic groups in the region. The closest and best dataset comes from the sites of La Lámpara and La Revilla (Soria; Rojo et al. 2008) about 130km to the northeast. Bayesian modelling of the dated domesticated species at these sites suggests that occupation began sometime around 5320/5250 cal BC, and ended between 5280/5200 cal BC (1 σ). This range is contemporaneous to Casa Montero, all of which suggests that mining activity in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula may well have been performed by the first generations of Neolithic groups in the region.

In the Mediterranean region, the start of mining activity is based on a single radiocarbon dating of a charcoal sample from the Defensola A mine in the Gargano Peninsula (Utc–1342: 6990±80 BP = 5980–5790 cal BC 1σ). It has been reasonably accepted as the oldest evidence for mining activity in the Gargano peninsula for two reasons: the sample was recovered from an internal area of the mine (corridor C) and the resulting date is coherent with the chronology suggested by the complete archaic impressa ware vessel recovered in the so-called ‘ambiente A4’ (Muntoni and Tarantini 2011: 44). As has been noted (Muntoni and Tarantini 2005: 172), this dating is coherent and contemporaneous with a number of early Neolithic sites in La Puglia, such as the most northerly of Masseria Giuffreda or Rendina. Sixteen datings are available for Defensola A, all on charcoal, with a distribution indicating an exploitation period of 5870–4600 BC (medians). The terminus ante quem for deep mining at the site is marked by two samples recovered inside pots that where left in situ by the last miners to enter these galleries (LTL–438A: 6417±55 and LTL–437A: 6334±50). The combined results suggest 5470–5310 cal BC as the most probable end for deep mining at Defensola A. This leaves 9 earlier dates obtained from samples recovered inside the galleries. All except for Utc–1342 fall after 5730–5620 cal BC. Consequently, it would be reasonable to keep the one and only early date for Defensola A in quarantine, until further contextual data or radiocarbon support becomes available. In the meantime, there seems to be no compelling radiocarbon evidence to support that the first generation of Neolithic groups in Italy engaged in deep flint mining.

This interpretation of Iberian data is similar to that suggested by Alex Bayliss et al. (2011: 731) for the British Isles, where the radiocarbon dates obtained from bone and antler samples recovered from some of the wellknown Sussex flint mines (Barber et al. 1999) currently provide the earliest dates for Neolithic activity in the region (Whittle et al. 2011: 257). Thus, the earliest Neolithic radiocarbon dates for European flint mines are few in number, many have unclear or poorly reported contexts, and most belong to samples of questionable quality. Indeed, the majority have been performed on long-lived items or composite samples – the least reliable according to the ‘sample logic’ proposed by João Zilhão (2001) for determining the beginning of the European Neolithic. There seems to be enough evidence to support the contemporaneity of mining activity and the earliest presence of Neolithic traits in both southeast England and central Iberia. It is nevertheless not so clear in other regions of Europe. This could simply be a result of the quality of the radiocarbon series, although one should not rule

Finally, 13 radiocarbon datings are available for Casa Montero, to date the oldest mine in the Iberian Peninsula (Díaz-del-Río and Consuegra 2011; Consuegra 6

Susana Consuegra and Pedro Díaz-del-Río: Early Prehistoric Flint Mining in Europe out the possibility of multiple and diverse regional phenomena.

Néolithique. Paris, Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme. Capote, M. and Díaz-del-Río, p. 2015. Shared Labour and Large-scale Action: European Flint Mining. In C. Fowler, D. Hofmann and J. Harding (eds), The Oxford handbook of Neolithic Europe: 499–514. Oxford, OUP Oxford. Consuegra, S. and Díaz-del-Río, P. 2015. La cronología absoluta de la minería de sílex en Casa Montero (Madrid). In V.S. Gonçalves, M. Diniz and A.C. Sousa (eds), 5º Congresso do Neolítico Peninsular: 405–411. Lisboa, Uniarq Waps. Desloges, J., Ghesquière, e. and Marcigny, c. 2010. Le minière Néolithique ancien/moyen I des Longrais à Soumont-Saint-Quentin (Calvados). Revue archéologique de l’Ouest 27: 21–38. Di Lernia, S., and Galiberti, a. 1993. Archeologia mineraria della selce nella Preistoria. Definizioni, potenzialità e prospettive della ricerca. Firenze, Universitá di Siena. Díaz-del-Río, P. and Consuegra, s. 2011. Time for action. The chronology of mining events at Casa Montero (Madrid, Spain). In M. Capote, S. Consuegra, P. Díazdel-Río and X. Terradas (eds), Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of the UISPP Commission on Flint Mining in Pre- and Protohistoric Times (Madrid, 14-17 October 2009): 221–229. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 2260. Field, D. 2011. The origins of Flint extraction in Britain. In M. Capote, S. Consuegra, P. Díaz-del-Río and X. Terradas (eds), Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of the UISPP Commission on Flint Mining in Pre- and Protohistoric Times (Madrid, 14–17 October 2009): 29–33. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 2260. Galiberti, A. (ed.). 2005. Defensola. Una miniera di selce di 7000 anni fa. Siena, Protagon Editori Toscani. Guesquière, E., Marcigny, c., Giazzon, d. and Gaumé, e. 2000. Un village rubané en Basse-Normandie? L’evaluation du site de la Z.A.C. du Lazzaro à Colombelles (Calvados). Bulletín de la Socièté Préhistorique Française 97 (3): 405–418. Lech, J. 2008. Mining and distribution of flint from Little Poland in the Lengyel, Polgár and related communities in the Middle/Late Neolithic. A brief outline. In Z. Sulgostowska and A.J. Tomaszewski (eds), Man – Millennia – Environment. Studies in honour of Romuald Schild: 281–292. Warsaw, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Science. Lech, J. 2013. Prehistoric Flint mining and the enigma of early economies. In T. Kerig and A. Zimmermann (eds), Economic archaeology: from structure to performance in European archaeology: 227–251. Bonn, Habelt. Longworth, I., Varndell, g. and Lech, j. 2012. Excavations at Grimes Graves, Norfolk, 1972–1976. Fascicule 6:

Conclusions The pattern that emerges from the present analysis raises doubts about the existence of pre-Neolithic flint mining in Europe, and about the degree of general involvement in this activity by the continent’s first generations of Neolithic groups. The actual radiocarbon dataset for European flint mines will unlikely solve these issues. Consequently, those scholars working in the subject matter should direct their efforts towards obtaining a better radiocarbon dataset, based on contextual precision, sample quality and statistical robustness of radiocarbon sequences. Acknowledgements The essay has been written in the framework of the Collaboration Agreement between the Consejería de Cultura y Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid, the CSIC and Autopistas Madrid Sur known as ‘Proyecto Casa Montero’, and the Spanish MINECO Project HAR2013– 47776–R. References Allard, P. 2007. The Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in the Paris Basin: a review. Proceedings of the British Academy 144: 209–221. Baczkowski, J. 2014. Learning by Experience: The Flint Mines of Southern England and Their Continental Origins. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 33: 135–153. Barber, M., Field, d. and Topping, P. 1999. The Neolithic Flint Mines of England. London, English Heritage. Bayliss, A., Healy, F., Whittle, A. and Cooney, G. 2011. Neolithic narratives: British and Irish enclosures in their timescapes. In A. Whittle, F. Healy and A. Bayliss (eds), Gathering Time. Dating the Early Neolithic Enclosures of Southern Britain and Ireland, Volume 2: 682–847. Oxford, Oxbow Books. Bentley, R.A., Bickle, P., Fibiger, L., Nowell, G.M, Dale, C.W., Hedges, R.E.M., Hamilton, j., Wahl, J., Francken, M., Grupe, G., Lenneis, E., Teschler-Nicola, M., Arbogast, R.M., Hofmann, D. and Whittle, A. 2012. Community differentiation and kinship among Europe’s first farmers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109 (24): 9326–9330. Billard, C., Bonnardin, s., Bostyn, f., Caspar, j.-p., DiestchSellami, m.-f., Marguerie, D. and Hamon, C. 2004. Le site d’habitat du Néolithique ancien de Colombelles ‘Le Lazarro’ (Calvados) –Présentation préliminaire. Internéo 4: 29–34. Bostyn, F. and Lanchon, Y. (eds). 1992. Jablines. Le HautChâteau (Seine-et-Marne): une minière de silex au

7

Between History and Archaeology Exploration and excavation beyond the deep mines. London, British Museum Press. Marcigny, C. (ed.). 2010. Ri et Ronai (Orne), ‘Le Fresne’. Una minière de sílex du Neolithique. Rapport final d’opération. Fouille archéologique. 2 vols. Inrap Grnad-Ouest. Muntoni, I.M. and Tarantini, m. 2005. La cronología della Defensola nel quadro del Neolitico della’Italia sud-orientale. In A. Galiberti (ed.), Defensola. Una miniera di selce di 7000 anni: 171–175. Siena, Protagon Editori Toscani. Muntoni, I.M. and Tarantini, M. 2011. La cronología delle miniere di selce del Gargano nel quadro della Preistoria recente dell’Italia sud-orientale. In M. Tarantini and A. Galiberti (eds), Le miniere di selce del Gargano VI–III millennio a.C. Alle origini della storia mineraria europea: 41-49. Firence, Rassegna di Archeologia preistorica e protostorica 24ª (2009– 2011). Oliva, M. 2010. Pravĕké hornictví v Krumlovském Lese. Vznik a vývoj industriálnĕ-sakrální krajiny na již Moravĕ (Prehistoric mining in the Krumlovský Les, Southern Moravia. Origin and development of an industrialsacred landscape). Brno, Moravské zemské muzeum. Rojo, M.A., Kunst, m., Garrido, r., García, i. and Morán, g. 2008. Paisajes de la memoria: asentamientos del Neolítico antiguo en el valle de Ambrona (Soria, España). Valladolid, Universidad de Valladolid. Arte y Arqueología 23. Schild, R. 1995. Tomaszów, Radom Province. Archaeologia Polona 33: 455–465.

Shennan, S., Downey, s.s., Timpson, a., Edinborough, k., colledge, s., Kerig, T., Manning, K. and Thomas, M.G. 2013. Regional population collapse followed initial agriculture booms in mid-Holocene Europe. Nature Communications 4: 2486. Tarantini, M. and Galiberti, A. (eds). 2011. Le miniere di selce del Gargano VI–III millennio a.C. Alle origini della storia mineraria europea. Firenze, Rassegna di Archaeologia preistorica e protostorica 24A (2009– 2011). Werra, D. 2010. Longhouses and long-distance contacts in the Linearbandkeramic communities on the north-east border of the oecumene: ‘à parois doubles’ in Chelmno Land (Poland). Anthropologica et Praehistorica 121: 121–142. Wheeler, P. 2011. Ideology and context within the European flint-mining tradition. In A. Saville (ed.), Flint and Stone in the Neolithic Period: 304–315. Oxford, Oxbow Books. Whittle, A. 1996. Europe in the Neolithic. The creation of new worlds. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Whittle, A., Healy, f. and Bayliss, A. 2011. Gathering time: causewayed enclosures and the early Neolithic of southern Britain and Ireland. In A. Whittle, F. Healy and A. Bayliss (eds), Gathering time. Dating the early Neolithic enclosures of southern Britain and Ireland. Volume 1: 1–16. Oxford, Oxbow Books. Zilhão, J. 2001. Radiocarbon evidence for maritime pioneer colonization at the origins of farming in west Mediterranean Europe. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 98: 14180–14185.

8

Twenty-five Years Excavating Flint Mines in France and Belgium: an Assessment Françoise Bostyn

INRAP Nord-Picardie, UMR 8215-Trajectoires, 11 rue des Champs, 59650 Villeneuve d’Ascq, France e-mail: [email protected]

Hélène Collet

Service public de Wallonie, Service de l’Archéologie de la Direction du Hainaut I, 52 rue d’Harmignies, 7032 Spiennes, Belgium e-mail: [email protected]

Emmanuel Ghesquière

INRAP Grand-Ouest,UMR 6566-CReAAH, Base INRAP Bourguébus, 4 bd de l’Europe, 14540 Bourguébus, France e-mail: [email protected]

Anne Hauzeur

sarl Paléotime, 6173 rue Jean-Séraphin Achard-Picard, 38250 Villard-de-Lans, France e-mail: [email protected]

Pierre-Arnaud de Labriffe

UMR 8215, 6, rue Pagès, 34070 Montpellier, France e-mail: [email protected]

Cyril Marcigny

INRAP Grand-Ouest, UMR 6566-CReAAH, Le Chaos, 14400 Longues-sur-Mer, France e-mail: [email protected]

In collaboration with

Philippe Lavachery

Société de Recherche préhistorique en Hainaut, 9 rue Gontrand Bachy, 7032 Spiennes, Belgium

e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Twenty-five years of experience in excavating flint mines allow us to give a methodological overview about sites characterized by the sheer depth of some structures, the often vast extensions of the deposits and the specialised activities that were carried out there. By comparing operations undertaken up to fifteen years apart, the importance of accurate stratigraphic and planimetric records becomes clear. Palaeoenvironmental approaches probably have to be multiplied in view of the results obtained when sampling is systematic. If the use of a mechanical excavator is inescapable to create large geological cross sections and allows the excavation of a large number of structures, an agreement emerges to consider that its exclusive use should be avoided. It should be regarded as a complement to be employed once a certain number of previous stages have been completed. Keywords: flint mines, geological trenches, 3D mapping, knapping workshops, mechanical excavation, palaeoenvironment

Introduction

planned excavation was under way at Bretteville-LeRabet, Calvados district (Desloges 1986). Besides, the enthusiasm for these mining sites, observed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in other European countries such as Belgium and Great Britain, was not as strong in France. However, a few sporadic excavations undertaken in the years 1950–1970 at HardivillersTroussencourt, Somme district (Agache 1959), Nointel, Oise district, Saint-Mihiel, Meuse district (Guillaume 1975) or Veaux-Malaucène, Vaucluse district (Schmid 1980) and Salinelles, Gard district (Dijkman 1980), published in two general overviews, one for France (Soulier 1973), the other for Europe (Weisgerber et al. 1980), allowed to maintain some small scale activity,

This paper provides the opportunity to offer an assessment of the archaeological experiences gathered on flint mines excavations during the last 25 years in France but also in Belgium. Methodology is a fundamental aspect when studying these sites because their specificity – on which we will come back later – places them in a distinct category of archaeological features. The feedback on our experience proposed here is fundamental in view of the challenge of developmentled archaeology and more generally of research in this field. Indeed in the 1980s, research on this type of sites was lagging in France as during this decade only one 9

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 1. Localisation of the flint mines in Northern France and Belgium. CAD: F. Bostyn, background map: F. Giligny.

Specialised sites, singular structures and specific excavation problems

with the means available at the time, in this research field. The discovery and the excavation of mining sites in the late 1980s and the next two decades during large scale development-led archaeology operations eventually allowed to renew and revitalise this specific aspect of research but also made it necessary to start a reflection on excavation methods adapted to the context of rescue archaeology. Besides, within the 25 years time span envisioned in this paper, technological evolutions took place, providing archaeologists with new analysis tools. Sites to which reference will be made allow for the confrontation of various experiences over time (Fig. 1): Jablines ‘Le Haut-Château’, Seine-et-Marne district (Bostyn and Lanchon 1992), Serbonnes ‘Le Revers de Brossard’, Yonne district (de Labriffe and Sidéra 1995a), Pâlis ‘Le Buisson Gendre’, Aube district (de Labriffe and Sidéra 1995b), Villemaur-sur-Vanne ‘Le Grand Bois Marot’ (de Labriffe et al. 1995b) and ‘Les Orlets’, Aube district (de Labriffe et al. 1995a and 1995c), Ri-Rônai, Orne district (Ghesquière et al. 2012) and Mesnil-Saint-Loup, Aube district (Hauzeur et al. 2010). Unfortunately the growth of developmentled archaeology has mostly put an end to planned excavations in this research field as in others. Therefore the research at Spiennes, Mons district, in Belgium (Collet et al. 2008) was deemed appropriate to be integrated in this paper. It combines both planned and rescue excavations, since the discovery of the site in the second half of the 19th century.

It is necessary to review the subject of mining sites because these archaeological deposits have their own specificities which, in some ways, make them exceptional. The vast size of these sites is one of their characteristic features, which finds manifestation in a high number of structures. For example the size of the flint mines of Spiennes is estimated at 100+ hectares, that of Bretteville-le-Rabet at 60 hectares, those of Jablines and Villemaur-sur-Vanne ‘Les Orlets’ at 35 hectares. If the exact number of archaeological structures cannot be precisely defined, estimates based on direct information such as aerial photographs or on proxy data such as extrapolations based on limited topsoil stripping give numbers like 30,000 shafts in Bretteville-le-Rabet, 20,000 in Villemaur-sur-Vanne ‘Les Orlets’, 9000 in Ri or 5000 in Jablines. It could be argued that numerous archaeological sites share these characteristics (site extent and large number of features) but in the case of flint mines the fact that they consist of huge underground remains compounds the problems linked to their exploration. Indeed if some features are simple pits, the majority of the mining structures appears as vertical shafts that can reach 15 metres deep (as in Spiennes) with horizontal galleries dug on several metres at their bottom. Besides 10

Françoise Bostyn et al.: Twenty-five Years Excavating Flint Mines in France and Belgium the sheer amount of excavation that such structures generate (for instance sediment volume extracted from a 7.5m deep, 3m wide shaft is 53m3 not counting galleries and soil expansion), the handling of sediments in confined spaces is extremely heavy and technical issues linked to the disposal of excavated soils are very real. If this approach enables us to grasp the problems faced by prehistoric miners, security issues in underground excavations are constant and are exacerbated by the fact that the ground was destabilised by prehistoric mining. The lack of natural light and/or of fresh air is also to be taken into account.

to morphology, mining processes, gallery operation, waste management, archaeological content and on the other hand the inter-structural approach which consists in the study of groups of adjacent structures. At the scale of the whole mining site, the nature of the questions asked changes as the objective is to understand the development of the site through time both in terms of spatial extent and in terms of mining techniques, to highlight possible hiatuses in site-use and potential mining structures overlaps. Combining scientific issues and excavation methods is a complex exercise because parameters vary from one site to the other and because the challenges exposed earlier lead to the conclusion that the minute exploration of such sites in their entirety is impossible, be it in the context of a development-led excavation or a planned excavation. If, when there is no threat of destruction, one can afford a detailed hand-excavation knowing that only a tiny part of the site will be explored, in a development-led context the short-term destruction of a large amount of archaeological features imposes very different intervention procedures. If a number of approaches have proven essential other issues are still open to question such as fieldwork choices to be made (as opposed to exhaustive excavations), choices which concern the mining structures but also the surface knapping floors when they are preserved, as well as the excavation method to be used, notably what should be allocated to mechanical or hand-excavation.

Another challenge lies in the complexity of these mining structures which is linked with the geological context of the raw material. The quality of the flints can vary strongly over a distance of a few metres and prehistoric miners had to adapt permanently to the geological context. The variability of the mining structures has direct consequences on the work of the archaeologist. He is unable to predict the underground organisation of the mine and this necessitates a continuous responsiveness. The specificity of the structures, the specialized and intensive nature of raw material mining and the mass production of tools and tool blanks create a plethora of archaeological remains the study of which is paradoxically a thankless job. They mainly consist in flint knapping waste and relate to the primary processing of the raw material. The management of this huge quantity of artefacts, both in terms of excavation strategy and later study methodology, is a general concern and an additional burden on how a flint mine excavation is operated. Paradoxically, while lithic artefacts are abundant, few can give a direct dating of the use and abandonment of the mine. This real handicap is mostly significant regarding field decision-making during the excavation and can only be overcome thanks to alternative a posteriori dating methods, notably radiocarbon dating.

By confronting various field experiences, we will discuss the pros and cons of the excavation methods implemented and we will try to conclude with a hierarchisation of the established principles over procedures that are still open to question. Methodological approaches The major linear projects of the Eighties: First methodological achievements in a development-led context

The research goals of a flint mine excavation are manifold but we will focus only on those related to developmentled archaeology. It should be recalled, though, that the three main research axis when excavating a flint mine all focus on the raw material mined and refer to the definition of the geological context and the gitology of the coveted material, procurement strategies and extraction techniques implemented to obtain it and the ensuing processing methods of the raw material. Understanding the organization of mining, both underground and on the surface, is a necessary aspect of all archaeological excavations of a flint mine. Two complementary levels of analysis should then be developed: on the one hand intra-structural considerations concerned with questions relating

Drawing on previous experiences in France but also across Europe, the first large-scale development-led archaeology operations on flint mines were undertaken as part of the development plans of the ‘TGV-Nord et Interconnection’ (High Speed Train project) and of the A5 highway. Jablines ‘Le Haut-Château’ excavations The ‘TGV-Nord’ right-of-way and above all that of the ‘Interconnection’ ran across the Jablines ‘Le HautChâteau’ mining site, district Seine-et-Marne, which was known beforehand (Bulard et al. 1986). Designed in advance, the intervention was planned to last 12 months between August 1989 and September 1990 and, 11

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 2. Jablines ‘Le Haut-Château’, Seine-et-Marne district. The excavation of the deepest mines was undertaken in two phases: the excavation of the vertical access shaft then the excavation of the extraction galleries after the removal of the sterile substratum so as to work in better conditions. Photo F. Bostyn, Inrap.

from the start, provided for a complete stripping of the development project right-of-way, which revealed severe surface erosion except in a slight depression where knapping workshops next to mining shafts were preserved (Bostyn and Lanchon 1992). Both the north and the south boundaries of the mining site have been reached. The alignment of the HST route following the natural slope of the land, the transect through the mining site offered the advantage, by cutting the site almost in half, of providing a geological cross section of more than 100 metres long. It has not been considered as an analytical method for the mining structures unlike what has been done on the A5 highway. So as to preserve for as long as possible the integrity of the site and to limit the risks of accidents, the geological cross section was undertaken at the end of the field operations. Taking into account the surface distribution of the 766 mining structures, the choice was made to select groups of shafts spread over the whole stripped area. The excavations showed that the further south one goes up the slope, the deeper the shafts are sunk. To the south shafts as deep as 7.5m were discovered and to the north only shallow pits were found, in direct relation both to the topography and the gitology. Handexcavations were undertaken by opening half of the

Fig. 3. Jablines ‘Le Haut-Château’, Seine-et-Marne district. 3D view of a deep flint mine. This pictorial allows not only to visualize the overlapping of the structures but also to determine the volume of bedrock that was removed and the quantity of raw material collected.

12

Françoise Bostyn et al.: Twenty-five Years Excavating Flint Mines in France and Belgium shafts so as to record the stratigraphy of the backfills accurately and collect the artefacts by stratigraphic unit. But faced with the growing depth of the structures it was decided, in two sectors, to remove the substratum down to the roof of the galleries, once the excavation of the vertical shaft was over (Fig. 2). In order to get a more dynamic view of those complex structures, a technique to record the outlines of the mines was implemented so as to produce a three-dimensional representation. The archaic method of manual recording used was timeconsuming both in the field and during the processing of the data with insufficient computing resources, but the end results were up to the expectations and allowed a different perception of the mines (Fig. 3).

Fig. 4. Villemaur-sur-Vanne ‘Les Orlets’, Aube district. A large mechanical trench was dug across the A5 mining sites to facilitate stratigraphic and planimetric drawings as well as the excavation of the remaining parts of the shafts. Photo P.-A. de Labriffe.

This method allowed a thorough exploration of the selected features in a safely manner and to accurately record the artefacts. It also made possible the recording of more elusive traces such as tool marks on the walls and evidence of wooden supports in the backfills... But only 56 mines could be excavated, or less than 10% of all the structures that were destroyed. If the value of the data obtained is undisputable, the total lack of information on the other shafts is the weakness of the chosen method and can be contested. A single knapping workshop was excavated by one square meter units, further subdivided in 25 smaller squares. No field plan was done and the artefacts were collected in small 20cm wide square units in three successive phases. This method did not hinder further studies.

discovered. As a result, the resources allocated to each of the other sites were less important. These external parameters, especially the large number of sites and the lack of resource previously assigned, led to adapt the archaeological investigation strategy (de Labriffe and Thébault 1995). It was decided straight away to mechanize the excavations in order to collect the data as quickly and as cost-effectively as possible. Handexcavations were nevertheless planned, in particular to work on parts of shafts that were intersected by the mechanical operations and on possible knapping workshops.

One of the goals of the excavations was to conduct palaeoenvironmental analysis, which was done thanks to a systematic sampling of the backfills. The results were more or less successful depending on the materials sampled, generally related to the poor conservation of remains in a calcareous context (this is especially true for palynology and anthracology). The scarcity of comparative data and partly contradictory results prevented the optimization of data interpretation at that time.

Once the stripping of the soil and the mapping of the features were carried out, it was decided to undertake the mechanical digging of large trenches on the whole length of the sites, that is several tens of metres to a depth of 6 metres and as wide. The objective was to recreate the context of discovery of the flint mines of Spiennes, brought to light at the end of the 19th century during the digging of a trench for the construction of a railway.1

The excavations of the mines on the A5 highway Archaeological investigations led prior to the A5 highway construction, between Melun (Seine-etMarne district), Sens (Yonne district) and Troyes (Aube district), took place between 1988 and 1992. On the 144 km of the right-of-way no less than four mining sites were discovered in Serbonnes ‘Le Revers de Brossard’ (de Labriffe and Sidéra 1995a), Pâlis ‘Le Buisson Gendre’ (de Labriffe and Sidéra 1995b) and Villemaur-sur-Vanne ‘Le Grand Bois Marot’ (de Labriffe et al. 1995b) and ‘Les Orlets’ (de Labriffe et al. 1995a and 1995c). Unlike the flint mine of Jablines, the four ‘A5’ sites were found during the diagnostic phase, ‘Le Grand Bois Marot’ being the only mining site that was expected to be

Apart from the comparison to be made with Spiennes, the expected benefits of these trenches were supposed to be numerous. Insofar as the right-of-way crossed three of the four sites perfectly transversally, following the slope, they were first meant to obtain an overview of the sites and to document a large number of mining features. It would have been possible to recognize their general morphology, the backfilling processes and to understand their relation with both the substratum 1  The idea of digging large trenches, never repeated since Spiennes, was considered, half jokingly, when Prof. Jacek Lech was visiting Serbonnes (in the second semester of 1989) during the diagnostic phase, the first mining site to be identified.

13

Between History and Archaeology and the raw material deposits. The width of the trenches would also provide the necessary distance to analyse and record the stratigraphy of the shafts and the pits visible in the profiles and would also facilitate their excavation (Fig. 4). The trench would also contain the excavation waste so as to avoid long and tedious handlings in the tight spaces of the mining structures.

These first development-led excavations experiences, while making distinct strategic choices and implementing different methods, allowed to test new techniques but above all to make indispensable a number of steps such as complete topsoil stripping of the right-of-way, geological study with deep trenching or stratigraphical study of the backfills. The positive and negative aspects of each of these methods were discussed as well, in particular the more or less heavy use of the mechanical excavator. In any case one of the major problems encountered in the study of those mining sites was their dating, which could not be solved altogether due to a lack of means to pay for radiocarbon dates.

However, when confronted with the realities of the field, that method of intervention could not be implemented as efficiently as hoped. As a matter of fact the execution of the trenches was sometimes hindered by the lack of stability of the walls or of the structure backfills. During the trenching, while several dozens of mining structures were impacted, it was sometimes difficult to accurately attribute artefacts (knapping waste, axe roughouts, deer antler tools) to specific contexts. Once the trenches were completed, drawing was sometimes made difficult by the sheer size of the profiles and the complexity of the stratigraphy but, by contrast, work was made easier by the possibility to step back and have a larger view. The trenches also greatly facilitated the excavation of the remaining part of the structures.

More recent experiences and technological evolutions New development-led excavations of mining sites in France (those of Ressons-sur-Matz, discovered in 2005 were left untouched for preservation, Beaujard and Bostyn 2008) took place some fifteen years later, allowing to learn from past experiences but also to benefit from technological developments.

In the end and despite the few difficulties referred to above, the informative contribution of the trenches turned out to be very positive and provided an unparalleled picture of the sites. The whole geological context of the site, sometimes complex, could be assessed as well as the close relation between the mining structures and the raw material and the mining techniques strategy (de Labriffe 2006). Another benefit of the trenches was to document very quickly a fair number of mining structures: more than 20 at ‘Le Grand Bois Marot’ and 50 at ‘Les Orlets’ out of 800 brought to light (Fig. 5).

The experience of Ri-Rônai, Calvados district On the flint mines of Ri-Rônai, excavated in 2007, 30 to 50 shafts were expected after pre-construction survey, but the 2.2 hectares archaeological topsoil stripping led to the discovery of 550 shafts. The excavation was planned to last 6 months with an average field team of 10 archaeologists and had to be adapted according to the new parameters without altering the funding envelope assigned to the operation. The scientific management plan written by French National Institute for preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) provided for the exhaustive excavation of the mining structures identified within the right-of-way. It was decided by agreement with the Regional Archaeology Service to maintain that objective while keeping a recording level consistent with the management plan. In this context, mechanisation appeared unavoidable. The mixed use of mechanised and hand-excavations allowed the exhaustive study of the site with the exception, for obvious safety reasons, of a few shafts located near the edge of the study area.

It must be specified that, undertaken at the beginning of the 1990s before archaeology was structured as it is today, trenching was sometimes done in breach of safety regulations. It would undoubtedly be tricky to consider this operation the same way nowadays. Only Villemaur-sur-Vanne ‘Le Grand Bois Marot’ yielded occupation layers and well preserved knapping workshops on the whole right-of-way (between twenty and thirty). Within the framework of limited resources only two of these chipping floors were excavated, of which the largest covered close to 35 square metres. The clusters were first excavated then the artefacts were recorded and collected by successive layers in ¼ square metres units. Artefacts, in considerable quantity (more than 800kg for the main cluster), were next washed with a high-pressure cleaner, sorted, weighted, and categorized according to a simplified typological inventory (Augereau 1995). No counting and refitting were done.

Nearly 530 shafts could be studied, among which about 40 were less than 1m30 deep and were hand-excavated so as to evaluate the results bias between the two techniques. An average of 5 shafts a day was excavated mechanically using a systematic methodology planned in advance. The shafts were cut in half as far as possible, given their close proximity to one another (assuming that some structures could overlap, longitudinal cross sections were undertaken). The artefacts discovered in 14

Françoise Bostyn et al.: Twenty-five Years Excavating Flint Mines in France and Belgium

Fig. 5. Villemaur-sur-Vanne ‘Le Grand Bois Marot’, Aube district. Interpretative sketch of the digging and backfilling processes of a shaft.

15

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 6. Ri-Rônai ‘Le Fresne’, Orne district. A–plan layout of the large knapping workshop discovered in the loess; B–photography of the 3D scan of the knapping workshop.

16

Françoise Bostyn et al.: Twenty-five Years Excavating Flint Mines in France and Belgium the backfills and the width variations of the structure were manually recorded, for each excavation level, on a 1/50 scale polyester copy of the horizontal plans. Stratigraphic cross sections were recorded before excavating the other half of the shafts as far as possible, according to the proximity of the structures (220 cross sections). The knapping waste deposits found in the backfills of the shafts and the large knapping workshop preserved in the loess cover (Fig. 6) were, for some 50 of them, hand-excavated and recorded with a drawing frame. The few other knapped flint clusters found during mechanical excavation were collected solely for the lithic study. Fig. 7. Mesnil-Saint-Loup, Aube district. Density of the extraction features after the topsoil stripping of the whole excavated area. View from a stationary balloon down the valley of the river Vanne. Photo: Dombe-Rhône.

A large number of radiocarbon dates were obtained on the site of Ri-Rônai. The first 40 dates were included in the initial management plan and another 100 were imposed by the Commission Interrégionale de la Recherche Archéologique (CIRA) prior to the publication. Eventually only 12 more dates were made. Both series (standard dates obtained on deer antlers) are quite homogeneous, clustering approximately around two centuries (between 4000 and 3800 cal BC), with the exception of one date relating to a later mining phase on the site. The scientific justification of the second series of dates is therefore not obvious given the homogeneity of the results.

unbroken deer antlers) and to prevent them from ending up with the excavation waste. However, the homogeneous characteristics of the structures, of the mining and backfilling methods, and of the tools used, leave little room for unexpected data (scarce faunal remains and potsherds). Moreover, identifying the edges of manually excavated structures is sometimes very difficult and we can never be sure to follow the exact limits of the Neolithic diggings (several shafts were dug in older mining backfills). Lastly, safety regulations are never altogether respected (overhangs, galleries). Ultimately, in the case of the mines of RiRônai, few factors would have benefited from the handexcavation of the shafts and, in hindsight, it could be said that hand-excavation could have been restricted to the knapping workshops, the hearths and the deer antlers clusters. It is indeed these evidence on which the understanding of the way a mining site was operated primarily rely (did the miners make their digging tools on the site? what did they do with the extracted flint?) more than on the details of their mining methods, all broadly similar.

The main cluster of hand-excavated shafts was recorded with a 3D scanner. If the technique allows to obtain stratigraphic profiles in every desired direction, it is of moderate help given the restricted access to the software. Once the picture is horizontally rectified it is possible to obtain an accurate view of the extension of Neolithic diggings but it brings few new data compared to the 1:100 scale plans done manually during the mechanical excavation. Likewise, the vertical view does not add anything compared to a classic, even schematic, cross section. A 3D scan, however, remains a top-notch didactic and aesthetic tool. Above all the technique makes it possible to obtain a recording of a set of shafts with accuracy to the nearest centimetre and to constitute high-quality archives. This documentary source is a good supplement to the photographs and controlling the lighting brings out specific features. Furthermore, the 3D visual rendering of the large knapping workshop is complementary to the stratigraphic profiles and allows to highlight the slight domes formed by each knapping stations. In this case the tool is of interest to illustrate the field observations and records.

Full mechanical excavations at Mesnil-Saint-Loup (Aube district): an appropriate strategy for mining sites? The case of a nearly all-mechanical excavation occurred recently on the occasion of an archaeological assessment on the mining site of Mesnil-Saint-Loup, in the region of Champagne. No mining site had been subjected to that type of procedure yet.

Is there anything that would have justified a handexcavation in Ri-Rônai? Regarding the mining sites, given their peculiarities, the question is not insignificant. Hand-excavation enables you to recover artefacts in somewhat better condition (notably

The mining site of Mesnil-Saint-Loup is located in the valley of the Vanne River on the same side as the Villemaur-sur-Vanne and Pâlis mining sites mentioned earlier, approximately 5km to the south-west. It belongs to the Mining Complex of the ‘Pays d’Othe’. 17

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 8. Mesnil-Saint-Loup, Aube district. Sketch cross-section of the mining pits illustrating the outlines of the structure, the top backfills or ‘pit cap’ and the flint nodules in primary context. CAD Paléotime.

The pre-construction excavation affected a surface of nearly 8000m2 and was conducted over nine weeks, in the spring of 2010, with a team involving seven people and the brief intervention of a geoarchaeologist (H.-G. Naton, Géoarcheon). More than 560 structures were discovered (Fig. 7), resulting in a density of approximately 800 structures per hectare. The quantitative and qualitative importance of the site was not anticipated during the diagnostic phase but we nevertheless met the objectives of the prescription. The average depth of the structures was 90 cm, with extreme values ranging from 20 to 285 cm and morphologies varying between simple mining pits to shafts with underground workings (Hauzeur et al. 2010). The site is chronologically very homogeneous, dated between 3900 and 3500 cal BC, with a high probability for a calendar age of 3700–3650 cal BC. The period during which the mining site was operated is in line with the other mining sites of the ‘Pays d’Othe’ and the mines of Serbonnes (Yonne district) and gives the term ‘mining complex’ its relevance. The raw material was extracted from several flint seams and the lithic production focussed on the making of axeheads, of which almost 400 roughouts were collected during the excavations. A large number of deer antler artefacts were also identified, essentially mining tools, as well as a few hammers made from antler burrs. No domestic item such as pottery was collected or observed.

sediments were mechanically sieved through a 10mm mesh. Hand-excavation was exceptional and was never applied to a structure as a whole. Once topsoil stripping was completed and the density of the features was known, the self-evident fact was that an average of fifteen pits had to be excavated each day! Each shaft was cut in two by the excavator, the bucket working in front of the cross section, as in Ri-Rônai. The circular path of the bucket created a more or less pronounced chamfer of the cross sections depending on the depth of the structures, which sometimes gave a misleading impression about their actual dimensions. A draft on a 1:50 scale was quickly drawn and as often as possible a photograph was taken (Fig. 8). The second half of the structures was systematically emptied and if necessary the field draft was adjusted. In retrospect, it is fortunate that most of the features were actually shallow mining pits and that deep shafts proved to be few on the right-of-way. Fortunately as well the backfills were very similar with a typical and repeated stratigraphic sequence. Except for the shafts that were selected for mechanic sieving and a few other exceptions, only the most significant artefacts were collected in the excavator bucket: axehead roughouts, deer antler picks, flaked nodules... In spite of the mechanical excavation technique used on the site, traces of prehistoric mining tools could be observed on the walls of several structures.

So as to conform to the prescription, the excavation was entirely mechanized from the topsoil stripping to the emptying of the structures necessitating the constant use of the hydraulic excavator, equipped with a 80 cm wide toothless bucket so as not to impact the neighbouring features. About a hundred structures were ‘excavated’ in more detail as all the backfilling

The all-mechanical archaeological excavation is extremely destructive and obviously leaves you frustrated. Indeed, if one cannot deny the advantage of being able to excavate a site in a very short time frame and of obtaining a comprehensive overall picture 18

Françoise Bostyn et al.: Twenty-five Years Excavating Flint Mines in France and Belgium of the mining features, the lack of qualitative data collected is undeniable. This extreme method does not allow either for detailed stratigraphical observations or for the understanding of the stratigraphic relation between the structures (overlaps, connecting galleries, etc.) and their volumetry. Even with mechanical sieving one cannot claim to an exhaustive collection of archaeological artefacts and a fortiori to their recording by stratigraphic units. To abide by the time constraints, the prescription objectives and to collect a maximum of data, excavations and recording procedures were not necessarily compatible with safety requirements.

in diagonally opposite quadrants. Thereafter the remaining quadrants were dug up to a depth of 60cm to obtain a flat surface and the excavation could proceed deeper. The cross section is thus created as the excavations progress. The excavations are not limited to the edges of the structure but expand beyond, both to obtain a more comprehensive view of the cross section and to be able to shore up the archaeological digs for obvious security reasons. The measures allowing the reconstruction of the inner volume of the shaft were undertaken according to the same methods as in Jablines. Hand-excavation was completed by systematic dry sieving of all the sediments through a 4mm mesh as well as the occasional collecting of sediment samples to be wet-sieved in the laboratory through a set of 2mm to 200 microns meshes in order to collect malacofauna and wood charcoal.

The planned excavation, a small scale operation with high added value Spiennes, located at the south of the Mons Basin in Belgium, was one of the first mining sites discovered in Europe. While most archaeological research was limited to the upper part of the structures, excavations of complete mines were exceptional. This is explained, here as on other sites, by the level of resource required for the investigation of such deep mining structures and the sheer amount of work involved. In Spiennes the shafts often reach a depth of 8 to 10m, sometimes even 16m, at the base of which mining galleries were dug. In 140 years of exploration, a mere 13 structures were fully excavated (Collet et al. 2008).

This long-term hand-excavation, impossible to implement as such in a development-led archaeology context, offers the advantage of allowing all the necessary observations in terms of size and shape of the mine, of stratigraphic relation with the other structures and of stratigraphical description. In the case of Spiennes, where the layers of the surrounding substratum are varied and where the stratigraphy of the backfills is extremely complex because of the depth of the shafts, the detailed stratigraphic study proves essential in order to decode the mining activity (Fig. 9). It allows the understanding of the taphonomic history of the structure between its creation and the moment when it is excavated (natural backfilling by runoff, wall collapse, drawdown) and makes possible, as it was achieved for the Jablines and A5 highway mining sites, the reconstruction of the initial morphology of the mine as it was dug, often far removed from what is actually observable. It documents with accuracy the phases of mining activity, shutdown and resuming of the mining activity. The accumulation of such data can help answering questions about the periodicity and the intensity of mining operations and, on a broader level, to clarify step by step the issue of site occupation.

Recognized as World Heritage by UNESCO in 2000, archaeological operations are led on the site in view of its preservation. Interventions, even when undertaken prior to a development project, are kept to a strict minimum. Stripped areas are thus of limited surface (from 150 to 1500m² for the largest). Rather than resorting to fast and cost-effective mechanical excavations, the structures are most often excavated only on the impacted upper part. The major disadvantage stems from the fact that collected data are both occasional and fragmentary. More general results are expected over the long term thanks to the gradual build-up of data. In the absence of large stripped and tested transects, it is difficult to estimate both the number of structures and their spatial distribution. The general site gitology is difficult to understand as well but in Spiennes, fortunately, a large cross section was made available in the 19th century during the trenching of the railway and offset this problem.

Manual excavation and dry sieving enable a very satisfying sampling of the remains preserved in the backfills of the shaft, notably bones and pottery which, a specificity of the site, are not uncommon. Remains of domestic animal foetus, evidence of cattle breeding in the close vicinity of the site, could thus be discovered (Fig. 9).

As part of a limited excavation of two 9 and 10 metres deep mines at the end of the 1990s, the shafts were divided into quadrants and fully hand-excavated, which allowed the recording of two perpendicular cross sections. In order to have the necessary distance to be able to record the stratigraphical data in such a confined space, the excavation was undertaken by successive layers of a maximum thickness of 60cm

Dry sieving through a 4mm mesh is interesting for collecting the very numerous nearly contemporaneous intrusive bones found on the whole depth of the shaft (amphibians, small mammals…), the analysis of which 19

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 9. Spiennes, Mons district, Belgium. Stratigraphic cross-section of the ST 11 shaft in Petit-Spiennes and its interpretation on the basis of the stratigraphy and the fauna. CAD: M. Woodbury, Public Service of Wallonia.

20

Françoise Bostyn et al.: Twenty-five Years Excavating Flint Mines in France and Belgium helps to grasp both the duration of the filling process and the environment of the mining site (Collet and Van Neer 2002).

systematically as it conveys additional information on the evolution of the mining structures after they were abandoned in areas not immediately perceptible to archaeologists. However a sampling strategy has to be developed because the malacofauna is overabundant and the risk of duplicating redundant results is real. Anthracological and palynological approaches are more mixed because remains are often badly preserved. This does not prevent from targeting occasional eyesamplings of, for instance, wood charcoal in the mining waste deposits that could provide data on mining techniques.

If the occasional collecting of anthracological samples is more limited and can also provide data on the environment, it can help us understand mining techniques as well. In Spiennes as in Jablines specific tree species may have been used for lighting at the bottom of the mines (Aurélie Salavert, personal communication). The site of Spiennes turned out to be very rich in malacofauna, and the upper layers of the shafts backfills proved to be a rather good pollen trap. Cross-checking the palaeoenvironmental data gave consistent results.

In this way, as part of a development-led operation, a hand-excavation is necessary for some of the shafts. The use of the mechanical excavator can only be conceived as an addition to manual excavation and should be involved only as a second step. Mechanical excavation experiences show, indeed, the shortcomings of the methodology when it is used on its own. Confronted with the fast destruction of the site and with the weakening of the chalky bedrock, it is impossible to optimize the recording of both artefacts and structure morphology.

Assessment of experiences: a universal method for the excavation of mining sites? Confronting those different experiences allows to highlight a number of consensual methodological approaches for the excavation of mining sites in a development-led context. Complete topsoil stripping of the areas to be constructed seems inescapable from now on, an aspect that has to be emphasized. Indeed it is the only way to obtain an accurate overall map of the archaeological structures that gives an idea of the density of the mining site and can serve as a basis for discussing excavation plans and methods. When the development plan permits, the digging of cross sections in the substratum seems essential for the understanding of local geological contexts and flint gitology. They alone allow the assessing of local variations in the distribution of the seams and the quality of the raw material. Observations that are made on that occasion can bring elements of explanation to potential variations in the morphology of the mining structures.

The use of the excavator nevertheless offers some advantages that should be emphasized. Besides reducing the duration of the operation – handexcavation is time consuming and demanding for the field team – it provides without doubt an easy global view of the site. It also allows, and therein probably lies its main interest, to explore a large number of structures, even to excavate all the structures. This ensures that no major information is lost. Confronted with the repetitive nature of the mining structures on the same site, one could question the scientific value of exhaustiveness. When data recording conditions are good, the excavation of all the mining structures allows the drawing of a map of the mining features at the depth of the flint seams and of the galleries and shafts overlaps. This allows to measure accurately the exploitation rate of the flint seam and to evaluate the volumes of raw material extracted on a given area but also to estimate the quantity of tools produced. In this way, when time variable is taken into account, one can suggest interpretations on the evolution of the site discuss the role of the mining site within the territory occupied by Neolithic people – whether they be miners or not – and on a broader scale, the place of mining products within the Neolithic economic system. However, the two case studies of exhaustive excavations in Ri-Rônai and Mesnil-Saint-Loup were made possible only because the mining shafts were of reasonable size. One can question the efficiency and the cost of such a method if it was implemented on deep shafts such as in Jablines or in Spiennes. At all events we have shown that manual and mechanical

The reading of stratigraphies appears as an unavoidable step, especially in the case of deep structures for which the filling process could have spread over time and thus be the result of very different events (anthropic backfillings, natural collapses, animal falls, etc.). The removal of artefacts by stratigraphic units is selfevident in order to achieve a thorough understanding of the structure, the way it was operated, the way mining activities were organized. The use of 3D recording systems can also be considered because it allows a dynamic reconstruction of the structures and, beyond the educational aspect, it can provide information about the quantities dug out and the yield rate of the mines. The palaeoenvironmental approach of which the interest was clearly underlined in the recent research in Spiennes also has to be taken into account 21

Between History and Archaeology excavations are complementary, that flexibility should be maintained in the use of the excavator, which should never be undertaken without a close monitoring of the drawing of profiles and the recording of the data. As was pointed out above, the general difficulty of dating mining sites was overcome when a series of radiocarbon dates were obtained. Those show the length of mining site occupation on the regional scale as was evidenced in the ‘Pays d’Othe’ (Fig. 10) but also show consistency within the sites themselves. However, when the clustered dates in Mesnil-Saint-Loup are compared with those of the A5 Highway one can argue that such a higher accuracy could be reflecting the finetuning of dating methods in the past fifteen years. The number of dates should however be in relation with the number of excavated shafts and distributed over the whole studied area. Suggesting a mining operations model by extrapolating the data (kriging) is possible if the sampling protocol of the structures to be dated is established well in advance. Selecting the samples in a rigorous way, a ratio between one in five and one in ten structures to be dated could be used. Conclusion By confronting various field experiences spread over more than 20 years we can offer a methodological assessment of the different excavation strategies implemented and emphasize the strong and weak points of each approach developed. The understanding of flint mines, as any other site type, necessitates a reliable recording methodology allowing a maximum use of the data. In a development-led archaeology context, a consensus is emerging on the rational use of the excavator next to manual excavations which ensures the basis of the documentation. The mechanical excavation of the totality of the mining structures can only be considered if it is undertaken with a clear scientific goal and not as a money-saving solution. Translated by Philippe Lavachery References Agache, R. 1959. Les extractions de silex de la station néolithique des Plantis à Hardivilliers. Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française 56 (9–10): 545–561. Augereau, A. 1995. Les ateliers de fabrication de haches de la minière du ‘Grand Bois Marot’ à Villemaur-surVanne (Aube). In J. Pélegrin and A. Richard (eds), Les mines de silex au Néolithique en Europe - Avancées récentes. Actes de la table-ronde internationale de Vesoul, 18-19 octobre 1991: 145–158. Nancy. Documents préhistoriques 7. Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques, Section de Préhistoire et de Protohistoire.

Fig. 10. Series of radiocarbon dates for the mining sites of the Pays d’Othe, Aube district. CAD: A. Hauzeur.

22

Françoise Bostyn et al.: Twenty-five Years Excavating Flint Mines in France and Belgium Beaujard, S. and Bostyn, F. 2008. Une nouvelle minière à silex du Néolithique à Ressons-sur-Matz ‘Le Fond Madelon Duriez’ (Oise). Revue Archéologique de Picardie 3and 4: 9–21. Bostyn, F. and Lanchon, Y. (eds). 1992. Jablines ‘Le Haut Château’ (Seine-et-Marne): une minière de silex au Néolithique. Paris. Documents d’Archéologie Française 35. Bulard, A., Degros, J. and Tarrête, J. 1986. Premières fouilles sur le site néolithique d’extraction du silex du Haut Chateau à Jablines (Seine et Marne). Actes du colloque sur le Néolithique, Caen 1983. Revue archéologique de l’Ouest (special number): 55–70. Collet, H. and Van Neer, W. 2002. Stratigraphie et faune d’un puits d’extraction néolithique à Petit-Spiennes. Anthropologica et Prehistorica 113: 73–104. Collet, H., Hauzeur, A. and Lech, J. 2008. The Prehistoric Flint Mining Complex at Spiennes (Belgium) on the Occasion of its Discovery 140 years ago. In P. Allard, F. Bostyn, F. Giligny and J. Lech (eds), Flint Mining in Prehistoric Europe. Interpreting the Archaeological Records. European Association of Archaeologists, 12th Annual Meeting, Cracow, Poland, 19th-24th September 2006: 41–77. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 1891. Desloges, J. 1986. Fouilles de mines à silex sur le site néolithique de Bretteville-le-Rabet (Calvados), Actes du Xe colloque interrégional sur le Néolithique, Caen, 1983. Revue Archéologique de l’Ouest. Suppl. n° 1: 73–101. Dijkman, W. 1980. F 6 Salinelles, ‘Vigne du Cade’, Dép. Gard. In G. Weisgerber, R. Slotta and J. Weiner (eds), 5000 Jahre Feuersteinbergbau: die Suche nach dem Stahl der Steinzeit, 478–479. Bochum, Deutsches BergbauMuseum. Veröffentlichungen aus dem Deutschen Bergbau-Museum 77. Ghesquière, E., Marcigny, C., Giazzon, D., TsobgouAhoupe, R., Charraud, F., Juhel, L. and Giazzon, S. 2012. La minière néolithique de Ri ‘ Le Fresne ‘ (Orne). In G. Marchand and G. Querré (eds), Roches et Sociétés de la Préhistoire: 453–464. Presses Universitaires de Rennes. Guillaume, C. 1975. Gisement d’extraction et de taille de silex de la ‘Côte de Bar’ à Saint-Mihiel (Meuse). Bulletin de l’Académie et de la Société Lorraine des Sciences 14(3): 73–90. Hauzeur, A., Collin, J.-P., Naton, H.-G., Bernard-Guelle, S. and Fernandes, P. 2010. Un site d’exploitation néolithique dans le complexe minier du Pays d’Othe: fouille préventive à Mesnil-Saint-Loup – ‘Les Vieilles Vignes’ (Aube, France). Notae Praehistoricae 30: 57–71.

Labriffe, P.-A. de 2006. De grands trous néolithiques : les structures d’extraction de silex du Pays d’Othe (Aube, France), éléments d’une chaîne opératoire originale et partagée? In M.-C. Frère-Sautot (ed), Des trous … Structures en creux pré- et protohistoriques, Actes du colloque de Dijon et Baume-les-Messieurs, 24–26 mars 2006: 27–36. Montagnac, Monique Mergoil. Préhistoires 12. Labriffe, P.-A. de, Augereau, A., Sidéra, I and Ferdouel, F. 1995a. Villemaur-sur-Vanne ‘Les Orlets’ (Aube), quatrième et dernière minère de l’autoroute A5. Résultats preliminaires. Actes du 19e colloque Interrégional sur le Néolithique. Amiens 1992. Revue Archéologique de Picardie N° spécial 9: 105–119. Labriffe, P.-A. de, Augereau, A. and Sidéra, I. 1995b. F–54 Villemaur-sur-Vanne ‘Le Grand Bois Marot’, Aube district. Archaeologia Polona 33: 322–335. Labriffe, P.-A. de, Augereau, A. and Sidéra, I. 1995c. F–55 Villemaur-sur-Vanne “Les Orlets”, Aube district. Archaeologia Polona 33: 335–345. Labriffe, P.-A. de and Sidéra, I. 1995a. F–52 Serbonnes ‘Le Revers de Brossard’, Yonne district. Archaeologia Polona 33: 313–319. Labriffe, P.-A. de and Sidéra, I. 1995b. F–53 Pâlis ‘Le Buisson Gendre’, Aube district. Archaeologia Polona 33: 319–322. Labriffe, P.-A. de and Thébault, D. 1995. Mines de silex et grands travaux, l’autoroute A5 et les sites d’extraction du Pays d’Othe. In J. Pélegrin and A. Richard (eds), Les mines de silex au Néolithique en Europe - Avancées récentes. Actes de la table-ronde internationale de Vesoul, 18-19 octobre 1991: 47–66. Paris. Documents préhistoriques 7. Nancy, Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques, Section de Préhistoire et de Protohistoire. Schmid, E. 1980. Der Silex-Bergbau bei Veaux-Malaucène in Südfrankreich (F1a, b). In G. Weisgerber, R. Slotta and J. Weiner (eds), 5000 Jahre Feuersteinbergbau: die Suche nach dem Stahl der Steinzeit: 166–178. Bochum, Deutsches Bergbau-Museum. Veröffentlichungen aus dem Deutschen Bergbau-Museum 77. Soulier, P. 1973. Les structures d’extraction du silex. Cahiers du Centre de Recherches Préhistoriques de l’Université de Paris I 1: 37–51. Weisgerber, G., Slotta, R. and Weiner, J. (eds). 1980. 5000 Jahre Feuersteinbergbau: die Suche nach dem Stahl der Steinzeit. Bochum, Deutsches Bergbau-Museum. Veröffentlichungen aus dem Deutschen BergbauMuseum 77.

23

24

Flint Mining in Northern France and Belgium: a Review Françoise Bostyn

INRAP Nord-Picardie, UMR 8215-Trajectoires, 11 rue des Champs, 59650 Villeneuve d’Ascq, France e-mail: [email protected]

Hélène Collet

Service public de Wallonie, Service de l’Archéologie de la Direction du Hainaut I, 52 rue d’Harmignies, B-7032 Spiennes e-mail: [email protected]

Jean-Philippe Collin

Université de Namur, LIATEC, Université Paris 1, UMR 8215, Rue de Bruxelles 61, B-5000 Namur, Belgium e-mail: [email protected]

François Giligny

Université Paris 1, UMR 8215, Trajectoires, Maison René Ginouvès, 21 Allée de l’université, F-92023 NANTERRE Cedex, France e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: This article proposes an overview of current knowledge on flint mines in France and Belgium. Indeed since 1995 there has been no review of the documentation on this question and on the state of research regarding several themes: status of sites, dating, and product distribution. Several new discoveries in France resulted from preventive archaeology, such as Ressonssur-Matz, Ri-Rônai, Mesnil-Saint-Loup, Espins or Loisy-en-Brie. Other formerly known quarries were rediscovered or partially explored at Soumont-Saint-Quentin, Flins-sur-Seine and in the region of the Saint-Gond marsh. In Belgium, extraction pits were investigated at Rullen, and in the Mons basin, excavation was undertaken at several sites (Harmignies, Villerot, Mesvin) and productions were studied on others (Flénu, Douvrain). At the major site of Spiennes, new shafts and workshops were excavated, with discoveries of human skeletons in their fillings. Extensive radiocarbon dating was undertaken on several mining sites, but this was still insufficient to characterize all the extraction activity. While the dates indicate a peak of exploitation in the 4th millennium BC, certain mines such as Spiennes were exploited for a very long period, about 2000 years. The choices of production vary: certain mines with a local impact have productions restricted to rather domestic use, whereas others such as Spiennes and Jablines are massively exploited and diffuse at a regional scale, or even at a greater distance, extracting at depth and producing quality products with a high level level of know-how (Spiennes, Jablines). The analysis of the products distribution from these two mining centres shows that finished products circulated over several hundred kilometres. Keywords: flint mine, France, Belgium, axes, distribution networks, radiocarbon dates

New archaeological data on flint mines Discoveries and rediscoveries in France

Introduction The publication of a voluminous catalogue (in 1980, at the Bochum conference; Weisgerber 1980), providing the scientific community with a detailed state of knowledge on flint mines throughout Europe, marked a turning point in flint-mining research, at last placing it in the position it deserved – at the forefront of technological and socio-economic studies on the European Neolithic. This catalogue was updated in a special volume of Archaeologia Polona, published on the occasion of the 7th Flint symposium in 1995 at Krzemionki Opatowskie, Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski district (Lech 1995). The present special volume in honour of Jacek Lech provides us the opportunity to propose a new synthesis of knowledge acquired over the last 20 years on the subject, focusing however on northwestern France and Belgium. Nevertheless, the aim of this article is not only to provide an inventory of recent discoveries, but also to address some particular topics, where significant progress has been made, such as the status of mining sites, the dating of mining activity or the distribution networks of specialised productions.

Since the discoveries in the late 1980s of the flint mines at Jablines ‘le Haut-Château’ (Seine-et-Marne district; Bostyn and Lanchon 1992), during construction of a high-speed railway link, and in the Othe region, during construction of the A5 motorway (de Labriffe et al. 1995a, 1995b; de Labriffe and Sidéra 1995a, 1995b), some new flint mines have been added to the corpus of mining sites in France (Fig. 1). In 2005, a new flint mine exploiting the Campanian level was discovered at Ressons-sur-Matz, Oise district (Beaujard and Bostyn 2008). Unfortunately, no excavation was conducted on this site, and only the information collected during the archaeological diagnostic is available today. The removal of subsoil on a surface of 2000m2 in addition to trial trenches helped to delimit the extraction area to the north, south and east, while the site continues westward out of the excavated zone. Thirty-eight extraction features were mapped on surface but just one was partially 25

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 1. Map of the flint mines in France and Belgium. CAD: F. Giligny.

low intensity of extraction underground. The lithic remains testify almost exclusively to axe production, even if some cores indicate flake production. This flint mine belongs to the mining complex of the Othe region defined at the time of the A5 motorway excavations (de Labriffe and Thebault 1995), including the flint mines of Villemaur-sur-Vanne ‘les Orlets’ and ‘Le Grand Bois Marot’ (de Labriffe et al. 1995a, 1995b) and the mine of Palis ‘le Buisson Gendre’ (de Labriffe and Sidéra 1995a). It shares many common characteristics, such as the morphological diversity of the features, the low intensity of exploitation of the flint levels and the high density of pits on surface.

excavated. The shaft is 2.75m deep and the length of the galleries at the bottom is no greater than 2.5m. The archaeological finds from the filling of the shaft consist essentially of waste, particularly with a fragment of bifacial preform. Only one fragment of unworked deer antler was found on the bottom of one gallery and was probably a reserve for the manufacture of mining tools. Even if we cannot extrapolate the evidence from one pit to the entire flint mine, the proximity of the shafts on the surface suggests that this mine is composed of small and relatively shallow shafts. The best comparisons can be found on the flint mines of Nointel and Hardivillers (Oise district; Dijkman 1980; Agache 1959) and the Ressons flint mine seems to match the standard Picardy mining sites exploiting Cretaceous levels through small shafts with chambers or short galleries.

Recently, another new flint mine was found at Loisy-enBrie (Marne district) during the construction of a house (Martineau et al. 2014). The extraction features are also shallow pits or small shafts with a few short galleries. Sometimes the features are several metres wide but no more than one metre deep, because the flint levels in the Campanian chalk outcrop here.

In 2009, another flint mine was discovered at MesnilSaint-Loup (Aube district) and the excavations conducted in 2010 on a surface of 8000m2 revealed more than 560 extraction features which were all mechanically excavated (Hauzeur et al. 2010). Various types of features have been found, from simple mining pits (on average 0.90m deep) to deeper shafts (maximum 2.85m deep) with short and more or less radiant exploitation at the bottom. The high density of pits on the surface, some of them adjacent, probably resulted from the

A new flint mine was discovered at Ri-Rônai (Orne district) in advance of construction of the A88 motorway between Caen and Sées. A surface area of 2.2ha was investigated and 550 features were identified (Ghesquière et al. 2012). Five main types of feature 26

Françoise Bostyn et al.: Flint Mining in Northern France and Belgium were encountered: single pits that were not deep but sometimes several metres wide, shafts with chambers or with complete exploitation at the bottom all around the shaft, approximately 1.2m deep, deeper shafts (2m) of 2/3m diameter on surface, and deeper shafts (4m), sometimes with two extraction levels. In these cases the level of raw material is completely exploited and additional galleries are sometimes dug and extend the existing ones. Raw material included in the Jurassic chalk levels comes in the form of regular and very compact spheres that do not offer a suitable angle for knapping. It is necessary to break these spheres into two, then use each half independently. The main production conducted on the mine is also axe blade production, carried out on the half spheres or on large flakes.

vary from one mine to another. Dating of these sites is not firmly established for the moment, as only one date is available (others are in progress), but the close relationship between the flint mines and the collective tombs suggests at least one operating phase during the Late/Final Neolithic. Finally, we can mention a collective research project directed by François Giligny on the flint mine of Flinssur-Seine (Yvelines district), first identified by surface collections of abundant lithic artefacts, especially flaked axes. The comparison of aerial photographs and geophysical surveys confirmed the existence of extraction features (Giligny and Bostyn 2016), but none have been excavated. The important work of recording, mapping and production analysis has clarified the different stages of the operational sequence of axe production, which are strictly comparable to those known from the flint mine of Jablines where the same tertiary raw material has been exploited. Moreover, the terms of distribution of finished or semi-finished products, especially towards western France, was clarified. This research enlarged to all raw material available locally or imported from distant regions (Britain, Italy for example), highlighted the dynamism of axe blade distribution networks, with the river Seine acting as an important axis for travel and circulation.

The last flint mine discovery that may be mentioned, is that of Espins ‘Foupendant’ (Calvados district), made during an archaeological diagnostic (Charraud 2015) when thirty three extraction features were discovered. Four of them, mechanically excavated, are simple pits which depth can reach 3.3m. The Cinglais flint exploited in these shafts has been searched exclusively for blade production performed by indirect percussion. Two radiocarbon dates obtained on charcoal from the filling of one of the shafts, allow to situate the mining activity in the early Neolithic, which is perfectly consistent with the lithic remains found. This makes it one of the oldest flint mining sites in France.

All these flint mines (excluding Flins), although working at different geological horizons (Cretaceous and Jurassic), have a number of common characteristics, specific types of shallow features, often pits or shafts with chambers or small galleries. The consequence is a considerable surface density of shafts, which enables optimal exploitation of the resources. The deepest shafts, present on all sites, are probably tests to identify other exploitable flint levels. In fact, the labour involved in digging these features is not excessive and would not have required a high level of expertise.

Furthermore, some formerly recorded flint mines were the subject of new research. In 2008, the flint mine of Soumont-Saint-Quentin (Calvados district) was reinvestigated and more than 50 features were observed (Ghesquière et al. 2008). Only 9 have been partially excavated. Jurassic flint was extracted by means of simple pits or shafts with galleries about 2m deep. The aim was to obtain nodules for the production of regular blades and tranchets. The comparisons with the mine of Espins, which is located about fifteen kilometres to the west, lead the authors to attribute also this flint mine to the early Neolithic.

Twenty years of flint mines discoveries in Belgium In Belgium research has continued over the last twenty years, almost exclusively in the Mons Basin. No further investigation has improved our knowledge on mining sites formerly identified in Brabant and Hesbaye.

In the Saint-Gond marshes region, a research project directed by Rémi Martineau enabled a complete review of all the old documentation (Martineau et al. 2014). The information on flint mining sites was largely under-exploited, as previous work had focused mainly on the hypogea cemeteries. The re-analysis of these old data confirmed and documented the flint mines of Villevenard ‘La Craïère’, Coizard ‘La Haie Jeanneton’ and Vert-la-Gravelle/Toulon-la-Montage, as well as Vertus ‘Grandval’ located around 10km to the north. All these flint mines exploited the same Campanian level of flint in the Cretaceous chalk. This level forms a discontinuous outcrop, the depth of which seems to

In Voeren near the Dutch border, chipping floors were spotted at the end of the 19th century at Rullen-Haut, Rullen-Bas, Sint-Pieters-Voeren ‘Vrouwenbos’ (a place comprising Fouron Saint-Pierre ‘Bois Communal’ and ‘Bois des Sapins’) as well as Remersdael ‘Rodebos’ and ‘Hoogbos’ but no extraction feature had ever been identified and excavated there. The survey of the laying of a gas pipeline in 1998 confirmed the presence of a flint extraction site south of the hamlet of Rullen (village of Sint-Pieters-Voeren). Two flint extraction 27

Between History and Archaeology pits, a test pit and several flint knapping waste areas were unearthed. Both pits have a funnel-shaped profile. They have a diameter of 5.2m and 7.2m and a depth of 1.7 and 3.2m (Creemers et al. 1998). The exploited flint occurs as a flint nodules accumulation layer from the weathering of upper Maastrichtian chalk. Flint also occurs in secondary position in slope deposits where it is mixed with the Oligocene sand. It was exploited in both stratigraphic positions, especially on the slopes of a dry valley where flint is near the surface. One of the features (ST5) could be dated to the Late Neolithic (IRPA–1273: 4580 ± 40 BP). According to two radiocarbon dates from the chipping floors, the exploitation could have been active during the Bronze Age (Lv–1858: 3770 ± 80 BP and Lv–1138: 3570 ± 70 BP). Flint was worked on site for obtaining laminar products and axe-heads. The extraction features, knapping workshops and productions are reminiscent of low scale intermittent exploitation. The lithic study indicates that the assemblage is technologically unsophisticated and that knappers did not have a very high level of know-how (Creemers et al. 1998; Vermeersch et al. 2005).

of the chalk. Exploited flint comes from the base of the dissolution pipe, where flint accumulations have been identified. The knapping waste on the site, especially from the shallow pit, indicates the production of axeheads and flakes but also the good level of expertise of the knappers. Three deer antler tools have enabled us to date the structure between 3100 and 2900 BC. A potential mining site was identified at Villerot ‘Lambiez’. Artefacts either present a fresh cortex or reflect acquisition in dissolved chalk levels. The matrices have the typical characteristics of local flint. The presence of shallow extraction pits in the area where the flint outcrops cannot be excluded. The tranchets tools, particularly numerous, might have been used for extraction (Van Assche and Dufrasnes 2009). The lithics recovered from survey suggest an activity during the Middle Neolithic. The few fragments of polished axe-heads are made of Douvrain type flint. However, artefacts made of Villerot flint such as tranchets and flake tools were identified within a 10km area around Villerot ‘Lambiez’, on the surface of the settlements of Sirault ‘Notre-Dame de la Délivrance’ (Middle Neolithic), Harchies ‘Rieu’ and Harchies ‘L’étang de Préau’.

In the Mons Basin, excavations have focused primarily on the mining site of Spiennes, where research and preventive excavations were conducted from 1997 until now by the Walloon Public Service and the Society of Prehistoric Research in Hainaut. Also, a critical review of mining sites of the Mons Basin has been drawn up based on existing literature and surveys (Collin 2016).

At Mesvin ‘Sans Pareil’ archaeological survey has confirmed the presence of an extraction feature near the area excavated in 1957 (Collet and Woodbury 2008). The productions of the site remain to be characterized. On the same plateau, the existence of mines in Ciply at a place called ‘Trou des Sarrasins’ is unverifiable. The area was completely destroyed in the 19th century by the faience and phosphatic chalk industries (Cornet 1947: 45).

If we already know that the existence of flint mines in Strépy ‘Carrière Denuit’ and Obourg ‘Carrière Roland’ must be rejected (de Heinzelin et al. 1993), we must now do the same for Saint-Symphorien ‘Le Cerneau / Les Phosphates’ and Ghlin ‘Le Moulineau’, as there is no convincing evidence for the mining character of these sites. The presence of a mining site at Obourg cannot however be excluded. Indeed, a fortuitous discovery in a place called ‘The Village’ has raised the question of mining activity in this locality. Mining tools made of red deer antler dated between 4600 and 4500 BC were discovered at depth of 2m (Jadin et al. 2008). However, no lithic material was recovered and the mining context could not been confirmed by any archaeological excavation.

At Flénu, on the plateau of ‘L’Ostenne’, several 10 metres deep extraction features have been observed in the past (Briart and Cornet 1872). Survey in advance of road development has confirmed the mining status of the site (Leblois and Pacyna 1994) and ongoing research has specified an activity oriented to the production of Turonian axe-heads, generally small in size and with a narrow butt. It has to be noted that the density of features is very uneven on the 40 hectares covered by the site.

A small-scale preventive operation was undertaken in 2004 in Harmignies at a place called ‘La Fosse’ (Collet et al. 2004). The stripping of a surface of 1800m² revealed a single mining feature partially destroyed by modern quarrying activity, as well as a shallow pit containing flint knapping waste. The extraction feature was just under 2m deep and included three short galleries about 60cm high. One is dug into the chalk, and the other two at the boundary between the chalk and indurated sands present in the dissolution pipe located at the top

At Douvrain, the exact position of the extraction features remains unknown. However, the study of a large collection at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences originating from chipping floors discovered in this hamlet has confirmed the presence of flint mines in this locality. This is a coherent assemblage consisting of several hundred axe rough-outs, associated with a few flint extraction picks. In this vast collection, a significant variability of raw material was observed, including the type called ‘Ghlin flint’. Current studies 28

Françoise Bostyn et al.: Flint Mining in Northern France and Belgium An intense development of the extraction activity at the end of the 5th millennium and at the beginning of the 4th: an illusion from radiocarbon dates or a reality?

indicate that Douvrain axe-heads are distributed as far as 45km, including Final Neolithic contexts (Gillet et al. 2015). At Spiennes, three shafts of 9 and 10m depth have been investigated thoroughly since 1997. These excavations complement the data available in this sector and reveal a complex stratigraphy, reflecting long-lasting filling processes as well as interruptions in backfilling. This is evidence for seasonal organization of mining activities on the site (Collet et al. 2016). These excavations have provided new environmental data (Collet and Van Neer 2002; Defgnée and Collet 2003). Human skeletons were also found in the fills of these features (Collet and Toussaint 1998; Lavachery et al. 2015). Various preventive excavations in the vicinity of deep shafts and in two other places at the ‘Camp-à-Cayaux’ and along the valley of the river La Trouille, combined with systematic surveys conducted by François Gosselin, helped clarify the extent of the mining areas and better define the site’s size (Collet et al. 2008). Chipping floor excavations were also carried out at ‘Camp-à-Cayaux’ and ‘Petit-Spiennes’. The study of the raw material economy shows a drastic selection practiced from the extraction phase and confirms a whole activity oriented towards the production of axe-heads and blades (Collet et al. 2014; Collet et al. 2016). These new excavations, as well as the analysis of results from older excavations, helped to increase significantly the number of dates available for the site. There are now forty dates for the three mining areas and for the ditched enclosure (Collet et al. 2016).

With a few rare exceptions, the mining sites yield very few artefacts other than lithic products. This constantly raises the question of chronology and especially the attribution of mining sites to a specific cultural group. A link can sometimes be established with nearby settlement sites, as is the case with the Jablines mine and settlements in the Marne valley such as Vignely ‘Noue Fenard’, to which we can associate several graves containing polished axes (Bostyn 2015), or with Spiennes where a Michelsberg enclosure was built (Vanmontfort et al. 2008). But in certain areas, such as the ‘Pays d’Othe’, the evidence is very incomplete and such relations cannot be established. Thus use of radiocarbon dates is an essential solution, even if the method is not entirely satisfactory, due to error margins for all dates, even using AMS, and the problem of plateaus on the calibration curve. Over the last 20 years, archaeological operations have nevertheless provided large series of dates which complete the data acquired in the 1990s. In France, the most significant series come from excavations of the mines at RiRônai (Ghesquière et al. 2012) and Mesnil-Saint-Loup (Hauzeur et al. 2010; Bostyn et al. 2018). These large series of dates (52 at Ri-Rônai and 30 at Mesnil-SaintLoup), are particularly interesting because they relate to vast sites, occasionally with complete transects of the mine, as at Ri-Rônai (or Jablines). This improves the representativeness of the sample.

Socioeconomic and cultural contexts of mining

At Spiennes, where preventive and research excavation has been continuous for 20 years, 32 dates have been obtained for the various exploited sectors. The interest here is that, thanks to intensive re-examination of information obtained in 150 years of research on this site (Collet et al. 2008), the dated samples concern varied contexts and all the investigated sectors of the mining site. Furthermore, the last excavations at PetitSpiennes, some of which are still in progress, offered the opportunity to obtain several dates on the same shaft but from different phases, from its exploitation then from its abandonment. This approach enables one to estimate the length of time involved in the complete filling of rather deep shafts, the stratigraphy of which already testifies to a long and complex history.

While fieldwork in France over recent years is mainly related to preventive archaeology, several research projects, some of which involve both France and Belgium, have enabled work to be completed on areas surrounding mining sites, in a wide range of domains.1 We shall return here to three particular domains: progress in the dating of the mining phenomenon in France and in Belgium, a reflection on the status of the mining sites and an approach to the question of the diffusion of mining products. We should mention here the Programme collectif de recherches sur le Néolithique de l’Ouest parisien (Giligny and Bostyn 2016), which was especially focused on the Flins-sur-Seine flint mine, the Programme collectif de recherches sur la géoarchéologie du silex dans le nord-ouest de la France (Allard et al. 2005), the French-German ANR DFG project on the Michelsberg directed by J.-P. Demoule and F. Lüth (Aubry et al. 2014), the JADE ANR project directed by Pierre Petrequin (Giligny et al. 2012), the cooperation program with RBINS and IAE PAN (Collet et al., 2008); the Spiennes flint mining site dating project and the study of human remains conducted by the public Service of Wallonia in collaboration with the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and AWEM (Toussaint et al. 2010), as well as doctoral research on productions from flint mines in the Mons Basin and their diffusion (Collin, in progress).

1 

The compilation of radiocarbon dates available2 (fig 2) adds up to 93 dates for the sites of Spiennes (32), Harmignies (3), Obourg (2), Rullen (1), Ri-Rônai (28)3, 2  Six dates have been excluded: one from Saint-Mihiel, one from Jablines, one from Nointel, two from Bretteville-le-Rabet, due to their high standard deviations (+- 190 or more), and a date with old wood effect from Mesvin. 3  A total of 52 dates were made on the Ri-Rônai mine, but some of

29

Between History and Archaeology Jablines (20), St-Mihiel (2), Ressons (1), Sèvres (1) and Hallencourt (1), which we can compare to the 60 dates from the ‘Pays d’Othe’ and the Yonne (Serbonnes – 14, Palis 4, Villemaur-sur-Vanne ‘Bois Marot’ – 4, Villemaur-sur-Vanne ‘Les Orlets’ – 8 and Mesnil-SaintLoup – 30). These dates indicate that the beginning of the exploitation of certain sites may have started in the middle of the 5th millennium BC, as at Obourg ‘Le Village’, and more certainly from the end of the 5th millennium BC, as at Mesvin. At Villemaur-surVanne, the majority of the extraction features are also connected with this phase and the radiocarbon dating is coherent with one of the rare finds from the features, in this particular case a complete pottery vessel attributed to the beginning of the regional Middle Neolithic II (de Labriffe et al. 1995b). But intensive mining activity is clearly dated to the first quarter of the 4th millennium on the majority of sites (Ri, Jablines, Spiennes ‘Camp à Cayaux’ and ‘Petit-Spiennes’, Mesnil-Saint-Loup). Nevertheless, in the sector of Petit-Spiennes, the main exploitation phase takes place during the second half of the 4th millennium, which is also the time when activity seems to develop at Rullen, Harmignies, Palis and Serbonnes. Lastly, even if it appears less intense, the extraction of raw material continues on the mines, sometimes right up to the end of the Neolithic. If we compiled all the available dates for France and Belgium according to the same principles as those implemented by Tim Kerig and his collaborators on the scale of Europe (Kerig et al. 2015), it is likely we would obtain a curve rather close to theirs (op cit, Fig. 2), at least for the second part of the Neolithic from 4200 BC, with a very marked peak around 4000 BC. The parallel evolution of the curves of fluctuation in mining activities and population density suggests quite strong links between demography and mining, with increases and reductions in lithic production reflecting actual economic cycles. However, although this cumulative approach effectively highlights broad evolutionary trends, it does mask regional disparities. First of all, as regards the early Neolithic of regions concerned by this study (between 5100 and 4750 cal BC), while we observe a considerable increase in the number of sites and thus probably in population, together with an intensification of long distances exchange networks (Allard 2005; Bostyn and Denis 2016), the indications of mining remain so far particularly tenuous (cf. above). There are still very few radiocarbon dates confirming the presence of mining features during the early Neolithic. Besides, we can probably see in the increase of mining activities at the end of the 5th millennium BC,

Fig. 2. Radiocarbon dates from flint mines (except Pays d’Othe), ordered chronologically by site. After Bostyn and Lanchon 1992; Collet et al. 2004; Vermeersch et al. 2005; Beaujard and Bostyn 2008; Jadin et al. 2008; Toussaint et al. 2010; Ghesquière et al. 2012; Collet et al. 2016.

these have yet to be published. The whole set of dates is coherent, according to oral information kindly provided by Emmanuel Ghesquière and Cyril Marcigny, to whom we express our gratitude here.

30

Françoise Bostyn et al.: Flint Mining in Northern France and Belgium standard (Harmignies ‘La Fosse’), is restricted and anecdotal in terms of socio-economic impact. On the contrary, the significant investment in the form of deep shafts at Spiennes and Flénu is explained by the choice to exploit specific flint seams, in line with defined productions. Besides the quality of the raw material, richness of the seams and morphometry of blocks are essential. This is not the raw material as such which was sought, but blanks conducive to mass production of axe-heads and regular blades. This enables one to determine which extraction sites had a structural economic function: Douvrain, Flénu and Spiennes. This correlation between investment in the acquisition and production of blanks and the importance of the site in exchange networks peaked with the deep shafts of the Camp-à-Cayaux at Spiennes. Regular slabs of 500kg were quarried there to a depth of 16m, despite the presence of shallower seams of exploitable nodules. Spiennes is also the only site of the Mons Basin where the production of long blades is attested, and this is particularly well documented in the ‘Camp-à-Cayaux’.

accompanied by massive production of axes blades, the reflection of an evolution of economic activities. The forest clearance attested by palaeo-environmental studies could indicate not only forest exploitation linked to a high demand for timber used for buildings and fences, but also an evolution in the management of fields and pastures. Furthermore, we cannot avoid the question of the representativeness of the series of dates available today. They may appear numerous, but they only date small parts of the mining sites, which always cover vast surface areas but have never been very extensively explored. So, it is very likely that the durations of mining exploitation would be considerably extended if these sites were more exhaustively investigated, as at Spiennes where various sectors of the site were studied and where the exploitation covers about two millennia. To conclude on the question of radiocarbon dates, the available data in our study area show very intense mining activity throughout 4th millennium BC, marked however by some variability between the mining sites, resulting from the conjunction of various factors. The small number of dates testifying to mining activity in the 3rd millennium is probably more attributable to a deficit of data than an actual population decline – a decline which is in fact contradicted by the numerous discoveries in recent years of settlement sites in northern France (Joseph et al. 2011).

In the northwest of France, similar observations can be made between mining sites. The Bartonian Tertiary flint worked at the Jablines mine comes in the form of slabs, certainly less voluminous than those of Spiennes, but larger than the nodules from the Cretaceous horizons. In addition, their tabular morphology is a major asset for the production of bifacial pieces that naturally fit into the initial volumes, while the more irregular morphology and less suitable Cretaceous nodules require a prior trimming of blocks with an inevitable loss of volume. The search for high-quality raw material at Jablines is attested by features over 7m deep, requiring a significant investment not only for sinking the shaft but also for digging galleries that also reach out more than 7m horizontally. On the other hand, the extraction features that exploited the Cretaceous horizons are mostly around 2–3m deep, and are sometimes simple pits. Underground features are rarely extensive, consisting of alveoli and a few small, shallow galleries. The use life of these structures is rather short. Furthermore, in addition to providing the raw material for axe production, the shafts probably supplied the vast majority of the raw material used for the domestic productions, most of which come from Chasséen settlement contexts (Augereau et al. 2016). Lastly, in the well-documented areas such as the middle Oise valley, there is good evidence for links at local level between flint mines, plateau and valley enclosures and open settlements, all spread over an area of about 20km in diameter (Aubry et al. 2014). The flint mines seem well integrated into the spatial structure of the territories and the axe-heads produced on these mines did not circulate over long distances, remaining in use in a local context.

Spatial structure of territories: towards a hierarchy between mining sites? In the various research projects, particular attention was paid to the theme of the location of flint mines within territories and their impact on the socioeconomic structure of Neolithic populations. To consider the mining phenomenon as a whole is not a satisfactory approach, as we have seen previously: mining sites have not all been operating simultaneously. Moreover, other factors such as the characteristics of the material used and the means used for its acquisition need to be considered. There are significant differences in the morphology of the extraction features and in particular in the depth of the shafts. At a macro-regional scale, the various mining sites of the Mons Basin are distinguished by the investment in the acquisition of flint blanks (dissolution pipe versus deep mines), their flagship products (blades, axe-heads, flake tools) and, as a corollary, their distribution. Two trends in acquisition-production strategies stand out. The first, as at Villerot and Harmignies, is to limit investment in terms of raw material acquisition, which results in a production that, even if it can be of high 31

Between History and Archaeology Thus one can see a hierarchy between mines with a high level of investment in the methods of acquisition at depth of quality raw materials and shallower mines apparently dedicated to the supply of material for domestic productions. So one last factor is also involved in the territorial organization, directly related to the quality of the productions in mining contexts: the destination of products. This can either be local, regional or extra-regional.

assemblages from sites located at 20–60km distance, such as Spiere, Ottenburg/Grez-Doiceau and Schorisse, show that the mining site of Spiennes plays a definite role in raw material procurement strategies. This can be partially linked to the deficit of raw material near these settlements, especially in Brabant. For sites located at 60–80km distance, Spiennes flint is found in much lower quantities and above all, beside finished products like polished axes and blades, there are flakes or flake tools whose size and presence of cortex confirm that they do not originate from re-shaping axes. Over 80km, up to 150km, there are only finished products (blades and axes) from the specialised productions, but they appear to be rare. However, Spiennes type flint (or light grey Belgian flint) has been reported on the Michelsberg site of Koslar (Germany), where Rijckholt flint predominates, although this remains to be clarified (Hamard 1993; Schön 2008). If confirmed, this would provide additional evidence for a privileged distribution of Spiennes flint in the Michelsberg area.

Production and distribution of mining products: the middle Neolithic case (Chasséen, Michelsberg, Spiere) The distribution of productions from mines has been studied through different research projects, but work has mostly focused on the middle Neolithic, due to the high number of settlements, some of which have been recently excavated, providing large and varied lithic assemblages which have been exhaustively studied. The remainder of the artefacts come from enclosure sites, providing a homogeneous type of context for study. Given the ranking proposed above, it seemed important to estimate the respective influence of the mines of Spiennes and Jablines on the lithic economy of settlements, and to evaluate the influence of these large mining complexes (Bostyn and Collet 2011). The research conducted on the flint mine of Flins-sur-Seine, the second one exploiting Bartonian flint, provided the opportunity to carry out a detailed study of the operating sequences and the distribution of Bartonian axes to the west (Giligny et al. 2012). Others projects are now underway, notably an inventory of flint resources in the Mons basin, supplemented by a study of the distribution of mining tools between the middle Neolithic and the final Neolithic (Collin in progress).

As regards the Bartonian flint, the situation is more difficult to understand because of the potentially simultaneous working of the flint mines at Jablines and Flins. Also there is very probably a third mine at Lhery (Marne), although this has not yet been formally identified. Therefore, we will only take into account sites located over 40km from these three mines. It is interesting to note that the data are quite similar, because on all the sites located between 40 and 70km, such as Boury-en-Vexin, Catenoy, Bercy, Maison-Alfort, next to the blades and axe-heads which arrived as finished products, there are some flakes and flake tools. Over 70–80km, only finished products are found. We must insist on the fact that the type of imported product differs according to the site’s cultural background. At Louviers (Eure) for example (Giligny 2005), a site belonging to the Chasséen culture, axes and two roughouts were imported and they represent two third of this type of tool. Further east, at Mairy (Ardennes), where Spiennes flint is abundant despite the distance from the mine, Bartonian flint axes are rare and represent only 6% of the whole assemblage. Bartonian blades are present here even though they form a minority in the assemblage (6.5% of waste, 5.3% of blade tools). Over 100km to the north, Bartonian artefacts become uncommon but are still present: they indeed occur on the Belgian sites of Spiere, Ottenburg/ Grez-Doiceau and Kemmelberg (Collet and Collin unpublished). To the south-east, Bartonian flint was not distributed, strongly suggesting that this was due to a cultural frontier.

Focusing on the mining complex of Spiennes, various studies (Colman 1957; Hubert 1969; Collet 2012) have shown that there were two main productions: axeheads, the largest of which are 28cm long, and long blades (up to 20cm) from blade cores with posterior crest preparation. There are also chisels. On the flint mine of Jablines, only the production of axeheads is attested, with the largest reaching 30 cm in length. The distribution of the Spiennes flint takes on various forms, depending on the distance from the mine. Except for the Petit-Spiennes enclosure where all flint artefacts come from the mine, two settlements located within a distance of 20km provide a contrasting picture. At Thieusies ‘Ferme de l’Hosté’, specific products like axe-heads, chisels and blades are brought in as semi-finished products and about 80% of the assemblage is Spiennes flint. The picture is slightly different for the Neufvilles settlement, located 17km from Spiennes, where specific mined products are very rare (less than 15%). There are no flint axes and only a few blades possibly come from Spiennes. The

Conclusion The wealth of knowledge both from new excavations and from research projects targeting specific problems enables us to put into perspective all the information 32

Françoise Bostyn et al.: Flint Mining in Northern France and Belgium from the mining sites and the settlements. Differences appear between materials selected for productions that required a particular level of know-how (large blades and large axes) and materials used for a production of medium-sized axes or simple flakes in domestic contexts. The investment involved in the search for these materials is shown by the digging of deep shafts and is highlighted by the distribution of finished products over long distances, up to 200km. Thus the status of the different mining sites varies. While mines with small extraction features participate in the structuring of territories on a local scale, mines with deep shafts exert an influence that crosses the borders of the cultural entities. If the subject is enlarged to include sandstone and other rocks, comparable situations can be observed, in which certain materials such as jadeites or dolerites circulated over long distances while others clearly had a more local impact.

Bostyn, F. and Lanchon, Y. (eds). 1992. Jablines ‘  Le Haut Château  ‘ (Seine-et-Marne) : une minière de silex au Néolithique. Paris. Documents d’Archéologie Française 35. Bostyn, F. 2015. Characterization of flint productions and distribution networks at the end of the 5th and the begining of the 4th millenium BC in northwestern France and western Belgium. In T. Kerig and S. Shennan (eds), Connecting Networks – Characterising Contact by measuring Lithic Exchange in the European Neolithic: 74–82. Oxford, Archeopress. Bostyn, F. and Collet, H. 2011. Diffusion du silex de Spiennes et du silex bartonien du Bassin parisien dans le nord de la France et en Belgique de la fin du 5e millénaire au début du 4e millénaire BC : une première approche. In F. Bostyn, E. Martial and I. Praud (eds), Le Néolithique du Nord de la France dans son contexte européen : habitat et économie aux 4è et 3è millénaires avant notre ère, actes du 29e colloque Interrégional sur le Néolithique, Villeneuve d’Ascq, octobre 2009: 331–348. Revue Archéologique de Picardie 28. Bostyn, F. and Denis, S. 2016. Specialised production and distribution networks for flint raw materials during the Blicquy-Villeneuve-Saint-Germain Culture (Early Neolithic). In T. Kerig, K. Nowak and G. Roth (eds), Alles was zählt… Festschrift für Andreas Zimmermann: 195–208. Bonn. Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorishen Archaologie 258. Bostyn, F., Collet, H., Ghesquière, E., Hauzeur, A., de Labriffe P.A. and Marcigny, C. 2018. Twenty-five years excavating flint mines in France and Belgium: an assessment. In D.H. Werra and M. Woźny (eds), Between history and archaeology. Paper in honour of Jacek Lech : 9-23. Oxford, Archaeopress. Briart, A. and Cornet, F.L. 1872. Sur l’Age de la pierre polie et les exploitations préhistoriques de silex dans la province de Hainaut. In Congrès international d’anthropologie et d’archéologie préhistorique. Compte rendu 6e session: 219–299. Bruxelles. Charraud, F. 2015. Exploitation minière et gestion des lames en silex du Cinglais au Néolithique ancien. De la minière d’Espins (Calvados) ‘  Foupendant  ‘ aux habitats du Nord-Ouest de la France. Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française 112(2): 317–338. Collet, H. 2012. La production de haches à Spiennes  : un état de la question. In P.A. de Labriffe and E. Thirault (eds), Produire des haches au Néolithique : de la matière première à l’abandon: 139–148. Paris. Société préhistorique française. Actes de la Table ronde de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. (Séances de la Société préhistorique française 1). Collet, H., Collette, O. and Woodbury, M. in collaboration with Clarys, B. and Jadin, I. 2004. Indices d’extraction et de taille du silex datant du Néolithique récent dans la carrière CBR à Harmignies. Note préliminaire. Notae Praehistoricae 24: 151–158.

Translated by the Authors with correction by Michael Ilett References Agache, R. 1959. Les extractions de silex de la station néolithique des Plantis à Hardivillers. Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française 56(9–10): 545–561. Allard, P. 2005. L’industrie lithique des populations rubanées du nord-est de la France et de la Belgique. Leidorf. Allard, P., Bostyn, F. and Fabre, J. 2005. Origine et circulation du silex durant le Néolithique en Picardie : des premières approches ponctuelles à une systématique régionale. In Hommage à Claudine Pommepuy. Revue Archéologique de Picardie 22: 49–74. Aubry, L., Bostyn, F., Brunet, V., Collet, H., Giligny, F., Liétar, C. and Manolakakis, L. 2014. Territoires et ressources lithiques dans le nord de la France et en Belgique dans l’horizon Chasséen-Michelsberg. In C. Louboutin and C. Verjux (eds), Zones de production et organisation des territoires au Néolithique. Espaces exploités, occupés, parcourus  ‘, actes du 30e Colloque Interrégional sur le Néolithique, Tours – Le Grand– Pressigny, 7 – 9 Octobre 2011, Revue Archéologique du Centre de la France 51: 65–84. Augereau, A., Bostyn, F. and Garmond, N. 2016. Impacts de la circulation des objets et des idées dans la structuration des assemblages lithiques chasséens dans le bassin de la Seine. In P. Chambon, J.F. Gibaja Bao, G. Goude and T. Perrin (eds), Le Chasséen, des Chasséens. Retour sur une culture nationale et ses parallèles, Sepulcres de fossa, Cortaillod, Lagozza. Toulouse. Actes du colloque international, Paris, nov 2014, Archives d’Ecologie Préhistoriques. Beaujard, S. and Bostyn, F. 2008. Une nouvelle minière à silex du Néolithique à Ressons-sur-Matz ‘ Le Fond Madelon Duriez  ‘ (Oise). Revue Archéologique de Picardie 3(4): 9–21. 33

Between History and Archaeology Collet, H., Hauzeur, A. and Lech, J. 2008. The Prehistoric Flint Mining Complex at Spiennes (Belgium) on the Occasion of its Discovery 140 years ago. In P. Allard, F. Bostyn, F. Giligny, and J. Lech (eds), Flint Mining in Prehistoric Europe. Interpreting the Archaeological Records: 41–77. Oxford. Brithish Archaeological Reports International Series 1891 Collet, H., Lavachery, P. and Woodbury, M. 2016. Raw Material Strategies on the Flint Mining Site of Spiennes (Hainaut, Belgium). Journal of Lithic Studies 3(2). Collet, H. and Toussaint, M. 1998. Découverte d’un squelette humain néolithique sur le site minier de Petit-Spiennes (Hainaut, Belgique): étude préliminaire. Internéo 2: 113–124. Collet, H and Van Neer, W. 2002. Stratigraphie et faune d’un puits d’extraction néolithique à Petit-Spiennes. Anthropologica et Prehistorica 113: 73–104. Collet, H. and Woodbury, M., 2008. Mons/Mesvin : suivi archéologique au lieu-dit ‘Sans Pareil’. Chronique de l’Archéologie wallonne 15: 34–35. Collet, H., Woodbury, M. and Collin, J.P. 2014. Investigation of new chipping floors at the flint mining site of Spiennes (Hainaut Province, Belgium) in 2011 and 2012. In F. Bostyn and F. Giligny (eds), Lithic raw Material Resources and Procurement in Preand Protohistoric Times: 47–58. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 2656. Collin, J.-P. (work in progress). De la mine à l’habitat, économie des productions minières du Bassin de Mons au Néolithique. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Namur, University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Collin, J.-P. 2016. Mining for a week or for centuries: variable aims of flint extraction sites in the Mons Basin within the lithic economy of the Neolithic (Province of Hainaut, Belgium). Journal of Lithic Studies 3(2) doi:10.2218/jls.v3i2.1819. Colman, P. 1957. Le Néolithique et ses prolongements à Spiennes. Bulletin de la Société royale belge d’Études géologiques et archéologiques 16: 226–290. Cornet, E. 1947. Sites et découvertes de Ciply (Hainaut). Vue d’ensemble. In Mélanges d’histoire offerts à Léon van der Essen à l’occasion de sa trente-cinquième année d’enseignement à l’Université de Louvain 1: 42–56. Bruxelles. Creemers, G., Masson-Loodts, I., Groenendijk, A.J. and Vermeersch P.M. 1998. Nieuwe gegevens over vuursteenontginning op de site van Rullen (Voeren). Notae Praehistoricae 18: 175–181. Defgnée, A. and Collet, H. 2003. Mons/Spiennes  : premiers résultats palynologiques dans la zone minière de ‘ Petit-Spiennes ‘. Chronique de l’Archéologie wallonne 11: 43–44. Dijkman, W. 1980. Nointel. In G. Weisgerber, R. Slotta, J. Weiner (eds), 5000 Jahre Feuersteinbergbau: die Suche nach dem Stahl der Steinzeit: 491–492. Bochum,

Deutsches Bergbau-Museum. Veröffentlichungen aus dem Deutschen Bergbau-Museum 77. Ghesquière, E., Marcigny, C., Desloges J. and Charraud, F. 2008. La production de lames en silex dans la plaine de Caen  : redécouverte de la minière des Longrais à Soumont-Saint-Quentin (Calvados), Internéo 7: 103–119. Ghesquière, E., Marcigny, C., Giazzon, D., TsobgouAhoupe, R., Charraud, F., Juhel, L. and Giazzon, S. 2012. La minière néolithique de Ri ‘ Le Fresne ‘ (Orne). In G. Marchand and G. Querré (eds), Roches et Sociétés de la Préhistoire: 453–464. Rennes. Gillet, E., Martial, E. and Praud, I. 2015.  Baisieux, rue de la Malterie (Nord). Occupations néolithique et protohistorique. Rapport de diagnostic, Inrap NordPicardie. Giligny, F. (ed). 2005. Louviers‚ la Vilette‘ (Eure) : un site Néolithique moyen en zone humide. Documents Archéologiques de l‘Ouest. Giligny, F., Bostyn, F. and Le Maux, N. 2012. Production et importation de haches polies dans le Bassin parisien  : typologie, chronologie et influences. In P. Pétrequin,, S. Cassen, M. Errera, L. Klassen, A. Sheridan and A.M. Petrequin (eds), JADE. Grandes haches alpines du Néolithique européen. Ve et IVe millénaires av. J.-C. 2 : 1136–1167. Besançon. Giligny, F. and Bostyn, F. (eds) 2016. La hache de silex dans le Val de Seine. Production et diffusion des haches au Néolithique. Sidestone Press, Leiden. Hamard, D. 1993. Chasséen et Michelsberg. Gestion de l’outillage en silex dans le Bassin parisien au début du IVe millénaire av. J.-C. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Paris I–Sorbonne. Hauzeur, A., Collin, J.-P., Naton, H.-G., Bernard-Guelle, S. and Fernandes, P. 2010. Un site d’exploitation néolithique dans le complexe minier du Pays d’Othe: fouille préventive à Mesnil-Saint-Loup – ‘Les Vieilles Vignes’ (Aube, France). Notae Praehistoricae 30: 57–71. Hubert, F. 1969, Fouilles au site minier néolithique de Spiennes. Campagne de 1965. Bruxelles. Archaeologia Belgica 111. de Heinzelin, J., Orban, R., Roels, D. and Hurt, V. 1993. Ossements humains dits néolithiques de la région de Mons (Belgique), une évaluation. Bulletin de l’Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique, Sciences de la Terre 63: 311–336. Jadin, I., Collet, H., Woodbury, M. and Letor, A. 2008. Indices d’extraction minière néolithique à Obourg – Le Village. Notae Praehistoricae 28: 93–96. Joseph, F., Julien, M., Leroy-Langelin, E., Lorin, Y. and Praud, I. 2011. L’architecture domestique des sites du IIIe millénaire avant notre ère dans le nord de la France. In F. Bostyn, E. Martial and I. Praud (eds), Le Néolithique du Nord de la France dans son contexte européen  : habitat et économie aux 4è et 3è millénaires avant notre ère, actes du 29e colloque Interrégional sur 34

Françoise Bostyn et al.: Flint Mining in Northern France and Belgium le Néolithique, Villeneuve d’Ascq, octobre 2009: 249–272. Revue Archéologique de Picardie 28, Kerig, T., Edinborough, K., Downey, S. and Shennan, S. 2015. A radiocarbon chronology of European flint mines suggests a link to population patterns. In T. Kerig and S. Shennan (eds), Connecting Networks – Characterising Contact by measuring Lithic Exchange in the European Neolithic: 114–123. Oxford, Archeopress. Labriffe, P.A. de, Augereau, A. and Sidéra, I. 1995a. F-54 Villemaur-sur-Vanne ‘ Le Grand Bois Marot ‘, Aube district. Archaeologia Polona 33: 322–335. Labriffe, P.A. de, Augereau, A. and Sidéra, I. 1995b. F–55 Villemaur-sur-Vanne ‘Les Orlets’, Aube district. Archaeologia Polona 33: 335–345. Labriffe, P.A. de and Sidéra, I. 1995a. F–52 Serbonnes ‘Le Revers de Brossard’, Yonne district. Archaeologia Polona 33: 313–319. Labriffe, P.A. de and Sidéra, I. 1995b. F–53 Pâlis ‘Le Buisson Gendre’, Aube district. Archaeologia Polona 33: 319–322. Labriffe, P.A. de and Thebault, D. 1995. Mines de silex et grands travaux, l’autoroute A5 et les sites d’extraction du pays d’Othe. In J. Pelegrin and A. Richard (eds), Les mines de silex au Néolithique en Europe: 47–66. Documents Préhistoriques, Edition du C.T.H.S., 7. Lavachery, P., Collet, H., Toussaint, M. and Woodbury, M. 2015. Mons/Spiennes : fouille du puits d’extraction ST 6 à ‘Petit-Spiennes’ . Chronique de l’Archéologie wallonne 23: 88–90. Lech, J. (ed.). 1995. Special theme: Flint mining. Archaeologia Polona 33. Leblois, E. and Pacyna, D. 1994. Cuesmes, notes d’archéologie préhistorique, protohistorique, gallo-romaine et mérovingienne. Annales du Cercle archéologique de Mons 76: 3–72. Martineau, R., Charpy, J.J., Affolter, J. and Lambot, B. 2014. Les minières de silex néolithiques des marais

de Saint-Gond (Marne). Revue Archéologique de l’Est 63: 25–46. Schön, W. 2008. Pièces lithiques du Néolithique récent en Rhénanie. In M.-H. Dias-Meirinho, V. Léa, K. Gernigon, P. Fouéré, F. Briois and M. Bailly (eds), Les industries lithiques taillées des IVe et IIIe millénaires en Europe occidentale, actes du colloque international de Toulouse, 7–9 avril 2005: 41–51. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series. Toussaint, M., Collet, H. and Jadin, I. 2010. Datations radiocarbone d’ossements humains du site minier néolithique de Spiennes (Mons, Hainaut), première approche. Notae Praehistoricae 30: 73–80. Van Assche, M. and Dufrasnes, J. 2009. Villerot : une exploitation de silex au Néolithique. L’archéologie en Hainaut Occidental, 2004–2008, Amicale des archéologues du Hainaut Occidental 8: 22–24. Vanmontfort, B., Collet, H. and Crombé, P., 2008. Les Industries lithiques taillées des 4ème et 3ème millénaires dans les bassins de l’Escaut et de la Meuse (Belgique). In M.H. Dias-Meirinho, L. Vanessa, K. Gernigon, P. Fouéré, F. Briois and M. Bailly (eds), Les industries lithiques taillées des IVe et IIIe millénaires en Europe occidentale, actes du colloque international de Toulouse, 7–9 avril 2005: 11–39. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series Vermeersch, P. M., Chow, J., Creemers, G., MassonLoodts, I., Groenendijk, A. J. and De Bie, M. 2005. Neolithische vuursteenontginning op de site van Rullen (Voeren, prov. Limburg) In I. In’t Ven and W. De Clercq (eds), Een lijn door het landschap. Archeologie en het vTn-project 1997–1998 2: 313–328. Weisgerber, G., Slotta, R. and Weiner, J. (eds). 1980. 5000 Jahre Feuersteinbergbau: die Suche nach dem Stahl der Steinzeit. Bochum, Deutsches Bergbau-Museum. Veröffentlichungen aus dem Deutschen BergbauMuseum 77.

35

36

Flint Mining and the Beginning of Farming in Southern England Robin Holgate

Archaeological Research Services Ltd, Angel House, Portland Square, Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 1HB, United Kingdom

e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Fieldwork in the mid-1980s at Neolithic flint-mining sites in West Sussex investigated previously unknown flint-working areas at both Long Down and Harrow Hill, showing that axeheads were the main product at both sites. Since then, the revision of radiocarbon dates using Bayesian analysis has revolutionised our understanding of the Neolithic period in Britain, demonstrating that flint mines are amongst the earliest known Neolithic sites in southern England: they appear sometime after mining took place on adjacent parts of the European continent and before causewayed enclosures were first constructed in southern England. Axeheads fabricated at the flint-mining sites were used as votive offerings, part of the interdependent belief system associated with Carinated Bowl pottery and cereal horticulture that was characteristic of the earliest Neolithic ‘horizon’ in southern England. Both were probably introduced by small-scale movements of farmers across the Channel from the European continent. Keywords: flint mining, mines, flint, axeheads, votive offerings, farming

I met Jacek in the early 1990s when he was visiting and working at the British Museum in London. We had a shared interest through our respective excavations and research on Neolithic flint mining. I had worked as a field archaeologist in the mid-1980s and had undertaken fieldwork at some of the flint-mining sites in Sussex, including excavations at Long Down and Harrow Hill (West Sussex); I had also published an account of prehistoric mines in Britain (Holgate 1991). However, in 1987 I left the University College London Field Archaeology Unit and took up the position of Keeper of Archaeology at Luton Museum Service and had not yet written up my excavations at the Sussex flint-mining sites; I was struggling to find the time to publish the results of the fieldwork. I thoroughly enjoyed our discussions: Jacek is so knowledgeable, generous in sharing his ideas, enthusiastic and encouraging. At the time he was planning the Seventh International Flint Symposium that took place in Poland in September 1995. He invited me to give a paper at the Symposium but, having recently become Director of Luton Museum Service, I could not afford the time to attend the conference and present a paper. He did, however, encourage me to contribute an article on flint mining in Britain for publication in the volume of Archaeologia Polona dedicated to the theme of flint mining (Holgate 1995a) and to provide information on the excavations I had undertaken at Long Down and Harrow Hill to the updated catalogue of European flint mines published in the second part of the volume (Holgate 1995b, 1995c). I was delighted to have the opportunity to publish these accounts, as well as to assist with editing some of the papers for the volume.

Down and Harrow Hill. I was fortunate to encounter Jon Baczkowski, a PhD student at Southampton University who wrote his MA thesis on the flint mines of southern England and their continental antecedents (Baczkowski 2014), and he agreed to collaborate on this project. He has carried out the majority of the writing-up work and our report is being published (Baczkowski and Holgate in print). I had been thinking of ways to write an article on some of the lines of enquiry arising from the Long Down and Harrow Hill excavations that were inappropriate to include in the excavation report; I was therefore delighted to be approached to contribute to this volume in recognition of Jacek’s lifetime achievements, as this provided an ideal opportunity for me to both produce this article and acknowledge the help that Jacek gave me in the 1990s in sustaining my interest in Neolithic flint mining in southern England. The Sussex flint mines: results from the Long Down and Harrow Hill 1985–86 excavations In the mid-1980s I undertook surface artefact collection surveys at the Neolithic flint-mining sites in West Sussex which were under cultivation: Long Down, West Stoke, Harrow Hill and Church Hill, Findon. I recorded previously unknown flint-working areas at both Long Down and Harrow Hill (Holgate 1995b, 1995c; Baczkowski and Holgate in print). I then undertook sample excavations of these flint-working areas in 1985–1986 to characterise and date them, and to establish their relationship with the immediatelyadjacent flint-mining areas. At Long Down, soft hammer struck axe-thinning and finishing flakes and roughouts from the production of bifacial implements were recovered from the oval-

Over four years ago I became a professional archaeologist again and resumed writing up my excavations at Long 37

Between History and Archaeology shaped flint-working area: in one place in situ debitage had survived immediately below the plough soil, along with fragments of early Neolithic plain bowl pottery. The roughouts indicated that axes were the main type of implement being produced, with a small number of ovate/discoidal knife roughouts also being retrieved. The area was situated immediately to the east of the main cluster of flint mines, although there were two isolated shafts on the eastern edge of the working area. Three trenches were excavated across adjacent flint mines to obtain samples for palaeoenvironmental analysis and radiocarbon dating: one of these yielded further flint debitage (mainly cores, soft hammer struck axe-thinning and finishing flakes and axe roughouts), as well as fragments of Early Neolithic plain bowl pottery and the tine from an antler pick and an ox scapula ‘shovel’ which produced radiocarbon dates of 4900+/-100 cal BC and 5050+/-100 cal BC respectively (see Table 1).

are consistent with the dates from red deer antler picks excavated at other flint-mining sites in southern England, i.e. 40th to 39th centuries cal BC (see Table 1). The date of 4050–3640 cal BC (95% probability) for the ox scapula links the flint miners with farming practices. Mining tools radiocarbon dated to the 45th to 43rd century cal BC have been excavated from flintmining sites located in an arc from the Dutch Limburg to Normandy in France (see Table 1; Whittle et al. 2011: 257–60). Thus flint mining appeared in southern England sometime after mining was taking place on adjacent parts of the European continent (Baczkowski 2014: 149). The radiocarbon dating of flint-mining sites and the focus on flint axe production are two themes that will now be discussed further.

The large, roughly circular flint-working area at Harrow Hill lies on the southern edge of the D-shaped cluster of flint mines. The sample excavations yielded soft hammer struck axe-thinning and finishing flakes, along with axe roughouts and preforms for mostly axes and a small number of sickles and ovates. Although completely truncated by recent ploughing, the flintworking area was partly overlying a band of open-cast quarries where flint seams had met the ground surface on the upper slopes of Harrow Hill around the outer periphery of the cluster of flint mines. The discovery of open-cast quarries at Harrow Hill is of particular importance as they are the only open-cast or drift mines to have been investigated at a prehistoric flintmining site in southern England. It is suggested that the open-cast quarries pre-dated the flint mines and the flint-working area, although this was not confirmed by the results of the excavations.

The application of Bayesian modelling has provided quantified, explicit, probabilistic date estimates, significantly improving the precision of radiocarbon dating. The recent application of this approach to the dating of causewayed enclosures and other sites previously considered to be contemporary has revolutionised the dating sequence for Neolithic Britain (Whittle et al. 2011). This study concluded that causewayed enclosures were initially constructed in the late 38th century cal BC, three centuries after the earliest known remains of Neolithic activity appear in southern England which date to the 41st century cal BC, and were in use until the late 36th century cal BC (Whittle et al. 2011: 683). Indeed, long barrows were also first constructed at least 100 years before causewayed enclosures first appeared. This suggests that the Neolithic period in southern England can potentially be conceptualised as an era when a series of well-defined developments took place sequentially.

The flint-mining sites in southern England: their chronology and relationship to other early Neolithic activities

There are three main conclusions to draw from the surface artefact collection surveys and excavations at Long Down and Harrow Hill undertaken in the mid1980s. First, mined flint was taken to and flaked at a working area immediately adjacent to the mines. This practice also occurred at some of the flint-mining sites on the European continent, notably at RijckholtSt. Geertruid in the Netherlands (Felder et al. 1998) and Spiennes in Belgium (Collet et al. 2008). Second, axe roughouts and preforms were the main products manufactured at both sites which were then taken off-site for use elsewhere. Besides their potential use as woodworking implements, a significant proportion was undoubtedly fabricated into ground and polished axes that had symbolic roles and were used for special functions, for example as votive offerings (Holgate 1995a: 158; Whittle 1995: 251; Topping 2004: 190). Third, the two radiocarbon dates obtained from mining tools recovered during the Long Down excavations in 1985

The radiocarbon dating of mining tools, notably antler picks, from flint-mining sites in southern England, especially tools recovered from the base of mine shafts, provides reliable dates for when mining activity took place (see Table 1). Flint mining was possibly a seasonal activity, perhaps undertaken in late Summer/early Autumn, with one or two shafts being opened a year (Holgate 1995a: 153; Barber et al. 1999: 72). At Harrow Hill and Cissbury (West Sussex), where four antler picks from different shafts at these two sites have produced radiocarbon dates, flint mining appears to have begun by at least the 39th century cal BC, with mining continuing until the 37th century cal BC at Harrow Hill and the late 37th century cal BC at Cissbury. With between 120 and 140 shafts at each site, the dates are consistent with the possibility that one or two shafts were excavated at a time either periodically or when the need arose over a period of at least 150–200 38

Robin Holgate: Flint Mining and the Beginning of Farming in Southern England Table 1. Radiocarbon dates for flint-mining sites in southern England, Normandy, Belgium and the Netherlands (after Whittle et al. 2011: 245–6 and 258–9; Barber et al. 1999: 81–2).

Laboratory Material number Blackpatch, West Sussex

Context

Radiocarbon age (BP)

Calibrated date range (cal BC (95% confidence)

BM–290

Red deer. Antler pick.

A gallery of shaft 4.

5090+/-130

4240–3630

BM–181

Red deer. Antler pick.

Gallery.

5340+/-150

4460–3790

BM–183

Red deer. Antler pick.

A gallery.

4720+/-150

3800–3020

BM–185

Red deer. Antler pick.

Shaft 6 (gallery?).

4730+/-150

3900–3020

Church Hill, West Sussex Cissbury, West Sussex BM–184 BM–3082

Red deer. Antler pick. Red deer. Antler tine.

Harrow Hill flint mines, West Sussex

A gallery.

South gallery at base of mine shaft.

4650+/-150 5100+/-60

3710–2910 4040–3710

BM–182

Red deer. Antler pick.

Gallery.

4930+/-150

4040–3360

BM–3084

Red deer. Antler.

Shaft 21, gallery 2.

4880+/-30

3710–3630

Red deer. Antler tine from pick.

Upper fill of mine shaft.

Upper fill of mine shaft.

5050+/_100

4050–3640

BM–190

Antler pick.

Shaft.

4480+/-150

3640–2770

BM–3083

Antler pick.

Shallow shaft.

5150+/-70

4230–3780

Ly–3680

Antler implement

Shaft 9, La Fordelle. Base of backfill of galleried mine shaft 9.

5560+/-190

4830–3970

Surface working floor at top of mine shaft, collected in mid-19th century.

4230+/-130

3330–2470

‘Rake’ made from distal part of an elk antler

Floor of gallery E10, opening from base of shaft 79.3, 9.75m deep.

5510+/-55

4460–4250

Antler pick.

Excavated 1957 from base of shaft 1, depth 4.2m.

5131+/-123

4250–3650

BM–2099R BM–3085

Red deer. Antler. Red deer. Antler.

Long Down, West Sussex OxA–1152 OxA–1151

Cattle. Scapula.

Easton Down, Wiltshire

Martin’s Clump, Hampshire Bretteville-le-Rabet, Calvados

Camp à Cayaux, Spiennes, Hainaut BM–289

Antler pick.

Petit Spiennes, Spiennes, Hainaut Lv–1566

Sans Pareil, Mesvin, Hainaut BM–417

Above floor on crawling floor to gallery 13 I. Base of shaft 25.

years. Antler picks from Martin’s Clump, Blackpatch and Church Hill, Findon produced late 40th to 39th centuries cal BC dates, slightly earlier than the 39th to 38th centuries cal BC dates obtained from the antler pick and ox scapula shovel excavated at Long Down from the upper fill of a mine shaft. It is thus likely that the flint mining sites which stretched in a line from Martin’s Clump in eastern Hampshire to Cissbury in

5040+/-120

5070+/-50

4900+/_100

4050–3630

3980–3710

3950–3380

central Sussex were in use if not all at the same time, then certainly at overlapping periods during at least the late 40th to late 37th centuries cal BC. Mining at the Sussex sites appears to have been waning, or had even ceased, by the time that causewayed enclosures were first being constructed (Baczkowski and Holgate in print). 39

Between History and Archaeology Paradoxically, whilst radiocarbon dating indicates that the flint-mining sites in southern England were in use during the early stage of the Neolithic period prior to the construction of causewayed enclosures, there are not many securely-dated contexts associated with other forms of early Neolithic activity in southern England contemporary with the flint-mining sites. There is a small group of contexts which contains a combination of Carinated Bowl pottery, flint and other stone axeheads, leaf-shaped flint arrowheads, cultivated cereal remains and domesticated animal bones with dates obtained from either samples of these items or associated wooden structural remains which fall between the 41st and 39th centuries cal BC (Whittle et al. 2011). These sites include Yabsley Street, Blackwell in London (an adult inhumation, Carinated Bowl pottery and flintwork with an associated oak plank producing a 41st century BC date); White Horse Stone in Kent (a rectangular, post-built house and Bowl pottery with associated cultivated cereal remains and domesticated cattle bone producing late 41st to early 40th centuries cal BC dates); Fir Tree Field shaft, Dorset (a hearth, Bowl pottery and ground flint axehead fragment with associated domesticated cattle bone producing 39th century cal BC dates); and the Sweet Track, Somerset (wooden trackway, Carinated Bowl pottery, ground jadetite axehead, flint perform axe and leaf-shaped arrowheads dated by dendrochronology to the late 39th century cal BC). Also dated to this stage are human bones associated with the initial phase of burial at the Coldrum megalithic chambered tomb in Kent, radiocarbon dated to the 39th century cal BC, and the megalithic tomb at Broadsands in Devon, where excavations produced probable Carinated Bowl pottery and human bones which produced late 39th–38th centuries cal BC dates for the construction and initial use of the monument (Whittle et al. 2011). Other contexts in southern England which probably date to this time are several examples of pits or other features with Carinated Bowl pottery, and occasionally cultivated cereal remains, domesticated animal bone and/or flintwork (e.g. Rowden, Dorset: Cleal 2004: 187). Recent studies of Carinated Bowl pottery confirm that carination was the ‘core’ feature of the pottery vessels produced by the early users of pottery in Britain, predating the range of decorated and other distinctive wares which appeared around the time that the causewayed enclosures were first being constructed, suggesting that these phenomena could equate to a ‘horizon’ of rapid change and development (Cleal 2004: 180).

tombs) and contexts where a selected range of objects, notably Carinated Bowl pottery and axeheads, had been deposited as votive offerings. These items have long been considered to form the ‘things and practices’ associated with the beginning of the Neolithic period in Britain (Whittle et al. 2011: 730–731). The midden-like deposits found within the pits have been interpreted as the result of feasting and/or domestic activity, potentially reflecting an early pattern of use which may have been superceded by the activities which took place at causewayed enclosures (Cleal 2004: 180; Barclay 2014). Tantilisingly, pits at Grovehurst in Kent yielded Bowl pottery, domestic cattle bone, flintwork, four ground axeheads, four whole or fragmentary singlepiece flint sickles and possibly quernstones and rubbers (Payne 1880); although this assemblage cannot be dated with precision, it indicates that perhaps flint sickles and quernstones could also be considered as early Neolithic ‘things and practices’. The flint-mining sites in southern England: their role in the establishment of farming in Britain The early Neolithic stage in southern England is currently considered to extend from the 41st to 38th centuries cal BC, at which point causewayed enclosures and new styles of pottery came into existence. Key characteristics of the earliest Neolithic ‘horizon’ currently dated between the 41st and 39th centuries cal BC, besides the introduction of cultivated cereals and domesticated animals, are Carinated Bowl pottery, flint mining and the manufacture of axeheads, along with the votive deposition of Carinated Bowls and axeheads. The preceding Mesolithic period was one where hunters and gatherers were exploiting similar sources of flint as those in use during the early Neolithic period, and the blade industries which predominated during both the late Mesolithic and early Neolithic periods are virtually indistinguishable, with the exemption of the specific technologies used for fabricating axeheads and projectile points. Wood, bone and antler working practices are also similar. Much of southern Britain was settled: for example the whole area of dry land central Southern England was exploited at some moment during the late Mesolithic period (Jacobi 1981; Gardiner 1984; Holgate 2003); ‘such a pattern leaves no obvious areas whose uptake by early farmers will not have impinged in some way upon pre-existing patterns of territoriality’ (Jacobi 1981: 23). At the end of the late Mesolithic period and the time when the earliest Neolithic activities took place witnessed marine transgression and rising water levels in low-lying areas (Coles 1998: 77; Holgate 2004: 25–26): for example, it has been estimated that three-quarters of the former Thames floodplain landscape was lost to wetlands between the 47th and early 39th centuries cal BC (Bates and Whittaker 2004: 60–61). The changing configuration

Thus the earliest known Neolithic sites in southern England, besides the flint-mining sites, to have produced reliable radiocarbon dates range from a rectangular building and pits associated with cultivated cereal remains and domesticated animal bone to human burials (including in the earliest megalithic 40

Robin Holgate: Flint Mining and the Beginning of Farming in Southern England of coastal and low-lying area in southern England provides the backdrop to the beginning of the Neolithic period. In comparison with Mesolithic subsistence practices, cultivating cereals requires an investment on immobile resources, and the concomitant ecological and social transformation of the landscape. Other than the post-built structure at White Horse Stone in Kent, the remains of potential early Neolithic domestic sites are insubstantial (cf. Holgate 1995a: 157–158). The flintmining sites, and the ensuing megalithic monuments constructed in the 39th century, provide an element of permanence in southern England for the communities practising Neolithic horticulture.

from the European continent introduced novel items and new technologies to a largely receptive indigenous population already conscious of their existence (cf. Kinnes 2004: 194). Given the relatively close proximity of flint-mining sites in Normandy, Belgium and the Netherlands pre-dating the southern England flintmining sites it has been suggested that fully-developed mining techniques were introduced to Britain ‘with the transit of people from Continental Europe and may have been implemented to claim territory, enforce cultural beliefs, or to trade new types of lithic tools, complementary to new agricultural techniques’ (Baczkowski 2014: 149). As there are safe cross-channel seafaring routes from Normandy and the Seine estuary to the Solent (Macgrail 1993: 200), it is possible that specialist, perhaps itinerant, flint miners from northern France introduced communities in central southern England to flint mining. Alternatively, as with the reintroduction of viticulture in southern England in recent years, local communities could have acquired and assimilated the plant stock, technology and rituals associated with cereal production and consumption by visiting farming communities occupying adjacent parts of the European Continent.

Alongside cereal horticulture, one of the defining characteristics of the earliest Neolithic stage is votive deposition. This practice is exemplified by the two complete, unhafted axeheads in pristine condition that were deliberately deposited in shallow water beside the late 39th century cal BC wooden catwalk structure known as the Sweet Track in the Somerset Levels: one was a polished jadeitite axehead of Alpine origin and the other a flaked flint axehead attributed to a Sussex flint-mining source by trace element analysis (Craddock et al. 1983) and macroscopic examination (Holgate 1988: 70). Fragments of Carinated Bowl, in some instances fragments from the same vessel were found distributed some distance from each other on either side of the trackway, and leaf-shaped arrowheads had also been deposited (Coles and Orme 1976). Axeheads from watery contexts and the caches of flint axeheads from dry land in the Thames basin are also likely to be examples of votive offerings, a significant proportion of which probably date to the first quarter of the 4th millennium cal BC (Holgate 1988: 116).

This account of the emergence of farming and flint mining in southern England by the start of the 4th millennium cal BC stems from the completion of research-led excavations at two of the Sussex flintmining sites, the recent application of improved scientific dating analysis and recent archaeological discoveries resulting from developer-funded fieldwork in the last 25 years co-ordinated through the planning system (Historic England 2015). It is to be hoped that increasing numbers of securely-dated contexts associated with the earliest Neolithic ‘horizon’ in southern Britain become available for study in the foreseeable future to throw further light on the role flint mining played in the early development of farming communities in Britain.

The inception of farming in southern England manifests itself as the introduction of new subsistence practices and the transformation of certain resources from the earth, predominantly flint and clay, into items that were returned to the earth as part of an interdependent belief system (Kinnes 2004: 194–195). This included the extraction of ‘special’ flint from selective, permanentlymaintained flint-mining sites to fabricate axeheads which became valued items symbolic of the earth (Holgate 1995a: 158; Whittle 1995: 251–253; Topping 2004: 187; Sheridan and Pétrequin 2014: 380–381). These were then circulated amongst the early farming communities and offered back to the earth as votive offerings to ensure the continued fertility of their animals and crops (cf. Ebbeson 1993; Whittle 1995: 254).

Acknowledgements I wish to thank Historic England (formerly English Heritage), the Sussex Archaeological Society’s Margary Fund and the David Thomson Charitable trust for funding the field survey and excavations at the Sussex flint-mining sites in the mid-1980s. References Baczkowski, J. 2014. Learning by experience: the flint mines of Southern England and their continental origins. Oxford Journal of Archaeology. 33(2): 135–53. Baczkowski, J. and Holgate, R. in print. Neolithic flint mines in West Sussex: results of fieldwork in 1985– 86. Sussex Archaeological Collections 155, 1–30.

There has been considerable debate in recent years regarding the origins of Neolithic activities in Britain. Views differ as to whether there was a single or multiple places of introduction (cf. Whittle et al. 2011; Sheridan and Pétrequin 2014). However, the consensus is that small-scale movements of farmers across the Channel 41

Between History and Archaeology Barber, M., Field, D. and Topping, P. 1999. The Neolithic Flint Mines of England. London, English Heritage. Barclay, A. 2014. Re-dating the Coneybury Anomoly and its implications for understanding the earliest Neolithic pottery from southern England. PAST (The Newsletter of the Prehistoric Society) 77: 11–13. Bates, M.R. and Whittaker, K. 2004. Landscape evolution in the Lower Thames Valley: implications for the archaeology of the earlier Holocene period. In J. Cotton and D. Field (eds), Towards a New Stone Age: Aspects of the Neolithic in South-East England: 50–70. York, Council for British Archaeology Research Report 137. Cleal, R.M.J. 2004. The Dating and Diversity of the Earliest Ceramics of Wessex and South-west England. In R. Cleal and J. Pollard (eds), Monuments and Material Culture. Papers in honour of an Avebury archaeologist: Isobel Smith: 164–92. Salisbury, East Knoyle, Hobnob Press. Coles, B. 1998. Doggerland: a Speculative Survey. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 64: 45–81. Coles, J.M. and Orme, B.J. 1976. The Sweet Track, railway site. Somerset Levels Papers 2: 34–65. Collet, C., Hauzeur, A. and Lech, J. 2008. Les Mines Néolithique de Spiennes: état des Connaissances et Perspectives de Recherche. In The Neolithic in the Near East and Europe, 129–133. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series Craddock, P.T, Cowell, M.R., Leese, M.R. and Hughes, M.J. 1983. The trace element composition of polished flint axes as an indicator of source. Archaeometry 25: 135–63. Ebbeson, K. 1993. Sacrifices to the powers of nature. In S. Hauss and B. Storgaard (eds.), Digging into the past. 25 years of archaeology in Denmark, 122–125. Copenhagen-Aarhus, Aarhus University Press. Felder, P.J., Rademakers, P.C. and De Grooth, M.E. 1998. Excavations of Prehistoric Flint Mines at Rijckholt-St. Geertruid (Limburg, The Netherlands) by the ‘Prehistoric Flint Mines of the Dutch Geological Society, Limburg Section. Bonn, Archäologische Berichte 12. Gardiner, J.P. 1984. Lithic distributions and Neolithic settlement patterns in Central Southern England. In R. Bradley and J. Gardiner (eds), Neolithic Studies: a review of some current research, 15–40. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports, British Series 133. Historic England 2015. Building the Future, Transforming our Past. Celebrating development-led archaeology in England 1990–2015. London, Historic England Publishing. Holgate, R. 1988. Neolithic Settlement of the Thames Basin. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports, British Series 194.

Holgate, R. 1991. Prehistoric Flint Mines. Princes Risborough, Shire Publications Ltd. Shire Archaeology 67. Holgate, R. 1995a. Neolithic flint mining in Britain. Archaeologia Polona 33: 133–161. Holgate, R. 1995b. GB 4 Harrow Hill near Findon, West Sussex. Archaeologia Polona 33: 347–50. Holgate, R. 1995c. GB 6 Long Down near Chichester, West Sussex. Archaeologia Polona 33: 350–52. Holgate, R. 2003. Late Glacial and Post-Glacial huntergatherers in Sussex. In D. Rudling (ed.), The Archaeology of Sussex to AD 2000, 29–38. University of Sussex, Heritage Marketing and Publications Ltd. The Centre for Continuing Education. Holgate, R. 2004. Managing change: the MesolithicNeolithic transition in south-east England. In J. Cotton and D. Field (eds), Towards a New Stone Age: Aspects of the Neolithic in South-East England, 24–28. York, Council for British Archaeology Research Report 137. Jacobi, R.M. 1981. The Last Hunters in Hampshire. In S.J. Shennan and R.T. Schadla-Hall (eds), The Archaeology of Hampshire. From the Palaeolithic to the Industrial Revolution: 10–25. Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society Monograph 1. Kinnes, I.A. 2004. Trans Manche: l’entente cordiale or vive la difference. In J. Cotton and D. Field (eds), Towards a New Stone Age: Aspects of the Neolithic in South-East England: 191–195. York, Council for British Archaeology Research Report 137. Macgrail, S. 1993. Prehistoric seafaring in the Channel. In C. Scarre and F. Healy (eds), Trade and Exchange in Prehistoric Europe: 199–210. Oxford, Oxbow Monograph 33. Payne, G. 1880. Celtic remains discovered at Grovehurst, Milton. Archaeologia Cantiana 13: 122–6. Sheridan, A. and Pétrequin, P. 2014. Constructing a Narrative for the Neolithic of Britain and Ireland. The Use of ‘Hard Science’ and Archaeological Reasoning. Proceedings of the British Academy 198: 369–90. Topping, P. 2004. The South Downs flint mines: towards an ethnography of prehistoric flint extraction. In J. Cotton and D. Field (eds), Towards a New Stone Age: Aspects of the Neolithic in South-East England: 177–199. York, Council for British Archaeology Research Report 137. Whittle, A. 1995. Gifts from the earth: symbolic dimensions of the use and production of Neolithic flint and stone axes. Archaeologia Polona 33: 247–59. Whittle, A., Healy, F. and Bayliss, A. 2011. Gathering Time. Dating the Early Neolithic Enclosures of Southern Britain and Ireland. Oxford, Oxbow Books.

42

Women´s Work? Findings from the Neolithic Chert Mines in the ‘Krumlovský les’, South Moravia Martin Oliva

Moravian Museum, Anthropos Institute, Zelný trh 6, 659 37 Brno, Czech Republic e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: Krumlovský les revealed one of the largest mining fields in Europe dated from the Mesolithic to the Hallstatt period. Quarrying culminated in the Early Bronze Age, when the local Jurassic chert, re-deposited in the Miocene sands, was extracted from hundreds of shafts up to 8m deep, with most of the production material left at the site. The largest shafts of the Late Lengyel culture were located on a slope below a re-deposited boulder. Shaft no. 4 yielded two skeletons of females; the lower one had a newborn placed on her breasts. Both women were found to be the shortest of the then population as a whole, and they were weak, diseased, and poorly fed during their childhood. By contrast, as adults they were fed with meat and carried out heavy work, which is corroborated by strongly marked muscle attachments and vertebral degeneration. The hypothesis is that the patriarchy extracted labor (also) from lower status individuals who toiled in the mines. However ritual aspects cannot be excluded: in some lands, the Earth is of female gender, and as such will more willingly accept women than men… but why exactly the smallest ones? Keywords: Krumlovský les, Southern Moravia, Lengyel Culture (LGK), chert quarrying, burials

Chert mining in Krumlovský les

below a chert-breccia boulder in the eastern part of the zone VI. The meter-high boulder lies on re-located loam containing many flakes, and so it was no doubt placed there by human hands. Certainly the most important shaft is no. 4. It is located c. 8m below the megalith previously mentioned. In this shaft, a late Lengyel pedestalled bowl was registered at a depth of 2m. Strikingly, it was found in a single piece, oriented vertically in a ‘functional’ position (Fig. 2). The concentration of charcoal in the immediate area of the upper part of the bowl supplied a radiocarbon date (GrN–27500) of 5490±60 years before present (44350±70 cal BC 68%). It is interesting that besides this bowl, there were no other shards. Approximately 15cm below the pedestalled bowl lay a large flat stone. From a depth of 5m we removed only the sandy filling of the prehistoric shaft with very sparse evidence of chipped stone industry, without major concentrations. The backfill was separated from the intact Miocene sand by a white lime crust. At a depth of 510–520cm near the north edge of the shaft was registered a complete skeleton of a hare in anatomical order. The circular cross-section of the shaft, 100–120cm wide, continued down to a depth of 6m, where it formed a bell-like enlargement, at the level where small chert pebbles began to appear in the extracted sand. The size of the pebbles did not exceed 10cm. The northern undercutting reached some 40cm further than the southern one (15–20cm).

The vast forested area of ‘Krumlovský les’ (the Krumlov Forest) in South Moravia is known for its prehistoric mining, as it is rich in the outcrops of Jurassic chert that is re-deposited in Miocene sands (Fig. 1). The quality of the local stone was only mediocre, but in spite of that it was the reason for an intensive settlement of this area from the Middle Palaeolithic. The oldest documented mining activity in this region dates to the Mesolithic. In the Bell Beaker period quarrying continued to increase in importance; local production radically increased and exports diminished. This is yet more clearly expressed in the Early Bronze Age (the Únětice Culture), when mining ceased. There were hundreds of shafts in this area, filled and surrounded with thousands of tons of chipped industrial waste, indicating that nearly all the production remained in place. It is quite obvious that since this period, at the latest, this old extraction landscape was not important because of its lithic resources, but because of its past. Extraction at this site lasted until the Hallstatt period. Narrow and deep shafts (up to 8m in depth) were mostly excavated through the backfill of ancient shafts without reaching an intact seam. Sometimes hoards of lithic materials, mostly older in origin than the shafts, are found at their bottoms (Oliva 2010: 378, 381 ff). Shafts of the Middle Neolithic

The first human skeleton emerged in the initial widening at a depth of 6 meters and belonged to a young woman, who originally lay in a horizontal, tightly flexed position, on her back. Quite possibly she was subsequently placed on her right side facing the

Mining in the Late Lengyel period (c. 4200 cal BC) is the most interesting topic of this contribution. The most significant Late Lengyel dated features were discovered in trench VI–9. This cuts into the rather steep slope 43

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 1. Prehistoric settlements and extraction areas (I–IX) in Krumlov forest. A–LBK, B–Lengyel culture, C–Early Bronze Age, D–Hallstatt Age, E–burial mounds, F–hoard of bars. 1–Vedrovice, Znojmo district [(settlement and burial site LBK, 2 rondels Moravian Painted Pottery culture (MMK)], 2–Moravský Krumlov – Vysoká hora, Znojmo district, 3–Jezeřany-Maršovice – Na Kocourkách, Znojmo district, 4–Nové Bránice – V Končinách, Brno district, 5–Nové Bránice B, Brno district, 6–Moravský Krumlov – traces of a MMK settlement over area V, Znojmo district, 7–Moravský Krumlov – Dlouhá louka, Znojmo district, 8–Moravský Krumlov – polycultural settlement near area I, Znojmo district, 9–Kubšice – Nad Lukama, Znojmo district, 10– Olbramovice – fortification Leskoun, Znojmo district, 11–Moravský Krumlov – Horákov settlement in mining area VI, Znojmo district, 12–Hallstatt mounds near Stavení (not visible today), 13–Urnfield mound below the Leskoun hillfort, 14–Late Hallstatt hillfort in Mokrý žleb, 15–settlement Maršovice – Jalovčiny, 16–Hallstatt site at Vedrovice, Znojmo district, 17–hoard of bronze bars of the Únětice Culture below the rocky outcrop. The dotted line indicates the forest edge. Drawn: T. Janků.

44

Martin Oliva: Women´s Work

Fig. 2. Upper part of Late Lengyel Shaft 4, indicating the position of the pedestalled bowl. Drawn: T. Janků.

limb we found two chert hammerstones. Immediately adjacent to the skeleton lay four cores, a blade flake and a smaller flake. Another skeleton was found nearly 1m deeper than the preceding skeleton. This one lay anatomically undisturbed, but it was placed in a highly unusual position. The body of this young woman was laid on her back, which was arched to accommodate the shape of the northern enlargement (Fig. 4). Her hands were clasped behind her head and she faced slightly to the left. The open jaws were evidently related to the post-mortem decay of the associated soft tissues. At the left breast of the woman was the head of a newborn, his or her legs were found in the pelvic region. An incomplete skeleton of a small dog was found some 30cm above the cranium of this woman (Fig. 5). The post-cranial skeleton undoubtedly belonged to the

wall of the pit. The skeleton suffered displacement of the thorax, disarticulation of the knees, and movement of one scapula (Fig. 3). We can attribute all of these phenomena to the pressure of sediment. But the pressure of sediment cannot explain the position of the cranium: the cranium faced the opposite direction to what one would expect. It was facing towards the center of the shaft and slightly downward. The shoulder joint was found c. 50cm from the remainder of the skeleton, with the elbow extended posteriorly behind, from the vertebral column. This unusual disposition suggests that the body may have been placed into the pit in pieces, and makes probable the assumption that the woman was, indeed, sacrificed. Radiometric analysis of human bone provided the following date: GrA–22839: 5380±50 BP (4210±90 cal BC 68%). Near the disarticulated upper 45

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 5. The upper thorax of the lower skeleton, a woman with a newborn child on her breast. Above the cranium is a partial dog skeleton. Photo: M. Oliva.

Fig. 3. The upper skeleton in Trench VI–9–1, Shaft 4 (LGK). Photo: M. Oliva.

From the lowest part of the shaft at a depth of 700– 750cm, came 39 artefacts, of which 22 are waste, seven flakes, and six unworked raw material pieces. On the bottom itself lay the jaw of a pig. The slightly concave bottom of the pit was encountered at a depth of 740– 750cm. It consisted of calcified detritic sediment of a rusty brown colour that was much hardened. Drilling down 60cm more the floor was of the same nature. This sediment was undoubtedly too hard for the tools of prehistoric miners to penetrate, which may be why the shaft was not deepened further – but the sediment above consisted of fine, light sand mixed with chert pebbles that was easily dug away. However, the undercutting expanded only to a distance of 35cm from the perpendicular wall. Layers were visible in the rusty sand in the profile of the lower 2m of the filling; the backfill rose upward and abutted the northern wall, where the two skeletons were located. These strata indicate that the shaft was intentionally filled in, as the extracted sand fell mostly along the southern wall – it was simply easier to throw the fill down the slope. These finds represent the first time that a shaft in which human remains in unusual burial positions was discovered in Central Europe. Prior to this, other extraction shafts have only yielded either individual skeletons, or regular burials with grave goods (as, for instance, at Mauer, near Vienna; Ruttkay 1970).

Fig. 4. The lower two skeletons, those of a woman and an infant, in Trench VI–9–1, Shaft 4 (LGK). Drawn: T. Janků.

Physical condition of the buried women cranium and mandible of the dog that lay at the same level in the western extension somewhat more to the south. Two small slender bones, evidently from the hind limb of a green frog, were found over the clasped hands of the female body. Near the skeleton lay three precores (one of them weighed 1.6kg), three flakes, and a hammerstone. Removal of the fill of the undercutting was stopped about 20cm below the lower skeleton, and we removed sand from the center of the shaft only.

The upper female died at the age of 30–35, the lower one was aged 35–40. Both females were gracile with distinct muscle topography. Their statures were estimated at 148 and 146cm, respectively, which means that both females were the shortest of all individuals examined from the Moravian Lengyel Culture period. The mean body height of other LGK-females is 155.54cm (Dočkalová and Čižmář 2008: 73; Tvrdý 2010: 408). Both women have delivered, as indicated by the strong development 46

Martin Oliva: Women´s Work or in the same season, within one year or over several years (Nývltová-Fišáková 2010). The results of the DNA analysis (Šerý 2010) demonstrate that the skeletal remains of both females are related, and may represent a mother and a daughter, or two sisters. The skeletal remains of the child differ in five alleles from both of the female skeletons, a fact which absolutely rules out the possibility of any affinity between the child and the females.

Fig. 6. The lower female skeleton, ulnae with distinct muscle attachments. Left ulna with unhealed fracture. Photo: Z. Tvrdý.

Discussion The unusual physical characteristics of the females buried in shaft 4 suggest that individuals of small stature and poor health were (probably) subjected to strenuous work in these mine shafts and suffered poor nutrition in their youth. The extremely small and gracile stature of the women, hypoplastic dental defects and anaemia testify to this. In contrast, they also possess well-developed muscle attachments and degenerative conditions of the vertebrae: The women were no doubt provided with a substantial meat diet in adulthood in order to withstand the exhausting manual labor.

of the sulcus preauricularis on both hip bones. Enamel hypoplasia on the incissors and Harris lines on the tibiae (Dočkalová and Čižmář 2008: 56 and Fig. 49; Tvrdý 2010: 406, 408) show evidence of stress experienced by both individuals during their growth and development. The health condition of the lower woman was poorer than that of the upper one. She suffered from iron deficiency, evident from the porotic hyperostosis on the occipital part of cranium, and her left ulna had been broken and healed with pseudoarthrosis (Tvrdý 2010: 406). Both skeletons show evidence of hard physical activity, i.e. distinct muscle topography (Fig. 6), Schmorl’s nodes on lumbar vertebrae, and osteophytes (Tvrdý 2010). Such phenomena were not uncommon in the then population (Dočkalová and Čižmář 2008: 72– 74), however their common occurrence on one skeleton is quite exceptional.

We must admit we have no clear explanation for these facts. From the viewpoint of division of labour it is certainly paradoxical that the hardest work in the mines would be carried out by the shortest and the least healthy. It is generally assumed – at least according to traditional views – that the physical role of men in the late Neolithic was favored, as a consequence of the need of male strength to perform newly emerging work requirements, such as ploughing and mining (Neustupný 1967). From a purely ergonomic point of view, the small stature in the miners would be advantageous, since they would more easily fit into the narrow shafts. But it is important to remember that in the Krumlovský les the shafts are wider than those at Abensberg-Arnhofen, where it is assumed that mining was done by children (Rind 2014). Another reason that women performed such labor may be based on religious beliefs – in Africa, for instance in Katakana and Zambia, women allegedly worked in the mines because they are more easily accepted by the Earth, since it is likewise of female gender (Kandert 2010: 107). The third explanation invokes simple human ruthlessness: the hardest work is not carried out by the strongest, but by those who can be coerced into it most easily. Naturally, we can lighten this somewhat brutal statement by some kind of explanation of a socio-ritual nature. The women, although perhaps of local origin, might have been destined to such toil by some circumstance that remains unknown to us. Moreover, we cannot assume that these two women are representative of the whole population carrying out the mining. This is not

The skeletal remains were analysed for carbon, nitrogen and strontium isotopic composition (13C/12C, 15N/14N and 87Sr/86Sr ratios) to determine their origin, diet, and living environment. The women were well-fed during the last year of their lives according to the carbon and nitrogen isotopic analyses. They had eaten animal proteins, as well as plant food, including berries rich in minerals and vitamins. The meat eaten originated mostly from sheep/goats and pigs (Nývltová-Fišáková 2010). The micro-abrasion analyses of tooth crowns also support these results (Jarošová 2010). Strontium isotopic ratios of the analysed remains of these women are within the range of the local Neolithic population, known mainly from the Vedrovice Linearbandkeramik Culture (LBK) cemetery. This means that the females could have spent all their lives in the surroundings of the Krumlovský les. Cross-sections of the mandibular first molar roots were used to ascertain the season of death of both women found in shaft 4 of the prehistoric mining area of the Krumlovský les. According to analyses of dental cement microstructures they both died in spring. This fact suggests that they both died either at the same time 47

Between History and Archaeology necessarily the case. However, it would still be striking that both individuals buried in the shaft were indeed the shortest adult members of the then population as we know it. The ununitedbroken fracture of the forearm found in the lower-most female (about parry fractures: Judd 2008) may have meant that she was unfit for work for a number of months, and this might have been the reason why she was eventually put to death.

Jarošová, I. 2010. XVII. Dentice jedinců z Krumlovského lesa. In M. Oliva, Pravěké hornictví v Krumlovském lese: 409–418. Brno, Moravské Zemské Muzeum. Judd, M. 2008. The parry problem. Journal of Archaeological Science 35: 1658–1666. Kandert, J. 2010. Náboženské systémy. Člověk náboženský a jak mu porozumět. Praha, Grada. Neustupný, E. 1967. K počátkům patriarchátu ve střední Evropě. The beginnings of patriarchy in Central Europe. Praha, Rozpravy ČSAV, řada společenských věd 77/2. Neustupný, E. (ed.). 2013. The Prehistory of Bohemia 3: The Eneolithic. Prague, Archeologický ústav AV ČR. Nývltová-Fišáková, M. 2010. XIX. Výživa, původ a doba smrti dvou žen z pozdnělengyelské těžební šachty 4 v Krumlovském lese. In M. Oliva, Pravěké hornictví v Krumlovském lese: 423–426. Brno, Moravské Zemské Muzeum. Oliva, M. 2010. Pravěké hornictví v Krumlovském lese. Vznik a vývoj industriálně-sakrální krajiny na jižní Moravě. (Prehistoric mining in the ‘  Krumlovský les  ‘ (Southern Moravia). Origin and development of an industrial-sacred landscape). Brno, Moravské Zemské Muzeum. Pany, D. 2005. ‘Working in a saltmine…’ – Erste Ergebnisse der anthropologischen Auswertung von Muskelmarken an den menschlichen Skeletten aus dem Gräberfeld Hallstatt. Studien zur Kulturgeschichte von Oberösterreich 13: 101–111. Rind, M. M. 2014. Das neolithische Hornsteinbergwerk in Abensberg-Arnhofen: eine Zwischenbilanz. In L. Husty, W. Irlinger and J. Pechtl (eds), ‘…und es hat doch was gebracht!’ Festschrift für Karl Schmotz zum 65. Geburtstag. Internationale Archäologie – Studia Honoraria: 163–178. Rahden, Vlg Marie Leidorf. Ruttkay, E. 1970. Das jungsteinzeitliche Hornsteinbergwerk mit Bestattungen von der Antonshöhe bei Mauer (Wien 23). Mitteilungen der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft in Wien 100: 70–115. Šerý, O. 2010. XVIII. DNA analýza tří kosterních pozůstatků z  mladolengyelské těžní šachty v Krumlovském lese. In M. Oliva, Pravěké hornictví v Krumlovském lese: 419–422. Brno, Moravské Zemské Muzeum. Tvrdý, Z. 2010. XVI. Antropologický posudek kosterních nálezů z  mladolengyelské těžní šachty v Krumlovském lese. In M. Oliva, Pravěké hornictví v Krumlovském lese: 402–408. Brno, Moravské Zemské Muzeum.

By way of conclusion a few examples of similar attitudes to female labour have previously been found elsewhere. The study of muscle attachments in the adult population from the Iron Age cemetery in Hallstatt revealed that men showed traces of exertion typical for quarrying, while in women these were caused by the strain from hauling bags with salt into the valley (Pany 2005). Carrying commodities is often a task left to women, since such activities are not prestigious ones. In Africa a husband riding a donkey is often seen by the side of his wife, walking with vessels of water (as witnessed by visitors). Quite possibly the growth of the prestigious role of men, which was typical for the Eneolithic (Neustupný ed. 2013), did not always arise from their ability to carry out the newly demanded heavy labour, such as ploughing, extraction, digging fortification moats, and mounding up of ramparts, but also from the possibility of being able to coerce someone into such work, thereby demonstrating male superiority. Some of these new activities were useful for the community (e.g. ploughing), while others more likely came into existence to increase the prestigious roles of individuals. This includes the exploitation of flint that made possible the manufacture and distribution of attractive tools and weapons. At the same time, such quarrying brought opportunities to manage extensive activities and to control the distribution of prestigious products. Without doubt, it mattered more who managed this activity than who performed it. It seems that the division of labour can be very ambiguous in these early societies. References Dočkalová, M. and Čižmář, Z. 2008. Neolithic settlement burials of adult and juvenile individuals in Moravia, Czech Republic. Anthropologie 46: 37–76.

48

New research at Tata-Kálváriadomb, Hungary Katalin T. Biró

Hungarian National Museum, 1088 Budapest, Múzeum krt. 14-16, Hungary e-mail: [email protected]

Erzsébet Harman-Tóth

Tata Geological Garden, Eötvös Loránd University, 1117 Budapest, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, Hungary

Krisztina Dúzs

Hungarian National Museum, 1088 Budapest, Múzeum krt. 14-16, Hungary Abstract: Tata-Kálváriadomb is one of the first flint mines known from Hungary. It was excavated in the 1960-ies and 1970-ies. The quarry is situated in the Jurassic layers of unique geological settings turned into a geological park. Recent maintenance work on the site allowed the discovery of new mining features yielding fresh osseous material suitable for C–14 dating. The new dates extended the known period of utilisation of the flint mine, formerly dated on the strength of pottery shards to the Late Copper Age Baden Culture, to the Late Neolithic/Early Copper Age Lengyel Culture. Keywords: flint mine, Tata, Hungary, Baden Culture, Lengyel Culture

Introduction

Erzsébet Bácskay (Fülöp 1973, 1980; Bácskay 1980, 1984, 1986; Bácskay and Biró 2003). Altogether 3 mining pits were found that could be dated on the basis of pottery fragments of the Late Copper Age Baden Culture and an early radiometric dating (C–14 date: 3810+65 BP, Hv 1770; Fülöp 1980: 551; Fig. 1).

Tata and its environs is a classical locality for Hungarian lithic research. The valley of the stream Átal-ér has been a home and also raw material source for the prehistoric communities since the Lower Palaeolithic (Dobosi 1999). In the city of Tata itself we can find one of the oldest Palaeolithic sites known as a Pleistocene find-spot since the XVIIIth century (Cseh 2004). The excavation of the site proper, Tata-Porhanyó was again one of the first Palaeolithic excavations (Kormos 1912), very advanced even to current standards, and there has been a continuum of research till our days (Vértes 1964, Dobosi 2004 and in progress).

The locality became famous, primarily, on the strength of its exceptional geological endowments (Haas and Hámor 2001; Tóth 2008; Haas 2010). The sequence of its geological layers embrace essential periods of the Mesozoic age, starting from the Late Triassic and almost continuously covering the Tethyan sequence till the Early Cretaceous period (Fülöp 1973, 1975; Fig. 2). An open-air presentation site was established here, mainly to show the geological attractions. As the layer sequence comprises the prehistoric mining features, they were also presented to the general public, supplied with protecting wall and roof and a modest exhibition to show the essentials on prehistoric mining. This way Tata is among the very few visitable prehistoric openair sites, one of the two prehistoric quarries open to public in Hungary.

Equally famous is the geological section of TataKálváriadomb, also within city limits. It had been noted by the itinerant geologists of the XVIIIth century and was intensively investigated by geologists ever since (Fülöp 1975). In course of the geological sectioning, the prehistoric mining pits exploiting Jurassic radiolarite came to light (Fülöp 1973). József Fülöp also gave a detailed account on the mining features for the first survey of Hungarian flint mines (Fülöp 1980; recently summarised by Biró 2012). In the famous catalogue (Weisgerber et al. 1980), Tata was given Nr. 3 among Hungarian flint mines, amended in the 33rd volume of Archaeologia Polona (Lech 1995). Research history prehistoric mine

of

the

Recent maintenance works in the quarry The maintenance of the geological park means a heavy duty. As a small part of it, in 2011 we undertook the cleaning of the prehistoric site with a group of volunteers working one week on the quarry site. The revitalisation of the whole park has formed the subject of a major project entitled ‘Reconstruction of geological key sections on the territory of the Tata Nature Reserve area’ (‘Földtani alapszelvények rekonstrukciója a Tatai Természetvédelmi Területen’,

Tata-Kálváriadomb

The prehistoric mining features of Tata-Kálváriadomb are known since 1967. The excavations were conducted under the direction of József Fülöp, geologist and 49

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 1. Location of the Tata Geological Garden of the Eötvös Loránd University. 2015 detailed surveying of the area and projection to aerial photograph by Bence Takács (Budapest University of Technology and Economics).

50

Katalin T. Biró et al.: New research at Tata-Kálváriadomb

Fig. 2. Geological section of the Tata-Kálváriadomb main layers. Slightly modified after Haas 2010. Geological ages taken from Cohen et al. 2013.

51

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 3. Cleaned surface: recent image (August 2015) taken by drone with outlines of the new trench. Drone photo assembly: A. Eschwig-Hajts.

52

Katalin T. Biró et al.: New research at Tata-Kálváriadomb

Fig. 4. Exploring trench (section and ground plan) 2015. Drawn: K. T. Biró.

KEOP–3.1.2/2F/09–11–2013–0053). The complete surface of the exposed geological section was cleaned and rejuvenated (Fig. 3).

International Conservator Seminar by Krisztina Dúzs (Dúzs et al. 2015; Fig. 6). The antler tools were cleaned, refitted and conserved. During the cleaning process, chert (radiolarite) splinters were observed stuck into the osseous matter; also, traces of utilisation could be observed on the antler tools (Fig. 7). The tools received individual container boxes and have been recently inventorised in the Hungarian National Museum.

New mining features at Tata-Kálváriadomb In course of this work, while cleaning the Jurassic surface, details of a new mining pit were found (Fig. 4). The rock surface was transsected by a sondage of 5 x 1 meter deepened into loose sediment of chert (radiolarite) flake debris. The trench opened a shallow exploitation pit with traces of an antler tool. At this point, Katalin. T. Biró from the Hungarian National Museum was informed (Fig. 5). Together with the team of the Tata Geological Garden (Erzsébet Harman-Tóth, Tibor Steiner, Zoltán Varga), we opened the trench till the bedrock surface, documented the features and have found altogether three antler tools and many radiolarite flakes.

The detailed archaeozoological analysis of the antler tools has not been accomplished as yet; the forms, however, fit well into the categories known for prehistoric antler tools presented by István Vörös for the Sümeg-Mogyorósdomb flint mine (Vörös 2007: Fig. 2.). New dates for Tata-Kálváriadomb

Antler tools in the mining pits can be considered as the most prominent proofs of mining activity, offering at the same time a possibility for radiocarbon dating on fresh and authentic evidence. The antler tools were carefully removed and transported to the Hungarian National Museum for conservation. Unfortunately, the pieces of the antler tools were in very fragmented state because the shallow pit was exposed to surface climatic conditions for a long time. We tried to lift the tools separately. The cleaning and refitting of the antler fragments was performed by Krisztina Dúzs, conservator of the Hungarian National Museum.

The most important new result of the current work, apart from extending the known quarry area of the Tata-Kálváriadomb site, however, is the extension of the temporal dimensions of flint mining here. The antler piece separated from the new finds was transported to the Hertelendi Laboratory of Environmental Studies, Debrecen, where they made a new AMS C–14 dating on the tools proper. The new development of the laboratory, making possible more exact dates from a smaller amount of samples is the development of the last few years (Molnár et al. 2013a, 2013b). The new dates are presented in Table 1:

Prior to the conservation, a suitable piece of antler was separated for C–14 dating, untreated by chemicals. The conservation procedure was presented on the 40th

This date is essentially older than the formerly known Late Copper Age one. By regional chronology, this is 53

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 5. Antler tools in the exploring trench. Photo: Z. Varga.

a.

c.

b.

d. Fig. 6. Conservation of the antler tools: antler tool nr 3; a–as received from field; b–cleaned, sorted; c–refitting in progress; d–completed and in its own storage box. Photo: K. Dúzs

54

Katalin T. Biró et al.: New research at Tata-Kálváriadomb

Fig. 7. Cutmarks on the antler tool Nr. 1. Photo: K. Dúzs.

Table 1. 14–C date for the new trench obtained from one of the antler tools (M. Molnár and colleagues) AMS 14–C measurement code DeA–7310

Conventional Sample name / 14C age Code (year BP) + 1σ Antler tool

5797 + 31

Calibrated calendar age (cal BC) (1σ) 4710–4610

for unambiguous attribution to the source. Recently, geochemical studies on radiolarites have proved certain distinctive features for the Gerecse radiolarite sources (Biró et al. 2002, 2009), but more on the level of mountain units than on the level of individual quarries or outcrops. The proper identification of radiolarite provenance is still a long way ahead of us, if it can be accomplished at all.

extending the age of the mining activity to the Late Neolithic, culturally, to the Lengyel culture. This is not surprising, however, as the Lengyel culture is known for its intensive artisan activity. The main period of the Szentgál radiolarite exploitation can be associated with this culture and period (Biró and Regenye 1991) on the basis of indirect evidence (activity of workshop sites) and most probably, the Mecsek radiolarite exploitation had its acme also during the existence of Lengyel culture (Bácskay and Biró 1984; Biró 1989, 1990). The most intensive exploitation of the only Hungarian flint (s.s.) source, Nagytevel can be also dated, on the basis of indirect evidence (distribution data) to this period (Biró 2003, Biró et al. 2010). Production of polished stone tools is documented for Lengyel Culture settlements and workshops at Aszód (Biró 1992), Sé (Harcos 1997), Zengővárkony (Biró et al. 2003) and most recently, in the internal basins of the Bakony Mountains (Biró et al. 2014). We also suspect that Lengyel Culture had an intensive drive to collect and trade exotic raw materials like obsidian and greenstone. Nevertheless, none of the known Hungarian flint mines were dated, by direct evidence, to the Lengyel Culture as yet.

Further plans The obvious next step is further excavations on the site. We hope to realise it in the near future. When excavating Tata, however, we have to plan also maintenance and presentation as we are in the middle of the practically only functioning open-air prehistoric quarry site within Hungary. References Bácskay, E. 1980. Zum Stand der Erforschung prähistorischer Feuersteinbergbau. In G. Weisgerber, R. Slotta and J. Weiner (eds), 5000 Jahre Feuersteinbergbau: die Suche nach dem Stahl der Steinzeit: 179–182. Bochum, Deutsches BergbauMuseum. Veröffentlichungen aus dem Deutschen Bergbau-Museum 77.

The distribution of the raw material is, unfortunately, no clue. Tata type radiolarites (liver-coloured dark red and grey) are rather common and not distinctive enough 55

Between History and Archaeology Bácskay, E. 1984. Prehistoric flint mines (exploitation sites) in Hungary and their role in the raw material supply. In K. Kanchev (ed.), Proceedings of the 3rd International Seminar in Petroarchaeology: 127–14. Plovdiv. Bácskay, E. 1986. La mineria prehistorica en Hungria. Cuadernos de Prehistoria de la Universidad de Granada: 273–325. Granada 11. Bácskay, E. and Biró, K. 1984. A lengyeli lelőhely pattintott kőeszközeiről. Szekszárd 12: 43–67. Bácskay, E. and T. Biró, K. 2003. Raw materials, mining and trade. In Zs. Visy (ed.), Hungarian Archaeology at the turn of the Millennium: 117–123. Budapest,. Biró, T., K. 1989. A lengyeli kultúra dél-dunántúli pattintott kőeszköz-leletanyagainak nyersanyagáról I. Communicationes Archaeologicae Hungariae: 22–31. Budapest. Biró, T., K. 1990. A lengyeli kultúra dél-dunántúli pattintott kőeszközeinek nyersanyagáról 2: 66–76. Budapest, Communicationes Archaeologicae Hungariae. Biró, T., K. 1992. Adatok a korai baltakészítés technológiájához. Acta Musei Papensis (Pápai Múzeumi Értesítő Pápa) 3–4: 33–79. Biró, T., K. 2003. Tevel flint: a special constituent of the Central European LBC lithic inventories. In. L. Burnez-Lanotte (ed.), Production and Management of Lithic Materials in the European Linearbandkeramik. Acts of the XIVth UISPP Congress, University of Liège, Belgium, 2–8 September 2001:11–17. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 1200. Biró, T. K. 2012. Prehistoric mining in Hungary. A Magyar Állami Földtani Intézet Évi Jelentése 2010-ről, 149–154. Biró, K. and Regenye, J. 1991. Prehistoric workshop and exploitation site at Szentgál-Tűzköveshegy. Acta Archaeologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 43: 337–375. Biró, T., K., Elekes, Z., Uzonyi, I. and Kiss, Á. 2002. Radiolarit minták vizsgálata ionnyaláb analitikai módszerekkel / Investigation of Radiolarite Samples by Ion-Beam Analytical Methods. Archaeológiai Értesítő 127: 103–134. Biró, T., K., Schléder, Zs., Antoni, J. and Szakmány, Gy. 2003. Petroarchaeological studies on polished stone artifacts from Baranya county, Hungary II. Zengővárkony: notes on the production, use and circulation of polished stone tools. A Janus Pannonius Múzeum Évkönyve, Pécs 46–47: 37–76. Biró, T., K., Szilágyi, V. and Kasztovszky, Zs. 2009. Új adatok a Kárpát-medence régészeti radiolarit forrásainak ismeretéhez (New data on the characterisation of radiolarite sources of the Carpathian Basin). Archeometriai Műhely (Archaeometry Workshop) 6(3): 25–44. Biró, T., K., Regenye, J., Puszta, S. and Thamóné, B. (eds) 2010. Előzetes jelentés a Nagytevel-Tevel-hegyi kovabánya ásatásának eredményeiről. Archaeológiai Értesítő 135: 5–25.

Biró, T., K., Antoni, J. and Wolf, E. 2014. Basalt axe production sites in the Bakony Mountains. In UISPP Congress Burgos, Abstract Volume: 11–12. Burgos. Cohen, K.M., Finney, S.C., Gibbard, P.L. and Fan, J.-X. 2013 (updated). The ICS International Chronostratigraphic Chart. Episodes 36: 199–204. URL: http://www.stratigraphy.org/ICSchart/ ChronostratChart2015-01.pdf Cseh, J. 2004. Die Forschungsgeschichte von TataPorhanyóbánya. In: E. Fülöp and J. Cseh (eds), Die aktuellen Fragen des Mittelpaläolithikums in Mitteleuropa (Topical issues of the Research of Middle Palaeolithic Period in Central Europe): 7–32. Tata. Dobosi, T., V. 1999. Ősemberek az Által-ér völgyében (Prehistoric man in the Által-ér valley). Tata. Dobosi, V. 2004. Pebble tools from Tata-Porhanyó. In E. Fülöp and J. Cseh (eds), Die aktuellen Fragen des Mittelpaläolithikums in Mitteleuropa (Topical issues of the Research of Middle Palaeolithic Period in Central Europe): 65–75. Tata. Dúzs, K., T. Biró, K. and Tóth, E. 2015. Agancs bányászeszközök restaurálása (Conservation of antler mining tools). In 40. International Conservator Seminar, 11–13 November 2015 (Poster). Budapest, Hungarian National Museum. Fülöp, J. 1973. Funde des prähistorischen Silexgrubenbaues am Kálvária-Hügel von Tata. Acta Archaeologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 25: 3–25. Fülöp, J. 1975. Tatai mezozoós alaphegységrögök (The Tata Mesozoic block mountains). Geologia Hungarica Series Geologica 16: 1–222. Fülöp, J. 1980. Flint mines in Hungary. In G. Weisgerber, R. Slotta and J. Weiner (eds), 5000 Jahre Feuersteinbergbau: die Suche nach dem Stahl der Steinzeit: 544–553. Bochum, Deutsches BergbauMuseum. Veröffentlichungen aus dem Deutschen Bergbau-Museum 77. Haas, J. and Hámor, G. 2001. Geological Garden in the neighbourhood of Budapest, Hungary. Episodes 24(4): 257–261. Haas, J. 2010. Kálvária-dombi Természetvédelmi Terület, Tata – egy valódi jura park ösvényein. In J. Haas (ed.), A múlt ösvényein, Fejezetek Magyarország földjének történetéből: 61–66. Budapest. Harcos, T. 1997. Kőszerszámkészités a neolitikumban és a Savaria Múzeum Velem-Szent Vid-i kőeszközanyaga. Panniculus 6: 9–41. Kormos, T. 1912. A tatai őskőkori telep. Magyar Állami Földtani Intézet Évkönyve 20: 1–60. Lech, J. (ed.). 1995. Special theme: Flint mining. Warszawa. Archaeologia Polona 33. Molnár, M., Rinyu, L., Veres, M., Seiler, M., Wacker, L. and Synal, H–A. 2013a. ENVIRONMICADAS: a mini 14C AMS with enhanced gas ion source interface in the Hertelendi Laboratory of Environmental Studies (HEKAL), Hungary. Radiocarbon 55(2–3): 338–344. 56

Katalin T. Biró et al.: New research at Tata-Kálváriadomb Molnár, M., Janovics, R., Major, I., Orsovszki, J., Gönczi, R., Veres, M., Leonard, A.G., Castle, S. M., Lange, T.E., Wacker, L., Hajdas, I. and Jull, A.J.T. 2013b. Status report of the new AMS 14C sample preparation lab of the Hertelendi Laboratory of environmental studies (Debrecen, Hungary). Radiocarbon 55(2–3): 665–676. Tóth, E. 2008. Tájsebből emlékmű (From landscape scar to monument). Élet és Tudomány 2008(27): 848–850. Vértes, L. (ed.). 1964. Tata, eine Mittelpalaeolithische Travertin-Siedlung in Ungarn. Budapest. Archaeologia Hungarica 43.

Vörös, I. 2007. Sümeg-Mogyorós dombi őskori kovabánya agancsleletei / Antler finds from the Sümeg-Mogyorós domb prehistoric quarry. Archeometriai Műhely 4(1): 19–30. Weisgerber, G., Slotta, R., and Weiner, J. (eds). 1980. 5000 Jahre Feuersteinbergbau: die Suche nach dem Stahl der Steinzeit. Bochum, Deutsches Bergbau-Museum. Veröffentlichungen aus dem Deutschen BergbauMuseum 77.

57

58

News from the Eastern Fringe – The Baunzen Site near Vienna, Austria Michael Brandl

Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology (OREA), Austrian Academy of Sciences, Hollandstraße 11–13, 1020 Vienna, Austria e-mail: [email protected]

Oliver Schmitsberger

Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology (OREA), Austrian Academy of Sciences, Hollandstraße 11–13, 1020 Vienna, Austria e-mail: [email protected]

Gerhard Trnka

Institute for Prehistory and Historical Archaeology, University of Vienna, Franz-Klein-Gasse 1, 1180 Vienna, Austria e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: As previously suspected, the St. Veit Klippen Belt series west of the city limits of Vienna produced evidence for prehistoric quarrying and knapping activities linked to radiolarite outcrops additional to the well-known site of Vienna-Mauer. However, the density of this recently discovered ‘mining cluster’ west of Vienna surpassed even the most optimistic expectations. The present study discusses one of the largest newly discovered knapping sites within this mining landscape, the Baunzen site, St. Pölten-Land district. Surveys of the archaeological evidence, a characterization of ‘Baunzen type’ silicites and initial techno-typological investigations on a representative sample of debitage allowed for preliminary assessments of the new finding`s nature. The site is composed of an extensive waste heap of on-the-spot knapping and testing debris, weathering out of a steep slope bounded by a small river, and additionally cut by a recently constructed road. The Baunzen type raw material consists of two main radiolarite varieties. Both are in most cases fine grained but frequently display tectonic clefts, reducing the overall knapping quality significantly. As a result, oftentimes only small angular broken specimens could be used as initial cores. Chronologically, quarrying and knapping activities at the Baunzen site appear to cover an extended period of time. The investigated sample of debitage, exclusively surface finds, suggests a relatively young dating within the Neolithic period and potentially beyond, with the majority of the lithic material assignable to the flake dominated Late Neolithic (Copper Age) industries in northeastern Austria. However, based on the admittedly poor state of research concerning the Late- and Eneolithic in the study area, only a small number of assemblages dating to those periods contain Baunzen type material, and to date there exists no evidence for Post-Neolithic stone tool production on Baunzen radiolarite. Hopefully, ongoing projects will be able to answer the most pressing chronological issues of the ‘Neolithic mining landscape of Vienna’, with the Baunzen site as starting point. Keywords: St. Veit Klippen Belt, prehistoric mining, Baunzen, radiolarite, petrography, lithic debris heap, on-the-spot knapping, lithic technology, Late Neolithic/Copper Age

Introduction

Eastern Alps) has produced evidence for a higher density of prehistoric quarrying and mining activities in the western parts and west of the city limits of Vienna than previously anticipated. Amongst scientists, the potential and likeliness of prehistorically used chert and radiolarite outcrops additional to Vienna-Mauer and the Gemeindeberg in Vienna district, along the carbonatic geological formations of the St. Veit Klippen Belt was more or less taken for granted, and has been proposed by Brandl and Trnka (2014: 344), however, the proof and verification was only recently achieved. This area can now indeed be considered a prehistoric ‘mining hot-spot’, which allows to establish what we would like to term the ‘Neolithic mining landscape of Vienna’. The current study is specifically focused on one site situated within this mining cluster, the Baunzen site in the district St. Pölten-Land. We present preliminary archaeological evidence, provide

In an initial paper, Michael Brandl and Gerhard Trnka (2014) outlined the geo-archaeological potential of the easternmost part of the Eastern (Calcareous) Alps concerning resources for chipped stone tool production. The goal of this paper was to characterize and present the range of prehistorically used SiO2 raw materials in the study area, the macro- and microscopic characterization of defined type varieties in order to provide a ‘source catalogue’, and to create a framework within which further investigations and an expansion of our knowledge of prehistoric raw material sources at the Eastern Fringe of the Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA) could take place. Of late, specifically the geologically complex St. Veit Klippen Belt (linked to the Flysch Zone north of the 59

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 1. Location and overview of the Baunzen site, St. Pölten-Land distrit. Photo: G. Trnka.

range (Prey 1979: 215). The archaeological site is linked to one of those Klippen formations and situated on a slightly north-south inclining slope which forms the southern foothills of the Feuersteinberg (= ‘flint hill’) immediately northwest of Baunzen (Fig. 1). At this locale, an extensive accumulation of loose silicified limestone and radiolarite scatter weathers out from the surface, and rapidly erodes out of steeper parts of the hill which drops to the bed of a small river in the south (Fig. 2). There, the slope is additionally cut by a road.

a characterization of ‘Baunzen type’ silicites and offer insight into techno-typological aspects of a representative sample of debitage collected at the site in order to make assessments of the nature of the new findings, which shed new light on the area immediately west of present-day Vienna. The Baunzen site Geographical setting Located in the eastern part of the Wienerwald and north of the Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA), St. Veit Klippen Belt rock units occur in the westernmost areas of Vienna and form the hill ranges of the Gemeindeberg, Trazerberg, Girzenberg, Roter Berg and Flohberg (Penz 2007). The Klippen Belt extends throughout the entire Wienerwald area and comprises numerous independent units. In the southwestern extension of the St. Veit Klippen Belt, nine Klippen located at the small village of Baunzen south of Purkersdorf, St. Pölten-Land district, and west of Vienna constitute the Baunzen Klippen

Geology At the northern fringe of the Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA) carbonates genetically belonging to the latter overlay rock masses of the Flysch Zone. Intercalated in the Flysch Zone are Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous multicoloured limestones associated with shaly clays, marls, and sandstones. The limestones frequently contain deep sea radiolarites and cherts, evidence of the subsidence processes of the ocean floor during Middle Jurassic times. These geological 60

Michael Brandl et al.: News from the Eastern Fringe

Fig. 3. Radiolarite outcrop at the Baunzen site, St. PöltenLand district. Photo: G. Trnka.

Fig. 2. Lithic scatter on the surface of the debris heap at Baunzen, St. Pölten-Land district. Photo: G. Trnka.

formations are defined as Klippen Zones (Janoschek et al. 1954; Prey 1979, 1991, 1993; Trnka 2014). In the Flysch Zone of the Wienerwald area west of Vienna occur rock formations associated with the Gresten Klippen Zone and the Sulzer Klippen Zone, including the St. Veit Klippen Belt (Prey 1991), which are tectonically separated. Characteristic for Gresten type Klippen is the presence of Buntmergel Serie, which are not found at formations of St. Veit Klippen. At Baunzen near Purkersdorf occur Klippen built up from mica-rich sandy Posidonia beds at the base and shales, cherty shales and radiolarites of Upper Jurassic age on top imbedded in Middle Cretaceous shales and Gault Flysch. This geological set-up is characteristic for St. Veit Klippen Belt rock units, more precisely the Rotenberg formation (Prey 1979: 215–216; Wessely 2006: 99). Archaeological evidence

Fig. 4: Potential mining tool (pick) of poor quality raw material. Photo: G. Trnka.

At close examination we found that almost every single lithic specimen at the Baunzen site displays traces of working, identifying the locale as the waste heap of an extensive on-the-spot knapping site. The surficial visible part of the dump site extends roughly 60m from north to south and 80m from east to west. At the western end of the debris field, close to the brook bed, radiolarite crops out as large boulders measuring up to 100cm (Fig. 3). Since no excavation has been conducted it is unclear how far they extend and if or how they are linked to the underlying bedrock. Mining traces, e.g. levelled quarrying pits, were not detected. It is possible that it was sufficient to extract material from the surface outcrops or top soil residual deposits. A possible mining tool in the form of a crudely shaped radiolarite flake with splintering on one broad edge which could

have been used as a pick was also discovered (Fig. 4). Additionally, pieces are frequently fire influenced, indicated by a reddish to violet hue and characteristic micro-cracks (and thus clearly differentiable from type 2b, Fig. 5 and 6). Raw material characterisation A small sample of Baunzen type material was presented by Brandl and Trnka (2014), however, a more detailed characterization is now possible based on the sample collected from the extensive waste debris fields at this locale. 61

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 5. Macroscopic varieties of Baunzen type radiolarite. Photo: G. Trnka.

General information Proposed name: Material: Geological age: Geological formation:

2 is again subdivided into two categories, with colour as the distinguishing element. The macroscopic variety of Baunzen radiolarites is illustrated in Fig. 5.

Baunzen radiolarite. Jurassic radiolarite. Upper Jurassic. Rotenberg Formation.

Type 1 and either type 2a or 2b often occur in one nodule, and in these cases the finer grained types 2a or 2b form the core material or patches in nodules and flat nodules of type 1 material (Fig. 6:d and e; Table 1). The transition between the coarser and the finer rock parts is always gradual. Rarely, all types can display banding or lamination. In some cases the bands are built up from alternating pale green and bluish-grey rock parts, and occasionally light blue banding occurs related to chalcedony as cleft filling material. Sometimes accumulated POM (particulate organic matter) occurs in the form of black flakes or flitter causing dark splotches in the rock matrix (Fig. 6:f).

Facies Deep marine Upper Jurassic Beckenfacies. Recent geochemical investigations of material from the St. Veit Klippen belt revealed a closer relation between St. Veit Klippen and NCA rock formations rather than with Pienidic units (Brandl et al. 2014: 150). Source of silica The source of the silica responsible for radiolarite formation at Baunzen can be identified as skeletal opal diagenetically derived from the tests of silica-bearing marine microorganisms, predominantly radiolarians.

Raw material quality Both types are fine grained (type 1 is micro-, types 2a and 2b are cryptocrystalline). The material is frequently cleft due to tectonic stress. Consequently, small pieces can display high quality, however, caused by tectonic clefts the overall quality is significantly reduced and only allowed for the use of angular broken small pieces as initial cores.

Petrography Two main raw material types can be distinguished based on macroscopic and microscopic properties of the investigated material from Baunzen (Tab. 1). Type 62

Michael Brandl et al.: News from the Eastern Fringe Table 1. Characterization of varieties of Baunzen type radiolarite. Features

Type 1

Type 2a

Type 2b

Micropicture

Fig. 6:a

Fig. 6:b

Fig. 6:c

Medium – coarse silt

Clay – fine silt

Colour range acc. to Munsell (GSA 2009)

Translucidity

Grain size according to ISO14688-1 (BSI 2009: 7)

10Y 6/2 Pale Olive – 5GY 7/2 Grayish Yellow. 5B 5/1 Medium Bluish Green – 5GY 5/2 Dusky Yellow Green – 5GY Gray – 5B 6/2 Pale Blue 6/1 Greenish Gray Non translucent

5P 4/2 Grayish Purple – N6 Medium Light Gray

Semitranslucent / rarely translucent

Texture acc. to Dunham (1962) and Embry and Klovan (1971)

Mudstone – wackestone

Mudstone

Structure

Fossil inclusions

Microcrystalline

Predominantly radiolarians, occasionally monaxon sponge spicules, POM (particulate organic matter in the form of black flakes, sometimes accumulated; for a definition of POM see Volkman, Tanoue 2002)

Cryptocrystalline

Non-fossil inclusions

Black and brown accessory minerals (e.g. heavy minerals, Fe-oxides), sometimes occurring in streaks, carbonates (interspersed crystal faces are discernable)

Black and brown accessory minerals (e.g. heavy minerals, Fe-oxides), residues of the host rock (carbonates) in the form of white dissolved structures (‘swimming’ in a glassy matrix and causing pores or irregularly shaped voids when situated at the rock surface and weathered).

Attempt of a morphological and chronological assessment of the chipped stone tool assemblage

Radiolarian phantoms (sometimes barely visible), rarely sponge spicules, sometimes POM (particulate organic matter in the form of black flakes)

spot workshops at raw material quarrying locals is the absence of cores prepared for further exploitation and suitable blanks, which were typically taken to further processing sites. Consequently, solely unsuitable knapping debris, broken debitage and misfired (and very rarely exploited) cores remained on spot hampering any techno-typological analyses. Furthermore, traces of minor looting activities were recorded at the site, and it is possible that some of the ‘nice’ specimens were removed unauthorized. Nevertheless, the collected sample is suitable for preliminary assessments and will be discussed according to artifact types.

The investigated material is a random sample collected in the course of two surveys conducted in 2014 and 2015 by a team of geologists and archaeologists. In order to achieve a representative cross section of the knapping debris present at the Baunzen site no specific selection criteria were applied for sampling. Noticeably, almost every siliceous rock that can be found at the site displays traces of (at least initial) chipping or testing. For this preliminary assessment 318 specimens were investigated.1 Here, technological characteristics were not individually recorded and statistically evaluated but summarily described and interpreted. Hence, facts and observations provided in the present study were utilized for a basic characterization of the lithic technology and may not be confused with results obtained in the course of an investigation according to strict methodological criteria.

Cores Frequently natural debris or debris derived from the quarrying activities, and large flakes or heat-splinters were used for uncurated cores, which were not extensively exploited. Some of these specimens were only minimally chipped which can be interpreted as raw material testing (Fig. 7:a). Many of these initial cores were rejected after only one or two test blows.

One of the well-known limitations when investigating material from waste heaps associated with on-the-

As initially stated, it is very likely that suitable cores were exported from the site. Cores displaying further exploitation chiefly attest for opportunistic and even unsystematic core reduction technology. This is additionally supported by the observation that

1  The investigated assemblage is housed at the Oriental and European Archaeology Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Additional material stored at the Vienna Lithothek (VLI) and in other collections was not included into the current study.

63

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 6. Microscopic varieties of Baunzen type radiolarite. Photo: G. Trnka.

preparation flakes very rarely illustrate regular scars and ridges on their dorsal sides and dorsal reduction. The rare specimens displaying these features (dorsal regular parallel blade and bladelet scars) indicate the use of extensively exploited blade and bladelet cores for flake production (Fig. 7:b).

majority of cores at Baunzen can broadly be defined as irregular flake cores (Fig. 7:f). Some exhausted cores display features characteristic for splintered pieces (Fig. 7:g), which is indicative of bipolar technology with the use of an anvil. Additionally, the distal ends of some blade-like flakes possess scars corresponding to this kind of core reduction.

The almost complete absence of rejected as well as exhausted blade cores (Fig. 7:c) allows for the conclusion that blades were not the primary objective of the knappers at Baunzen. Regularly or at least roughly regularly worked flake cores are also scarce, however, some exhausted specimens and fragments indicate that they must have been present (Fig. 7:d and e). The

Debitage As can be expected at such a lithic quarry and initial processing site flakes clearly dominate the lithic assemblage. Blades and blade-like debitage occur in a much smaller amount and are rather irregularly shaped 64

Michael Brandl et al.: News from the Eastern Fringe

Fig. 7. Baunzen site, St. Pölten-Land district. Sample of debitage collected from the surface for techno-typological investigations. Photo: G. Trnka.

65

Between History and Archaeology observation of the use of shatter and natural debris for cores. Dorsal reduction is also scarcely detected at flakes from Baunzen. This might be due to the fact that at the site quarrying debris and material from initial stage reduction sequences prevails in contrast to more advanced core preparation products. Dorsal reduction was observed at some blade-like flakes and fragments (Fig. 7:h) and at the exploitation edges of few irregularly shaped cores. Core exploitation techniques As mentioned above, natural surfaces or clefts and rarely old flake scars served as striking platforms. Crested flakes or blades occur only very infrequently. Almost all cores with only few flake scars display unidirectional striking; in the course of intensified reduction cores were also turned and exploited multidirectionally. The reduction sequence corresponds to an expedient technology producing irregular and non-uniform core types predominantly based on the generally poor quality and angular shape of the raw pieces.

Fig. 8. Hammer stones from the Baunzen site St. Pölten-Land district. Photo: G. Trnka.

(Fig. 7:b and h). This can be explained by two possible scenarios: either, as already stated at the description of the cores, flakes were the primary target products of the lithic industry, or flakes only represent the waste of core preparation and blades as final products were exported. The absence of failed blades displaying e.g. hinge, step, or plunging terminations, supports the idea that altogether the production of flakes and elongated blade-like flakes was the primary objective of the Baunzen lithic industry rather than blade or bladelet technology.

During the initial reduction stages or if applicable, sometimes small sequences of elongated and bladelike flakes were struck off the narrow sides of tabular specimens, which functioned as ‘natural crests’ remotely resembling what came to be known as ‘Abensberg method’ (Binsteiner 1990: 37–38 and Fig. 21). Some cores correspond to the category of splintered pieces which attest for bipolar technology applying percussion posée on a hard anvil. The identifiable waste debris, mainly consisting of short small flakes, oftentimes displays hinge fractures which attest for knapping accidents.

Large flakes are typically wide, thick and short, suggesting that the majority derived from shaping the raw pieces. A further indication is the abundance of decortification flakes, with their dorsal sides completely or largely covered by natural or cleft surfaces.

Reduction strategies

Knapping properties

The observed reduction techniques appear predominantly expedient and strongly determined by the shape of the raw pieces (i.e. nodules, flat nodules, angular and tabular pieces) leaving an unsystematic impression of the core exploitation process. The minor role of dorsal reduction matches this concept.

Most debitage displays well pronounced bulbs or cones sometimes with additional impact scars, whereas diffuse bulbs are rather rare. In combination with pronounced Wallner lines and partly ‘irregular’ ventral sides this is an indication for the preference of direct, hard percussion, also supported by the find of hammer stones associated with the knapping debris (Fig. 8). Specifically the combination of frequently irregular ventral sides and dorsal scar patterns gives the impression that those specimens were not only knapped applying hard percussion but crudely crushed.

More systematic planned core reduction is only observable in very few cases displaying parallel ridges or regular dorsal scar patterns. These rare cases (as far as determinable from the small investigated sample), predominantly blades and blade-like flakes, prevailingly show unidirectional exploitation, flake cores commonly display rotated reduction.

All striking platforms are plane and irregularly shaped and rarely on ridges or punctiform. There exists no indication for platform preparation. The platforms are frequently on the natural surface or on clefts and unintentional breaks, which conforms to the

Summarily, it can be stated that at the Baunzen site no curated core technology is present, but on the contrary expedient and unsystematic core reduction 66

Michael Brandl et al.: News from the Eastern Fringe was performed on unprepared nodules and angular debris. Lithic debitage is dominated by flakes which were knapped applying hard direct percussion and sometimes percussion posée. The striking platforms are typically plane and irregularly shaped, and dorsal reduction is of minor importance for core exploitation. This scenario allows for a preliminary chronological assignment of the investigated assemblage into a Copper Age/Eneolithic context. Within the closer catchment area (i.e. the vicinity of Vienna), the Baunzen assemblage best compares to Vienna Gemeindeberg, which produced evidence for cultural material dating to the Boleráz and Jevišovice cultures (Penz 2007: 194–197), however, it differs from ViennaMauer Antonshöhe, which dates to the Neolithic Late Lengyel/early Epilengyel Mährisch-Ostösterreichische Gruppe (MOG) IIb stage (Trnka 2014). These similarities and differences are based both on the raw material used for chipped stone tool production and the applied technology and reduction strategy.

an important role in the understanding of the scale of prehistoric resource management strategies in the Wienerwald area of Northern Austria. The lithic raw material at Baunzen comprises of Upper Jurassic radiolarites displaying two main types. The knapping properties are generally good on small angular pieces, however, heavy tectonic fracturing does not allow for core preparation on larger nodules or blocks. The material typically shows a pale green appearance, with inclusions and/or core parts of bluish or violet finer grained rock components. Morphological investigations of a sample from the Baunzen debris field revealed an expedient flake based core exploitation strategy. On site, raw pieces were tested and in some cases shaped into cores. The suitable specimens as well as the desired finished products of the chipped stone industry are in most cases missing. Archaeological traces include discarded exhausted cores (rarely), misfired cores and broken elements of the chaîne opératoire (flakes and blades broken on natural clefts or misfired pieces). The discarded cores display no sign of curated technology and core preparation (e.g. dorsal reduction), hence we can consider extensive but expedient raw material procurement strategies at this locale.

Based on the rare presence of blade cores at Baunzen, an onset of raw material exploitation at this locale (and maybe of quarrying) can be expected already in the Middle Neolithic, roughly corresponding to the Lengyel culture or the Early Copper Age/Epilengyel period. The peak of activities appears to fall into the ‘classical’ eastern Austrian Eneolithic and probably extends into the Bronze Age (compare Oliva 2010, 2014). Particularly indicative for post-Neolithic knapping activities at Baunzen are the crudely crushed specimens, which differ significantly from the waste debris recorded at Vienna-Mauer and also from material recently discovered at Vienna Inzersdorfer Wald, which is located ca. 5 km southeast of Baunzen and, according to preliminary investigations, most likely dates to the Eneolithic or the Copper Age (Penz and Schmitsberger 2016).

Generally an extended time period of activities has to be expected at the Baunzen site. Our sample, exclusively consisting of surface finds, suggests a relatively young dating within the Neolithic, maybe even extending into the Bronze Age and occasionally into more recent times. With a high likelihood the majority of the lithic material can be assigned to the flake dominated Late Neolithic (Copper Age) lithic industries in northeastern Austria, i.e. Vienna, Lower Austria, Upper Austria and potentially beyond.

The toponym Feuersteinberg (= flint hill) additionally points to a supposedly post-Medieval use of Baunzen material, however the extent of these activities remains elusive. It is possible that they were confined to the gathering of loose pieces from the surface for the utilization as simple strike-a-lights. However, the archaeological framework of raw material exploitation sites in the Wienerwald area linked to Klippen Belt series is only at its incipient stages. At present a project concerned with the cultural background of these knapping activities is ongoing and will hopefully provide a more precise chronological assessment.

Presently there are only few archaeological settlements known which produced this kind of material in their lithic assemblages (e.g. on the slopes of the Buchberg at Maria Anzbach, St. Pölten-Land district), however this is chiefly due to the state of the research of the Late Neolithic/Eneolithic in the region. With increasing research it will hopefully soon be possible to locate further archaeological sites that were supplied with St. Veit Klippen Belt raw material, however, it might turn out that it was only distributed in the closer vicinity of the quarrying sites. Translated by Michael Brandl

Conclusive remarks The Baunzen site is one of several newly discovered waste heaps of on-the-spot knapping sites in the west of Vienna linked to the St. Veit Klippen Belt and plays 67

Between History and Archaeology References

Oliva, M. 2014. Krumlovský les (jižní Morava) na konci eneolitu [The ‘Krumlovský les’ (Southern Moravia) at the end of the Neolithic]. In D. Piotrowska, W. Piotrowski, K. Kaptur and A. Jedynak (eds), Górnictwo z epoki kamienia: Krzemionki – Polska – Europa. W 90. Rocznicę odkrycia kopalni w Krzemionkach [Stone Age mining: Krzemionki – Poland – Europe. On the 90. anniversary of Krzemionki mine discovery]: 291– 318. Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Muzeum HistorycznoArcheologiczne w Ostrowcu Świętokrzyskim [Historical and Archaeological Museum in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski]. Silex et Ferrum Vol. 1. Penz, M. 2007. Die Bedeutung des Gemeindeberges in Wien 13, Ober St. Veit als jungsteinzeitlicher Siedlungsplatz. Fundort Wien 10: 194–197. Penz, M. and Schmitsberger, O. 2016. Eine neu entdeckte (neolithische?) Hornsteinhalde im Lainzer Tiergarten – Inzersdorfer Wald. Fundort Wien 19, in press. Prey, S. 1979. Der Bau der Hauptklippenzone und der Kahlenberger Decke im RaumePurkersdorfWienerwaldsee (Wienerwald). Verhandlungen der Geologischen Bundesanstalt Wien 2: 205–228. Prey, S. 1991. Zur tektonischen Position der Klippe der Antonshöhe bei Mauer – Eine Richtigstellung. Jahrbuch der Geologischen Bundesanstalt Wien 134: 845–847. Prey, S. 1993. Die Flyschzone des Wienerwaldes. In B. Plöchinger and S. Prey (eds), Der Wienerwald. Sammlung Geologischer Führer 59: 1–57. Berlin – Stuttgart, Borntraeger. Trnka, G. 2014. The Neolithic radiolarite mining site of Wien - Mauer-Antonshöhe (Austria). In: K.T. Biró, A. Markó and K.P. Bajnok (eds), Aeolian Scripts. New Ideas on the Lithic World. Studies in Honour of Viola T. Dobosi: 235–245. Budapest, Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum. Inventaria Praehistorica Hungarie 13–. . Volkman, J.K. and Tanoue, E. 2002. Chemical and biological studies of particulate organic matter in the ocean. Journal of Oceanography 58: 265–279. Wessely, G. 2006. Geologie der österreichischen Bundesländer – Niederösterreich. Wien, GeologischeBundesanstalt.

Binsteiner, A. 1990. Das neolithische Feuersteinbergwerk von Arnhofen, Ldkr. Kelheim. Bayerische Vorgeschichtsblätter 55: 1–56. Brandl, M. and Trnka, G. 2014. The Eastern Fringe: Lithic Raw Materials from the Eastern most Alps in Austria. In D. Piotrowska, W. Piotrowski, K. Kaptur and A. Jedynak (eds), Górnictwo z epoki kamienia: Krzemionki – Polska – Europa. W 90. Rocznicę odkrycia kopalni w Krzemionkach [Stone Age mining: Krzemionki – Poland – Europe. On the 90. anniversary of Krzemionki mine discovery]: 335– 359. Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Muzeum HistorycznoArcheologiczne w Ostrowcu Świętokrzyskim [Historical and Archaeological Museum in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski]. Silex et Ferrum Vol. 1. Brandl, M., Hauzenberger, C., Postl, W., Martinez, M.M., Filzmoser, P., and Trnka, G. 2014. Radiolarite studies at Krems-Wachtberg (Lower Austria): Northern Alpine versus Carpathian lithic resources. Quaternary International 351: 146–162. BSI 2009. BSI British Standards. Code of practice for earthworks. BS 6031: 2009. Dunham, R.J. 1962. Classification of carbonate rocks according to depositional texture. In W.E. Ham (ed.), Classification of carbonate rocks: 108–121. Tulsa, American Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir 1. Embry, A.F. III and Klovan, J.S. 1971. A Late Devonian reef tract on northeastern Banks Island. N.W.T. Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology 4: 730–781. Geological Society of America (GSA) 2009. Geological Rock Color Chart with genuine Munsell color chips. Janoschek, R., Küpper, H. and Zirkl, E.J. 1954. Beiträge zur Geologie des Klippenbereiches bei Wien. Mitteilungen der Geologischen Gesellschaft 47: 235–308. Oliva, M. 2010. Pravěké hornictví v Krumlovském lese. Vznik a vývoj industriálně-sakrální krajiny najižní Moravě [Prehistoric mining in the ‘Krumlovský les‘ (southern Moravia). Origin and developement of an industrial-sacred landscape]. Brno, Moravské Zemské Muzeum. Anthropos 32 (N.S. 24).

68

Siliceous Raw Materials from the Eastern Part of the Polish Carpathians and Their Use in Stone and Bronze Ages Andrzej Pelisiak

Institute of Archaeology, University of Rzeszów, St. Moniuszki 10, 35-015 Rzeszów, Poland e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: This paper refers to the exploitation of lithic raw materials in the eastern part of the Polish Carpathians. The surface surveys and LIDAR analysis carried out in 2013–2016 on this area resulted in discovery of new resources of various lithic raw materials used in the prehistory: siliceous sandstones, quartzite, siliceous marl, menilite hornstones, light-brown hornstone, flysch radiolarite, Bircza-like flints, light-brown tabular hornstone. The Dynów marl, Bircza flint and siliceous sandstones were exploited both for local and much wider use. Other kinds of raw materials probably have only local significance. The last discovery in the Eastern Polish Carpathians confirms a large variety of local lithic materials available for a prehistoric man. On the other hand, they show the large gaps in our knowledge about resources, differentiation and utilization of the Carpathian lithic raw materials. Keywords: Carpathians, lithic raw materials, Neolithic, Bronze Age.

Preface

should be noticed. The first elaboration presenting a large collection of lithic artefacts from this area was published in 1976 (Dagnan-Ginter and Parczewski 1976). In this paper, local raw material, so called Dynów marl was distinguished. The first monograph of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age on the area of the Polish Carpathians including a catalogue of stone artefacts appeared in 1988 (Valde-Nowak 1988). An important step in research on the exploitation and processing of the East Carpathians lithic raw materials was fieldwork carried out in 1995–1996 and an elaboration of Late Neolithic material from Mount Cergowa site located to the north of Dukla Pass (Budziszewski and Skowronek 2001). At the very beginning of the twentieth century the so called Bircza flint was recognized (Łoptaś et al. 2002). In the results of excavations of the Early Bronze Age site at Trzcinica, Jasło district, the artefacts made of local flysch radiolarian were identified (Valde-Nowak 2009). It should be noted that the Carpathian Late Neolithic stone processing sites were also discovered in Slovakia (Valde-Nowak 2001; Valde-Nowak and Strakošova, 2001). In 2012, the research on prehistoric human activity in the High Bieszczady Mountains began. They resulted in the discovery of numerous finds of lithic artefacts made of various raw materials (Pelisiak and Maj 2013; Pelisiak 2014, 2016a, 2016b; Pelisiak et al. 2015). These discoveries have inspired fieldwork which directed to the identification of outcrops of lithic raw materials in the Bieszczady Mountains. and their surroundings (Pelisiak 2016a, 2016b) Primary results of the research are presented below.

Important questions of prehistoric studies from the Early Palaeolithic period to at least the Bronze Age refer to the resources of the lithic raw materials. These problems were an important part of Jacek Lech’s research on flint mining, processing and distribution of flint artefacts from the Early Neolithic onwards (Lech 1981a, 1981b, 1981c, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1997, 2001, 2004; Lech and Longworth 2000). He is a initiator or/ and a manager of important archaeological projects. Sometime they have resulted in surprising effects which have opened new area of prehistoric research. A perfect example of such an ‘effective accident’ was the discovery of chocolate flint extraction site at Wierzbica ‘Zele’, the first flint mine used in the Late Bronze Age (Lech and Lech 1984, 1995, 1997). Considering the impressive list of Jacek Lech’s publications, one has played a special role for me. It was almost 40 years ago in a very beginning of my study of archaeology when I ‘met’ Jacek Lech for a first time in a book about the Neolithic flint workshops at Sąspów (DzieduszyckaMachnikowa and Lech 1976). Since then his publications have accompanied me constantly, and now after years I would like to say: Dear Jacek, thank you very much for your activity, and… I am looking forward to more works. Introduction In contrary to the Cracow-Częstochowa Upland and northern and east-northern surroundings of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), the research on natural deposits of lithic raw materials from Polish Carpathians has relatively a short history (e.g. Foltyn et al. 1998; Valde-Nowak 1991, 1995a, 1995b, 2013). Referring to the Eastern Polish Carpathians, several important steps of research on local lithic raw materials

Raw materials There are several regions within the eastern part of the Polish Carpathians where the exploitation of local 69

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 1. Natural deposits of lithic raw material. a – Solinka River and Beskidnik Stream valleys, Lesko district (siliceous sandstones); b – Wetlina/Wetlinka River valley, Lesko district (quartzite, siliceous marl, menilite hornstones, light-brown hornstone, flysche radiolarite, Bircza-like flint); c – Cisna and Dołżyca, Lesko district (menilite hornstones); d – Baligród/Rabe, Bieszczady district (Bircza-like flint); e – Bircza region, Przemyśl district (Bircza flint, black, dark-brown and banded menilite hornstone, light-brown hornstone, siliceous marl,); f – Przemyśl/Krasiczyn region, Przemyśl district (flysch radiolarite, menilite hornstones); g –Ulanica near Dynów (Dynów marl, menilite hornstones); h – Maćkowice, Przemyśl district (Bircza flint); i - Jasienica Syfczyńska Przemyśl district (Bircza flint).

lithic raw materials in the Neolithic and Bronze Age is archaeologically confirmed (Fig. 1).

district). The sources of siliceous sandstones are located here (Fig. 2:a). In some parts of the valleys, siliceous sandstone layers up to 20cm thick appear in almost vertical or oblique positions depending of tectonic influence. This raw material is gray or dark gray in

1.The Solinka River and the Beskidnik Stream valleys near Moczarne (the part of Wetlina village, Lesko 70

Andrzej Pelisiak: Siliceous Raw Materials

Fig. 2. Samples of raw material. a – Solinka River valley, Wetlina, site 17, Lesko district (core made of siliceous sandstone); b – Wetlina, site 12, Lesko district (fragment of blade made of quartzite); c–f – Wetlina/Wetlina river valley, Lesko district (c – siliceous marl, d – flysch radiolarite, e – menilite hornstone, f – Bircza-like flint). Photo and elaboration: Z. Maj and A. Pelisiak.

colour. Wet blocks of siliceous sandstone extracted from the river-beds were easy for processing using chipping techniques. When dried they became hard for flaking. The best access to the outcrops is only locally from slight slopes of some parts of the valleys. The artefacts made of siliceous sandstone were discovered in these parts of the valleys. On the basis of chronology of artefacts discovered here, it can be assumed that

these sources of siliceous sandstone were exploited in the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age (Pelisiak 2014, 2016b). This raw material was exploited for both local and nonlocal use. 2. Sources of several groups of lithic raw material were recognized at Wetlina, Lesko district (within the Wetlinka River Valley). Veins of almost white and light 71

Between History and Archaeology light pink quartzite were recognized in a exposures of the dissected, steep Wetlinka River valley slopes as well as in a belt of the this river in the NW part of Wetlina village (Fig. 2:b). The use of quartzite is confirmed by the fragment of quartzite blade dated to the Neolithic period, found near the outcrops (Pelisiak and Maj 2013; Fig. 2:a). Outcrops of the siliceous marl occur in the Wetlina River valley slopes only on the small area (about 150 m long, along the river) in the SE part of the Wetlina village (Fig. 2:c). Siliceous marl from this location is light gray and almost white in colour. Its utilization is confirmed by chipped chunks discovered near the outcrops. Because of relatively low quality, it is possible that siliceous marl from Wetlina was exploited only for local use. Outcrops of several kinds of tabular menilite hornstones were discovered along the Wetlinka River in the dissections within the river valley, as well as in the riverbed (Fig. 2:e). They are black, dark brown, and brown-greenish in colour. Moreover, dark-brown, and banded menilite horstone also occurs here. Besides the colour, it differ in presence of inclusions and fractures, and in the texture. All forms of menilite horstone from this area are of relatively low quality. Numerous artefacts made of menilite hornstone discovered in the Bieszczady Mountains (Pelisiak and Maj 2013; Pelisiak 2014, 2016b; Pelisiak et al. 2015) confirm the exploitation of this raw material in the Late Neolithic period as well as in the Early Bronze Age. Besides of menilite hornstones, there are the boulders of relatively high quality light-brown hornstone. This raw material is much more hard and compact and more suitable for making tools then the menilite hornstone. The grey-greenish lithic material similar to flysch radiolarite was also discovered in the Wetlinka riverbed. Some artefacts found at the sites on the Połonina Wetlińska Massif dated to the Early Bronze Age were made of these kinds of raw material (Pelisiak and Maj 2016). In the Wetlinka riverbed also nodules of Bircza-like, grey in colour lithic and opaque raw material was recognized (Fig. 2:f). The nodules are irregular in shape up to 35cm in diameter. The cortex is granular well delineated from the flint mass. One blade made of this raw material was found in the High Bieszczady Mountains. (Pelisiak and Maj 2013; Fig. 2:d).

Bieszczady district; Fig. 3:a). The irregular nodules up to 40cm in diameter occur in the Rabe riverbed to about 3km south-west of Baligród, Lesko district. The flint mass is matt, grey or dark grey in colour and completely opaque. Its cortex is up to 1,5cm thick and well delineated of flint mass. This kind of raw material has not been identified in chipped assemblages yet. However, it is possible that some artefacts described as made of Bircza flint, in fact were made of flint from Baligród region. 5. The surface surveys carried out in 2015 resulted in discovery of variety of lithic material in the Bircza region, Przemyśl district. Outcrops of several kinds of Bircza flint (Fig. 3:d) were recognized within the ‘Krępak’ Nature Protection Area (ca 5km NE of Bircza) and near Leszczawa village, Przemyśl district (5–10km S of Bircza). They also occur in the riverbed. Moreover, there were probably Neolithic exploitation places located in the Krępak area, Przemyśl district. Several semi-circular depressions, flint chunks, and debris were frequently recorded on the surface around the depressions. The Bircza flint is opaque and in some cases granular pattern. Cortex is granular and rough, not well delineated of the flint mass. Several variants differ in colours (from dark brown, almost black to dark and light grey) and they can be found in nodules up to 40cm in diameter or in tabular form of up to 20cm thick. Beside of Bircza flint, there are black, dark-brown and banded (Fig. 3:c) tabular menilite horstones, as well as light-brown tabular hornstones. These layers have been exposed by the cutting of the riverbed into the hill side. As confirmed by the Middle and Late Palaeolithic assemblage from Przemyśl, the site ‘Cegielnia Teicha’ (Tomaszewski and Libera 2007),1 different kinds of the Bircza flint as well as menilite hornstone were used from Middle Palaeolithic onwards (see also Łoptaś et al. 2002). Moreover, there are also tabular siliceous marl (Fig. 3:e) in Bircza Krępak and Leszczawa outcrops (Fig. 4). This raw material is light-grey in colour and completely opaque. It is similar to so called Dynów marl. 6. Outcrops of flysch radiolarite and menilite hornstone were noted near Przemyśl and Krasiczyn, Przemyśl district. Grey or greenish-grey flysch radiolarite occurs in the San riverbed as well rounded pebbles up to 15cm in diameter. This raw material is similar to the those recognized in the Early Bronze Age chipped assemblage from the Trzcinica site near Jasło, Jasło distict (ValdeNowak 2009). Moreover, as for this area, tabular menilite hornstone appears in several variants: black, dark-brown and laminated.

3. Outcrops of black menilite hornstone were discovered in the Solinka River Valley at Cisna and Dołżyca, Lesko district (Fig. 3:b). This raw material was available from the riverbed, from the dissections in the river valley and from the steep slopes of the valley. The exploitation of these sources of raw material is confirmed by the presence of the Late Neolithic and (?) Early Bronze Age processing sites located in the close vicinity to the outcrops. 4. The sources of flint similar to Bircza flint were discovered near Baligród (within Bystre Scale,

1  I would like to offer my special thanks to Andrzej Jacek Tomaszewski from State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw for showing me the material from this site.

72

Andrzej Pelisiak: Siliceous Raw Materials

Fig. 3. Samples of raw material. a – Baligród/Rabe (Bircza-like flint), Bieszczady district; b – Cisna, Lesko district (menilite hornstone); c–e – Bircza region, Przemyśl district (c – banded menilite hornstone, d – Bircza flint, e – siliceous marl). Photo and elaboration: Z. Maj and A. Pelisiak.

have changed in their appearance. In some cases they look more coarse-grained, more porous and lighter compared to the original material. The menilite hornstones are also present in Ulanica outcrops.

7. Frequent use of so called Dynów marl was confirmed for the first time in the course of elaboration of two collections of artefacts from the Dynów Foodhill, Rzeszów district (Dagnan-Ginter and Parczewski 1976). The outcrops of this raw material were discovered at Ulanica village, near Dynów town, Rzeszów district. Dynów marl (siliceous marl) in a fresh condition is predominantly milky-grey or grey in colour. Due to the susceptibility of the raw material to the chemical and physical alterations, prehistoric artefacts often

8. The workshop of flint axes of the raw material similar to Bircza flint was discovered at Maćkowce, Przemyśl district, about 7km north of Przemyśl (Łoptaś et al. 2002). It can suggest unknown outcrops of raw material located near this site. Less possible is transport of raw 73

Between History and Archaeology material which took place in the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. Another question refers to the methods used in the course of exploitation of different kinds of raw materials in eastern part of the Polish Carpathians. Excavations of copper and lithic mining sites located at the mountain areas of Europe show variety of possible methods used for exploitation of raw material (e.g. Weisgerber 1986; Basili et al. 1995; Barkai et al. 2007; Parish 2011; Tarantini et al., 2011; Tarriño et al. 2014; Crandell and Popa 2015; O’Brien 2015). There is no doubt that they were determined by the geological conditions. There are two main groups of natural sources of raw materials in the eastern Polish Carpathians. The primary sources contain not redeposited raw material located in a horizontal position within the steep slopes of river valleys and hills. The secondary sources contain pieces of raw materials from weathered deposits and raw material naturally redeposited to the riverbeds, low river terraces, and to the foot of the slopes. In both cases these positions made them relatively easy to recognize, reach and exploit these raw materials.

Fig. 4. Outcrop at Leszczawa near Bircza, Przemyśl district. Photo: A. Pelisiak.

material from across the San River from sources near Bircza located at least 25km in straight line to the south-west. 9. More than 20 Neolithic and Early Bronze Age sites with artefacts made of Bircza flint including axes workshops, were found in the Przemyśl Foothills near Jasienica Sufczyńska and Kotów, Przemyśl district, about 10 km to the north-west of Bircza.2 Large quantity of these finds may suggest presence of very local and still unknown outcrops of this raw material. However, it is also possible that raw material came from sources located near Bircza itself.

Horizontal or almost horizontal position of the hornstones in all discussed regions, as well as the Bircza flint beds allowed for an easy access to the raw materials. Then, the open-air gallery and the shallow pits may have been cut into raw material-bearing layers in the walls of the valleys and hill slopes. This method of obtaining of raw material suggests results of LIDAR analysis and surface prospection carried out in 2015 near Bircza town. In the ‘Krępak’ Nature Protection Area, several semi-circular depressions up to 10 m wide with the broken cobbles, pieces of flint and hornstones as well as flint and hornstone chunks were noted. There were not recognized such structures on the other parts of The Eastern Polish Carpathians under discussion but the low archaeological visibility should be emphasized.3

Discussion There is a relatively large group of siliceous raw materials available in the eastern part of the Polish Carpathians. They were used locally, regionally or in large area of SE Poland and probably Slovakia. Numerous outcrops of menilite hornstones were probably used locally from the Middle Palaeolithic onwards. Siliceous marl (Dynów marl) was used in the Neolithic period and Early Bronze Age. Axes and other artefacts were discovered in the Linear Pottery culture context, and in a large number at the Funnel Beaker, Corded Ware and Mierzanowice cultures sites (DagnanGinter and Parczewski 1976; Valde-Nowak 1988; Pelisiak and Rybicka 2013: 17; Dębiec et al. 2014, 2015: 99; Czopek et al. 2015: 18). Siliceous sandstones from Moczarne (Wetlina region) were use in the Bronze Age but we cannot exclude their use in the Late Neolithic period (Jarosz et al. 2008: 286; Machnik et al. 2008: 173). Bircza flint was used from the Middle Palaeolithic onwards (Łoptaś et al. 2002) on the relatively large area of southeastern Poland. The processing sites, first of all axe workshops, suggest large-scale utilization of this raw

Another possible method of obtaining of raw material refers to the siliceous sandstone. Well visible in the Solinka River and Beskidnik Stream, and easy to reach almost vertical plates of siliceous sandstone made it possible to exploit them from the riverbeds. Such method of exploitation could not leave archaeological remains and the traces left due to the exploitation of raw material can be difficult to observe nowadays. In respect to the High Bieszczady Mountains, it is confirmed by relatively numerous artefacts found near the exposures of this raw material. Third possible method of obtaining of raw material refers to the various secondary deposits of hornstones,

These sites were discovered during the surface surveys by Michał Parczewski. I am grateful to Michał Parczewski for information about these sites and showing me unpublished archaeological material from the Przemyśl Foothills area.

2 

It is possible that the similar Late Neolithic exploitation structures were used at the Mountain. Cergowa site, Krosno district (Budziszewski et al. 2016).

3 

74

Andrzej Pelisiak: Siliceous Raw Materials siliceous marls or flysch radiolarite. It was based on collecting pieces of raw materials from the surface of the ground and from riverbeds. This method is also archaeologically difficult to observe.

Cergowa Massif, the Lower Beskid Mountains. In J. Machnik (ed.), Archaeology and Natural Background of the Lower Beskid Mountains, Carpathians: 145–164. Kraków. Crandell, O. N. and Popa, C. T. 2015. The chert quarrying and processing industry at the Piatra Tomii site, Romania. Journal of Lithic Studies 2(1): 45–63. Czopek, S., Bronowicki, J. and Podgórska-Czopek, J. 2015. Zamiechów, stan. 18 – wielokulturowe stanowisko na Przedgórzu Rzeszowskim. Rzeszów. Dagnan-Ginter, A. and Parczewski, M. 1976. Dwie kolekcje archeologiczne z Pogórza Dynowskiego. Materiały Archeologiczne 16: 5–28. Dębiec, M., Becker, V., Dębiec, M., Makowicz-Poliszot, D., Pelisiak, A., Posselt, M., Saile, T., Sebők, K. and Szczepanek, A. 2014. Zwięczyca 3. Eine bandkeramische Siedlung am Wisłok. Rzeszów. Dębiec, M., Debiec, M. and Pelisiak, A. 2015. Cieszacin Wielki, stan. 41, Pawłosiów, stan. 55 i Jankowice, stan. 9. Kompleks osad z epoki neolitu i wczesnej epoki brązu. Rzeszów. Dzieduszycka-Machnikowa, A. and Lech, J. 1976. Neolityczne zespoły pracowniane z kopalni krzemienia w Sąspowie. Wrocław–Warszawa–Kraków–Gdańsk.. Foltyn, E. M., Foltyn, E. and Jochemczyk, L. 1998. Surowce kamienne w inwentarzach stanowisk epoki kamienia I brązu zachodniej części Karpat polskich. In J. Gancarski (ed.), Pradzieje Podkarpacia vol. 2: 165– 175. Krosno. Jarosz, P., Machnik, J., Mačalová, H. and Włodarczak, P. 2008. Wyniki archeologicznych badań wykopaliskowych kurhanu nr 3 w Hankovcach, stanowisko 1, okr. Bardejov. In J. Machnik (ed.), Archeologia i środowisko naturalne Beskidu Niskiego w Karpatach. Część II. Kurimská Brázda: 265–291. Kraków. Lech, J. 1981a. Górnictwo krzemienia społeczności wczesnorolniczych na Wyżynie Krakowskiej. Koniec VI tysiąclecia – 1 połowa IV tysiąclecia p.n.e. Wrocław– Warszawa–Kraków–Gdańsk–Łódź, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. Lech, J. 1981b. Flint mining among the early farming communities of Poland. In F.H.G. Engelen (ed.), Derde Internationale Symposium over Vuursteen, 24–27 Mei 1979 – Maastricht: 39–45. Maastricht. Lech, J. 1981c. Flint mining among the early farming communities of Central Europe. Przegląd Archeologiczny 28: 5–55. Lech, J. 1983. Flint mining among the early farming communities of Central Europe. Part II – The Basis of research into flint workshops. Przegląd Archeologiczny 30: 47–80. Lech, J. 1987. Z badań nad górnictwem krzemienia społeczności rolniczych Europy Środkowej. Relacje przestrzenne kopalń i osad. Acta Archaeologica Carpathica 26: 93–137. Lech, J. 1988. Mining and distribution of siliceous rocks among the first farming communities in

Final remarks The surface surveys and LIDAR analysis carried out in 2013–2016 in eastern part of the Polish Carpathians resulted in discovery of new resources of various lithic raw materials used in the prehistory. Siliceous sandstones were exploited in the High Bieszczady Mountains. Exploitation of quartzite siliceous marl, menilite hornstone, light-brown hornstone, flysch radiolarite and Bircza-like flint is confirmed in Wetlina. Resources of raw materials similar to Bircza-flint were recognized near Baligród. Outcrops of menilite horstone and the processing site were found at Cisna. Field works on the area near Bircza town revealed new information about Bircza-flint, as well as resulted in discovery of outcrops of black, dark-brown and banden meniliute hornstones, light-brown tabular hornstone and siliceous marl. Natural resources of flysch radiolarite and menilite hornstone were recognized in the San River valley near Przemyśl and Krasiczyn. In Ulkanica near Dynów the outcrops of Dynów marl and menilite hornstone were discovered. Dynów marl, Bircza flint and siliceous sandstones were exploited both for local and much wider use. Other kinds of raw material have probably only local significance. The last discoveries in the eastern Polish Carpathians confirm a large variety of local lithic material available for a prehistoric human being. On the other hand, they also reveal large deficiencies in our knowledge about the resources, differentiation and utilization of the Carpathian lithic raw material. The research planned in following years should gradually cover these gaps. English by the author References Barkai, R., Gopher, A. and Weiner, J. 2007. Quarrying Flint at Neolithic Ramat Tamar: An Experiment. In Astruc, L. Binder, D. and Briois, F. (eds), Systemes Techniques et communates du Neolithique Preceramique au Proche–Orient: 25–32. Antibes. Basili, R., Di Lernia, S., Fiorentino, G. and Galiberti, A. 1995. Review of prehistoric flint mines in the ‘Gargano’ Promotory (Apulia, Southern Italy). Archaeologia Polona 33: 414–434. Budziszewski, J., Jakubczak, M. and Szubski, M. 2016. Badania nad eksploatacją surowców skalnych w Karpatach w nowej rzeczywistości technologicznej. In J. Gancarski (ed.), Stan badań archeologicznych w Karpatach. Krosno (in print). Budziszewski, J. and Skowronek, M. 2001. Results of the Preliminary Archaeological Research in the Mount 75

Between History and Archaeology eastern Central Europe. A review. In J.K. Kozłowski and S.K. Kozłowski (eds), Chipped Stone Industries of Early Farming Cultures in Europe: 369–380. WarszawaKraków. Lech, J. 1991. The Neolithic–Eneolithic transition in prehistoric mining and siliceous rock distribution. In J. Lichardus (ed.), Die Kupferzeit als historische Epoche. Symposium Saarbrücken und Otzenhausen 6.–13. 11. 1988: 557–574. Bonn. Lech, J. 1997. Remarks on prehistoric flint mining and flint supply in European archaeology. In A. RamosMillán and A. Bustillo (eds), Siliceous rocks and culture: 611–637. Granada, Universidad de Grenada should be Granada, Universidad de Grenada.. Lech, J. 2001. Neolityczna kopalnia krzemienia na stanowisku I w Sąspowie, pow. Kraków i jej badania ratownicze w latach 1994 i 1996. In J. Lech and J. Partyka (eds), Z archeologii Ukrainy i Jury Ojcowskiej: 349–372. Ojców. Lech, J. 2004. O badaniach prehistorycznego górnictwa krzemienia i kopalni w Krzemionkach Opatowskich. Przegląd Archeologiczny 52: 15–88. Lech, H. and J. 1984. The prehistoric flint mine at Wierzbica ‘Zele’: a case study from Poland. World Archaeology 16(2): 186–203. Lech, H. and J. 1995. PL3 Wierzbica ‘Zele’, Radom Province. Archaeologia Polona 33: 465–480. Lech, J. and H. 1997. Flint mining among Bronze Age communities: a case study from Central Poland. In R. Schild and Z. Sulgostowska (eds), Man and Flint. Proceedings of the VIIth International Flint Symposium, Warszawa–Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, September 1995: 91–98. Warszawa. Lech, J. and Longworth, I. 2000. Kopalnia krzemienia Grimes Graves w świetle nowych badań. Przegląd Archeologiczny 48: 19–73. Łoptaś, A., Mitura, P., Muzyczuk, A., Olszewska, B., Paszkowski, M. and Valde-Nowak, P. 2002. Krzemień z Birczy. Geologia i wykorzystanie w pradziejach. In J. Gancarski (ed.), Starsza i środkowa epoka kamienia w Karpatach polskich: 315–337, Krosno. Machnik, J., Mačalová, H., Tunia, K. and Jarosz, P. 2008. Kurhan nr 34 kultury ceramiki sznurowej w miejscowości Hankowce, okr. Bardejov, stanowisko 1. In J. Machnik (ed.), Archeologia i środowisko naturalne Beskidu Niskiego w Karpatach. Część II. Kurimská Brázda: 157–186. Kraków. O’Brien, W. 2015. Prehistoric copper mining in Europe, 5500– 500 BC. Oxford. Parish, R. M. 2011. The Prehistoric Dover Quarry sites and Lithic Provenance of Chert Swords in Tennessee. The Quarry, the newsletter for the SAA’s prehistoric quarries and early mines interest group 6(2): 2–13. Pelisiak, A. 2014. Nowe znaleziska z neolitu i początków epoki brązu z polskich Bieszczadów Wysokich – rejon Wetlina-Moczarne. Wiadomości Archeologiczne 65: 212–217.

Pelisiak, A. 2016a. Siliceous raw material from Bieszczady Mountains. Sources and use. Archaeologia Polona 54: 21–31. Pelisiak, A. 2016b. Nowe znaleziska z neolitu i wczesnej epoki brązu z polskich Bieszczadów Wysokich. Materiały i Sprawozdania Rzeszowskiego Ośrodka Archeologicznego 37. (in print). Pelisiak, A. and Maj, Z. 2013. New Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Finds from the Bieszczady Mountains (Wetlina River Valley and its surroundings). Acta Archaeologica Carpathica 49: 199–206. Pelisiak, A., Maj, Z. and Bajda, Ł. 2015. First sites of Corded Ware culture from high part of the Bieszczady Mountains (south east Poland). Materiały i Sprawozdania Rzeszowskiego Ośrodka Archeologicznego 36: 19-24 Pelisiak, A. and Rybicka, M. 2013. Stanowisko 158 w Jarosławiu, woj. podkarpackie. Część I. Kultura malicka i kultura mierzanowicka. Rzeszów. Tarantini, M., Galiberti, A. and Mazzarocchi, F. 2011. Prehistoric flint mines of the gargano: an overview. In M. Capote, S. Consuegra, P. Diaz-del-Rio, and X. Terradas (eds), Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of the UISPP Commission on Flint Mining in Pre– and Protohistoric times: 253–263. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 2260.. Tarriño, A., Elorrieta, I., Garcia-Rojas, M., Orue, I. and Sánchez, A. 2014. Neolithic flint mines of Treviño (Basque-Cantabrian Basin, Western Pyrenees, Spain). Journal of Lithic Studies 1(1): 129–147. Tomaszewski, A. J. and Libera, J. 2007. Paleolityczne materiały z Przemyśla w zbiorach Państwowego Muzeum Archeologicznego (dzieje kolekcji). Rocznik Przemyski 43(2): 3–10. Valde-Nowak, P. 1988. Etapy i strefy zasiedlenia Karpat polskich w neolicie i na początku epoki brązu. Wrocław. Valde-Nowak, P. 1991. Menilite hornstone deposits and their prehistoric exploitation. Acta Archaeologica Carpathica 30: 55–86. Valde-Nowak, P. 1995a. Stone sources from the NorthCarpathian province in the Stone and Early Bronze Ages. Archaeologia Polona 33: 111–118. Valde-Nowak, P. 1995b. PL 21 Ropa, Nowy Sącz Province. Early Bronze Age hornstone mine at Ropa, site 2 (Polish West Carpathians). Archaeologia Polona 33: 532–533. Valde-Nowak, P. 2001. The settlement site of the Corded Ware Culture in Lubiša-Merava, Slovakia. In J. Machnik (ed.), Archaeology and Natural Background of the Lower Beskid Mountains, Carpathians: 68–89. Kraków. Valde-Nowak, P. 2009. Problem radiolarytu fliszowego w pradziejach, In J. Gancarski (ed.), Surowce naturalne w Karpatach oraz ich wykorzystanie w pradziejach i wczesnym średniowieczu: 121–127. Krosno.

76

Andrzej Pelisiak: Siliceous Raw Materials Valde-Nowak, P. 2013. The North-Carpathians province of silica rocks during Stone Age In Z. Mester (ed.), The lithic raw materials sources and interregional human contacts in the Northern Carpathian regions: 87–97. Kraków-Budapest. Valde-Nowak, P. and Strakošova, I. 2001. Homestead stone processing site of Corded Ware Culture at Brestov-Dielňa within the Ondava Upland, Slovakia. In J. Machnik (ed.),

Archaeology and Natural Background of the Lower Beskid Mountains, Carpathians: 57–68. Kraków. Weisgerber, G. 1986. Comparison of sophisticated mining technics in flint and copper exploitation. In K. Biró (ed.), Proceeding of the Insternational conference on prehistoric flint mining and lithic raw material identification in the Carpathian Basin: 163–165. Budapest–Sümeg.

77

78

Ongar: a Source of Chert in Lower Sindh (Pakistan) and Its Bronze Age Exploitation Paolo Biagi

Department of Asian and North African Studies, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice, Ca’ Cappello, San Polo 2035, I - 30125 Venezia, Italy e-mail: [email protected]

Elisabetta Starnini

School of Humanistic Sciences, Department of Historical Studies, University of Torino, via S. Ottavio 20, I - 10124 Torino, Italy e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: This paper summarizes the results of twenty-six years of fieldwork carried out by the Italian Archaeological Expedition in Sindh in search for chert sources, and documenting their exploitation in prehistory at least since the Acheulian Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age, Indus Civilization mining areas and workshops. The explorations focused on three main chert sources: the Rohri Hills, Ongar, Daphro and Bekhain Hills, and Jhimpir. They are not the only ones known to date in Sindh that were intensively exploited especially during the development of the Indus Civilization. The economic importance of chert exploitation in the Indus Civilization has often been underestimated by most archaeologists. This fact is evident when reading the published narratives about its handicraft, trade and production, although there is little doubt that this raw material played a fundamental role in the economy of the Indus cities, also as main alternative to metal for making well-defined tools for specific handicrafts. The importance of chert exploitation is testified indeed by the impressive archaeological evidence left behind. It consists of chert mines, chipping floors and blade/bladelet workshops, whose preservation is unfortunately challenged by present-day industrial works still underway. Regretfully, the evidence is under a serious risk of disappearing before it can be fully documented and understood by archaeologists. Keywords: Pakistan, Sindh, Indus Civilization, raw material sources, chert mines and workshops

Introduction

microbladelets transformed into drill-micropoints and employed in different handicrafts (Vidale 1987, 2000; Méry 1994; Wheeler 1997: 77–78, 98; Méry et al. 2007; Vidale et al. 2013), and cubic, polished weights (Wheeler 1997: 83; Wright 2010: 189–192, Fig. 7.3).

Until the end of the 1980s very little was known of the Bronze Age, Indus Civilization chipped stone assemblages of Sindh (Pakistan). The situation had not improved very much at the beginning of the 2000s partly because of the emphasis given to other categories of objects made from bronze, semi-precious stone, shell etc. (Bhan et al. 2002).

In 1979 Bridget Allchin wrote the first important report on the Holocene blade assemblages of Sindh (Allchin 1979). She informed us of the discovery of Indus chert ‘working floors’ on the limestone terraces just south of Rohri, at the northern edge of the Rohri Hills, not far from the course of the Indus River (Allchin 1976, 1985; Allchin et al. 1978; Allchin 1999: 291).

The scarcity of data regarding siliceous rock exploitation available at that time for the entire Indus Valley and its neighbouring regions is impressive. Most archaeologists working on the Indus Civilization in the Indian Subcontinent never paid much attention to the lithic factor even recently (see for instance Lahiri 1992; Ashtana 1993; Possehl 2002; Ratnagar 2001, 2004a, 2004b; Wright 2010), though Sindh is rich in chert outcrops (Starnini and Biagi 2011), and it is one of the regions with the highest density of Chalcolithic and Bronze Age settlements of the entire Indus Valley (Giosan et al. 2012: Fig. 3a; Khan and Lemmen 2014: Fig. 2).

More recently Randall William Law (2011) focused his work on the characterisation of the raw materials and provenance of all the stone/mineral artefacts of the Indus Civilization. Also chert samples from four welldefined regions of the Rohri Hills were sampled. This author pointed out the different appearance, colour and texture of the sources that were most probably exploited in different periods of development of the Indus Civilization (Law et al. 2002–2003).

Characteristic chert artefacts of the Indus Civilization are, besides chipped stone blades, bladelets and

The scope of this paper is to briefly present and discuss the Indus Civilization chert mines recently discovered 79

Between History and Archaeology in the Kirthar limestone beds that characterise the easternmost hill (Blanford 1880: 149). Near Jhimpir he described flinty and cherty Kirthar limestone rocks near the railway station of the small town (Blanford 1880: 152). All the above three regions were systematically surveyed by the Italian Archaeological Mission in Sindh between 1985 and 2011 (Starnini and Biagi 2011). Ongar, Daphro and Bekhain Ongar is a flat-topped Kirthar limestone formation terrace located ca. 25km south of Hyderabad, and 8km north of Jerruck, west of the national road to Karachi in front of the homonymous village just east of the road. The site was discovered in 1959 (Fairservis 1975: 77) though it had already been described in detail by Blanford (1880). Professor A. Rauf Khan of Karachi University visited the area in the summer of 1972–73, when the industrial exploitation of the limestone deposits of the hill, containing large chert nodules of light brownish grey colour (Munsell 10YR6/2) was already underway. From Ongar and its surroundings he collected an impressive number of chipped stone tools that he attributed to four main assemblages spanning from the Early to the Upper Palaeolithic (Khan 1979).

Fig. 1. Location of the Indus Civilization chert mining sites in Sindh: Rohri Hills (1), Ongar, Daphro and Bekhain Hills (2), and Jhimpir (3). Drawn: P. Biagi.

The easternmost horseshoe-shaped terrace of the Ongar hill was revisited by B. Allchin in 1975–76 (Allchin 1976). This author called the site Milestone 101 following the indications of an officer of the Pakistan Archaeological Department (Allchin et al. 1978: 295). On the top of the mesa she collected chert tools that she attributed to the Lower, Middle and Upper Palaeolithic periods.

at Ongar and the other terraces that elongate west of it, within the general pattern of data collected by the Italian Archaeological Expedition during almost three decades of fieldwork devoted to the discovery and interpretation of the chert/flint sources and workshops in Sindh (Fig. 1).

Further investigations were undertaken by one of the authors (Paolo Biagi) between 2004 and 2008 (Biagi 2005; Biagi and Franco 2008). In contrast with the reports written by the aforementioned authors, the new surveys demonstrated that the limestone formations rich in chert seams of Ongar, and those of the neighbouring Daphro and Bekhain Hills, were exploited not only during the Palaeolithic period, but also during the Indus Civilization (Fig. 2: 1).

Prehistoric chert mines in Sindh Sindh is very rich in chert sources. Many of them outcrop from the limestone mesas that border the right, western side of the Indus Valley, at least from Ranikot, in the north (Blanford 1867), to Allahdino near Karachi, in the south (Fairservis 1993: 111). Although many sources have never been mentioned by archaeologists, they are all described in the most important volume ever written on the geology of the country more than a century ago by William Thomas Blanford (1880).

Unfortunately, already in 2004 most of the Ongar archaeological sites had been destroyed by limestone quarrying still underway. Just a few intact areas were discovered during the surveys carried out in the following years. In particular the narrow terrace that elongates between Ongar, in the north-east, and Daphro, in the west (25°09’36’N – 68°12’56’E/25°09’38’N – 68°12’01’E), was found still in a very good state of preservation (Fig. 2: 2 and 3). Indus mining trenches,

In his work Blanford accurately reported not only the outcrops, but also the presence of chert/flint artefacts, both cores and flakes, covering a large area of the northern Rohri Hills terraces south of Rohri (Blanford 1880: 103). A similar situation he described at Ongar. From this later area he reported the presence of flint 80

Paolo Biagi and Elisabetta Starnini: Ongar: a Source of Chert in Lower Sindh

Fig. 2. Ongar, Daphro and Bekhain Hills: Location of the Indus chert mines and workshops (1: black dots), along the edges of the hill between Ongar, in the east, and Daphro, in the west (2 and 3: white marks). Maps C. Franco.

81

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 3. Ongar, Daphro and Bekhain Hills: Indus Civilization chert artefacts: Subconical blade core from Ongar (1), subconical blade cores (2–4) and pre-cores (5 and 6) from Daphro, and large pre-core from Bekhain (7). Drawn: P. Biagi, inked: G. Almerigogna.

82

Paolo Biagi and Elisabetta Starnini: Ongar: a Source of Chert in Lower Sindh small debitage flake clusters, and diagnostic chert artefacts, among which is a subconical blade core (Fig. 3: 1), were recorded mainly along the southern edge of the central part of the aforementioned mesa along a strip some 460m long and 20m wide (25°09’39’N – 68°12’14’E/25°09’37’N – 68°12’30’E: 63–80m asl; Fig. 2: 1–3).

latter is utilized for house building and decoration, irrespective of the government strict protection rules aimed at the preservation of the archaeological and national heritage of the country that are systematically unattended (Biagi 2006).

More evidence of Indus chert mining and knapping activities areas was found still intact also in a restricted zone located at the north-westernmost edge of Daphro, facing the alluvial plain toward Meting (Fig. 4: 1 and 2). The first group of structures recorded from this region consists of five aligned, parallel mining trenches and chert knapping workshops located between 25°09’45’N – 68°09’54’E and 25°09’47’N – 68°09’56’E (Fig. 4:1). A second group of six parallel, C-shaped mining trenches and debitage workshops from which a pre-core and a subconical blade cores and potsherds were also recovered, lies at ca. 25°09’47’N – 68°10’05’E (Fig. 3:2–6; Fig. 4:2–6).

As already pointed out mines, quarries and chert knapping workshops are the most important components of a lithic production system (Ericson 1984; Purdy 1984). The Sindhi Bronze Age extractive and knapping complexes provide us with an exceptional chance to shed light on this unique aspect of the Indus Civilization.

Discussion

Until a few decades ago, systematic surveys had never been undertaken in Sindh after the killing of the first explorer, Nani Gopal Majumdar (1934), with the exception of those conducted by Louis Flam mainly in Sindh Kohistan and part of the Kirthar range (Flam 1987, 2006).

The survey was later extended to the Bekhain Hills, a group of low and small terraces raising from the alluvial plain located at 60m asl some 2.5km south of Daphro (Fig. 2:1). Although most of the hills had already been heavily damaged by modern, illegal limestone quarrying, a few areas were recovered in 2008. Some of the Indus mining trenches and chert knapping workshops discovered at Bekhain are shown in Fig. 5, nn. 1–4. Of major importance is the discovery of a large chert pre-core along the eastern edge of the westernmost hill at 25°08’09’N – 68°09’27’E, together with two large decortication flakes (Fig. 3:7; Fig. 5:5 and 6). This type of pre-core is quite uncommon. Similar specimens are known only from Mohenjo-Daro (Marshall 1931: Plate CXXXI: 17–19), the Rohri Hills around Ziārāt Pir Shābān, and Nuhato in Badin taluka (unpublished Jamshoro Museum; Baloch 1973). They probably represent rough-out or chert ‘blocks’ ready to be transported elsewhere.

The discoveries made at Ongar, Daphro, Bekhain and also Jhimpir demonstrate that, apart from the Rohri Hills, other rich chert outcrops and mining centres did exist in the Indus Valley. Furthermore the probable presence of other still unidentified mining sites on top of the limestone terraces along the right, western bank of the Indus River, make the problem much more complex than formerly suggested. They greatly complicate our comprehension of the exploitation and circulation of the chert resources within the territory covered by the Indus Civilisation throughout its different stages of development that lasted some 1000 years (Possehl 1988). As already suggested (Biagi and Starnini 2008), these aspects are to be investigated at least at two levels. In particular: a) at a micro-regional scale, i.e. by identifying the eventual presence of settlements at the foothills involved in the exploitation of the chert outcrops, if any, b) macro-regional scale, studying the distribution pattern of the workshop products at longer distances, either as semi-finished raw material items, or blades ready for use. As regards point a), Indus settlements do exist close to the Rohri Hills (Shaikh et al. 2004–2005; Mallah 2010) although none of them seems to have been involved in trade and exchange of lithic material; while point b) is still too badly known to rely on the oversimplified maps so far published by other authors (Kenoyer 1998: Fig. 5.20a; see also Gupta 1996: Fig. 15).

Moving west, no traces of prehistoric settlements were recorded all across the alluvial plain that separates Daphro from Meting railway station, some 5km to the west. The terraces west of Meting were also surveyed. They consist of fossiliferous limestones containing very small chert nodules unsuitable for knapping due to their dimensions. Evidence of systematic limestone quarrying, most probably related to the construction of the railway in British times, were observed at the top of the flat mesas ca. 100m high, that extend just west of Meting.

The present evidence shows that the siliceous raw material of the Rohri Hills was transported in various forms, either as finished standardized blades and bladelets, or as unworked nodules, rough-outs, pre-

At present the illegal exploitation of the Ongar Hill has shifted from limestone to chert mining, a resource that abounds on the hills (Biagi and Nisbet 2011). This 83

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 4. Daphro Hill: The north-westernmost terrace on which Indus Civilization mining trenches have been recorded at 29°09’46’N – 68°09’55’E (1); parallel mining trenches at the aforementioned location (2); the northernmost mining trench (3); blade core (4); chert workshop (5), and long, subconical blade core from the centre of the same structure associated with two potsherds at 25°09’47’N – 68°10’05’E (6). Photo: P. Biagi.

cores and finished cores, from which we can infer a multiform demand, and the complexity of the procurement systems of which at present we know very little. We can suggest that also the rich, good-quality chert sources available from Ongar played a similar role in the Indus Civilization economic system.

Since chert demand can essentially be viewed as a function of three variables, namely 1) the number and frequency of activities requiring stone tools, 2) the stone tool production techniques and, 3) stone tool efficiency (Luedtke 1984), to fully understand and quantify the scale of demand for lithic material in the 84

Paolo Biagi and Elisabetta Starnini: Ongar: a Source of Chert in Lower Sindh

Fig. 5. Bekhain Hill: Mining trenches discovered along the eastern edge of the westernmost hill between 25°08’13’N – 68°09’30’E and 25°08’09’N – 68°09’27’E (1 and 3); mining trench with a chert workshop along the eastern edge of the central hill at 25°08’09’N – 68°09’48’E (2); mining system at the north-easternmost edge of the central hill at 25°08’09’N – 68°09’37’E (4); huge chert pre-core and limestone decortication flakes from the eastern edge of the westernmost hill at 25°08’09’N – 68°09’27’E (5 and 6). Photo: P. Biagi.

Indus Civilization a future research objective will be to better understand the many socio-economic and craft activities in which stone tools were involved and utilised. The few evidences at present available show that chert artefacts were employed in the operative chain of pottery and semi-precious stone beads

production (Vidale 1987, 2000; Méry 1994; Méry et al. 2007). To conclude, several problems and questions regarding chert extraction and distribution during the Indus

85

Between History and Archaeology Civilization are still open and unanswered due to absence of proper information, among which are: 1.

2.

3.

Affairs (MAE; Rome, I), the Prehistoric Society (London, United Kingdom), the National Geographic Society (Washington, USA), the Ca’ Foscari University Archaeology Funds (Venice, I), EURAL Gnutti Ltd (Rovato, I), and the CeVeSCO (Ca’ Foscari University, Venice, I).

The existence, in Sindh, of other chert outcrops visually very ‘similar’ to those of the Rohri Hills, with clear evidences of exploitation during the Indus period, challenges the current, suggested hypothesis of one single procurement area; The difficulty of characterizing siliceous rocks with scientific methods (Barfield 1999; Bressy et al. 2006), does not enable us to indisputably discriminate the sources in the same ways as for example obsidian; The scarcity of systematic analyses (typological, technological and functional) of the chipped stone assemblages recovered from the urban centres of the Indus Civilization.

References Allchin, B. 1976. Palaeolithic sites in the Plains of Sindh and their geographical implications. The Geographical Journal 142(3): 471–489. Allchin, B. 1979. Stone blade industries of early settlements in Sind as indicators of geographical and socio-economic change. In M. Taddei (ed.), South Asian Archaeology 1977: 173–212. Naples, Istituto Universitario Orientale. Seminario di Studi Asiatici. Series Minor VI. Allchin, B. 1985. Some Observation on the Stone Industries of the Early Holocene in Pakistan and Western India. In V.N. Misra and P. Bellwood (eds), Recent Advances in Indo-Pacific Prehistory: 129–136. New Delhi-Bombay-Calcutta. Allchin, B. 1999. Some Questions of Environment and Prehistory in the Indus Valley from Palaeolithic to Urban Indus Times. In A. Meadows and P. Meadows (eds), The Indus River Biodiversity Resources Humankind: 284–299. Karachi. Allchin, B., Goudie, A. and Hedge, K. 1978. The Prehistory and Palaeogeography of the Great Indian Desert. London. Ashtana, A. 1993. Harappan Trade in Metals and Minerals: A Regional Approach. In G.L. Possehl (ed.), Harappan Civilization A Recent Perspective: 271–285. New Delhi-Bombay-Calcutta. Baloch, N.A. 1973. In Search of the Indus Culture Sites in Sind. Bulletin of the Institute of Sindhology 3(2–3): 11–32. Barfield, L.H. 1999. Neolithic and Copper Age flint exploitation in Northern Italy. In P. Della Casa (ed.), Prehistoric alpine environment, society, and economy: 245–252. Bonn. Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorischen Archäologie 55. Bhan, K.K., Vidale, M. and Kenoyer, J.M. 2002. Some Important Aspects of the Harappan Technological Tradition. In S. Settar and R. Korisettar (eds), Indian Archaeology in Retrospect. Protohistory. Archaeology of the Harappan Civilization. Volume II: 225–271. Delhi. Biagi, P. 2005. Ongar Revisited. Sindhological Studies 21(1)–2: 1–21. Biagi, P. 2006. The archaeological sites of the Rohri Hills (Sindh, Pakistan): the way they are being destroyed. Web Journal of Cultural Patrimony 1(2): 77–95. Biagi, P. and Franco, C. 2008. Ricerche Archeologiche in Balochistan e nel Sindh Meridionale (Pakistan). In S. Gelichi (ed.), Missioni Archeologiche e Progetti di Ricerca e Scavo dell’Università Ca’ Foscari – Venezia: 9–18. Rome, VI Giornata di Studio.

The study of chert exploitation shows that this resource played indeed a crucial role in the operative chain of several handicrafts during the Indus Civilization. The strategic and economic importance of this raw material can be inferred in the impressive traces left on the landscape of Sindh in form of extraction and mining districts, knapping floors and workshops, where tons of chert have been extracted and millions of blades have been produced. It is regrettable that most of the archaeological sites discussed in this paper have already been destroyed by illegal industrial limestone and chert mining still underway, and no attention has ever been paid to their protection by international, national and local authorities despite their importance as a unique prehistoric heritage of the country (Biagi 2006; Dennell 2014: 99). Acknowledgements The surveys at Ongar were carried out in collaboration with the Institute of Sindhology, Sindh University (Jamshoro, Pakistan). The authors are very grateful to the former Vice-chancellor of Sindh University, Mr. Mazharul Haq Siddiqui, and the former Institute’s Director, Mr. Shoukat Shoro, for all their help before and during their permanence at Sindh University Campus. Many thanks are due to Mir Atta Mohammad Talpur, Mir Farooq Ahmed Talpur, Mir Ghulam Rasool Talpur and Mir Abdul Rehman Talpur, who took part in the Ongar and Daphro surveys, for all their help and assistance, to Dr. C. Franco, who took part in the 2008 fieldwork season at Ongar and Daphro, and Dr. R. Nisbet for his assistance during the surveys at Jhimpir and Ranikot. The research in Sindh was carried out thanks to the financial support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign 86

Paolo Biagi and Elisabetta Starnini: Ongar: a Source of Chert in Lower Sindh Biagi, P. and Nisbet, R. 2011. The Palaeolithic sites at Ongar in Sindh, Pakistan: a precious archaeological resource in danger. Antiquity Project Gallery. Antiquity 85(329): 1–6. August 2011. http://www.antiquity. ac.uk/projgall/biagi329/. Biagi, P. and Starnini, E. 2008. The Bronze Age Indus Quarries of the Rohri Hills and Ongar in Sindh (Pakistan). In. R.I. Kostov, I. Gaydarska and M. Gurova (eds), Geoarchaeology and Archaeomineralogy: 77–82. Sofia. Blanford, W.T. 1867. Notes on the Geology of the neighbourhood of Lyngyan and Runneekote, North-West of Kotree in Sind – India. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India 6: 1–15. Blanford, W.T. 1880. The Geology of Western Sind. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India 17. Bressy, C., Poupeau, G. and Bintz, P. 2006. Geochemical characterisation in flint sourcing. Application to the Chartreuse and Vercors massifs (Western Alps, France). In G. Körlin and G. Weisgerber (eds), Stone Age–Mining Age: 489–497. Bochum, Deutsches Bergbau-Museum. Der Anschnitt 19. Dennell, R. 2014. Palaeoanthropology in Pakistan and China: an ICOMOS perspective. In A. Sanz (ed.), Human origin sites and the World Heritage Convention in Asia: 84–106. Ciudad de Mexico. UNESCO. Ericson, J.E. 1984. Toward the analysis of lithic production systems. In J. E. Ericson and B. A. Purdy (eds), Prehistoric Quarries and Lithic Production: 1–9. Cambridge. Fairservis, W.A. Jr. 1975. The Roots of Ancient India. Chicago. Fairservis, W.A. Jr. 1993. Allahdino: An Excavation of a Small Harappan Site. In G.L. Possehl (ed.), Harappan Civilization A Recent Perspective: 107–112. New DelhiBombay-Calcutta. Flam, L. 1987. Recent Explorations in Sind: Paleogeography, Regional Ecology, and Prehistoric Settlement Patterns (ca. 4000–200 B.C.). In J. Jacobson (ed.), Studies in the Archaeology of India and Pakistan: 65–90. Warmister. Flam, L. 2006. Archaeological Research in Western Sindh: The Kirthar Mountains, Sindh Kohistan, and Excavations at Ghazi Shah. In F. Hussein (ed.), Sindh – Past, Present and Future: 152–183. Karachi. Giosan, L., Clift, P.D., Macklinc, M.G., Fuller, D.Q., Constantinescu, S., Durcanc, J.A., Stevens, T., Duller, G.A.T., Tabrez, A.R., Gangal, K., Adhikari, R., Alizai, A., Felip, F., Van Laningham, S. and Syvitski, J.P.M. 2012. Fluvial landscapes of the Harappan civilization. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United State of America E1688–1694. Gupta, S.P. 1996. The Indus-Saraswati Civilization. Origins, Problems and Issues. Delhi. Kenoyer, J.M. 1998. Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization. Karachi. Khan, A.R. 1979. Palaeolithic Sites Discovered in the Lower Sind and their Significance in the Prehistory

of the Country. In H. Khuhro (ed.), Studies in Geomorphology and Prehistory of Sind: 80–82. Grassroots 3(2). Khan, A. and Lemmen, C. 2014. Bricks and urbanism in the Indus Civilization. PlosOne. arXiv:1303.1426 [physics. hist-ph] 27 Feb 2013. Lahiri, N. 1992. The Archaeology of the Indian Trade Routes upto c. 200 BC. Resource Use, Resource Access and Lines of Communication. Delhi. Law, R.W. 2011. Inter-Regional Interaction and Urbanism in the Ancient Indus Valley. A Geological Provenience Study of Harappa’s Rock and Mineral Assemblage. Current Studies on the Indus Civilization Volume VIII, Part 1: Text. Rihn-Manohar Indus Project Series, New Delhi. Law, R., Baqri, S.R.H., Mahmood, K. and Khan, M. 2002– 2003. First results of a neutron activation study comparing Rohri Hills chert to other chert sources in Pakistan and archaeological samples from Harappa. Ancient Sindh 7: 7–25. Luedtke, B.E. 1984. Lithic material demand and quarry production. In J.E. Ericson and B.A. Purdy (eds), Prehistoric Quarries and Lithic Production: 65–76. Cambridge. Majumdar, N.G. 1934. Explorations in Sind. Being a report of exploratory survey carried out during the years 1927– 28, 1929–30 and 1930–31. New Delhi. Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India 48. Mallah, Q.H. 2010. Recent archaeological discoveries in Sindh, Pakistan. In T. Osada and A. Uesugi (eds), Current Studies on the Indus Civilization Volume I: 27– 75. Delhi. Marshall, J. 1931. Mohenjo-Daro and the Indus Civilization Being an Official Account of Archaeological Excavations at Mohenjo-Daro Carried out by the Government of India Between the Years 1922 and 1927. Volume III. London. Méry, S. 1994. Excavation of an Indus potter’s workshop at Nausharo (Baluchistan), Period II. In A. Parpola and P. Koskikallio (eds), South Asian Archaeology 1993, Volume II: 471–482. Helsinki. Méry, S., Anderson, P., Inizan, M.L., Lechevallier, M. and Pelegrin, J. 2007. A pottery workshop with flint tools on blades knapped with copper at Nausharo (Indus Civilization, ca. 2500 BC). Journal of Archaeological Science 34: 1098–1116. Possehl, G. 1988. Radiocarbon Dates from South Asia. Man and Environment 12: 169–196. Possehl, G. 2002. The Indus Civilization. A Contemporary Perspective. New Dehli. Purdy, B.A. 1984. Quarry studies: technological and chronological significance. In J.E. Ericson and B.A. Purdy (eds), Prehistoric Quarries and Lithic Production: 119–127. Cambridge. Ratnagar, S. 2001. The Bronze Age: Unique Instance of a Pre-Industrial World System? Current Anthropology 42(3): 351–379. Ratnagar, S. 2004a. Trading Encounters: From the Euphrates to the Indus in the Bronze Age. New Delhi. 87

Between History and Archaeology Ratnagar, S. 2004b. Materials Used in the Bronze Age. In E. Olijdam and R.H. Spoor (eds), Intercultural Relations between South and Southwest Asia. Studies in commemoration of E.C.L. During Caspers (1934–1996): 56–60. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 1826. Shaikh, N., Mallah, Q.H. and Veesar, G.M. 2004–2005. The Excavations of Indus Period Site Lakhan-joDaro 2006. Khairpur. Ancient Sindh 8: 7–193. Starnini, E. and Biagi, P. 2011. The Archaeological Record of the Indus (Harappan) Lithic Production: The Excavation of RH862 Flint Mine and Flint Knapping Workshops on the Rohri Hills (Upper Sindh, Pakistan). Journal of Asian Civilizations, Special Issue 34(2): 1–61. Vidale, M. 1987. Some aspects of lapidary craft at Moenjodaro in the light of the surface record of

Moneer South East Area. In M. Jansen and G. Urban (eds), Interim Reports volume 2: 113–150. Aachen. Vidale, M. 2000. The Archaeology of Indus Craft, Indus craftspeople and why we study them. Rome, IsIAO. Vidale, M., Siviero, A., Sidoti, G., Guida, G. and Priori, G. 2013. Three end-scrapers from MohenjoDaro (Pakistan). In E. Starnini (ed.), Unconformist Archaeology, Papers in honour of Paolo Biagi: 119–129. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 2528. Wheeler, sir M. 1997. The Indus Civilization. Lahore. Supplementary volume to the Cambridge History of India (1st reprint). Wright, R.P. 2010. The Ancient Indus Urbanism, Economy, and Society. Cambridge.

88

The Chocolate Flint Mines in the Udorka Valley (Częstochowa Upland) – a Preliminary Report on the Field and Lidar Surveys Magdalena Sudoł-Procyk

Institute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Szosa Bydgoska St. No 44/48, 87–100 Toruń, Poland e-mail: [email protected]

Janusz Budziszewski

Institute of Archaeology, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Wóycickiego 1/3, 01–938 Warsaw, Poland, e-mail: [email protected]

Maciej T. Krajcarz

Institute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, Research Centre in Warsaw, Twarda St. No 51/55, 00–818 Warszawa, Poland e-mail: [email protected]

Michał Jakubczak

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Science, Al. Solidarności 105, 00-140 Warsaw, Poland e-mail: [email protected]

Michał Szubski

Institute of Archaeology, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Wóycickiego 1/3, 01–938 Warsaw, Poland, e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: An important role in the extraction and utilisation of siliceous rocks was played by the Udorka Valley region, situated in the south-eastern part of the Ryczów Upland. In this region, numerous outcropsof various siliceous rocks are located including outcrops of chocolate flint, and many sites with artefacts from chocolate flint dated from the Middle Palaeolithic. In Udorka Valley, in the area of chocolate flint outcrop, a number of small depressions in the ground with unfinished flint artefacts were encountered and which have been tentatively considered to be remnants of the activities of prehistoric miners. The area under scrutiny was investigated using airborne laser scanning methods (LiDAR, ALS). This paper presents the preliminary results. Keywords: lithic raw material, silicite, chocolate flint, Stone Age mining, LiDAR survey, Poland

Introduction

An extremely interesting in this respect is the region of the central Częstochowa Upland (the Ryczów Upland in particular), where numerous outcrops of various siliceous rocks are located (Krajcarz et al. 2012a, 2012b, 2014), and many sites with flint assemblages dated from the Middle Palaeolithic period (e.g. Cyrek 2009, Cyrek et al. 2010, Sudoł et al. 2016) until the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age have been identified (e.g. Pelisiak 2006; Krajcarz et al. 2014).

The issues related to the extraction, distribution and role of siliceous rocks in the economies of the prehistoric communities who lived in the territories of Poland have been frequently addressed by archaeologists since the previous century (e.g. Krukowski 1923; Samsonowicz 1923; Schild 1971; Balcer 1975; Balcer and Kowalski 1978; Kaczanowska and Kozłowski 1976; Lech 1981; Cyrek 1983; Budziszewski and Michniak 1983 (1989); Matraszek and Sałaciński 2002; Sulgostowska 2005; Borkowski et al. 2008; Piotrowska et al. 2014). These topics are of particular importance from the viewpoint of studies on the utilisation and contribution of local flint resources in human economies, and for determination of the occurrence of so-called imported flint artefacts in assemblages encountered at sites dated to the Stone Age.

An exceptional role, especially in terms of the issue of extraction and utilisation of siliceous rocks, is played by the Udorka Valley region, situated in the southeastern part of the Ryczów Upland (Fig. 1). Field and prospective surveys conducted in this area in the years 2012–2015 resulted in the discovery of new cave and open air sites accompanied by outcrops of flint (Sudoł et al. 2016), including outcrops of chocolate flint, the 89

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 1. Location of Udorka Valley, Olkusz and Zawiercie dist., and presented sites. Drawn: M. T. Krajcarz.

paleośrodowiskowych’), carried out under the management of Magdalena Sudoł in the years 2011– 2014. The latter resulted in a discovery of sites, the settlement episodes of which can be related to the successive phases of the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods (Sudoł et al. 2016). Amongst them, the Perspektywiczna Cave is exceptional (Sudoł et al. 2013); it is a multicultural site with an abundant accumulation of flint artefacts with a predominant appearance of chocolate flint (Krajcarz et al. 2012b, 2014).

extent of which has been considered until recently to be limited exclusively to the province of the Holy Cross (Świętokrzyskie) Mountains (Krajcarz et al. 2012b). In the region of the chocolate flint outcrop in the Udorka Valley, a number of small depressions in the ground containing unfinished flint artefacts were encountered and which have been tentatively considered to be remnants of the activities of prehistoric miners. To verify this thesis, the area under scrutiny was investigated using airborne laser scanning methods (LiDAR, ALS; Crutchley and Crow 2010; Sławik and Zapłata 2011), the preliminary results of which are presented in this paper.

Simultaneously, a prospective survey conducted in the field by a research team (Maciej T. Krajcarz, Magdalena Krajcarz and Magdalena Sudoł) revealed a significant diversification of siliceous rocks encountered in this region and an occurrence of new outcrops (Krajcarz et al. 2012a). Amongst these, the outcrops of high-quality chocolate and banded flints merit special attention.

History of the discovery The investigations carried out in the Udorka Valley region were inspired by the results obtained within the NCN (National Science Centre, Poland) research project entitled ‘Palaeolithic settlement of Wodąca and Udorka Valley (Częstochowa Upland) against the palaeoenvironmental background’ (in Polish: ‘Osadnictwo paleolityczne Doliny Wodącej i Doliny Udorki (Wyżyna Ryczowska) na tle uwarunkowań

Fragments of chocolate flint chunks were primarily discovered only within the bed of the seasonal Udorka stream (Fig. 2). When compared with predominant types of flint materials encountered in the Udorka Valley region, they were distinctive in terms of their regular, slab-like forms. The outer surfaces of some 90

Magdalena Sudoł-Procyk et al.: The Chocolate Flint Mines in the Udorka Valley the origins of which were most likely anthropogenic in nature (Fig. 4 and 5). In their neighbourhood, especially by the edge of the slope, flake blanks and numerous flint nodules were recorded; the latter were initially prepared, which indicated that they were remnants of near-mine workshops, where the initial preparation of nodules took place. Other open sites that might have functioned as workshops, with a great share of cores and blanks made of chocolate flint, were discovered at the Kleszczowa site, Zawiercie district, in the region of the Góry Barańskie hills (Fig. 1). Interpreting the open and cave sites as relating to production is a significant criterion in considerations referring to the exploitation of local outcrops of chocolate flint and the manner of its utilisation in the Palaeolithic (particularly in its late phases, i.e. Upper and Late Palaeolithic) and Mesolithic periods. Therefore, it is important to identify precisely the possible points of extraction of chocolate flint, and determine their nature and extent.

Fig. 2. Fragments of chocolate flint chunks in the riverbed of the seasonal Udorka stream. Photo: M. Sudoł-Procyk.

nodules showed traces of transport by water (red patina, polishing and abrading). The region of the Udorka Valley is densely forested and cut through with deep gullies, which makes it very difficult to conduct field surveys. Therefore, outcrops of this particular siliceous rock had not been discovered until 2013 (Fig. 3).

Flint material – geological characteristics Chocolate flint in its classical range within the northeastern margin of the Holy Cross Mountains occurs within the limestone rocks associated with the Upper Astartian, according to the nomenclature given in the pioneer publications on the geology of that region (Samsonowicz 1923). This stratigraphic unit was rejected

Further prospective surveys lead to a discovery of a series of pits in the surrounding areas of the outcrops,

Fig. 3. Geological map of Udorka Valley and surrounding area. Map based on the Geological Map of Poland 1: 50 000, sheets Ogrodzieniec (No. 913) and Wolbrom (No. 914), modified according to field observations. Drawn: M. T. Krajcarz.

91

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 4. Geomorphology of the flint mine area. Map based on the LIDAR image available from the Polish General Office of Geodesy and Cartography website (http://mapy.geoportal.gov.pl/wss/service/WMTS/guest/wmts/ISOK_CIEN), modified according to field observations. Drawn: M. T. Krajcarz.

indisputably established (Cohen et al. 2013), and the current opinions postulated by geologists tend to localise this stratotype in Scotland, within the Boreal ammonite province, which is expected to make the ammonites of the Mediterranean province – to which the Cracow-Częstochowa Upland belongs to – no longer useful in terms of the univocal determination of the biostratigraphy of local strata. The degree of exposure of Jurassic sediments in the surroundings of the Udorka Valley is very poor. This region is very densely forested and Jurassic deposits are mostly covered with Cretaceous sands and Quaternary loess (Fig. 3). Artificial outcrops in the form of quarries are scarce and small, not revealing the layers with chocolate flints. Natural outcrops are also small and they are mainly encountered in the context of biohermal limestones. Due to this an accurate recognition of the chocolate flint stratigraphy is impossible.

Fig. 5. Pits in the surroundings of the outcrops, the origins of which were most likely of anthropogenic nature (in pictures Janusz Budziszewski and Michał Szubski). Photo: M. Sudoł-Procyk.

Field observations on the occurrence of chocolate flint in soils and regoliths of the Udorka Valley indicated that the layers containing this raw material, likewise the layer with cherts from Udórz, are encountered above the lithostratigraphic unit of the Upper Massive Limestone. Taking into account the fact that Idoceras were discovered within those limestones (Bednarek et al. 1978) – the ammonites commonly known from the Upper Oxfordian and Kimmeridgian, the limestones in question may be associated with both the Upper Oxfordian (as concluded by Bednarek et al. 1978) and Lower Kimmeridgian horizons. In general, their

in the mid 1960s (Kutek 1965), and it corresponds with the current uppermost part of the Upper Oxfordian and the lower part of the Kimmeridgian. The position of layers containing chocolate flint is linked closely to the boundary between Oxfordian and Kimmeridgian sediments is although their affiliation to one of these stages has so far not been clarified. Jacek Gutowski (1998) linked chocolate flints from the north-eastern part of the Holy Cross Mountains explicitly with the Upper Oxfordian, and placed them between the planula and hypselocyclum zones. On the other hand, the Oxfordian-Kimmeridgian boundary has not been 92

Magdalena Sudoł-Procyk et al.: The Chocolate Flint Mines in the Udorka Valley biostratigraphic position is similar to that of chocolate flint-bearing strata from the Holy Cross Mountains region. Detailed lithostratigraphic correlation is difficult to find due to poor exposure of the terrain under vegetation, as mentioned above.

prehistoric mining sites were performed no sooner than the 1990s (Budziszewski 1990, 2000; Borkowski 1995, 2005). Unfortunately, the research commenced at that time has not been continued, and our knowledge about the relationships between specific landform conditions and various types of mining technologies is still insufficient. This seems to be due to the fact that the primary landform of such sites was very susceptible to destruction caused by agricultural activity carried out by human communities in subsequent periods. As a result, it is usually preserved only in forested lands, where it is very difficult to draw accurate topographic maps using classical methods.

The chocolate flints emerge within the soils and regoliths, on the right slope of the Udorka Valley, in the forest named ‘Łysa Góra’ (c. 50°26’3’ N, 19°45’8’ E; Fig. 3). The linear outcrop extends further to the southwest, and diminishes on crop fields near the village of Miechówka, Olkusz district. It occurs again within regoliths in the village of Kąpiele Wielkie, Olkusz district, in the seepage zone of the Udorka stream (50°25’32’ N, 19°43’50’E). Moreover, the flint can be encountered in the riverbed and alluvia of the Udorka stream, as well as in proluvial sediments of the tributary gullies. Chocolate flint is assumed to spread further to the north and south, as can be predicted from the monoclinal geological structure of the region, however so far its outcrops have not been discovered there.

This situation is likely to change thanks to the introduction of airborne laser scanning methods into archaeological practice (Crutchley and Crow 2010; Sławik and Zapłata 2011). However, there are still only a few published studies based on this technique. In recent years they have just started to emerge in foreign (Utting et al. 2010; Tarriño et al. 2011, 2014) and Polish archaeology (Budziszewski and Wysocki 2012; Jakubczak 2012; Radziszewska 2015; Szubski 2016). The data obtained in such studies has revealed that the reality is far more complicated than might have been expected.

A macroscopic description of chocolate flint was presented by Krajcarz et al. (2012b). The nodules are flat with parallel upper and lower surfaces. The thickness of nodules is 2–10cm and their diameters range from several to over a dozen centimetres. The cortex is thin (c. 0.5–5mm, on average 1–2mm), white, smooth but with numerous fossils and grains on the surface, clearly separated from an outside rock. Under the cortex a white, dull, non-transparent zone occurs, several mm thick and distinctly separated from the inner silica substance. The silica substance is dark, from dark-brown to yellowish-brown, greyish-brown and milky-white. It is fine-crystalline, dull, and slightly transparent, with fatty or pearl lustre. In some specimens there occur horizontal bands of coarse-crystalline silica within the substance. The knapping properties are very good. When knapped this silicite shows subconchoidal fractures. The weathered cortex is orange and the weathered silica substance is dull, non-transparent, grey to yellowish-grey or bluish-grey, and in some specimens striped. The name of ‘Kraków-Częstochowa chocolate silicite’ was proposed (Krajcarz et al. 2012b) to separate this flint from the classical chocolate silicite from the Holy Cross Mountains.

Geological analyses and field surveys carried out in the Udorka Valley, in a presumed location of chocolate flint outcrops, delivered evident traces of anthropomorphic transformations in ground relief (Fig. 4). To analyse these traces the investigators decided to use the data from airborne laser scanning obtained in the course of the project named ‘IT system of the Country’s Protection Against Extreme Hazards’ (in Polish: ‘Informatyczny System Osłony Kraju przed nadzwyczajnymi zagrożeniami’ – ISOK), developed between 2007–2013 by a consortium consisting of the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management, the National Water Management Authority, the Head Office of Geodesy and Cartography, National Institute of Telecommunications, and the Government Centre for Security (Maślanka and Wężyk 2014). The data was acquired from the Geodetic and Cartographic Documentation Centre, and it covered the region of the Udorka Valley and its vicinities over an area of 50km2. Measurement parameters of the cloud point obtained were within the standard I (WT LiDAR 2013/2014), i.e. ≥4 pts. per one sq. m, scan angle ≤25o, diameter of laser spot ≤ 0.5m (Kruczyński et al. 2014). The point cloud was reclassified to respond to the needs of archaeological analyses using LAStools software. A Digital Terrain Model of the TIN type (Triangulated Irregular Network), with a resolution up to 30cm, and an analogical Digital Surface Model were generated. Based on the Digital Terrain Model a series of visualisations were created using the software RVT 1.1, LiVT and Global Mapper 14.

Landform of the chocolate flint extraction region The very first discoverers of the prehistoric mining sites in Poland already paid attention to the specific ground relief of mines (Samsonowicz 1923: 22–23; Krukowski 1932: 58–59), whereas the first attempts to draw a precise documentation of this landform were undertaken in the 1940s (Sawicki 1948: 123; Sytnyk 2014: 128). However, reliable and comprehensive analyses of the ground surface morphology of 93

Between History and Archaeology – the result of bank erosion caused by the flow of the Udorka River (Fig. 6d).

These visualisations enclosed the following: Hillshade (shaded relief map), Multi Hillshade, Sky View Factor (Kokalj et al. 2011), Principal Component Analysis, Local Dominance and Local Relief Model. With regard to the studies conducted, the investigators chose a few visualisations that were considered useful for achieving their research objectives, including: Hillshade, Multi Hillshade, Sky View Factor and PCA. The data obtained were exported using QGIS software and then subjected to further processing within the generated GIS database.

The form of the largest feature on the higher part of the slope indicated that they had emerged in modern times. The authors presume that neighbouring features may be of similar age. The reliefs of the small pits and ditches on the lower part of the slope were very sharp, giving an impression of being the youngest in age. This hypothesis seems to be confirmed by an analogical feature dug out in the bottom of a vast quarry on the upper part of the slope. A similar feature within the lowest part of the anthropogenic niche revealed analogous stratigraphic relationships. Unfortunately, the relationships between the exploitation carried out by establishing large pits and ditches, and the vast niche situated at the edge of the valley cannot be explicitly clarified. It can only be stated that the latter is older than the southern, natural niche eroded by the Udorka.

An analysis of the Digital Terrain Model confirmed the preliminary assessment of the landform in the surroundings of the presumed location of the chocolate flint outcrops. Numerous anthropogenic modifications affecting the relief in this area lead to a formation of three distinctive zones (Fig. 6). In the topmost zone of the slope there is a vast area with pits of various depths and shapes (Fig. 6a). This zone extends to a height of more than 100m above the valley floor and covers an area of c. 0.7ha. The pits became bigger and deeper as the slope ascended. The largest one had the topmost location and dimensions of c. 13 x 25m, resembling a form typical of small quarries. Its entrance was located in the south. The diameters of the features situated below, further down the slope, usually amounted to just a few metres. Their reliefs have been deformed to such an extent that it is impossible to evaluate explicitly the number of extraction points. The lack of traces of distinctive waste heaps indicated that all of the features in question were remnants of exploitation of rock layers, namely limestone.

The above-mentioned analyses indicate that the only feature alleged to have prehistoric origins is a vast niche formed at the edge of the valley as a result of the repeatedly resumed exploitation of small pits opened towards the river. Similar features have not been recorded amongst the opencast mines of chocolate flint in the Holy Cross Mountains region (Budziszewski 2008: ryc. 27). However, this method of extraction is so easy and natural that it should be expected to have been employed under specific geological conditions. Moreover, smaller complexes of this type have already been encountered in Poland, e.g. an extraction point of banded flints named ‘Skałecznica Duża’, Opatów district (Jakubczak 2012), and a site ‘Krzemianka’, Białystok district, associated with the exploitation of secondary deposits of siliceous rocks from the moraine of the Warta Glaciation in the Knyszyn Primeval Forest (Borkowski 2005; Szubski 2016). Moreover, the site known as ‘Lousberg’ in Aachen (Aachen district, Germany) has proved that the extraction of siliceous rocks carried out in this manner could ultimately develop into largescale mining (Weiner and Weisgerber 1980).

In the northern section of the lowest part of the slope, some deep, although small, structures emerged again in the form of pits or ditches several metres in dimension (Fig. 6b). These also lacked distinctive waste heaps, which led to them being considered as the remnants of exploitation performed in a similar manner to the one described above, yet on a much smaller scale. To the south of those features the edge of the valley is broken by a vast niche extending over an area of nearly 70m in length (Fig. 6c). Within this niche there were numerous small depressions with diameters reaching up to a few metres, taking the shapes of recesses opened towards the valley. This suggested that this vast form had been shaped through time by repeatedly performed mining activities, always on a small scale. The form of these features has not provided clues for determining which particular mineral was extracted from them. There is also a lack of distinctive waste heaps, however if the waste material had been removed and dropped into the valley, it must have been periodically washed out by the stream. In the lowest part of the valley, and within its very edge, there are two vast erosional niches

Archaeological field survey at raw material extraction points As mentioned above, the area of presumed location of the chocolate flint outcrops was thoroughly investigated during several prospective surveys. Archaeological materials were found on the surface of small depressions occurring within a large niche situated by the valley edge, and in its closest surroundings. The investigators had difficulties in spotting them due to the quantities of forest litter. Nevertheless, they succeeded in collecting natural nodules, test nodules (Fig. 7), initial cores (Fig. 8) and flake blanks (Fig. 9). These materials were relatively scarce. Large flakes characterised by butts covered 94

Magdalena Sudoł-Procyk et al.: The Chocolate Flint Mines in the Udorka Valley

Fig. 6. The landform in the surroundings of the location of the chocolate flint outcrops based on analysis of the Digital Terrain Model. Drawn: M. Szubski.

with scars of previous blows or cortex, and strongly marked bulbs, often with visible flows, were distinctive in terms of quantity. These flakes were associated with the initial preparation of nodules, performed using a hard hammer. Unfortunately, the materials in question contained no forms that could allow a reliable cultural attribution. Noteworthy, however, is the varied state of preservation of these flint materials. Most of the artefacts were covered with extensive white patina (Fig. 7). There were also cores and flake blanks with only slightly patinated surfaces, or showing no traces of patination at all (Fig. 10). This could have been due to various phases of extraction of raw material in this region.

Fig. 7. Testing nodules with strong white patina in situ. Photo: M. Sudoł-Procyk.

Flint materials were accompanied by limestone chunks. The latter were infrequently represented and many 95

Between History and Archaeology within a distance of 10km from the site, and comparative analyses performed on the materials obtained from the outcrops, allowed the investigators to reinterpret their opinions on the long-distance import of this flint from the northwest margins of the Holy Cross Mountains into the Cracow-Częstochowa Upland, which took place in the Middle Palaeolithic period (Krajcarz et al. 2012b). The oldest assemblages containing a great number of artefacts made of chocolate flint were associated with cultural levels contained within layers 19 and 18 in the Biśnik Cave (assemblages A5–A7; Cyrek 2013). The following items were fashioned from this raw material: a backed knife, retouched Levallois points, two cores, and small tools with denticulated and notched retouch. However, the most spectacular artefacts made of chocolate flint found in Biśnik Cave came from the youngest Middle Palaeolithic cultural levels (layers 7–5), which were linked with the assemblages E and F (Cyrek et al. 2010, 2014), i.e. some Levallois cores, as well as single- and double-sided backed knives. One of the knives was made of a flat flint slab (Fig. 11:1). Similar flat slabs of chocolate flint were recorded in the region of its outcrops in the Udorka Valley. The assemblages from the Biśnik Cave proved that chocolate flint was a well-known and highly appreciated raw material used for tool production by Neanderthal communities from this region since the Middle Palaeolithic period, which supports the thesis of its long-term utilisation stretching back some 200,000 years.

Fig. 8. Initial core from chocolate flint. Drawn: M. Sudoł-Procyk.

were weathered, which indicates that the features had most likely been dug out from the soil and regolith, instead of the limestone rock.

Recent studies carried out in the region of the southern part of the Ryczów Upland have contributed to the discovery of sites related to the Upper and Late Palaeolithic periods (Sudoł et al. 2016). Evidence of the utilisation of local chocolate flints in those eras was provided by assemblages encountered in the Perspektywiczna Cave (Fig. 1) in the Udorka Valley (Sudoł et al. 2016). The assemblage associated with the Upper Palaeolithic period was recorded by the cave entrance. It contained several dozen flint artefacts from the production and household stages. Most of these specimens were made of chocolate flint, amongst which a set of artefacts was distinctive, including large perforators (Fig. 11:2–3), large blades and blade cores (Fig. 11:4). The artefacts in question were slightly patinated. Unfortunately, based on this small assemblage it is difficult to establish reliably any cultural affiliation (Sudoł et al. 2016). Preliminary investigations revealed that artefacts obtained from this part of the site occurred in slope sediments, in the secondary deposit. A different state of preservation, with no traces of patination on the flint surface, was observed while examining relics of the Late Palaeolithic assemblage recorded in the upper layers of the sediments in the Perspektywiczna Cave. An occurrence of blade blanks (Fig. 11:5) and numerous core-

The materials discovered were associated with an initial preparation of nodules, which corresponded well with the nature of the ground relief encountered at the site. This supported the hypothesis that the site under scrutiny was a remnant of a small extraction point and a near-mine workshop, where initial preparation of chocolate flint nodules was performed. Chocolate flint in the Palaeolithic assemblages from the southern part of the Ryczów Upland Taking into account the location of chocolate flint outcrops in the Udorka Valley, the flint assemblages obtained from several sites situated in the southern part of the Ryczów Upland were subject to analysis in respect to their potential utilisation in the Palaeolithic period. The earliest evidence of chocolate flint utilisation comes from the Biśnik Cave (Fig. 1; Cyrek et al. 2010). This raw material occurred in most of the Middle Palaeolithic assemblages encountered in this cave, which has already been reported in the existing literature (Cyrek and Sudoł 2008). A discovery of chocolate flint outcrops 96

Magdalena Sudoł-Procyk et al.: The Chocolate Flint Mines in the Udorka Valley

Fig. 9. Flake blanks from chocolate flint. Drawn: M. Sudoł-Procyk.

preparation flakes indicated that flint processing had been carried out at the site. The assemblages presented in this paper are the outcomes of the first stage of the research conducted, and further excavations in the Perspektywiczna Cave are expected to clarify their complex stratigraphic context. An extremely interesting assemblage, largely based on chocolate flint, was encountered at a site identified in the course of field survey, located on the Góry Barańskie hills, near the village of Kleszczowa, situated within a distance of c. 2km west of the Udorka Valley (Fig. 1). Single and double platform blade cores (Fig. 12:1–3), accompanied by blade blanks and tools discovered there, allowed this site to be connected to the Late

Fig. 10. Flake blanks on the surface of one of the pits. Photo: M. Sudoł-Procyk.

97

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 11. Choice of tools from chocolate flint: 1 – bifacial knife (Middle Palaeolithic, assemblage E from the Biśnik Cave, Olkusz dist.); 2–3 – perforators (Upper Palaeolithic, Perspektywiczna Cave, Olkusz dist.); 4 – core (Upper Palaeolithic, Perspektywiczna Cave, Olkusz dist.); 5 – blade (Late Palaeolithic, Perspektywiczna Cave, Olkusz dist.). Photo: M. Sudoł-Procyk.

98

Magdalena Sudoł-Procyk et al.: The Chocolate Flint Mines in the Udorka Valley

Fig. 12. Choice of cores from chocolate flint (Late Palaeolithic period, Kleszczowa site, Zawiercie dist.). Photo: M. Sudoł-Procyk.

Palaeolithic period, possibly the Magdalenian. What is noteworthy is the high amount of waste products of core preparation, evidencing the production function of the site (Sudoł et al. 2016). Moreover, the resemblance of cores in the initial stages of exploitation obtained from the site in question to those found near the outcrops should be stressed, not only in terms of

their morphology but also in respect of their state of preservation (comp. Figs. 8 and 12:3). Conclusions The chocolate flint outcrops in the Udorka Valley were undoubtedly of economic significance to prehistoric 99

Between History and Archaeology communities. Utilisation of this raw material has been evidenced at numerous archaeological sites dated to the Palaeolithic, although the models of exploitation and distribution of this raw material in particular periods were different (Krajcarz et al. 2014; Sudoł et al. 2016). In the Middle Palaeolithic, Neanderthal flint knappers employed chocolate flint mostly for the most complex methods of flint processing, such as shaping knife-like bifacial tools and preparing Levallois cores. Localization of sites in spatial relation to flint outcrops seems to be of secondary significance in those times, whereas, the Upper and Late Palaeolithic sites linked to production functions were located in the close surroundings of flint outcrops.

Further research, including the elaboration and interpretation of the ALS data obtained for locating chocolate flint outcrops in the Udorka Valley region, was conducted under NCN grant no. 2014/15/D/ HS3/01302, entitled Hunter-gatherer communities of the younger part of the Last Glaciation and Early Holocene in the middle part of Polish Jura – chronology, cultures and significance of the southern part of Ryczów Upland. Translated by Agnieszka Klimek References Balcer, B. 1975. Krzemień świeciechowski w kulturze pucharów lejkowatych. Eksploatacja, obróbka i rozprzestrzenienie. Wrocław–Warszawa–Kraków– Gdańsk. Balcer, B. and Kowalski, K. 1978. Z badań nad krzemieniem pasiastym w pradziejach. Wiadomości Archeologiczne 43: 127–145. Barkai, R and Gopher, A. 2009. Changing the face of the Earth: Human behavior at Sede Ilan, an extensive Lower-Middle Paleolithic quarry site in Israel. In B. Adams and B. S. Blades (eds), Lithic Materials and Paleolithic Societies: 174–185. Oxford, Blackwell Publishing. Bednarek, J., Kaziuk, H. and Zapaśnik, T. 1978. Objaśnienia do Szczegółowej Mapy Geologicznej Polski, Arkusz Ogrodzieniec (913), 1: 50 000. Warszawa. Borkowski, W. 1995. Krzemionki mining complex. Deposit management system. Warszawa. Studia nad gospodarką surowcami krzemiennymi w pradziejach 2. Borkowski, W. 2005. Obraz pola eksploatacyjnego w Rybnikach – ‚Krzemiance’. In W. Borkowski and M. Zalewski (eds), Rybniki – ‚Krzemianka’. Z badań nad krzemieniarstwem w Polsce północno-wschodniej: 65– 78. Warszawa. Studia nad gospodarką surowcami krzemiennymi w pradziejach 5. Borkowski, W., Libera, J., Sałacińska, B. and Sałaciński, S. (eds) 2008. Krzemień czekoladowy w pradziejach. Materiały z konferencji w Orońsku, 08–10.10.2003. Warszawa–Lublin, Instytut Archeologii UMCS and Państwowe Muzeum Archeologiczne. Warszawa– Lublin, Instytut Archeologii UMCS and Państwowe Muzeum Archeologiczne. Studia nad gospodarką surowcami krzemiennymi w pradziejach 7. Budziszewski, J. 1990. Remarks on Methods of Studying Prehistoric Areas of Flint Exploitation. In R. SéronieVivien and M. Lenoir (eds), Le silex de sa genèse à l’outil, Actes du V° Colloque international sur le Silex, Bordeaux, 17 sept. – 2 oct. 1987: 217–223. Cahiers du Quaternaire 17. Bordeaux–Paris. Budziszewski, J. 2000. Metodyka badań płytkich kopalni krzemienia. In W. Borkowski (ed.), Metody badań archeologicznych stanowisk produkcyjnych – górnictwo krzemienia: 19–62. Warszawa.

The morphology of the extraction points of raw materials identified in the course of these studies indicates that the manner of obtaining chocolate flints in the Udorka Valley was completely different from that recognised at the Jurassic flint mines from the north-eastern margins of the Holy Cross Mountains (Budziszewski 2008). In the region studied here, it seems that the raw material was extracted through exploring small niches bored in the soil and regolith of the steep slope of the valley edge. Although the assemblages gathered so far do not enable the dating of this mining activity, the results of field survey conducted in this area indicate that at least part of it can be linked to the Palaeolithic period. The presumed manner of exploitation of raw material is not out of the ordinary with regard to such a distant past: there are studies reporting sites of this type dated even to the Middle Palaeolithic period (Vermeersch 2007). The prehistoric mining site identified in the course of this research is relatively modest, and transformations in its ground relief took a quite trivial form. Having thoroughly analysed the Digital Terrain Model of the Udorka Valley, the investigators managed to identify similar, although even smaller, anomalies at several locations. Since the currently recognised areas of silicite extraction linked to the Palaeolithic period usually form local concentrations of prehistoric mining-related features (Vermeersch 2007; Barkai and Gopher 2009), it can be expected that the site presented in this paper is not the only one likely to be found over the extent of the Udorka Valley. Therefore, in spite of the dense forestation of the region making the task of searching for archaeological sites extremely difficult, such endeavours should most certainly be continued. Acknowledgements The research carried out in the Udorka Valley was inspired by investigations conducted under NCN (National Science Centre, Poland) grant no. 2011/01/N/ HS3/01299, entitled Palaeolithic settlement of Wodąca and Udorka Valley (Częstochowa Upland) against the palaeoenvironmental background. 100

Magdalena Sudoł-Procyk et al.: The Chocolate Flint Mines in the Udorka Valley Budziszewski, J. 2008. Stan badań nad występowaniem i pradziejową eksploatacją krzemieni czekoladowych. In W. Borkowski, J. Libera, B. Sałacińska and S. Sałaciński (eds), Krzemień czekoladowy w pradziejach. Materiały z konferencji w Orońsku, 08–10.10.2003: 33– 106. Warszawa–Lublin, Instytut Archeologii UMCS and Państwowe Muzeum Archeologiczne. Studia nad gospodarką surowcami krzemiennymi w pradziejach 7. Budziszewski, J. and Michniak, R. 1983(1989). Z badań nad występowaniem, petrograficzną naturą oraz prahistoryczną eksploatacją krzemieni pasiastych w południowym skrzydle Niecki Magoń-Folwarczysko. Wiadomości Archeologiczne 49 (2): 151–187. Budziszewski, J. and Wysocki, J. 2012. Nowe możliwości detekcji materialnych śladów historii terenów leśnych – lotnicze skanowanie laserowe (LiDAR). Archaeologica Hereditas 1, Konserwacja zapobiegawcza środowiska 1: 117–125. Cohen, K. M., Finney, S. C., Gibbard, P. L. and Fan, J.-X. 2013. The ICS International Chronostratigraphic Chart. Episodes 36: 199–204. Crutchley, S. and Crow, P. 2010. The Light Fantastic. Using airborne lidar in archaeological survey. Swindon, English Heritage. Cyrek, K. 1983. Surowce krzemienne w mezolicie dorzeczy Wisły i górnej Warty. In J. K. Kozłowski and S. Kozłowski (eds), Człowiek i środowisko w pradziejach: 106–112. Warszawa, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe. Cyrek, K. 2009. Archaeological studies in caves of the Częstochowa Upland. In K. Stefaniak, A. Tyc and P. Socha (eds), Karst of the Częstochowa Upland and of the Eastern Sudetes. Palaeoenvironments and protection: 145–160. Sosnowiec–Wrocław, Zoological Institute University of Wrocław. Studies of the Faculty of Earth Sciences University of Silesia 56. Cyrek, K. 2013. Jaskinia Biśnik. Wczesny środkowy paleolit. Toruń. Cyrek, K., Socha, P., Stefaniak, K., Madeyska, T., Mirosław-Grabowska, J., Sudoł, M. and Czyżewski, Ł. 2010. Palaeolithic of Biśnik Cave (southern Poland) within the environmental background. Quaternary International 220: 5–30. Cyrek, K. and Sudoł, M. 2008. Wyroby z krzemienia czekoladowego w środkowopaleolitycznych zespołach kulturowych z Jaskini Biśnik, pow. Olkuski. In W. Borkowski, J. Libera, B. Sałacińska and S. Sałaciński (eds), Krzemień czekoladowy w pradziejach. Materiały z konferencji w Orońsku, 08–10.10.2003: 347–356. Warszawa–Lublin, Instytut Archeologii UMCS and Państwowe Muzeum Archeologiczne. Studia nad gospodarką surowcami krzemiennymi w pradziejach 7. Cyrek, K., Sudoł, M., Czyżewski, Ł. A., Osipowicz, G. and Grelowska, M. 2014. Middle Palaeolithic cultural levels from Middle and Late Pleistocene sediments

of Biśnik Cave, Poland. Quaternary International 326– 327: 20–63. Gutowski, J. 1998. Oxfordian and Kimmeridgian of the northeastern margin of the Holy Cross Mountains, Central Poland. Geological Quarterly 42 (1): 59–72. Jakubczak, M. 2012. Pole górnicze ‚Skałecznica Duża’ i jego miejsce w pradziejowej eksploatacji krzemieni pasiastych. [‘Skałecznica Duża’ flint mine and its place in the prehistoric exploitation of banded flint]. Unpublished MA thesis, Institute of Archaeology, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University, Warsaw. Kaczanowska, M. and Kozłowski, J. K. 1976. Studia nad surowcami krzemiennymi południowej części Wyżyny Krakowsko–Częstochowskiej. Acta Archaeologica Carpathica 16: 201–216. Kokalj, Ž., Zakšek, K. and Oštir, K. 2011. Application of sky-view factor for the visualisation of historic landscape features in lidar-derived relief models. Antiquity 85 (327): 263–273. Krajcarz, M. T., Krajcarz, M., Sudoł, M and Cyrek, K. 2012a. From far or from near? Map of silicate raw material outcrops around the Biśnik Cave. In: P. Neruda and Z. Nerudová (eds), Abstract Book and excursion guide, 9th SKAM Workshop Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic, October 8–11, 2012 Lithic Raw Materials – Phenomena of the Stone Age: 15–16. Brno. Krajcarz, M. T., Sudoł, M., Krajcarz, M. and Cyrek, K. 2012b. From far or from near? Sources of KrakówCzęstochowa banded and chocolate silicite raw material used during the Stone Age in Biśnik Cave (southern Poland). Anthropologie 50 (4): 411–425. Krajcarz, M. T., Sudoł, M., Krajcarz, M. and Cyrek, K. 2014. Wychodnie krzemienia pasiastego na Wyżynie Ryczowskiej (Wyżyna KrakowskoCzęstochowska). In: D. Piotrowska, W. Piotrowski, A. Jedynak and K. Kaptur (eds), Górnictwo z epoki kamienia: Krzemionki – Polska – Europa. W 90. rocznicę odkrycia kopalni w Krzemionkach, [‘Stone Age mining: Krzemionki – Poland – Europe. On the 90th anniversary of Krzemionki mine discovery’]: 77-95. Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Muzeum HistorycznoArcheologiczne w Ostrowcu Świętokrzyskim Silex et Ferrum Vol. 1. Kruczyński, Z., Stojek, E. and Cisło-Lesicka, U. 2014. Zadania GUGiK realizowane w ramach projektu ISOK. In P. Wężyk (ed.), Podręcznik dla uczestników szkoleń z wykorzystania produktów LiDAR: 22–58. Warszawa. Krukowski, S. 1923. Sprawozdanie z działalności państwowego konserwatora zabytków przedhistorycznych na okręg kielecki w r. 1922. Wiadomości Archeologiczne 8: 64–84. Krukowski, S. 1932. Première caractéristique de la stadion minière de Krzemionki au point de vue des restes qui se trouvent á sa surface. Wiadomości Archeologiczne 11: 57–60.

101

Between History and Archaeology Kutek, J. 1965. Problemy polskiego rauraku i astartu. Rocznik Polskiego Towarzystwa Geologicznego 35 (2): 263–272. Lech, J. 1981. Górnictwo krzemienia społeczności wczesnorolniczych na Wyżynie Krakowskiej (koniec VI tys. – 1 poł. IV tys. p.n.e.). Wrocław–Warszawa–Kraków– Gdańsk–Łódź, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich.. Maślanka, M. and Wężyk, P. 2014. Podstawowe informacje o projekcie ISOK. In P. Wężyk (ed.), Podręcznik dla uczestników szkoleń z wykorzystania produktów LiDAR: 12–21. Warszawa. Matraszek, B. and Sałaciński, S. (eds) 2002. Krzemień świeciechowski w pradziejach. Materiały z konferencji w Ryni, 22–24.05.2000. Warszawa. Studia nad gospodarką surowcami krzemiennymi w Pradziejach 4. Pelisiak, A. 2006. The Exploitation and Distribution of Flints From the Central Part of Polish Jura in the Late Neolithic Times. Analecta Archaeologica Ressoviensia 1: 73–86. Piotrowska, D., Piotrowski, W., Kaptur, K. and Jedynak, A. (eds) 2014. Górnictwo z epoki kamienia: Krzemionki – Polska – Europa. W 90. rocznicę odkrycia kopalni w Krzemionkach [‘Stone Age mining: Krzemionki – Poland – Europe. On the 90th anniversary of Krzemionki mine discovery’]. Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Muzeum HistorycznoArcheologiczne w Ostrowcu Świętokrzyskim Silex et Ferrum Vol. 1. Radziszewska, K. 2015. Analiza topografii pradziejowego pola górniczego ‚Borownia’. [Analysis of surface relief of the ‘Borownia’ prehistoric flint mine, Central Poland]. Unpublished MA thesis, Institute of Archaeology, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University, Warsaw. Samsonowicz, J. 1923. O złożach krzemieni w utworach jurajskich północnowschodniego zbocza Gór Świętokrzyskich. Wiadomości Archeologiczne 8(1): 17–24. Sawicki, L. 1948. Działalność Wydziału konserwacji i badań zabytków w terenie w latach 1945–1947. Sprawozdania PMA 1(1945–47): 121–130. Schild, R. 1971. Lokalizacja prahistorycznych punktów eksploatacji krzemienia czekoladowego na północno-wschodnim obrzeżu Gór Świętokrzyskich. Folia Quaternaria 39: 1–61. Sławik, Ł. and Zapłata, R. 2011. LiDAR w archeologii – zagadnienia wstępne. In R. Zapłata (ed.), Digitalizacja dziedzictwa archeologicznego. Wybrane zagadnienia: 207–230. Lublin, Institute of Archaeology, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw. Sudoł, M., Krajcarz, M. T. and Krajcarz, M., 2013. Jaskinia Perspektywiczna – nowe stanowisko paleolityczne

w dolinie Udorki (Wyżyna Częstochowska). In A. Tyc and M. Gradziński (eds), Materiały 47. Sympozjum Speleologicznego, Olsztyn, 17–20.10.2013 r.: 75–76. Kraków. Sekcja Speleologiczna Polskiego Towarzystwa Przyrodników im. Kopernika. Sudoł, M., Cyrek, K., Krajcarz, M. T. and Krajcarz, M., 2016. Around the Biśnik Cave – The area of human penetration during Palaeolithic. Anthropologie 54 (1): 49–68. Sulgostowska, Z. 2005. Kontakty społeczności późnopaleolitycznych i mezolitycznych między Odrą, Dźwiną i górnym Dniestrem. Studium dystrybucji wytworów ze skał krzemionkowych. Warszawa. Sytnyk, O. 2014. Kopalnia Zbuczi w Łazariwce. In S. K. Kozłowski (ed.), Stefan Krukowski i jego przygoda z PMA: 127–128. Warszawa–Łódź. Szubski, M. 2016. Pradziejowe górnictwo krzemienia w zachodniej części Puszczy Knyszyńskiej. [Prehistoric flint mining in western part of Knyszyn Forest]. Unpublished MA thesis, Institute of Archaeology, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University, Warsaw. Tarriño, A., Benito-Calvo, A., Lobo, P. J., Junguitu, I. and Larreina, D. 2011. Evidence of Flint mining in the Trevińo syncline (Basque-Cantabrian Basin, Western Pyrenees, Spain). In M. Capote, S. Consuegra, P. Díazdel-Río and X. Terradas (eds), Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of the UISPP Commission on F lint Mining in Pre- and Protohistoric Times (Madrid, 14–17 October 2009): 171–182. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 2260. Tarriño, A., Elorrieta, I., García-Rojas, M., Orue, I. and Sánchez, A. 2014. Neolithic Flint Mines of Treviño (Basque-Cantabrian Basin, Western Pyrenees, Spain). Journal of Lithic Studies 1 (2): 129–147. Utting, D. J., Goodwin, T. A. and Whalen, D. 2010. Potential Identification of Mine Openings Using Remote Sensing Topographic LiDAR, Montague Gold District (NTS 11D/12), Halifax Regional Municipality. In Mineral Resources Branch, Report of Activities 2009: 125–132. Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, Report ME 2010–1. Vermeersch, P. M. 2007. Middle Palaeolithic Chert Extraction Structures in Egypt. Praehistoria 6 (2005): 57–69. Weiner, J. and Weisgerber, G. 1980. Die Ausgrabungen des jungsteinzeitlichen Feuersteinbergwerks ‘Lousberg’ in Aachen 1978–1980 (D3). In G. Weisgerber, R. Slotta and J. Weiner (eds), 5000 Jahre Feuersteinbergbau. Die Suche nach dem Stabl der Steinzeit: 92–119. Bochum, Deutsches Bergbau-Museum. Veröffentlichungen aus dem Deutschen Bergbau-Museum 77.

102

Exploitation and Processing of Cretaceous Erratic Flint on the Polish Lowland. A Case Study of Sites in the Vicinity of Gorzów Wielkopolski Przemysław Bobrowski and Iwona Sobkowiak-Tabaka

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences, Centre for Prehistoric and Medieval Studies, Rubież 46, 61-612 Poznań, Poland e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: For many years, the Polish Lowland was considered as an area lacking good quality flint material, as well as specific associated with its exploitation and initial processing. However, flint does appear here, in primary deposits which include in situ Upper Cretaceous formations, as well as glacial rafts deposited in younger Quaternary formations. One of the locations particularly rich in erratic flint material is without a doubt the region of Gorzów Wielkopolski. At least 7 sites associated with exploitation and initial processing have been identified in the vicinity of the city. They differ in terms of their function (minetype flint workshops and flint processing workshops), as well as chronology (Late Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic, mainly Funnel Beaker Culture). Despite research spanning over 40 years, the degree of identification of these types of sites in the Gorzów Wielkopolski area is still insufficient. Keywords: Polish Lowland, Gorzów Plain, mine-type sites, workshops, erratic flint exploitation

Introduction

unfinished forms and natural material fragments (Lech 1981a, 1981b, 1983).

Issues associated with the exploitation of flint materials by prehistoric communities inhabiting the territory of Poland have been the subject of research of archaeologists for nearly 100 years. The discovery of natural deposits of banded and chocolate flint and the prehistoric mines associated with its exploitation stimulated Stefan Krukowski to distinguish the ‘mining’ and ‘residential subfacies’ within the Late Palaeolithic Swiderian culture and the distinction between residential sites from those associated with the exploitation of the material and its processing (Krukowski 1920, 1922, 1939/48: 101–102). Later detailed studies regarding the distribution and exploitation of deposits, processing and distribution of the material, as well as finished flint products created the possibility of distinguishing between ‘near-home’, ‘near-mine’ and ‘in-mine’ workshops (Ginter 1974; Ginter and Kozłowski 1975). Bogdan Balcer applied a slightly different functional separation in reference to Neolithic sites by distinguishing between ‘flint mines’, ‘production settlements’ and finally ‘user settlements’ (Balcer 1983: 30–31). Jacek Lech placed emphasis above all on issues associated directly with the exploitation of materials. Evidence of the exploitation of deposits or occurrence of the material is the fact that it was discovered on the premises of mines with their characteristic landscape (e.g. mining area) or flint workshops which processed flint. The workshops have a high volume of industrial flint scrap from initial processing phases, damaged

Siliceous resources of the Polish Lowland Research on the functional variation of sites where flint or stone inventory appeared developed in the 1960s and 1970s, especially in areas where the initial deposits of the material had been discovered where it was possible to conduct relatively complete reconstruction of all the phases of the exploitation and production cycle (see for example Krukowski 1939/48; Ginter 1974; Schild 1975; Balcer 1975, 1983; Lech 1981a). In this backdrop, the Polish Lowland was for a long time considered as an area which was not only lacking good quality material, but also specific places associated with its exploitation and initial processing which is best reflected by the opinion stated by Stefan Krukowski: ‘The Polish Lowland is a region of inferior value for stone cultures, due to poor flint and the lack of other materials which could have replaced it. For some it constitutes the edge of propagation or the final shelter and a degenerating place of slightly longer survival; for others – the soil of an impaired existence and an area passed along the way towards more alluring domains under the profound influence of direct factors, such as the migration of other peoples’ (Krukowski 1922). The Polish Lowland does however have its own flint material resources. Flint does appear here, in primary deposits which include in situ Upper Cretaceous 103

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 1. Outcrops of flints on Polish Lowland. a – rich occurrences of erratic flint; b – concentrations of glacial rafts with Cretaceous flint; acc. to Sulgostowska 2005: Fig. 10; Bobrowski 2009a. Drawn: A. Tabaka.

formations, as well as glacial rafts deposited in younger Quaternary formations (Fig. 1). Secondary deposits of the material appear as larger or smaller accumulation of erratic flint of a Quaternary origin. Flint originating from the first type of deposit are generally better than erratic flint in terms of their technical characteristics.

above all in the western and southwestern part of the Polish Lowlands – in the basin of the Oder River and in the eastern part of the Lowland, east of the Vistula valley in the Podlasie valley.1 In certain areas of the Polish Lowland, archaeologists who had been interested in local sources of the material for prehistoric communities noted exceptionally enriched Quaternary formations in flint materials.

Erratic flint appears throughout the entire area of the Polish Lowland which is the effect of the advance and regression of an ice sheet lobe during the Odra glaciation and Vistula glaciation periods. The distribution of the resources of the material which can be exploited is however not uniform. Above average enhancement of Quaternary formations into erratic flint of different fractions can especially be seen in those areas where initial material deposits appear. The largest known and compact accumulation of erratic flint materials appears

1  There are also areas within the Polish Lowland where flint material appears very dispersed without creating larger accumulation, as well as areas where it does not appear at all. These are above all old glacial central Poland lowlands located south of the maximum range of the last glaciation, in southern Greater Poland, in most areas of the Silesian Lowland and in the basin of the middle Vistula River (central Poland and Mazovia). In the young moraine zone of the Polish Lowland, areas which were completely deprived of flint materials included Kuyavian and the Masurian Lake district.

104

Przemysław Bobrowski and and Iwona Sobkowiak-Tabaka: Exploitation and Processing Such particular areas were determined near the western Pomerania seashore on the Wkra, Gryfice and Białograd Plains (Czarnecki 1970; Galiński 1999; Krzyszowski 1991), in the southern Pomerania Lake District, in the Brda Valley, as well as in the Drawsko and Dobiegniewo Lake Districts (Bagniewski 1987, 1993, 1999), Toruń-Eberswalde ice marginal valley near Gorzów Wielkopolski (Lech 1974), Międzychód (Płonka 1996, 1997, 1999; Bobrowski and Sobkowiak-Tabaka 2012), Bydgoszcz (Woźny 1995), in the Poznań Lake District and on the breakthrough section of the Warta River valley near Poznań (Bartkowski 1961; Kobusiewicz 1961, 1967, 1999; Bobrowski and Krzyszowski 2005), in the Warsaw-Berlin ice marginal valley on the breakthrough section of the Oder River near Krosno Odrzańskie (Burdukiewicz 1988a, 1988b, 1989; Krzyszkowski 1988; Brodzikowski 1989), and also on the Niemodlin Plain and the Głubczyce Plateau which are a part of the Silesian Lowland (Kozłowski 1964; Ginter 1972; Balcer 1977, 1983). Similar accumulation of the erratic material has also been discovered in the eastern part of the Polish Lowland in the area of north-eastern Poland, in zones where glacial rafts with Crateceous flint mentioned earlier appear. These areas include the vicinity of Lipsk on the River Biebrza (Szymczak 1992) and the Zrąb Łukowski (Nowak 1977).

Basin, their height exceeding 100 m above sea level (Kondracki 2000: 79). The Gorzów Basin is the largest mesoregion of the Toruń-Eberswalde ice marginal valley and lays on the route of the outflow to the west of fluvioglacial waters in the Krajeńska subphase and the Pomeranian phase (Kondracki 2000: 127). Baltic erratic flint in Gorzów Wielkopolski region In the formations of the ground moraine which build the Gorzów Plain, specific locations of erratic accumulation have been noted, including above average quantities of particularly good quality flint. The mechanism which led to the formation of exceptionally rich flint deposits in the area of Gorzów Wielkopolski was likely associated with the activity of the ice sheet lobe during the recession of the Poznań phase of the final glaciation. The material transported by the ice sheet lobe had been deposited in the form of deposits. These are above all deposits created as a result of direct deposition from the ice (glacial accumulation). Glacial deposits contain erratic allochtonic material collected by the ice sheet lobe along the route of its movement. This usually entails fragments of solid rock (stones, pebbles), but it could have also been larger packets in the form of glaciotectonic xenoliths. The most important glacial deposits are however glacial clays. The moraine highlands, or ground moraine are in this group of deposits which had been created inside the ice sheet lobe in the subglacial zone. It had also occurred that the waters of the receding ice sheet lobe washed out the moraine and with it, finer material. We are then dealing with a so-called ‘outwash moraine’. If as a result of such outwash, an accumulation of larger stones is created, we are dealing with ‘moraine cobble’ (Książkiewicz 1957; Klimaszewski 2002). We are most likely seeing such a case in the deposits near Gorzów Wielkopolski where the ground moraine had been washed out by fluvioglacial waters flowing from the north to the Toruń-Eberswalde ice marginal valley during the Krajeńska subphase and the Pomeranian phase. As a result of fluvioglacial water activity, the ground moraine in the Gorzów region was covered with a surface layer of outwash plain, whereby the region in the distal zone of outwash cones where the material is finest.

One of the locations on the scale of the Polish Lowlands particularly rich in erratic flint material is without a doubt the region of Gorzów Wielkopolski, Lubusz Voivodeship. The information entered scientific circles thanks to Professor Jacek Lech, as an effect of the research he conducted in the area of Chwalęcice, near Gorzów Wielkopolski, today a district of the city (Lech 1974, 1980, 1981a). Afterwards, the area aroused the interest of many archaeologists (Szczurek 1981; Balcer 1983; Bobrowski 2009a, 2009b). Intense rescue excavation conducted in the area of Gorzów Wielkopolski over the last few years and the discovery of places of intense processing of the material fully confirm the claims set forth on the existence of a flint region in the area. Gorzów Wielkopolski region Gorzów Wielkopolski lies at a point where two mesoregions meet, i.e. the Gorzów Plain being a part of the southern Pomerania Lake District and the Gorzów Basin which is a part of the Toruń-Eberswalde ice marginal valley. The Gorzów Plain had been within the reach of the Vistulian Pomeranian phase. The region is mostly covered with outwash from the final glaciation phase. Moraine hills (ground moraine) originating from the period of recession of the Poznan phase and the Krajeńska subphase of the last glaciation appear from out of the sand in places. In the vicinity of Gorzów Wielkopolski at the meeting point with the Gorzów

The erosion activity of rivers most likely had a large effect in the uncovering of deposits in the ground moraine and even their dislocation, as the river banks and the river bed would be cut away and washed out. In this case, we could of the erosion activity of the Warta River and its branches, Kłodawka and Srebrna. Notable accumulation of the material was uncovered in the alluvia of both branches of the Warta which cut through the moraine highlands north of Gorzów Wielkopolski and in the erosional dissections on the 105

Between History and Archaeology edge of the Gorzów Plain where it meets with the Toruń-Eberswalde ice marginal valley. The varied types of erosional dissections, landslides and gullies provided the opportunity for exploitation of the material.

of the city and further north of it within the Gorzów Plain (Fig. 2: a–d). The Gorzów Wielkopolski site, no. 10 is located in the southeast part of the city where the moraine highland meets the ice marginal valley (Fig. 2: g). Another two (Gorzów Wielkopolski-Wieprzyce, site 120 and 121) are located in the western part of the city on a wet, irrigated flood plain of the Warta River at the foot of the Gorzów Plain (Fig. 2: e–f). The source materials from research at these sites have been compiled to a varying degree and most have not been published to date, with the exception of site no. 3 in Kłodawa.

The Baltic Cretaceous flint noted in the region appears in numerous varieties, differing in colour, degree of gloss, matte effect or transparency. Above all, you encounter flint in a variety of gray tones, from light a whitish gray through gray or dark gray, to nearly black, usually glossy with high transparency, a gray matte flint with the addition of fine white carbonate compounds. Occurring rarely is flint with a trace of white or blue patina or reddish marsh patina. Slightly mixed into the material is the Cretaceous erratic flint of the pebble type (Pomeranian) and gray-coloured cherts which are heavily matte and slightly rough. Flint appears most often in the form of small lumps with a diameter of around 10–15cm of which most is coated in a white cortex, and some is heavily rounded. Larger lumps of the material exceeding a diameter of 20–30cm were also a common find. Flint also appeared as chunks caused by the cracking of larger lumps.

Kłodawa, site 3, Gorzów Wielkopolski district The site is located in the fork of the Kłodawka and Srebrna Rivers which dissect the moraine highland (Fig. 3). As a result of excavation work in 2001, around 2700 fragments of pottery, nearly 3000 flint artefacts, 45 animal bones, 4 metal and 15 stone artefacts had been obtained. Their analysis revealed the presence of settlements on the site beginning from the Late Palaeolithic until the Bronze Age, whereby the flint artefacts had been associated with the older Stone Age.

Characterization of the sites As was already mentioned, the exploitation of flint and rock materials in prehistoric times is strictly associated with a specific kind/type of archaeological site. These are above all locations where the material was directly exploited and any workshops associated to a greater or lesser degree – places of initial processing, advanced production of blanks or finished tools. Regardless of the period in which these sites operated, they all feature not only specific locations close to the material deposits, but also specific typological structure of the flint inventory registered there, resulting from the characteristics of production. At these sites, pieces associated with the preparation of core, preliminary processing of core and early phases of core exploitation (flakes and cortical blades, preparation flakes) and a variety of waste from core preparation, as well as technical forms associated with core repair prevail above all. The presence of unprocessed lumps of material, precores, initial and heavily exploited cores is characteristic. The share of finished tools is relatively low, whereby atypical forms prevail, most often trivial retouched forms, notch tools, not uncommonly made from massive waste debitage. So-called mine-type tools are a regular component of the inventories (Ginter 1974; Ginter and Kozłowski 1975; Lech 1981a, 1981b, 1983).

All the flint products had been made from Baltic erratic flint, among which pieces having relatively high transparency, gloss and relatively good cleavage prevailed. They represent all the stages of the flint production process, whereas the largest group consists of product originating from the first phases of exploitation and included checking the quality of lumps and the formation of precores and cores. The few precores registered on the site includes forms having a one-sided or two-sided crest, with a pre-platform formed using a single removal flake or a few platform rejuvenation flakes and natural sides and back; with opposing platforms having acute core exploitation angles and prepared sides. The quite numerous (52 pieces) group of cores is typologically varied and includes single platform and double platform pieces and with changed orientation. The core platforms display signs of edge regularization and edge sharpening. The back and sides of the cores often remained raw and coated with cortex. A large part of the blanks, among which flakes definitely prevail over blades, is covered with cortex. Pieces associated with forming or repair of the core also make up a relatively large group. Worth mentioning here are crested blades, primary blades (podtępce), as well as platform rejuvenation and rejuvenation flakes (Rakoca and Rozbiegalski 2015).

At least 7 sites associated with exploitation and initial processing have been identified in the vicinity of Gorzów Wielkopolski (Fig. 2 and 3). Most of them (Kłodawa, site 3; Kłodawa, site 89; Gorzów WielkopolskiChwalęcice site 9 and 11) are located in the north part

There are very few tool forms in the presented collection. Most often occurring are burin forms and scraper made of flake blanks; also present were notched tools and retouched flakes. Two so-called mine-type tools had also been noted, i.e. a scraper and a dihedral 106

Przemysław Bobrowski and and Iwona Sobkowiak-Tabaka: Exploitation and Processing

Fig. 2. Location of minetype workshops on a digital geomorphological map of Wielkopolska Lowland (elaborated in 2007, Institute of Paleogeography and Geoecology, based on B. Krygowski’s geomorphological map 1953, 1961 [http://igig. amu.edu.pl/_data/assets/pdf_ file/0011/164189/Krygowski_ mapa.pdf]; a – Kłodawa, site 3; b – Kłodawa, site 89; c – Gorzów Wielkopolski-Chwalęcice, site 9; d – Gorzów WielkopolskiChwalęcice, site 11; e – Gorzów Wielkopolski-Wieprzyce, site 120; f – Gorzów WielkopolskiWieprzyce, site 121; g – Gorzów Wielkopolski-Chwalęcice, site 10; A. Moraine undulating upland; B. Hilly moraine upland; C. Moraine hills; D. Outwash plains; E. Terrace levels, terrace edges, risers, valley slopes; F. Dune hills; G. Floodplain, low terrace, basin bottoms; H. Medial dune terrace; I. Small valleys and gullies dissecting the upland; J. Drainage system; K. Selected towns. Computer drawing: A. Tabaka.

Gorzów Wielkopolski-Chwalęcice, site 11, Gorzów Wielkopolski district

burin made of solid flakes, the surfaces of which were covered with cortex (Rakoca and Rozbiegalski 2015: Fig. 18).

The site is located on a high right bank of the Kłodawka River (Fig. 3). Jacek Lech led test excavations here in 1973 (Fig. 4). The test excavation unit of a surface of 20m2 created in the upper part of the Kłodawka terrace slope revealed the remains of a pit and post and a large quantity of artefact materials, above all flint, was registered. A number of cores, blades, flakes and other production waste were distinguished, as well as lumps of material (including large pieces coated with cortex), and also a few tools. The site was deemed as a flint mine and processing workshop. Based on the analysis of a few ceramic pieces, settlement on the site had been associated with the Globular Amphora Culture and the cultures of the early Bronze Age (Lech 1974, 1980, 1981a).

Kłodawa, site 89, Gorzów Wielkopolski district The site located on the right bank of the Kłodawka River (Fig. 3) had been researched in 2002 and 2003 by Tadeusz Szczurek and Stanisław Sinkowski from the Jan Dekert Lubuskie Museum in Gorzów Wielkopolski. A large quantity of debitage of a production nature had been registered, associated with the preparation and processing of cores, as well as the production of macrolithic tools, as evidenced by the axe semiproducts found among the flint artefacts. The site is probably the remains of a workshop from the Neolithic period or the beginning of the Bronze Age (Bobrowski 2009b). 107

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 3. Location of mine-type workshops on a topographic map 1:50 000 (N–33–115–C). a – Kłodawa, site 3; b – Kłodowa, site 89; c – Gorzów Wilkopolski-Chwalęcice, site 9; d – Gorzów Wielkopolski-Chwalęcice, site 11; e – Gorzów Wielkopolski -Wieprzyce, site 120; f – Gorzów Wielkopolski-Wieprzyce, site 121; g – Gorzów Wielkopolski-Chwalęcice, site 10. Computer drawing: A. Tabaka.

108

Przemysław Bobrowski and and Iwona Sobkowiak-Tabaka: Exploitation and Processing

Fig. 4. Location of mine-type workshop in Gorzów Wielkopolski-Chwalęcice, site 11. Site during excavations carried out by Professor Jacek Lech in 1973. Archive of the Archaeology Department of the Jan Dekert Lubuskie Museum in Gorzów Wielkopolski.

Gorzów Wielkopolski-Chwalęcice, site 9, Gorzów Wielkopolski district

tools was large however, including pieces made from preparation flakes. Among these, one notched tool resembles mine-type tools in form. Prevailing tool forms included flakes and no fewer blades and retouched bladelets (in total around 54.2% of all tools) Based on technological and typological analysis it was determined that the vast majority of flint material (tools, cores, as well as debitage) should be associated with Late Mesolithic settlement (Bobrowski 2009b).

The site is located on the left bank of the Kłodawka River, on a small hill surrounded by wet meadows (Fig. 3). It was discovered as a result of surface studies associated with the Polish Archaeological Record program. Rescue excavations on the site were led in 2003–2004 on behalf of the Jan Dekert Lubuskie Museum by Stanisław Sinkowski.2 A total of 2498 flint artefacts had been registered over the area of the site, which included 58 cores, 124 tools and 2316 debitage pieces. A significant part of the debitage was made up of forms associated with initial core processing. Prevailing among all the flakes were cortical and preparation flake pieces. Crested blades associated with the preparation of cores and technical pieces associated with the repair of cores made up a large group as well. Among the cores, mostly blade cores prevailed, which were usually single platform or with changed orientation. A lump of material, precore and two initial cores had also been registered (including a piece discarded due to internal cracking). Among all the tools, the share of insets (13 pieces, including 6 triangles, a trapeze, a Komornica truncated bladelet) and typical endscrapers and scrapers was small. In the latter group, flake forms prevailed which gave the impression of having been made ad hoc. The share of notched and denticulate

Gorzów Wielkopolski, site 10, Gorzów Wielkopolski district The site is located in the northeast part of the city at the edge of the Gorzów Plain and the Toruń-Eberswalde ice marginal valley (Fig. 3). Szczurek led excavation work here in 1975–1975. An area of over 10 ares had been researched and 24 features (pits and hearths), as well as extensive ceramic and flint material had been registered in the process. Production waste definitely prevailed in the flint inventory. Over 250 flakes were found in certain pits. Flake pieces with changed orientation prevailed among the few cores. The near lack of any blank blade was peculiar. From a formal perspective, the group of tools was rather modest. Endscrapers on a flake of differing shapes and sizes appeared, as did irregular blades with traces of retouching on the edges. In addition, the inventory included 10 laurel leaf bifacial projectiles, 3 flint axes, as well as 3 characteristic flakes with traces of surface polishing (damaged axe fragments). The site was deemed as a production settlement of a Funnel Beaker

2  Given the special location and topography of the terrain, the was deemed as an alleged stronghold from phase C of the Early Middle Ages. During research, traces of Stone Age settlement, phases D-E of the Early Middle Ages and Late Middle Ages were registered.

109

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 5. 1. Gorzów Wielkopolski-Wieprzyce, site 120, Cretaceous Baltic flint. a – Nodule; b – Artefacts. Photo: I. Sobkowiak-Tabaka.

Fig. 6. Gorzów Wielkopolski-Wieprzyce, site 120. Precores. Drawn: J. Mugaj.

on both sites. Most intense were the traces associated with the settlements of Funnel Beaker (site 120 and 121) and Globular Amphora (site 121) Culture communities. Aside from the numerous vessel fragments typical for sediment-type sites (around 2700 fragments on site 120 and around 6000 on site 120), flint artefacts in large volume appeared on both sites as well (Pytlak et al. 2004a, 2004b; Fijałkowski et al. 2005a, 2005b). The nature of the flint products suggests that we are dealing with workshops specializing in the processing of Baltic Cretaceous erratic flint, obtained most likely from the nearby moraine plateau gaps (only 500m away to the north). The analyzed collection of flint contains above all waste forms associated with material selection, quality checks of lumps and cores from the preparation phase, their initial processing and early core exploitation phases (Fig. 5). Flake debitage definitely prevails and

Culture community associated with flint processing, dated around the Luboń phase (Szczurek 1981; Balcer 1983). Gorzów-Wieprzyce, site 120 and 121, Gorzów Wielkopolski district Sites marked as nos. 120 and 121 in Gorzów-Wieprzyce are located above the flood plain terrace of the lower Warta Valley, around 100m away from each other (Fig. 3). The sites were discovered in 1983 as a part of the Polish Archaeological Record program. In the 2004– 2005 timeframe, archaeological excavations were conducted on the sites on account of the construction of the western bypass of Gorzów Wielkopolski. The remains of multicultural settlement extending from the Middle Stone Age to modern times were discovered 110

Przemysław Bobrowski and and Iwona Sobkowiak-Tabaka: Exploitation and Processing

Fig. 7. Gorzów Wielkopolski -Wieprzyce, site 120. a–d – Cores; e. Blade; f – Endscraper; g–h – Denticulate tools; i – Minetype tool. Drawn: J. Mugaj.

8. Gorzów Wielkopolski -Wieprzyce, site 121. a – Precore; b–c – Cores; d–e, g–h – Endscrapers; f – Mine-type tool; i – Retouched blade; j–k – Denticulate tools. Drawn: J. Mugaj.

includes cortical and preparation flake pieces often in large sizes and a variety of technical forms associated with the preparation of platforms and flaking surfaces. Lumps of the material are also numerous and in great size (Fig. 5) covered in a thick cortex, precores (Fig. 6: a–b; 8: a) and initial cores (Fig. 7: a). Cores include blade pieces, as well as flake core (most often single platform), whereas the share of finished blades corresponding to negatives on the cores is relatively low (Fig. 7: b–d; 8: b–c). Irregular forms appear most often (Fig. 7: e). The share of tools is minimal in both teams. They are prevalently trivial forms of retouched flakes or blades (Fig. 8: i), or denticulate and notched tools (Fig. 7:

g–h; 8: j–k). Of other forms, endscrapers appear most often and include massive pieces made from cortical or preparation flakes (Fig. 7: f; 8: d–e, g–h). Mine-type tools also appear (Fig. 7: i; 8: f). Conclusions The region of Gorzów Wielkopolski is most probably one of the areas with key significance for the research of prehistoric flint production on the Polish Lowland. It without a doubt owes its meaning to geological build, formed for the most part by glacial events and associated accumulation processes. Thanks to the presence of 111

Between History and Archaeology (secondary) deposits of erratic Baltic Cretaceous flint, above all in easily accessible moraine formations, the region was attractive for Stone Age communities for whom flint material treatment was the basic method of producing various kinds of tools.

Balcer, B. 1983. Wytwórczość narzędzi krzemiennych w neolicie ziem Polski. Wrocław–Warszawa–Kraków– Gdańsk–Łódź, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. Bartkowski, T. 1961. Wiek teras w przełomowej dolinie Warty pod Poznaniem a stanowisko archeologiczne w Poznaniu-Starołęce. Fontes Archaeologici Posnanieses 12: 24–37. Bobrowski, P. 2009a. The exploitation of local sources of flint on the Polish Plain during the Final Palaeolithic. In M. Street, N. Barton and T. Terberger (eds), Humans, Environment and Chronology of the Late Glacial of North European Plain. Proceedings of Workshop 14 (Commission XXXII) of the 15–th. U.I.S.P.P Congress, Lisbon, September 2006: 141–153. Mainz, Römisch Germanisches Zentralmuseum. Bobrowski, P. 2009b. Eksploatacja zasobów surowców krzemiennych Niżu Polskiego przez społeczności pradziejowe. Unpublished PhD thesis, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznań. Bobrowski, P. and Krzyszowski, A. 2005. Inwentarze krzemienne z badań powierzchniowych i sondażowych na terenie kopalni kruszywa w Mściszewie, gm. Murowana Goślina. Fontes Archaeologici Posnanienses 41: 19–36. Bobrowski, P. and Sobkowiak-Tabaka, I. 2012. Eksploatacja surowców krzemiennych w rejonie Pojezierza Międzychodzkiego na przykładzie stanowiska 4 w Chrzypsku Wielkim, gm. loco. Fontes Archaeologici Posnanienses 48: 5–40. Brodzikowski, K. 1989. Budowa geologiczna systemu terasowego rzeki Odry w rejonie stanowiska archeologicznego Strumienno 1 w okolicach Krosna Odrzańskiego (sprawozdanie z badań terenowych w sezonie 1986). Śląskie Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 29: 16–25. Burdukiewicz, J.M. 1988a. Stanowisko paleolityczne w Strumiennie, gm. Krosno Odrzańskie. Śląskie Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 27: 5–10. Burdukiewicz, J.M. 1988b. Stanowisko paleolityczne w Strumiennie gm. Krosno Odrzańskie (wyniki badań w sezonie 1987). Śląskie Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 30: 7–14. Burdukiewicz, J.M. 1989. Wyniki badań stanowiska paleolitycznego w Strumiennie gm. Krosno Odrzańskie (sezon 1986). Śląskie Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 29: 5–13. Czarnecki, M. 1970. Z problematyki badań nad paleolitem i mezolitem Pomorza Zachodniego. Materiały Zachodniopomorskie 16: 31–72. Fijałkowski, K., Pytlak, M., Sinkowski, S. and Szczurek, T. 2005a. Sprawozdanie z ratowniczych badań wykopaliskowych w Gorzowie Wlkp. na stan. 120, AZP 45–11/9. Obwodnica Zachodnia, etap III, sierpień 2005. Unpublished report. Gorzów Wielkopolski. Fijałkowski, K., Pytlak, M., Sinkowski, S. and Szczurek, T. 2005b. Sprawozdanie z ratowniczych badań wykopaliskowych w Gorzowie Wlkp. na stan. 121, AZP

The sites presented above document the complex treatment and exploitation of flint material over various periods of the Stone Age, beginning with the Late Paleolithic through the Mesolithic, to the turn of the Neolithic and the early Bronze Age. These were mine-type flint workshops or flint processing workshop which is suggested by their location, as well as special technological structure (including the lack of first-rate flake specimens or homely-type tools. Although nearly 40 years have passed since Professor Jacek Lech led the first research of mine-type workshops in the region in the 1970s and we are familiar with sites associated with deriving and processing flint material, our level of knowledge of these types of sites in the Gorzów Wielkopolski area is still insufficient. What we have in mind here is the number of sites, the structure of inventory registered there, as well as dating by use of absolute methods. Even if the state of research on issues presented in the article is unsatisfactory, we can with all certainty say that we are dealing with an area with exceptional cognitive potential. Acknowledgements We wish to extend our greatest thanks to Mr Stanisław Sinkowski of the Jan Dekert Lubuskie Museum in Gorzów Wielkopolski for having provided us access to documentation and materials from excavation on sites 120 and 121 in Gorzów Wielkopolski-Wieprzyce and 9 in Gorzów Wielkopolski-Chwalęcice. References Bagniewski, Z. 1987. Mezolityczne społeczności myśliwsko-rybackie południowej części Pojezierza Kaszubskiego. Wrocław, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego. Acta Universitatis Wratislaviensis No 901. Studia Archeologiczne 17. Bagniewski, Z. 1993. Mezolit Pojezierza Ińskiego. Śląskie Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 34: 117–141. Bagniewski, Z. 1999. Mezolityczna enklawa osadnicza na Polanie Łęczyńskiej (Pojezierze Dobiegniewskie). Wrocław, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego. Balcer, B. 1975. Krzemień świeciechowski w kulturze pucharów lejkowatych. Eksploatacja, obróbka i rozprzestrzenienie. Wrocław–Warszawa–Kraków– Gdańsk, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. Balcer, B. 1977. Z badań nad krzemieniarstwem neolitycznym w dorzeczu górnej Odry. Przegląd Archeologiczny 25: 5–51. 112

Przemysław Bobrowski and and Iwona Sobkowiak-Tabaka: Exploitation and Processing 45–11/10. Obwodnica Zachodnia, etap III, sierpień 2005. Unpublished report. Gorzów Wielkopolski. Galiński, T. 1999 (2000). Stanowisko późnopaleolityczne w Kocierzy. Materiały Zachodniopomorskie 45: 7–65. Ginter, B. 1972. Dwa stanowiska mezolityczne z miejscowości Dzierżno, pow. Gliwice. Ze studiów nad epoką kamienia na Górnym Śląsku. Rocznik Muzeum Górnośląskiego. Archeologia 10: 7–76. Ginter, B. 1974. Wydobywanie, przetwórstwo i dystrybucja surowców i wyrobów krzemiennych w schyłkowym paleolicie, północnej części Europy Środkowej. Przegląd Archeologiczny 22: 5–122. Ginter, B. and Kozłowski, J.K. 1975. Technika obróbki i typologia wyrobów kamiennych paleolitu i mezolitu. Warszawa, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe. Klimaszewski, M. 2002. Geomorfologia. Warszawa, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe. Kobusiewicz, M. 1961. Stanowisko z końca paleolitu i początku mezolitu z Poznania Starołęki. Fontes Archaeologici Posnanienses 12: 1–23. Kobusiewicz, M. 1967. Źródła surowców krzemiennych w paleolicie schyłkowym i mezolicie na terenie środkowo-zachodniej Niziny Wielkopolskiej. In R. Jamka (ed.), III Sympozjum Paleolityczne Kraków 30. XI–2 XII 1967, Referaty: 57–65. Kraków, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, Muzeum Archeologiczne w Krakowie. Kobusiewicz, M. 1999. Ludy łowiecko-zbierackie północnozachodniej Polski. Poznań, Poznańskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk. Kondracki, J. 2000. Geografia regionalna Polski. Warszawa, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe. Kozłowski, J.K. 1964. Paleolit na Górnym Śląsku. Wrocław–Warszawa–Kraków, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. Krygowski, B. 1953. Mapa geomorfologiczna Niziny Wielkopolsko-Kujawskiej 1:300 000. Unpublished manuscript. Poznań, Institute of Paleogeography and Geoecology, Adam Mickiewicz University. Krygowski, B. 1961. Rzeźba i geologia. In F. Barciński, B. Krygowski and S. Zajchowska (eds), Województwo zielonogórskie. Monografia geograficzno-gospodarcza: 3–30. Poznań, Instytut Zachodni. Krukowski, S. 1920. Pierwociny krzemieniarskie górnictwa transportu i handlu w holocenie Polski, cz. I. Wiadomości Archeologiczne 5: 185–206. Krukowski, S. 1922. Pierwociny krzemieniarskie górnictwa transportu i handlu w holocenie Polski, cz. I. Wiadomości Archeologiczne 7: 37–54. Krukowski, S. 1939–1948. Paleolit. In S. Krukowski, J. Kostrzewski and R. Jakimowicz (eds), Prehistoria ziem polskich 4: 1–117. Kraków, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. Krzyszkowski, D. 1988. Budowa geologiczna osadów czwartorzędowych w rejonie stanowiska archeologicznego ‚Strumienno 1b’, gmina Krosno Odrzańskie. Śląskie Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 30: 15–26.

Krzyszowski, A. 1991. Studia nad krzemieniarstwem społeczności kultury ceramiki sznurowej w dorzeczu dolnej i środkowej Parsęty. Wyniki badań archeologicznych na stanowisku 7 w Nawinie, gm. Białogard, woj. Koszalin. Folia Prehistorica Posnaniesia 4: 83–118. Książkiewicz, M. 1957. Geologia dynamiczna. Warszawa, Wydawnictwo Geologiczne. Lech, J. 1974. Gorzów Wlkp. - Chwalęcice. Informator Archeologiczny (za 1973 rok): 20–21. Lech, J. 1980. Gorzów Wielkopolski - Chwalęcice, woj. Gorzów Wielkopolski, In G. Weisgerber, R. Slotta and J. Weiner (eds), 5000 Jahre Feuersteinbergbau. Die Suche nach dem Stahl der Steinzeit: 624. Bochum, Deutsches Bergbau-Museum. Veröffentlichungen aus dem Deutschen Bergbau-Museum 77. Lech, J. 1981a. Flint Mining among the early farming communities of Central Europe. Przegląd Archeologiczny 28: 5–55. Lech, J. 1981b. Górnictwo krzemienia społeczności wczesnorolniczych na Wyżynie Krakowskiej. Koniec VI tysiąclecia – 1 połowa IV tysiąclecia p.n.e. Wrocław– Warszawa–Kraków–Gdańsk–Łódź, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. Lech, J. 1983. Górnictwo surowców krzemiennych w kulturze społeczności wczesnorolniczych na terenie Polski. In J.K. Kozłowski and S.K. Kozłowski (eds), Człowiek i środowisko w pradziejach: 114–126. Warszawa, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe. Nowak, J. 1977. Specyficzna budowa geologiczna form polodowcowych zależnych od podłoża (okolice Łosic na Podlasiu). Studia Geologica Polonica 52: 347–357. Płonka, T. 1996. Sprawozdanie z ratowniczych badań archeologicznych przeprowadzonych na stanowisku nr 15 w Radgoszczy gm. Międzychód, woj. gorzowskie. Unpublished report. Wrocław. Płonka, T. 1997. Pracownie krzemieniarskie w Radgoszczy, stan. 15, woj. gorzowskie. Badania w 1995 roku. Śląskie Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 39: 47–64. Płonka, T. 1999. Drugi sezon badań wykopaliskowych w Radgoszczy, stan. 15, gm. Międzychód. Śląskie Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 41: 53–63. Pytlak, M., Szczurek, T. and Sinkowski, S. 2004a. Wstępne wyniki ratowniczych badań wykopaliskowych na stanowisku nr 120 w Gorzowie Wlkp., AZP 45–11/9. Unpublished report. Gorzów Wielkopolski. Pytlak, M., Szczurek, T. and Sinkowski, S. 2004b. Wstępne wyniki ratowniczych badań wykopaliskowych na stanowisku nr 121 w Gorzowie Wlkp., AZP 45–11/10. Unpublished report. Gorzów Wielkopolski. Rakoca, A. and Rozbiegalski, P. 2015. Charakterystyka nakopalnianej pracowni krzemieniarskiej z okresu schyłkowego paleolitu na podstawie materiałów krzemiennych ze stanowiska Kłodawa 3, pow. gorzowski, woj. lubuskie. Folia Praehistorica Posnaniensia 20: 397–427. 113

Between History and Archaeology Schild, R. 1975. Późny paleolit. In W. Chmielewski and W. Hensel (eds) Prahistoria ziem polskich, t. 1. Paleolit i mezolit: 159–338. Wrocław–Warszawa–Kraków– Gdańsk, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. Szczurek, T. 1981. Osada młodszej kultury pucharów lejkowatych w Gorzowie (stanowisko10). In T. Wiślański (ed.), Kultura pucharów lejkowatych w Polsce (Studia i materiały): 161–169. Poznań, Polish Academy of Sciences.

Szymczak, K. 1992. Północno–wschodnia prowincja surowcowa kultury świderskiej. Łódź, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego. Acta Univeritatis Lodziensis. Folia Archaeologica 15. Woźny, J. 1995. Pracownia krzemieniarska kultury pucharów lejkowatych w Bydgoszczy–Pałczu, Stanowisko 123 – wyniki badań sondażowych, Państwowa Służba Ochrony Zabytków w Bydgoszczy. Komunikaty Archeologiczne 7: 75–87.

114

The Latest Knowledge on Use of Primary Sources of Radiolarites in the Central Váh Region (the Microregion of Nemšová – Červený Kameň) Ivan Cheben

Institute of Archaeology Slovak Academy of Sciences, Akademická 2, 949 21 Nitra, Slovak Republic e-mail: [email protected]

Michal Cheben

Institute of Archaeology Slovak Academy of Sciences, Akademická 2, 949 21 Nitra, Slovak Republic e-mail: [email protected]

Adrián Nemergut

Institute of Archaeology Slovak Academy of Sciences, Akademická 2, 949 21 Nitra, Slovak Republic e-mail: [email protected]

Marián Soják

Institute of Archaeology Slovak Academy of Sciences, Mlynská 6, 052 01 Spišská Nová Ves, Slovak Republic e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: In 2015, a surface survey was carried out in the central Váh region. The aim was to confirm and detect primary sources of radiolarite and chert raw materials. The goal was also to confirm the archaeological discoveries made mainly by Juraj Bárta during surveys which were carried out in the last century. During the surface survey, new knowledge of chronology was obtained. It suggests rather dense settlement probably in the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and for sure in the Neolithic, Eneolithic as well as Bronze Age in the background of primary radiolarite sources in the White Carpathians. Keywords: Slovakia, White Carpathians, sources of radiolarites, mining areas, chipped stone industry, Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Eneolithic, Bronze Age

Introduction

occurrence could have been tens of kilometers distant. Since the end of the Middle Paleolithic, we notice an increase in the number of sites in several microregions of Slovakia, which suggests population growth.

Carpathian radiolarites and cherts, as well as limnosilicites from the territory of central Slovak neovolcanics, are considered the local raw materials used for developing the chipped stone industry on the sites of western Slovakia. Obsidian from the sources primarily in the east of Slovakia is a specific raw material represented in local inventories. Apart from those, silicites are present in the find complexes; their occurrence is related to various geographical areas. The most important imported raw materials are Hungarian radiolarites, cherts of the Krumlov Forest type, different varieties of Jurassic flint from Cracow-Częstochowa Upland and ‘chocolate’ flint from Poland.

In the vast territory of Europe, we come across purposeful obtaining of silicites from primary sources as late as the beginning of the Eneolithic. Specialized activity focused on detecting sources of quality silicite raw material and further mining on and under surface originated then. How the knowledge on mining was spreading and what directions it contained cannot be clearly documented by archaeological finds. The oldest Neolithic cultures must be connected with surface as well as systematic undersurface exploitation of the raw material which was strategically important. Particular types of silicites travelled hundreds of kilometers from the site of their primary occurrence in individual periods. This is documented by various intensity of their representation in find complexes. This fact, on the other hand, could have been reflected in the narrower range of used raw materials.

The paleolithic inhabitants used mainly local fissile raw materials from their nearby surroundings to make artifacts. Tools made of raw materials from more distant primary sources are very rare in the find complexes. The great variability of used materials was caused mainly by the fact that Paleolithic prospectors obtained suitable raw materials almost exclusively by means of surface collecting near the area of their natural occurrence, sometimes on secondary sites where the materials arrived by erosion and the site of their primary

As for the territory of western Slovakia, radiolarite and chert are the most significant raw materials present in 115

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 1. Topographical map of the studied area with archaeological sites, mining areas and radiolarite primary sources. Drawn: A. Nemergut.

116

Ivan Cheben et al.: The Latest Knowledge on Use of Primary Sources of Radiolarites various percentages during the whole period of their use. Their primary occurrence can be observed in the whole Pieniny Klippen belt of the Western Carpathians. Geological formations with radiolarites make narrow zones (max. 10m wide) of various lengths (up to 3km) in the terrain. It is natural to assume that during the Prehistory, sources of radiolarite and chert with various intensity were detected and used in individual areas.

constitutes the Pieniny mountain range. From the Pieniny, the Klippen belt continues in the territory of eastern Slovakia and the Ľubovnianska vrchovina hills, Čergov, Beskydské predhorie to Ukraine. There, it runs across the whole country to Romania. The narrow zone of the Pieniny Klippen belt is widest near Púchov, where its cross-section is approx. 20km wide. In contrast, in some sections, e.g. eastern Slovakia, it gets narrower or almost disappears. The Pieniny Klippen belt zone is interrupted twice on our territory – in Orava, where it sinks under Neogene sediments of the Orava-Nowy Targ Basin, and in eastern Slovakia, where it is interrupted by the Vihorlat Mountains.

In 2015, another survey was carried out in the studied area (Fig. 1). It was divided into two stages. The aim of the first stage was to confirm and detect other primary sources of radiolarite and chert raw materials which were documented in detail directly on the spot. The second stage focused on detection and confirmation of archaeological finds discovered during surveys in the last century carried out mainly by Juraj Bárta. Survey in the first stage managed to detect two other positons where radiolarite could have been exploited by means of surface mining.

In the studied area, from the Vlára Pass to the valley of Červený Kameň, the terrain research focuses on confirmation of the known primary sources of radiolarite and detection of new ones. From the geological aspect, there two main geological units of the Western Carpathians – Klippen and flysch zones (Fig. 2). The Pieniny Klippen belt includes the Pieniny units – Oravikum (Czorsztyn and Kysuca units) and units with central affinity (Manín and Klapy units; Mello et al. 2011). The Kysuca, Czorsztyn and Klapy units are those units belonging to the Pieniny Klippen belt which come to the surface in the studied area. Within the Czorsztyn and Kysuca units, three sequences have been distinguished – Czorsztyn, transition sequences and Kysuca (Mello et al. 2011).

Natural environment – geographic and geomorphological characteristics The studied area is located in the northwestern part of the outer Western Carpathians. According to the geomorphological division of the area, we distinguish several geomorphological units (Mazúr and Lukniš 1978). The outer Western Carpathians are represented by the mountain range of the White Carpathians; its sub-units of Vršatec Klippen area, Kobylinec and Súčanská vrchovina hills which belong to the studied area. The units of Bielokarpatské podhorie (foothills of the White Carpathians) and Ilava Basin, which are parts of the Považské podolie unit, reach towards the Váh river valley (Mello et al. 2011).

The primary source of radiolarites in the studied section of the Klippen belt is mostly related to the Jurassic and Cretaceous (early cretaceous) limestones. Occurrence of radiolarites is connected to the Czorsztyn unit, Kysuca and Klapy units (Mello et al. 2011). Within the Klapy unit, radiolarites (the Callovian-Oxfordian) occur in the Drietoma sequence. Further occurrence is connected with the Čajakovo (the Callovian-Oxfordian) and Pieniny geological formations (the BerriassianHauterivian) of the Kysuca sequence (Mišík et al. 1994). In the transitive layer successions between the Kysuca and Czorsztyn sequences, radiolarites are found in the Streženice, Prusy and Orava sequences. Radiolarites of the Streženice sequence are dated back to the periods of the Callovian and Oxfordian. A layer of radiolarites of the Oxfordian occurrs in the top layer of bulbous limestones of the Prusy sequence (Began et al. 1993). They appear in the Orava sequence in the Podzámčie and Čajakovo geological formations dated from the Aalenian to early Kimmeridgian (Schlögl et al. 2000). In the Czorsztyn unit – Czorsztyn sequence, the positions of radiolarites in form of nodules and beds occur within the facies of light crinoidal limestones dated from the Bajocian to Oxfordian (Began et al. 1993).

Geology of the Pieniny Klippen belt As for the territory of Central Europe, the most frequent occurrence of radiolarite was recorded in Slovakia. The Pieniny Klippen belt is the most important source of radiolarites in Slovakia, where their occurrence is related to several units. The Pieniny Klippen belt makes a border between the outer and central Western Carpathians. It is the tectonically most complicated unit of the Western Carpathians which consists of a system of Mesozoic, mainly Jurassic and cretaceous rocks. Its complicated structure is caused by multiple tectonic processes. Klippen-slice structure is typical of the Klippen belt which makes a  narrow, 600km long zone. It runs from Podbranč on the edge of the Vienna Basin, where it comes to the surface, through the Myjavská pahorkatina hills, Váh region, White Carpathians, Kysuce and Orava regions towards Poland, where it

Primary occurrence of cherts in the studied section of the Klippen belt is, according to Mello (2011), related to 117

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 2. The geological map of the studied area (cut out of the map 1:50 000 Stredné Považie; Mello 2005).

the Klapy, Czorsztyn units and transition sequences of layers. They appear in the crinoidal limestones of the Klapy sequence (Trlenská geological formation, grey cherts of the Lias to Oxfordian) and crinoidal limestones of the Drietoma sequence (grey to dark cherts of the Sinemurian to Bathonian ages). In the transition sequences of layers, cherts appear in the Prusy and Orava sequences as well as the Fodorka sequence. In the Prusy and Orava sequences, cherts/radiolarites are found in the Pieniny limestone geological formation of

the early Tithonian to Berriasian ages. Chert limestones of the Barremian appear in the Fodorka sequence (Mello et al. 2011). During the terrain activities in 2004 and in autumn of 2015, multiple primary occurrences of radiolarites which had not been recorded or lithologically classified in geological maps, before were discovered on the studied territory. In 2004, a layer of radiolarites rising on the southeastern slope of Zelená hill was detected on 118

Ivan Cheben et al.: The Latest Knowledge on Use of Primary Sources of Radiolarites the site of Bukovina in the Krivoklát area. The layer is NE-SW oriented. Similar situation was recognized 800m northeastwards from Chrastková (Krivoklát), where a  small limestone Klippen with layers of radiolarite was recorded on the site of Diely, on the eastern slope of an  unnamed hill. The layers are N-S oriented. As for color varieties, dark grey, dark grey-blue, red and red-brown radiolarites were found. It is difficult to match the sites with any of the sequences or a specific geological formation.

found within a  relatively small space. The industry contained mainly production waste. To confirm surface mining of silicite raw material, a  geophysical survey was carried out by means of georadar; its goal was to obtain profiles of three out of six oval pits which were clearly distinguishable in the terrain (Cheben et al. 2006). The obtained data suggested that it was most probably another surface mining area. This hypothesis was confirmed by the archaeological investigation carried out in 2009 on one depression situated in the centre of the supposed mining area. The excavation took a form of a  trench oriented vertically on the pinge. Simultaneously, the investigation revealed that radiolarite raw material was obtained in form of nodules in that territory, i. e. raw material deposited in a secondary position was searched. Radiolarite itself got to the lower part of the slope in form of nodules due to erosion from a higher situated primary source which was found approximately 100m from the explored pit.

The geological formations with radiolarites form distinct narrow zones which are only a few meters wide but rather long, up to several hundred meters. With regard to the fact that radiolarites erode slower than the surrounding limestones, distinct elevations (or even ridges) can be observed in the very wavy terrain of the Klippen belt. Radiolarites most often make layers or concretions in the parent rock. Radiolarite layers slope, mostly in 80° or 90° angles. The thickness of radiolarite layers varies. Individual layers/beds containing radiolarite are about 15-20cm thick. Very often, other rocks like limestones and shales are immersed between the radiolarite layers and thus make up for relatively thick layers. The size of concretions varies from first centimeters to first tens of centimeters; their shapes are predominantly oblong and flat, almost discoid.

On the basis of the obtained information, it can be claimed with certainty that the complex of two superpositioned exploration pits on the site of Pri troch kopcoch, on the border of Bolešov and Krivoklát districts, can be considered a clear evidence of surface exploitation of radiolarite and chert (Cheben et al. 1995: Abb. 3). Another supposed mining area of radiolarite was recorded during the investigation of the Paleolithic site in Nemšová, Trenčín district (Cheben and Kaminská 2002). Third mining area with radiolarite was found in the territory of Krivoklát, Ilava district, the site of Bukovina. Two exploitation pits were documented in the territory of Vršatské Podhradie, on the longitudinal ridge of an unnamed hill (altitude 819), the site of Lysá. Fifth mining area was documented in the cadastral community of Sedmerovec, Ilava district, situated on a distinct loess ridge in the valley of the Váh river, where a  belt of limestone containing layers of radiolarite raw material rises. The last realized survey managed to detect two spots with supposed surface mining of radiolarite. One is a  vast pinge field situated on the northern slope of Osúšie hill (600m east of the mining area in Bukovina). While surveying a wider part of the mining area on the site of Kašnák (within the cadastral community of Sedmerovec), another primary source of radiolarite was detected, during deep plowing on the site of Podskaličie, district Ilava. It is very probable that this primary source was used in the Stone Age to obtain radiolarite raw material. It will be necessary to verify this idea by means of a geophysical survey or an archaeological investigation.

Mining areas and primary sources of radiolarites – history of research of the mining areas The territory of the Pieniny Klippen belt of the Western Carpathians in the central Váh region (the area between Vršatské Podhradie and the Vlára river basin) has been considered an important territory where radiolarites and cherts were obtained from primary sources. A field survey was carried out only sporadically in the past century in the limited area and after a longer period of time. In the last two decades, the investigation focused on localization of exploitation pits outside the village of Svätá Sidónia, which were mentioned by Slavomír Vencl (1967), as well as on detection and confirmation of primary sources of radiolarite. Correlation with specialist knowledge and information from geological prospection of the studied area was an important aspect. Thus, the knowledge of new primary occurrences of radiolarites in the monitored territory was significantly enriched. The exploitation pit on the site of Pri troch kopcoch (Ilava district) was discovered and completely documented directly in the field (Cheben et al. 1995; Cheben et al. 1996). When the information from the first stage of the investigation was evaluated, another mining area with multiple surface pits was discovered on the site of Bukovina, during detailed mapping of radiolarites’ primary occurrences within Vršatecké Podhradie, Ilava district, which was carried out in 2004 and 2005. Numerous chipped stone industry sites were

As it has already been stated, multiple primary sources of radiolarite have been documented in the area of the Pieniny Klippen belt of the White Carpathians (Cheben et al. 1995: Abb. 2); however, only a  few of them have provided evidence for exploitation of radiolarite raw 119

Between History and Archaeology material by means of any mining method. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that radiolarite was exploited on other sites as well. Mining areas 1. Bolešov/Krivoklát, Ilava district, site Pri troch kopcoch. A distinctly preserved course of a surface exploitation pit was detected on the edge of a protruding limestone Klippen on the slope under Kráľová hill, the site of Pri troch kopcoch. Its inner space comprises two oval depressions divided by a  small step. The documented situation suggests that they were created by exploitation of radiolarite which forms one or more layers in this part of the Klippen (Cheben et al. 1995: Taf. 1: 1-5; Cheben et al. 1996: Fig. 68). The exploitation pit is limited by limestone in the west. We can suppose that the layer or layers of radiolarite were uncovered from the south, partially from the east. Near the lower edge of the pit, there is a distinct tailings cone made of clay, fragments of radiolarite raw material and limestone blocks of different sizes. According to the collected samples, there was red, brown and green radiolarite. According to the geological map with the scale of 1:50000, the radiolarite layers are found in crinoidal limestones of the Czorsztyn sequence (Mello et al. 2011), which come out of the flysch belt in this part (Javorina layers). A short distance from there, two crater-shaped pits with circular ground plan were detected next to a  forest route; the edge of one of them was slightly damaged by the route. Typologically identical chipped industry rarely made of honey-yellow or orange radiolarite was found in their immediate surroundings. Both pits were situated on a  slightly sloping terrain, less than 200m from one of the smaller tributaries of the Bolešov stream. No archaeological research of the site has been carried out yet.

Fig. 3. Aerial view of the site Kamenica. Photo: B. Balžan 2015, archive AI SAS.

Fig. 4. Minning area of the Kamenica site. Photo: I. Cheben.

2. Borčice/Horné Srnie, Ilava district, site of Kamenica. During a surface survey on the border of two cadastral communities, a  vast mining area was recorded on the site of Kamenica (Fig. 3). Originally, the site with radiolarite was assigned to Nemšová heading southwestwards from the area with recessed pits (Cheben and Kaminská 2002: Fig. 2). On the southern and southwestern slopes, under the grassy and rather flat hilltop made of a compact limestone layer, tens of unevenly distributed round or oval depressions were documented; they resemble surface exploitation pits – pinges. Sizes of individual pits vary from 3 to 13m (Fig. 4 and 5). Currently, more visibly depressed or hollow pits – pinges can be observed in the terrain. Fragments of radiolarite raw material of various colors were collected in the southern part of the supposed mining area, on its

Fig. 5. Minning area of the Kamenica site. Photo: by I. Cheben.

120

Ivan Cheben et al.: The Latest Knowledge on Use of Primary Sources of Radiolarites slightly grassy or weathered parts. Red-brown variety was predominant. The quality of the raw material also shows differences, although we must take into consideration that on the surface, the raw material was partly weathered. The radiolarite layers are connected with bulbous limestones of the Prusy sequence (Began et al. 1993). Flakes have been rarely found during the surface collections so far; it might be caused by the fact that the studied area is not used for growing plants, it is used as pasture. No archaeological investigation of the site has been carried out yet.

survey resulted in discovering several river pebbles of granite and quartzite, which definitely come from the Váh river gravel. In this case, we can assume that they are tools used for exploitation of the raw material, since they bear traces of use – percussion on their edges. A nodule of silicite (20x15x10cm) was obtained by the collection and it was classified as silicite from glacigenic sediments, which could suggest contacts with southern Poland or northern Moravia and Silesia. In Area I, no shapes suggesting surface exploitation of raw material are visible. Thus, it is very likely that it was only collected from the surface or from very hollow pits. Samples of radiolarite with good fissile qualities were obtained from the layer. As documented in other primary sources, there are several basic color varieties (red-brown to brown, grey-black, lead-green to greygreen).

3. Krivoklát, Ilava district, site of Bukovina. A vast mining area as well as a great primary source of radiolarite were documented on the site of Bukovina (it is an about 200m long strip of a  radiolarite layer); they are situated to the right of the Bolešov stream. This occurrence of radiolarite is not shown on the geological map of the central Váh region. Thus, we cannot say which sequence or geological formation they belong to or how old they are. There is a primary (area I) and secondary (area II) source of radiolarite on the site. On both, the raw material was exploited and processed. Mining area II is situated on a  moderate slope with slight elevation gain. On the northern side, the area is separated by a steep precipice. A relatively large plain is situated above the slope with pinge shapes. This space could have been used as a base for processing of the obtained raw material. It has been indirectly supported by the fact that a  rather large number of chipped stone industry occurs on the surface. Individual pits are unevenly distributed over the mining area. It suggests that their size, location and shapes could have been influenced by the amount of the radiolarite raw material secondarily deposited in diluvial sediments. Most pits are oval and their edges are rimmed by  mounds of excavated soil. Limestone blocks are very rare in the area of the mining field. So far, a surface survey to detect the basic typological representation of the chipped stone industry has been conducted as well as a collection in a 1m square grid in one exploitation pit which is situated near the edge. All most frequently used varieties of radiolarite have been documented in the area of the mining field. Geophysical measuring has been carried out in two pits (Cheben et al. 2006). In August 2009, an investigation in form of a trench was carried out in the pit situated in the southeastern part of the mining area. It confirmed that secondarily deposited radiolarite occurring in nodules was exploited there. Westwards from Area II, a primary radiolarite source is situated – it is marked as Area I. The radiolarite raw material rises in a narrow belt which is approximately 200m long. Numerous chipped stone industry artifacts, mainly preparation blades and flakes as well as remains of cores and raw materials, can be found near the source. A  surface

4. Vršatské Podhradie, Ilava district, site of Lysá. On the southwestern and northeastern edge of an oblong and narrow ridge of an  unnamed hill on the site of Lysá (altitude 819), two radiolarite mining pits were documented. Presence of radiolarite is connected with the Pieniny geological formation of the Kysuca unit (Mello et al. 2011). A  cauldron-shaped pit with a round ground plan, situated on a steep slope, is rather distinct. It lies right next to an uncovered limestone Klippen. The pit is filled with soil mixed with limestone fragments and fragments of radiolarite, mainly brown, red-brown or green. The tailings cone has not been preserved on the steep slope. In 2008 (Cheben and Cheben 2011) and 2010, archaeological investigations were carried out in the eastern half of the pit. It proved that it was a prehistoric exploitation pit. Investigation of this pinge situated on the southeastern edge of the ridge brought a  rather representative collection of chipped stone industry, which mostly comes from the backfill of the studied pinge. The collection itself comprises 106 artifacts (Cheben and Cheben 2010).

Fig. 6. Minning pit o the NE edge of the ridge of the unnamed hill (Vršatské Podhradie, site Lysá). Photo: I. Cheben.

121

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 7. Aerial view of the site Kašnák. Photo: B. Balžan 2015, archive AI SAS.

Fig. 8. Aerial view of the site Kašnák. Photo: B. Balžan 2015, archive AI SAS.

The other pit, which is most probably an exploitation pit as well, is irregular in shape and is also situated near the edge of the rising limestone Klippen (Fig. 6). Besides the two above described depressions, fragments of mostly brown, red-brown and green radiolarite occurred within a small area on the western slope, 50-60m under the ridge. Although the slope is rather steep there, it can be supposed (based on the terrain configuration) that the more visible depression with slightly terraced lower part was made by exploitation of radiolarite which could have come to the surface in form of a  layer. A similar terrain shape was detected near the forest edge, next to altitude 727. Fragments of radiolarite observed within a short route section revealed its presence. No archaeological investigation has been carried out on either of the sites with radiolarite raw material.

radiolarite. Radiolarite raw material rises on a distinct terrain elevation where several depressed round pits were discovered. The hill was partly destroyed by a  limestone quarry. The depressions are unevenly distributed over a terraced grassy slope partly covered with trees and bushes. The immediate surroundings of the mining area is now used for intensive farming. This enables us to obtain a  large number of chipped stone industry by means of surface prospecting. As for colour varieties, there are light grey, black, grey-yellow or beige radiolarites with typically rough calcerous cortex of light yellow to beige colour. The cortex is 1–1.5cm thick. Layers can be often observed on nodules. Dark stripes of silicite matter alter with lighter stripes. Such varieties of radiolarite as well as the fact that they have cortex have not been documented so far on the studied territory of this part of the Pieniny Klippen belt. On the basis of these facts, we named this colour variety of radiolarite the Kašnák type radiolarite to make this material distinguishable from common colour varieties on prehistoric settlement sites. This radiolarite material occurred e. g. in the collection of chipped stone industry from the paleolithic (Szeletian) locality of Moravany nad Váhom, the site of Dlhá (Nemergut et al. 2012). Its use is also documented in the collections of chipped stone industry from prehistoric (Neolithic – Eneolithic) settlement sites in the territory of Sedmerovec, the site of Nad cestou, Podskaličie, Podjamie and Galková. No archaeological investigation of the site has been carried out yet.

5. Krivoklát, Ilava district, site of Bezovec. Supposed, however, not confirmed radiolarite mining area is situated on the site of Bezovec. Two large oval pits strongly resembling documented exploitation pits from that area were discovered on a  grassy meadow, 200m from the rising Klippen. Fragments of limestone were found near them. Layers of radiolarite are connected with the limestones from the Pieniny and Čajakovce geological formations of the Kysuca sequence (Mello et al. 2011). As for colour varieties, red, light brown and red-brown radiolarites are represented. Tiny fragments of radiolarite were collected in the bend of the route and on the slowly weathered right bank of the stream.

7. Slavnica, Ilava district, site of Vincurová.

6. Sedmerovec, Ilava district, site of Kašnák.

In autumn 2015, another possible pinge field was identified on the northern slope of the Osúšie hill, the site of Vincurová. The pinge field is situated approx. 600m east of the previously documented area on the site of Bukovina. Radiolarite comes to surface in a relatively narrow belt (it makes a  distinct narrow ridge in the

On the distinct loess ridge in the Váh river valley, on its western edge under the Klippen belt, an outcrop of crinoidal limestone belonging to the Czorsztyn sequence (Mello et al. 2011) was documented (Fig. 7 and 8). It contained layers and nodules (concretions) of 122

Ivan Cheben et al.: The Latest Knowledge on Use of Primary Sources of Radiolarites Czorsztyn unit (Mello et al. 2011). During a  surface survey, radiolarite raw material without any traces of processing was found. As for colour varieties, light red, light brown and red-brown radiolarites are represented. Despite that, there is a  strong assumption that this primary source was used and exploited to obtain silicite raw material in Prehistory. This assumption is confirmed by the fact that there are multiple prehistoric settlements in the near surroundings (within 1km). In the last years, several mining areas of silicite were documented in the area between the Vlára Pass and Vršatské Podhradie. Their concentration over a relatively small area suggests that it was a strategically important territory for obtaining radiolarite within this part of the Klippen belt. Based on this fact, we can suppose that the area played an important role in providing the Neolithic and Eneolithic population with silicite raw material – radiolarite and chert.

Fig. 9. Minning area of the Vincurová site. Photo: by I. Cheben.

Sites with chipped industry – History of research First notices of finds in the studied regions were known after World War I. They are mainly finds of Pleistocene bones and stone artifacts which were discovered in Nemšová by J. Mádl when brick clay was being exploited. Jozef Jelínek, a  local enthusiast, collected numerous finds for the local museum in the beginning of the second half of the last century. They were a base for Bárta (1961: 16), who carried out an investigation in the brickyard and a  survey in its wider surroundings. In total, he distinguished eight sites in Nemšová and classified them mostly in the Gravettian (Bárta 1961: 21, 22). With less certainty, he included newly collected finds from Pruské, Tuchyňa and Sedmerovec in the Gravettian as well (Bárta 1965: 123). In 1996, within the survey along the route of D1 motorway, surface surveys were carried out on several sites by Ivona Vlkolinská, Ľudmila Illášová and Ján Hunka (1998: 170). All discovered finds of stone artifacts were classified in the Neolithic. In 1996 and 1997, Ivan Cheben and Ľubomíra Kaminská (1999: 67) carried out a  rescue archaeological research in Nemšová. It was initiated by the construction of a  new road leading through Nemšová II, the site of Kopánky. The research revealed Gravettian settlement on the site but also younger finds were collected (Cheben and Kaminská 2002: 65), preliminarily classified in the Lengyel culture. Peter Schreiber also deals with the problem of settlement in the studied area. The results of his surveys were processed in his diploma work (Schreiber 2009) and published as short contributions as well (Schreiber 2011; Žaár et al. 2013). Recently, attention was paid to some older collections of chipped stone industry obtained by J. Bárta. Find collections from several sites were also processed in theses by Adrián Nemergut (2011) and Ondrej Žaár (2013).

Fig. 10. Minning area of the Vincurová site. Photo: by I. Cheben.

terrain) which is NE-SW oriented and approximately 200m long. Radiolarite layers are connected with the Čajakovce geological formation of the Kysuca sequence (Mello et al. 2011). As for colour varieties, light red, light brown and red-brown radiolarites are present. Approx. 20 circular to oval pits – pinges with diameters of 4–6m were detected in the terrain (Fig. 9 and 10). Radiolarite was found near them. On the basis of these facts, we assume that it could have been a  space where silicite raw material – radiolarite was exploited. 8. Sedmerovec, Ilava district, site of Podskaličie. Investigating the wider area of the mining field on the site of Kašnák (the cadastral community of Sedmerovec), another source of radiolarite was discovered 500m southwards. It was uncovered during deep plowing on the site of Podskaličie. Layers of radiolarite on this site are connected with crinoidal limestones of the 123

Between History and Archaeology List of sites 1 Nemšová, Trenčín district, Hliník Location: Finds were discovered north of the village, on the field above the loam pit of the former brickyard in Nemšová (Fig. 1). They were situated in the altitude of 246m, on a  hill sloping southeastwards. According to the site marking in the survey by Bárta (1961), it is Nemšová VIII-Nad tehelňou (Žaár 2013: 195). Finds: There were 20 lithic artifacts altogether found. Among raw materials, radiolarite prevails (17 examples) and erratic silicite, Jurassic flint from Cracow-Czestochowa upland (hereinafter referred to as KCJS) and unidentified raw material were represented by one example each.

Fig. 11. Lithic artefacts. 1- Nemšová, Nadpolie 2; 2-3 Nemšová, Hliník. Drawn: J. Marettová.

The find inventory is represented by six examples of raw material bearing traces of manipulation (radiolarite), a single-platform pyramidal core of radiolarite, erratic silicite core residue, flake and a tablet of radiolarite, six flake fragments (four of them of radiolarite, one of KCJS) and one of an unidentified raw material. A radiolarite retouched flake (Fig. 11: 2) and indistinct radiolarite microlith (Fig. 11: 3) are also preserved.

Dating: Paleolithic (?). 4 Nemšová, Trenčín district, Nadpolie Location: The site is situated northeast of the village, in the altitude of 253m, on a hill sloping southeastwards (Fig. 1). During a  surface collection, Bárta (1961: 21) named the site Nemšová VI-Haty (Žaár 2013: 194),

Dating: Paleolithic (?).

Finds: Only radiolarite flake fragment was found during the surface collection.

2 Nemšová, Trenčín district, Nadpolie 1. Location: The site is situated on the northern edge of Nemšová, on the south oriented slope (Fig. 1). The site’s altitude is 246m. Bárta (1961: 21) called this site Nemšová III-Haty in his contribution (Žaár 2013: 193).

Dating: Paleolithic (?). 5 Nemšová, Trenčín district, Nadpolie Location: Lithic industry was obtained approx. 900m northeast of Nemšová (Fig. 1). It was distributed in the altitude of approx. 263m, on a  hill sloping southeastwards. Bárta (1961: 21) named the site Nemšová VII-Haty (Žaár 2013: 195).

Finds: Three radiolarite artifacts were discovered on the site. One is a  single-platform prismatic core from the initial phase of exploitation, two are flakes. Dating: Paleolithic (?).

Finds: The find inventory includes 21 examples. All of them are made of radiolarite, with the exception of one limnosilicite flake. The inventory is represented by two single-platform pyramidal cores from the advanced phase of exploitation, three core fragments, four preparation flakes with cortex, a tablet, flake from the phase of exploitation and three flake fragments. In two cases, the exploitation technique of  direct percussion with a stone hammer was detected.

3 Nemšová, Trenčín district, Nadpolie 2. Location: Another site is situated north of the village, in the wider surroundings of altitude 264m (Fig. 1). It spreads on the hilltop. According to Bárta, it is the site of Nemšová V-Kostelná (Bárta 1961: 21; Žaár 2013: 194). Finds: There were 16 radiolarite artifacts obtained from the site. There are four examples of raw material with traces of manipulation, a double-platform prismatic core from the advanced phase of exploitation (Fig. 11: 1), three residues, one core fragment and five preparation flakes with cortex (on three of them, direct percussion with a stone hammer were detected). A small flake and a flake fragment were also found.

Dating: Paleolithic (?). 6 Sedmerovec, Ilava district, Galková Location: Another settlement site is less than 900m distant, east of the village of Sedmerovec (Fig. 1). It 124

Ivan Cheben et al.: The Latest Knowledge on Use of Primary Sources of Radiolarites Table 1. The relation between raw materials and major technological groups of the chipped stone industry – Sedmerovec, Ilava dist., Galková site.

worked stones cores

blades

radiolarite

radiolariteKašnák

patinated silicite

silicified sandstone

burnt

total

35

4

-

1

1

41

-

1

-

-

1

-

1

4

1

6

2

18 7

-

-

-

flakes

59

-

tools

2

-

waste total

38 159

-

-

4 -

-

18 8

-

63

-

2

40

172

Fig. 12. Sedmerovec, Galková. Lithic artefacts. 1-4. Drawn: J. Marettová.

spreads approx. 296m above sea level on a  moderate slope falling southwestwards. According to Bárta, it is the site named Sedmerovec-Gáliková (Nemergut 2011: 30).

Fig. 13. Lithic artefacts. 1-2 - Sedmerovec, Galková. Drawn: J. Marettová.

Finds: In the collection, 172 examples of lithic industry made mostly of radiolarite were obtained. Some examples were made of silicified sandstone, burnt and 125

Between History and Archaeology and a dihedral butt were distinguished. In two cases, it was found out that the blades were obtained by indirect percussion. The most numerous group of 63 examples comprises unretouched flakes; 59 of them are made of radiolarite and four are made of silicified sandstone. There were 20 preparation flakes with cortex, 29 without cortex or from the exploitation phase, 10 examples were reparation flakes and there were also 4 tablets. As for the preserved butt types, plain examples are most frequent (20). There are also dihedral butts (7), butts formed with one negative (7), linear butts (6), butts with lip (4), with cortex (4) and faceted butts (3). As for the exploitation technique, four flakes were obtained using a punch, four by direct percussion with a soft hammer, three by direct percussion with a stone hammer. The collection includes seven small flakes of radiolarite and 34 fragments of flakes; 32 are made of radiolarite, one comes from burnt and one from patinated silicite.

Fig. 14. Lithic arterfacts. 1-6 - Sedmerovec, Kašnák. Drawn: J. Marettová.

The analyzed collection is complemented with a  laterally retouched blade made of radiolarite and a notch made of radiolarite.

patinated silicite (Tab. 1). Radiolarite with traces of manipulation was identified in 41 examples. All cores are made of radiolarite. They are represented by a core from the initial phase of exploitation, five from the advanced phase (Fig. 12: 1–3 and 13: 1–2), two residues and 11 fragments. Six examples were identified as single-platform cores. From the aspect of exploitation, there are four blade-flake cores and two flake cores. As for the type, one was a pyramidal core, two were flat, two were prismatic and one was a keel-shaped core.

Fragments of pottery were also discovered in the survey. They are shards of vessel bodies, mainly made of granular material, rarely made of soft alluvial clay. Dating: According to the documentation elaborated by Bárta, it comes from the Paleolithic (?), Žaár et al. (2013) considers the Middle Paleolithic. New finds suggest the Paleolithic, Mesolithic (?), Neolithic (?) and there are finds from the Late Bronze Age as well.

The collection contains two unretouched blades and six fragments – one from distal-mesial, one from mesial, two from proximal-mesial and two from proximal portions. With the exception of one proximal-mesial portion of a silicified sandstone blade (Fig. 12: 4), all blades and their fragments are made of radiolarite. As far as preserved butts are concerned, two plain butts, one linear butt with an arris formed by one negative

7 Sedmerovec, Ilava district, Kašnák Location: This locality is situated on the hilltop on the site of Kašnák, approx. 1km north of the village (Fig. 1). Its altitude is 360m.

Table 2. The relation between raw materials and major technological groups of the chipped stone industry – Sedmerovec, Ilava dist., Kašnák site.

worked stones

cores

blades

radiolarite

radiolariteKašnák

KCJS

patinated silicit

limnosilicite

total

13

217

-

-

-

230

-

4

5 -

flakes

1

27

tools

-

-

waste

total

-

18

9

258

-

-

-

1

1

1

-

-

1

126

-

-

-

-

-

2

5

4

-

29

1

3

1

9

280

Ivan Cheben et al.: The Latest Knowledge on Use of Primary Sources of Radiolarites exploitation, a single-platform flat core (Fig. 14: 3) from the advanced stage of exploitation and three residues. Four blades were discovered, all of them made of radiolarite. A fragment of the mesial portion of a blade (Fig. 14: 2), also made of radiolarite, was found as well. From a technological aspect, they are two blades with lateral cortex and two blades without cortex. Out of five butts, two were linear, one was plain and one dihedral. The group of flakes included 29 examples made of radiolarite. There were 18 examples of preparation flakes with cortex, 10 were flakes without cortex from the exploitation phase and one was a reparation flake. As for butt types, 13 plain butts were preserved together with 3 linear, 3 formed with one negative, 3 cortical and 2 dihedral butts. Two flakes represent the technique of a direct percussion with a soft hammer. Flake fragments were represented by 8 examples. A small flake was also preserved. All flakes were made of radiolarite. The collection is also represented by a  laterally retouched limnosilicite blade (Fig. 14: 4), a blade with obligue truncation made of patinated silicite (Fig. 14: 6) and a blade fragment bearing traces of gloss from KCJS (Fig. 14: 5).

Fig. 15. Lithic artefacts. 1-6 - Sedmerovec, Nad cestou. Drawn: J. Marettová.

Dating: According to Schreiber (2009: 21) they come from the Neolithic or Eneolithic which corresponds with new finds.

Finds: The collection of 280 examples included mainly artifacts made of radiolarite, rarely made of patinated silicite, limnosilicite and KCJS (Tab. 2).

8 Sedmerovec, Ilava district, Nad cestou. Location: The site is situated 400m east of the village, approx. 260m above sea level, on a moderate southern slope (Fig. 1). Most finds were concentrated on the area of a small terrace with diameter of approx. 120m.

The most numerous group among the finds comprises raw material with traces of manipulation (230 examples). Altogether, five cores were found, all of them were made of radiolarite. They are a  single-platform pyramidal core (Fig. 14: 1) from the advanced stage of

Finds: A survey brought 234 lithic artifacts altogether. Radiolarite is the most frequent raw material. Burnt

Table 3. The relation between raw materials and major technological groups of the chipped stone industry – Sedmerovec, Ilava dist., Nad cestou site. radiolarite

radiolariteKašnák

KCJS

burnt

obsidian

limnosilicite

total

worked stones

32

2

-

-

-

-

34

blades

24

-

1

-

25

1

-

cores

flakes waste tools

total

35

-

-

-

-

-

53

3

1

3

9

-

1

-

54 207

3 8

-

2

4

127

-

1

1

-

-

2

-

-

1

36 61

58

10

224

Between History and Archaeology silicite, KCJS, obsidian and limnosilicite are less frequent (Tab. 3). Radiolarite raw material with traces of manipulation was distinguished in 34 cases. There were 36 cores discovered, all of them (with the exception of one core residue made of limnosilicite) were made of radiolarite. As for the production process, ten of them come from the advanced exploitation phase and three come from the final phase. There were 21 core fragments. Seven of them were single-platform cores and two had changed orientation (Fig. 15: 1). In the material, blade and bladelet cores prevail (7). Blade-flake cores are only represented by two examples. As for core types, there are four prismatic (Fig. 15: 5), two pyramidal (Fig.15: 2, 4), two flat (Fig. 15: 3), one rounded and one irregular core. Fig. 16. Lithic artefacts. 1-7 - Sedmerovec, Nad cestou. Drawn: J. Marettová.

There were 25 unretouched blades, their fragments and a  bladelet recognized from the site. They are mostly made of radiolarite, one bladelet is made of obsidian. The group of blade fragments is represented by three examples from distal part, three from mesial part, one from proximal-mesial part and five from proximal part. There are 13 complete blades, two of them are undercrest blades. Analyzing the butts, prevalence of plain butts (5) was indicated. 3 were dihedral, 2 faceted, 2 formed with one negative and one linear. On eight blades, technique of using a  punch was recognized, one blade was made by direct percussion with a stone hammer.

had a cortex and one was linear. 16 flakes were made by using a punch and two were made by direct percussion with a stone hammer. A  numerous group consists of flake fragments (38), small flakes (18) and chips (2). With the exception of a small burnt silicite flake, all were made of radiolarite. As for tools, two blade endscraper (Fig. 16: 3, 7), sidescraper (Fig. 15: 6), notch (Fig. 16: 2), borer (Fig. 16: 5), two complete blades with local traces of use, two distal blade parts with local traces of use (Fig. 16: 4) and one mesial blade part with local traces of use (Fig. 16: 6) were represented.

The most numerous group of 61 examples contains unretouched flakes. They were mostly made of radiolarite, two of burnt silicite, one of obsidian and one of them was made of KCJS. There were 13 preparation flakes with cortex, 22 did not have cortex. 25 flakes were identified as reparation examples and there was one tablet. As for the butt types preserved on the flakes, plain ones are most frequent (23), 11 were dihedral, 11 were formed with one negative and 10 were faceted. Other types were present in less than ten examples. Butts with a lip were represented by two examples, one

The collection of lithic artifacts is complemented with a fragment of a quartzite retoucher with visible traces of use (Fig. 16: 1). The inventory of finds also fragments of pottery (Fig. 17: 1-6). They come mainly from vessel bodies, rarely from

Table 4. The relation between raw materials and major technological groups of the chipped stone industry – Sedmerovec, Ilava dist., Podjamie 1 site. radiolarite

radiolariteKašnák

SKCJ

eratic silicite

burnt

total

worked stones

8

-

-

-

-

8

blades

18

waste

19

cores

flakes tools

total

9

5

36

4

1

4

-

-

94

-

1 10

-

-

1

15

-

-

41

-

1

-

-

1

128

-

1

-

-

1

19 20 4

107

Ivan Cheben et al.: The Latest Knowledge on Use of Primary Sources of Radiolarites

Fig. 17. Pottery fragmetns of the Neolithic – Sedmerovec, Nad cestou. Drawn: J. Marettová.

Fig. 18. Lithic artefacts. 1-8 - Sedmerovec, Podjamie. Drawn: J. Marettová.

rims or bottoms. There are shards made of fine alluvial clay and also of granular material. Two shards from fine alluvial clay were decorated with two engraved lines.

Another group of 19 examples comprises unretouched bladelets and blade fragments. With the exception of one mesial part coming from erratic silicite, all are made of radiolarite. A  subgroup of blade fragments is represented by two examples from distal part, four from mesial part, one from proximal-mesial part and nine from proximal part. Analyzing the butts, prevalence of plain examples (9) was discovered. There was also one example of a  linear and one dihedral butt. On three blades, use of a punch was recognized.

Dating: Neolithic (late Linear pottery culture), Late Bronze Age. 9 Sedmerovec, Ilava district, Podjamie 1 (Sedmerovec, Kopanice) Location: A  rather numerous collection of chipped stone industry was distributed over a  hill sloping southeastwards, on the site of Podjamie. The site is approx. 500m northeast of Sedmerovec, approx. 285m AMSL (Fig. 1).

41 unretouched flakes were found on the site. With the exception of a flake without cortex which was made of KCJS, all were made of radiolarite. From a technological aspect, there are preparation flakes with cortex (7), flakes without cortex (15) and reparation flakes (5). As far as butt types are concerned, plain are most frequent (10); there are also dihedral (2), formed with one negative (2), cortex (2), with a lip (1), faceted (1) and linear (1) butts. Two flakes were created using a punch.

Finds: Lithic industry consists of 107 examples, most of radiolarite and one piece of KCJS, erratic and burned silicite (Tab. 4). Raw material with traces of manipulation was recognized on eight radiolarite examples. In the group of cores, there were three single-platform cores (Fig. 18: 1, 4 and 5) from the advanced phase of exploitation. Two of them were prismatic, one was pyramidal. All three were blade cores. The collection of cores is complemented with four residues and eight core fragments. Heat treatment were detected on two core fragments (Fig. 18: 2 and 3). Character of negatives on these fragments suggests a  highly standardized exploitation of blades with straight profiles and parallel sides which could mean exploitation by pressure. These techniques are known for using fire to achieve better physical qualities at chipping (Inizian et al. 1999: 76).

Within waste, 20 flake fragments of radiolarite were preserved. Tools are represented by an indistinct blade endscraper (Fig. 18: 7), sidescraper (Fig. 18: 6), splintered piece and a blade bearing traces of gloss (Fig. 18: 8). All were made of radiolarite. During the survey, shards made of fine alluvial clay as well as granular material were obtained. Dating: Mesolithic (?), Neolithic, Late Bronze Age. 129

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 20. Lithic artefacts. 1-2 - Sedmerovec, Podskaličie. Drawn: J. Marettová.

collection is also represented by two core fragments. According to the exploitation method, five cores are single-platform and two have changed orientation (Fig. 19: 2). As for types, there are three pyramidal (Fig. 19: 1 and 3) and two prismatic cores (Fig. 20: 2), also one keelshaped and one flat core (Fig. 20: 1). Blade or bladebladelet cores (4 examples) prevail in the material. Two cores are blade-flake and one is a flake core. Abrasion of the edge between the percussion and flaking area was not recognized on any of the examples. It was difficult to determine the knapping technique due to the minimum number of knapped blades or flakes in the studied collection. Character of the negatives on the fragment of one flat core is important (Fig. 20: 1). They suggest a  highly standardized production of blades and bladelets with parallel edges, which tend to be rectilinear could point to use of a punch or pressure.

Fig. 19. Lithic artefacts. 1-3 - Sedmerovec, Podskaličie. Drawn: J. Marettová.

10 Sedmerovec, Ilava district, Podjamie 2 Location: Individual finds were found approx. 150m north of the previously mentioned site. Finds situated in the altitude of 300m were found on a  hill sloping southeastwards (Fig. 1).

The collection also includes a tablet and a fragment of a flake endscraper.

Finds: A piece of radiolarite raw material with traces of manipulation and two flakes (one from radiolarite and one from silicified sandstone) were discovered.

Dating: Mesolithic (?), Neolithic (?).

Dating: Paleolithic (?) – Eneolithic (?).

Discussion

11 Sedmerovec, Ilava district, Podskaličie

Local radiolarite prevails among the raw materials used in the obtained collection of chipped stone industry. Rarely, KCJS was represented, erratic, patinated or burnt silicite, limnosilicite, silicified sandstone or even obsidian were unique. Share of cortex on lithic artifacts made of radiolarite suggests that partly processed blocks of raw material were distributed. Raw material blocks with traces of manipulation as well as waste from the blocks’ preparation are prevalent finds from the exploitation mine in Sedmerovec, the site of Kašnák. In more distant sites, the share of preparation flakes with cortex is much smaller. Functions of individual sites in distribution of radiolarite raw material are questionable. On the one hand, we monitor exploitation mines, e. g. on the above mentioned

Location: A less numerous collection of lithic industry was distributed over a small area, approx. 200m north of the confluence of two unnamed streams, north of the village. Finds were deposited on a  hill sloping southwards, in the altitude of approx. 280m (Fig. 1). Finds: The collection of industry includes 18 lithic artifacts made of radiolarite (2 are of the Kašnák type). Raw material with traces of manipulation is represented by five examples from radiolarite. The most numerous group contains cores. From a technological aspect, seven come from the advanced phase of exploitation and two come from the final, residual phase. The 130

Ivan Cheben et al.: The Latest Knowledge on Use of Primary Sources of Radiolarites site of Kašnák in Sedmerovec, with a  high share of preparation waste and raw material blocks and, on the other hand, we study the so-called consumer sites with a higher share of semi-finished products or tools (e. g. Sedmerovec, Nad cestou; Sedmerovec, Podjamie 1, etc.). For example, a high share of cores in Sedmerovec, the site of Podskaličie, is interesting; there is almost no waste or semi-finished products. However, it is a very small collection which is not representative enough for the statistics. We cannot exclude influence of post-depositing processes, since the finds come from a surface collection. More information on the site can be brought by further investigation.

and further phases of artifact production. The last but not least, we could uncover several exploitation pits and thus, prove exploitation of radiolarite raw material on some other than the above mentioned mining areas.

From a technological aspect, indirect percussion using a punch was detected in the obtained collections of lithic industry. In general, this occurs since the Mesolithic (Inizian et al. 1999, 76). Character of the negatives on some cores which suggest a  highly standardizes production of blades and bladelets with parallel edges, which tend to be rectilinear could point to production by pressure (Inizian et al. 1999: 79). These techniques, together with the occurrence of pottery enable us to classify individual collections perhaps in the Mesolithic, Neolithic (late Linear Pottery culture), probably in the Eneolithic as well, or the Bronze Age. The Paleolithic component has not been clearly documented in the obtained collection with possible exception of the site of Galková in Sedmerovec.

References

Acknowledgments This study was supported by research project APVV–140742 ‘Dynamics of the exploitation of silicate material resources during the Paleolithic and Neolithic in the western Slovakia’. Translate by Mgr. V. Tejbusová

Bárta, J. 1961. K problematike paleolitu Bielych Karpát. Slovenská Archeológia 9: 9–32. Bárta, J. 1965. Slovensko v staršej a strednej dobe kamennej. Bratislava, Slovenskej akadémie vied. Began, A., Salaj, J., Horniš, J., Čechová, A. and Szalaiová, V. 1993. Vysvetlivky ku geologickej mape Bielych Karpát 1:50 000, časť Bradlové pásmo. Manuskript. Archív Št. Geol. Úst. D. Štúra, Bratislava. Cheben. I., Illášová, L., Hromada, J., Ožvoldová, L. and Pavelčík, J. 1995. Eine Oberflächengrube zur Fӧrderung von Radiolarit in Bolešov. Slovenská Archeológia 63: 185–203. Cheben, I. and Cheben, M. 2010. Research on Radiolarites of the White Carpathian Klippen Belt. Slovenská archeológia 58: 13–52. Cheben, I. and Cheben, M. 2011. Výskum pingy na rádiolarit vo Vršatskom Podhradí. Archeologické výskumy a nálezy na Slovensku v roku 2008: 114–115. Cheben, I., Cheben, M. and Tirpák, J. 2006. Zdroje radiolaritov v oblasti bradlového pásma Bielych Karpát. In: V. Hašek, R. Nekuda and M. Ruttkay (eds), Ve službách archeologie 7: 123–127. Brno. Cheben, I., Illášová, Ľ. and Hromada, J. 1996. Povrchový prieskum rádiolaritov v  Bolešove. Archeologické výskumy a nálezy na Slovensku v roku 1994: 98–99. Cheben, I. and Kaminská, Ľ. 1999. Výskum paleolitického náleziska v Nemšovej. Archeologické výskumy a nálezy na Slovensku v roku 1997: 67–68. Cheben, I. and Kaminská, Ľ. 2002. Výskum paleolitického náleziska v Nemšovej. Slovenská Archeológia 50: 53– 67. Inizian, M.L., Reduron-Ballinger, M., Roche, H. and Tixier, J. 1999. Technology and Terminology of Knapper Stone. Nanterre, Cercle de Recherches et d‘Etudes Prehist. Mazúr, E. and Lukniš, M. 1978. Regionálne geomorfologické členenie SSR. Geografický časopis (Bratislava) 30(2): 107–126. Mello, J., Potfaj, M., Teťák, F., Havrila, M., Rakús, M., Buček, S., Filo, I., Nagy, A., Salaj, J., Maglay, J., Pristaš, J. and Fordinál, K. 2005: Geologická mapa stredného

Conclusion During the discussed surface survey, the authors of this contribution obtained new knowledge on chronology of settlement of the central Váh region. Important finds were discovered in the village of Sedmerovec which enable us to date most of the sites (originally dated by Bárta in the Paleolithic) in later periods. The new knowledge also suggests rather dense settlement probably in the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and for sure in the Neolithic, Eneolithic as well as Bronze Age in the background of primary radiolarite sources in the White Carpathians. The discussed survey also shows the great potential of the studied region. A  more complex picture of the cultural development in the Prehistory within the territory of the White Carpathians can only be obtained by intense terrain investigation in the studied area. The knowledge from the survey suggests that we must assume denser settlement of the region in the Neolithic compared to the density considered so far. At the same time, we must continue the systematic surface survey focused on detecting and mapping of non-documented primary sources of radiolarite as well as sites with chipped stone industry. A detailed analysis of the collections of chipped industry will focus on monitoring individual phases of processing and finishing of the raw material 131

Between History and Archaeology of the Pieniny Klippen Belt (Western Slovakia). Mineralia Slovaca 32(1): 45–54. Schreiber, P. 2009. Štiepaná a hladená industria doby kamennej z oblasti Ilavy až Považskej Bystrice. Unpublished thesis, Univerzity Komenského v Bratislave. Schreiber, P. 2011. Primárne zdroje rádiolaritovej a rohovcovej suroviny a výrobné dielne na štiepanú kamennú industriu v mikroregióne Streženice/ Lednické Rovne. Musaica 27: 5–20. Vencl, S. 1967. K otázce datování tzv. vlárskeho paleolitu. Musaica 7: 3–13. Vlkolinská, I. Illášová, Ľ. and Hunka, J. 1998. Výsledky prieskumu na trase diaľnice. Archeologické výskumy a nálezy na Slovensku v roku 1996: 170, 171, 127–279. Žaár, O. 2013. Modely sídliskových štruktúr v  mladom paleolite na západnom Slovensku. Unpublished PhD thesis, Univerzity Konštantína Filozofa v Nitre. Žaár, O., Schreiber, P., Štec, L. and Blašková, Ľ. 2013. Nové povrchové nálezy z  Bohuníc a  Sedmerovca. Archeologické výskumy a nálezy na Slovensku v roku 2009: 264–265, 342–346.

Považia 1:50 000. Bratislava, Štátny geologický ústav Dionýza Štúra. Mello, J., Mello, J., Boorová, D., Buček, S., Filo, I., Fordinál, K., Havrila, M., Iglárová, Ľ., Kubeš, P., Liščák, P., Maglay, J., Marcin, D., Nagy, A., Potfaj, M., Rakús, M., Rapant, S., Remšík, A., Salaj, J., Siráňová, Z., Teťák, F., Zuberec, J., Zlinská, A. and Žecová, K. 2011. Vysvetlivky ku geologickej mape Stredného Považia 1:50 000. Bratislava, Štátny geologický ústav Dionýza Štúra. Mišík, M., Sýkora, M., Ožvoldová, L. and Aubrecht, R. 1994. Horná Lysá (Vršatec) – a  new variety of the Kysuca Succesion in the Pieniny Klippen Belt. Mineralia Slovaca 26(1): 7–19. Nemergut, A. 2011. Sídlisková geografia Považia a Ponitria v staršej dobe kamennej. Unpublished PhD thesis, Masarykova univerzita v Brně. Nemergut, A., Cheben, M. and Gregor, M. 2012. Lithic raw material use at the Palaeolithic site of Moravany nad Váhom-Dlhá. Anthropologie 50(4): 379–390. Schlögl, J. Aubrecht, R. and Tomašovský, A. 2000. The first find of the Orava Unit in the Púchov section

132

The Prehistoric Bedrock Quarries Occurring within the Chert Bearing Carbonates of the Cambrian-Ordovician Kittatinny Supergroup, Wallkill River Valley, Northwestern New JerseySoutheastern New York, U.S.A. Philip C. LaPorta

The Center for the Investigation of Native and Ancient Quarries and Pace University, Department of Chemistry and Physical Sciences, 84 Fletcher Street, Goshen, NY 10924, e-mail: [email protected]

Scott A. Minchak

The Center for the Investigation of Native and Ancient Quarries, 84 Fletcher Street, Goshen, NY 10924, e-mail: [email protected]

Margaret C. Brewer-LaPorta

Pace University, Department of Chemistry and Physical Sciences, 861 Bedford Road, Pleasantville, NY 10570, e-mail: [email protected] Abstract Geologic and archaeologic field work in the Cambrian-Ordovician chert bearing carbonates of the Wallkill Valley (New York and New Jersey) has located greater than 800 prehistoric bedrock quarries. Detailed examination of quarry landscapes, as well as excavated quarry tailings, has elucidated an organization to quarry development controlled by tectonics, structural geology and stratigraphy of the raw material. Geological control impacts quarry development, types of quarry tools used, and manufacture of quarry products. A predictive model for prehistoric bedrock quarry development was proposed, which in turn allowed for a chain of operation that began at the quarry face and ended with the quarry product. The chain of operation fills in a void left by previous quarry studies that were unable to visualize the steps from extraction to workshop activity, and as such led to the dismissal of quarry tailings and artifacts due to mischaracterizations stemming from misunderstanding of geological controls on extraction. Keywords: ore, microlithon, domain, boudinage, First Tectonic Cycle Quarry Model.

Bridging the Terminology Gap with Geological Constraints of Raw Materials

Introduction The interplay of geologic factors such as tectonics, structure, stratigraphy and diagenesis are the fundamental criteria for development of prehistoric bedrock quarries. The degree to which raw material is extracted, the resulting architecture of the quarry, the chain of operation, and types of manufactured quarry products are established within the parameters set by the regional geological framework (LaPorta 1994, 1996b, 2005, 2009). Therefore, the placement of prehistoric quarries into proper archaeological contexts necessitates an understanding of the geological framework at several scales stated above (LaPorta 2005). The type location for this method of prehistoric-quarry investigation is the Appalachians of New Jersey and New York, specifically the Cambrian-Ordovician, chertbearing, carbonate rocks of the First Tectonic Cycle (LaPorta et al. 2007), Great Valley of the Appalachian fold-thrust belt. Applications of the First Tectonic Cycle Models to regions outside of the type locality would necessarily require considerable modification in order to fit the geological criteria unique to those regions.

The First Tectonic Cycle is represented by multiple episodes of tectonism in the Wallkill Valley. The rock is stressed, strained, and fractured, tilting the beds from 4–70 degrees from the horizontal (LaPorta 2009). The fractures result from multiple tectonic events and provide a macroscopic and microscopic effect on the cherts (LaPorta 2009). The rocks contain visible fractures in the form of joints (fracture in a rock with no visible displacement of the parts) and cleavage (splitting of rock crystals on a preferred plane of weakness). The fractures are caused by brittle shear (Scholz, 2002), where a crack is idealized as a mathematically flat and narrow fracture in a linear elastic medium. Lamoraal Ulbo DeSitter (1956) defined microlithons as narrow slices of rock enclosed between cleavage planes, which he analogized as compressed bricks that form a staircase. The microlithon represents the largest measurable homogenous volume of chert which can be successfully refined into a functional stone tool, without serious risk if failure. Conversely, the microlithon represents the 133

Between History and Archaeology smallest measurable microstructural element visible in outcrop, and confirmed in the laboratory by traditional microscopic methods (i.e., the light transmitting petrographic microscope with attached universal stage; LaPorta 2005, 2009).

quarries. Prehistoric peoples, spurred by the same need for survival as historic and modern quarry workers and miners, developed a folk geology or ethnogeology, in order to record and archive their empirically based geological expertise (LaPorta 2009). Perhaps this was accomplished with the purpose of archiving their history of geological observations, in essence a folkgeology predictive model, designed for conservation and survival (James Moore, personal communication to Philip LaPorta).

Archaeologists have mislabeled, and subsequently discounted, artifacts and the associated classes of quarry tailings as ‘slabby’, ‘block’, ‘shatter’, and ‘chunk’ (Binford and Quimby 1963; Crabtree 1972; Amick 1982; Munford 1982; Church 1994). This practice of de-evaluation was most prevalent when prehistorically worked chert contained angular and flat surfaces that did not exhibit taxonomic flake scars. Observations of brittleshear fractures in prehistoric chert quarries, and their presence in artifacts, led Philip LaPorta (1994, 1996b, 2005, 2009) to propose a model for the organization of prehistoric quarries and subsequent processing of the fractured chert; placing four phases of raw-material comminution before initiation of workshop activity. LaPorta (2005) documented in southern India the task subdivision organized by extant quarry workers at long established hand-operated bedded limestone quarries. Here, workers accentuated bedding planes and master joints of the Shahabad Limestone employing dolerite hammerstones, which were extracted from the nearby Deccan Plateau basalts, and rolled to the quarries, all orchestrated with ritual life, song and prayer.

Because the cherts of the Wallkill Valley are multiply deformed, the quandary of the prehistoric stone tool maker is to locate a microlithon oriented between as many as three sets of oblique or acutely intersecting planes; not to mention the added effects of diagenesis and pressure solution. Therefore, the quarries in the Wallkill Valley are the most elaborate, possess the greatest number of organized task subdivisions, have the most elongate chains of operation, and exhibit the most elaborate quarry tool and instrument inventory (LaPorta 1994, 1996b, 2005, 2009). Tectonic-Stratigraphy of the Wallkill Valley Within the Wallkill Valley, the Cambrian-Ordovician chert bearing carbonates (Fig. 1) can be grouped into three stratigraphic packages; each of which was initiated at a position of sea-level low stand, followed by a period of sea-level rise, and terminated by sealevel draw down. Each of the three packages is initiated with a lagoonal or estuarine facies, transgresses upwards to open-water epeiric conditions, and is finally reduced to sabkha shorelines. The most laterally persistent cherts tend to be in the shoreline facies; but the greatest volume of chert is housed within the chertreplaced evaporitic units. In between are a plethera of biohermal, mound and reef facies which are partially to completely replaced by chert. The package boundaries are punctuated by chert-lined regional unconformities. The cherts associated with organic accumulations are the most areally restricted.

As such, LaPorta (1994, 1996a, 1996b, 2005, 2009) treated the chert as an ore, a naturally occurring complex of minerals from which any fraction of value can be extracted and used (Pryor 1965). LaPorta also employed the principles of economic geology, the study of earth materials that humans have adapted for their use (Tarr 1930; Chatterjee 1993), as the paradigm for investigating prehistoric extraction/processing of chert. In essence, chert as an ore serves in part to fuel lithic based economies. Actually, Walter Tarr (1930) notes that chert, along with quartz and quartzite, were the first earth material utilized by early humans. Kaulir Chatterjee (1993) stated that in the Lower Paleolithic Period, ‘economic value started being added to the naturally occurring minerals with the help of labor and intelligence’ and considered it the birth of mineral economics.

Lithostratigaphic Package 1 The Leithsville Formation reveals four varieties of chert within the upper Wallkill Member. Midway in the Wallkill Member is a concentration of chert-replaced, domal-aglal stromatolites (LaPorta 2009). The upper Wallkill Member is indexed by three stratigraphically close spaced cherts representing shoreline features in a sabkha environment. The cherts occur in three interrelated sedimentary facies; an enterolithic gypsum, a cryptalgal laminated dolomite, and a thick, storm deposited pisoidal unit (LaPorta 2009). The cherts within the Wallkill Member are strand-line deposits and

There is a long history of mining and rock processing literature, from the Renaissance to the 20th Century – replete with a mining terminology and a description of the various stages and methods in quarrying, mining, and rock processing (Agricola 1950 [1556]; Richards 1903; Simons 1924; von Bernewitz 1931; Richards and Locke 1940; Pryor 1965). The same ideas of familiarity, ingenuity, intelligence, and systematics noted in the works of historic mining texts can be seen in the prehistoric workings of the Wallkill Valley chert 134

Philip C. LaPorta et al.: The Prehistoric Bedrock Quarries

Fig 1. Generalized geologic base map, cross section, and stratigraphic column for the Wallkill Valley, New Jersey-New York. Drawn: Philip C. LaPorta. 

chert replaced cryptalgal laminates in the Rickenbach’s Hope Member represent lower supratidal facies and are similar to the upper portion of the Wallkill Member of the Leithsville Formation. In many respects, the Wallkill and Hope members represent the successive establishments of passive-margin sabkha sequences and their associated strandline cherts (LaPorta 2009). These thin bedded, closely spaced, cherts can be traced along stratigraphic strike from northeastern Pennsylvania into southeastern New York, and represent a continuous shoreline facies. They have been interpreted as a series of closely spaced, chert replaced, algal stromatolites or possibly the static position of a former paleoaquifer (LaPorta 2009).

can be traced intermittently along stratigraphic strike for tens to hundreds of kilometers (LaPorta 2009). The overlying Limeport Formation bears six formation members containing mixed dolomites and limestones representing open-marine epeiric conditions (LaPorta 2009). Chert occurs in both oolitic units and stromatolite mounds. The spatial distribution of the cherts is the result of Middle Cambrian reef/mound ecology; as such the cherts are areally restricted (LaPorta 2009). The overlying Upper Allentown Formation is deposited in response to a regional sea-level rise (LaPorta 2009). The cherts completely replace limestones that are areally restricted. Chert is most common though in regressive evaporates, and as unconformity linings occurring in the upper part of the section (LaPorta 2009).

The cherts are thickest in the overlying Crooked Swamp Member of the Rickenbach Formation, which contains chert-replaced evaporites and silcretized doloarenites (LaPorta 2009). The uppermost Crooked Swamp Member provides considerable chert for prehistoric needs, housed predominantly in chert-replaced patch reefs, oolites, chert-lined unconformities, and thickly bedded evaporites. The cherts are areally restricted and strongly tectonized (LaPorta 2009).

Lithostratigraphic Package 2 Rapid sea-level rise represented by the deposition of the Stonehenge Formation is responsible for a myriad of chert replaced, spindly, algal stromatolite colonies that are very areally restricted, occurring sporadically along stratigraphic strike (LaPorta 2009).

Lithostratigraphic Package 3 The Epler Formation cherts are extremely varied. The brackish water Branchville Member contains isolated chert-replaced algal mats and colonies (LaPorta 2009).

The Rickenbach Formation consists of evaporitic flats, with small algal mounds and cross bedded, trough filling, quartz-sand units (LaPorta 2009). The uppermost 135

Between History and Archaeology The Big Springs Member exhibits silcretized quartzsands, magadi-type cherts, chert-replaced ooid and algal colonies, chert-lined unconformities, and paleokarst infillings. The chert is areally restricted due to facies changes associated with the interplay of tectonics and sea-level rise (LaPorta 2009).

a steeply dipping (50–90 degrees) panel of rocks tilted to the northwest (LaPorta 2009). Lithostratigraphic packages 2 and 3 are exposed along strike within the ramp. The attitude of the beds permits access from both underneath and above the chert bearing units through the accentuation of master joints (LaPorta 2005).

Gradual, but prolonged, sea-level fall gives rise to the overlying Beaver Run Member of the Ontelaunee Formation, which includes a series of voluminous, chert-replaced, shallow-subtidal, stromatactis mounds. The Beaver Run Member, in places, reveals approximately 80 distinctive, closely spaced, chertreplaced evaporates (LaPorta 2009).

Prehistoric quarries in Lithostratigraphic Package 2 are smaller and discontinuous in the ramp, as stratigraphic factors work against structural considerations to limit lateral continuity. Collectively, the package two cherts provide a tremendous tonnage of ore for prehistoric stone-tool production over a prolonged period of time; however, singularly, the quarries are relatively small (LaPorta 2009). Quarries in Lithotectonic Package 3, however, are larger and better developed. This is in part due to boudinage development within the Ontelaunee Formation. The rheological contrast between ductile dolomite and more ridged interbedded cherts works in conjunction with stratigraphic factors to generate ideal field conditions for raw-material extraction.

The gradual drawdown of sea level results in the deposition of the overlying Harmonyvale Member of the Ontelaunee Formation. The Harmonyvale exhibits expansive chert accumulations in the form of repeated successions of chert-replaced evaporites and wholesale chert-replaced limestone beds (LaPorta 2009). The chert beds are continuous for hundreds of meters along stratigraphic strike and the co-occurrence of Beaver Run and overlying Harmonyvale cherts comprise the greatest volume of minable chert in the Wallkill Valley. Structural deformation of the region attenuated the interbedded cherts of the Ontelaunee Formation; deforming the more brittle chert into a succession of rigid en’echelon boudinage structures (LaPorta 2009).

The along-strike continuity of the stratigraphy, continuous sequences of boudinage cherts, as well as the structural orientation of the ramp, allowed easy access to raw materials and supported prehistoric mining endeavors. This is particularly true within the Crooked Swamp Member of the Rickenbach Formation, and the Beaver Run and Harmonyvale members of the Ontelaunee Formation, which represent the evaporitic sequences and near shorelines along the crest of Lithostratigraphic Packages 2 and 3.

Structural Geology of the Wallkill Valley Geological mapping of the Wallkill River Valley (Fig. 1) elucidated three domains of structural deformation impacting the Cambrian-Ordovician carbonates; namely the normal fault, thrust ramp, and fold-thrust sections (LaPorta 2009).

Fold and Thrust Domain The third structural domain involves folds truncated by southeast and northwest dipping thrust-faults (LaPorta 2009). The entire Cambrian-Ordovician succession is exposed in this domain; however, the folded nature of the rocks and truncation by thrust faulting severely limits along-strike distribution. Additionally, rocks located in the hinges of folds will change orientation due to folding, as opposed to faulting, leading to complications that impact quarry prospecting and rawmaterial discovery by native populations. The rocks in the folded section dip in multiple directions; either northwest or southeast, depending on where in the fold they occur. Dip angles range from 20–50 degrees, with a few outlier measurements existing in the 60–70 degree dip range (LaPorta 2009).

Normal Fault Domain The first structural domain in the Wallkill Valley involves normal faulting and fault-block rotation of chert bearing units ranging from 4–50 degrees of dip (LaPorta 2009). The stratigraphic unit that shows the most extensive aerial exposure in the normal fault section is Lithostratigraphic Package 1. The shallower dips, and restricted distribution of rocks due to normal faulting, limit accessibility of cherts for prehistoric mining (LaPorta 2009). However, where the Leithsville Formation is exposed within the normal fault section, it is extensively quarried, as these are continuous strandline deposits.

The structural nuances occurring within the third lithostratigraphic package serve to challenge the ingenuity of prehistoric quarry workers. Many of the quarries in the third domain fail due to the pinch-out of beds, fading of sedimentary facies along strike, radical changes in dip angle, etc. (LaPorta 2009). For these

Thrust Ramp Domain The second structural domain involves a thrust ramp in which a fault moves and rotates the stratigraphy into 136

Philip C. LaPorta et al.: The Prehistoric Bedrock Quarries

Fig 2. LaPorta Prehistoric Quarry Model (LaPorta 2004, 2009), revised, from the Wallkill River Valley, New Jersey-New York. Drawn: Philip C. LaPorta.

the application of heat. Repeated removal of jointbounded ore blocks results in the development of a declivity, referred to as the Zone of Extraction (Zone 1; LaPorta 2005, 2009; Fig. 2 and 3a). The deepest declivities correlate with quarries that possess the best developed lower stable platform (LaPorta 2005, 2009). Boudinage in rocks of Lithostratigraphic Package 3 are also conducive to the development of deep declivities within Zone 1 because they provide easy access to large homogenous pods of chert.

reasons, these are among the most interesting quarries to study, as they contain more elements of prehistoric behavior than the simpler quarries in the Normal Fault Domain. In essence, quarries become more complex from the first, through the second, into the third lithostratigraphic package. However, when structure is superimposed upon stratigraphy, the quarries that are most elaborately developed are executed within the Wallkill Member in the Normal Fault Domain and the Crooked Swamp, Beaver Run and Harmonyvale members occurring within the Fold-Thrust Domain.

The joint bounded ore block is physically passed downwards along the stable platform to a location where the dolomite gangue can be separated or ‘cobbed ‘away from the chert-bearing units in a location that is safe and does not impede active mining (LaPorta 2005, 2009). This locale is referred to as the Zone of Ore Milling (Zone 2; LaPorta 2005, 2009; see Fig. 2).

The First Tectonic Cycle Quarry Model Field mapping and archaeological excavations of prehistoric bedrock quarries in the Wallkill Valley permitted the development of the First Tectonic Cycle Quarry Model (Fig. 2; LaPorta 2005, 2009). Master joints are accentuated and loosened due to plug-andfeather methods, the direct impact of hammers, and

The chert fragments and remaining dolomite are then transported laterally to an area where the dolomite (gangue) is separated from the chert. This elongate 137

Between History and Archaeology chain of comminution of the ore is referred to as the Zone of Beneficiation (Zone 3; see Fig. 2; LaPorta 2005, 2009). Zone 3 is poorly understood because it is frequently buried underneath large debris from Zone 1. The products of beneficiation include dressed ore, microlithon packages and microlithons.

involves observing chert within bedrock outcrops. The presence of prehistoric activity is usually discovered by observing overturned strata, fractured chert-bearing blocks of dolomite, and disrupted block boudinage of chert strewn over the base of outcrops. Evidence for the intensive use of outcrop in extraction activities is indexed by the discovery of anomalous quantities of broken, fractured, and severely battered metaconglomerate boulders, scattered throughout the vicinity of the outcrop. Intimately associated with the outcrop area are distinctive, beehive shaped mounds of preferentially sorted, glacially derived boulders that are inferred as storehouses of potential tools and instruments for use during the developmental period of the quarry. Structural and petrofabric measurements of the ore, and surrounding country rock, elucidate how steeply beds are dipping and if they are also intersected by steeply inclined joints that have been pryed open. Such data is important because it determines the level of accessibility to miners given the use (limits) of quarry tools at their disposal.

The Ore Processing Station (Zone 4; LaPorta 2005, 2009) is the location where the various grades of chert are again sorted for imperfections (Fig. 2). The chert, as refined ore, is then passed upwards to yet another stable platform, occurring above the Zone of Extraction (Zone 1), where finished tools are manufactured, and is referred to as Zone 5, the Zone of Ore Refinement (see Fig. 2; LaPorta 2005, 2009). Quarries are often associated with quarry-support sites which may occur up to a kilometer from the site (LaPorta 2005, 2009). These sites typically exhibit the remains of quarry tools and instruments, as well as finished and recycled products emanating from the quarry.

Close inspection of outcrops reveals a typical sinusoidal outline to the chert beds, associated with a castellated and crushed or pulverized upper surface resulting from repeated impacts directed against the chert bed (Fig. 3a). The castellated surfaces are inferred as representing the limit of quartzite hammerstone technology at the quarry. The circumference of the castellation fits the circumference of the impactors and impact wedges lying about the surface (Fig. 3d). Analysis of overburden excavated from backfill piles occurring in front of Zone 1 suggests that after the limits of quartzite technology have been reached, the quarry technician employs a large hammer (impactor) to remove the exhausted quarry face. The impactor (up to 36kg) is focused on the intersecting joint surfaces occurring directly behind the active wall of the quarry. Repeated impacts will eventually release the joint bounded ore block and expose a new face of the chert bed. The exhausted quarry face has ensconced upon it the castellations recorded during earlier extraction episodes. Wall architecture represents one of the most common diagnostic artifactual remains to be examined within the scree occurring along the base of the quarry face.

Room for variation does exist within the Tectonic Cycle 1 Quarry Model, depending on the characteristics for quarry development outlined in LaPorta (2005); namely 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

the concentration of raw material-bearing units, dip of the raw material-bearing rocks into the subsurface, thickness of the surrounding rocks, thickness of the ore within a bed, presence of well-defined bedding planes, presence and orientation of joint surfaces, presence of a stable platform below the zone of extraction, and availability of glacial till, which includes boulders of high-rank metamorphic rocks (preferably meta-quartzites), or other minable raw materials as a source for

These are the considerations that must be modified when applying the quarry model outside of Tectonic Cycle 1. Evidence for the First Tectonic Cycle Quarry Model The First Tectonic Cycle Quarry Model relies upon numerous data sources: specifically, geological (outcrop) and archaeological mapping; measuring of stratigraphic, and petrofabric characteristics of the rock; morphological features on bedrock quarry faces due to the extraction process; morphological and petrological analysis of quarry tools and instruments; petrofabric analysis of chert quarry tailings; and reconstruction of quarry-task subdivisions and resultant chains of operation. Geological and archaeological mapping

Quarry Instruments and Tools The instrument and tool kit directly associated with rock extraction, as excavated from prehistoric chert quarries, is most elaborate when occurring in the First Tectonic Cycle (LaPorta 2005, 2009). The petrology of the objects, their morphological and petrofabric characteristics, as well as the excavated contexts are critical evidence towards deciphering the task subdivision and resulting chain of operation. The following descriptions apply 138

Philip C. LaPorta et al.: The Prehistoric Bedrock Quarries

Fig 3. Zones of extraction (a-c), and associated instruments (d-f). Examples included are: (a) cuspate and castellated surface; (b) small instrument lodged in an accentuated joint, zone of extraction (Zone 1); (c) step and conchoidal scars on an excavated quarried outcrop; (d) impact object (with multiple flake scars); (e) impact wedge; and (f) focal chisel. Scales: the pen (a-b) is 14cm; the US quarter (c) is 2.5cm; and the rock hammer (d) is ca. 35cm. Graphic design: Philip C. LaPorta and Scott A. Minchak.

joint surfaces, thus assisting in forcing the separation of contiguous ore blocks. Many of the focal chisels rupture on impact, as evidenced by broken chisels occurring in all states of use, re-use, and abandonment littering the quarry floor (Fig. 3f). Eventually impactors rupture at a point where bedding planes and joint surfaces within the instrument intersect. The rupture along joint surfaces will determine if the broken sleeve of the object will become a spatula-shaped wedge, or possibly a lap anvil (Tab. 1). Larger, flat surfaced, oblate remnants may become non-portable anvils which are usually found in Zone 5, above the Zone 1 declivity. Recycled fragments of sleeves are ready made as struts or chocks (Tab. 1), which serve to lever the bed outwards. Impactors which do not rupture during usage are found as highly granulated, slightly smaller, impact wedges which can further accentuate unyielding joint surfaces. The wedges may have as many as three cusps, which appear to be maintenanced. Excavated in context with wedges are small, thin, oval to rounded, metaquartzite hammers; the diameter of which corresponds with the surface area of the wedge cusps described above. These smaller hammers may be retooling instruments (Tab. 1) employed in the maintenance of quarry tools. Elongate quartzite hammers found in Zone 1 may also function

to the full complement of objects excavated from the entire spectrum of chert quarries cropping out within the lithostratigraphic packages and structural domains of the Wallkill Valley. Zone of Ore Extraction Fashioned predominantly from Silurian metaconglomerate, impactors represent the largest class of instruments excavated at Wallkill Valley quarries (Fig. 3d and Table 1). Their location at Zone 1, large size, and durable raw material support the inference that they are the primary tool for crushing block boudinage and joint-bounded ore blocks from the quarry face. They can also be used, or recycled, in the production of other tools and instruments after their breakage. Small ortho-/metaquartzite cobbles/ pebbles are found wedged into the intersections of joint surfaces at Zone 1, and as such they are thought to be focal hammers or chisels (Fig. 3b). Prehistoric miners might take advantage of seasonal freeze-thaw processes to assist in the accentuation of joint surfaces. The force of the impactor can be focused upon focal hammers/ chisels (Tab. 1) in order to channel the compressive stress of the impactor to a confined point between two 139

Between History and Archaeology

Fig 4. The following are artifacts classified as Zone II (Zone of Milling) artifacts from the LaPorta Prehistoric Quarry Model. Note: the hatching represent domains. Graphic design: Philip C. LaPorta and Scott A. Minchak.

quarry instruments and mine tailings are backfilled over Zone 3 during periods of stable platform maintenance. The excavated objects and associated tailings suggests that the chert is further dressed in order to remove all lower grades of ore and remaining dolomite gangue (Fig. 5). The ore is dressed as chert whose parameters are defined by large, well-spaced domains and whose interiors are generally free of noticeable fractures (Fig. 5a and 5b). The rough edges of the chert are removed. There is evidence for testing the homogeneity of the dressed ore in the form of small, more portable anvils. The instrument kit includes ortho-/metaquartzite ore dressing hammers (Tab. 1) which are small enough to be hand held and show considerable curation and retooling (Fig. 5f). Many of these objects are recycled from the ruptured impactors and may represent thin sleeves, or outer cortex of boulders. In general, a wide variety of petrological classes is evident, including instruments fashioned from meta-argillite, ortho-/metaquartzite, metaconglomerate, granite, granite gneiss, and ultrabasic rocks. The instruments, beneficiation hammers (Tab. 1), are generally rounded and show evidence of having been flaked and ground through re-tooling. Some objects appear circular or wheel shaped; some even possessing flattened or battered upper edges.

as scaling bars (Tab. 1) used to remove jagged edges from the quarry face. Zone of Ore Milling Zone 2 is replete with ore crushing tools fashioned from clay-rich, arkosic sandstone and orthoquartzite (Fig. 4h). These petrological groupings are unique because they serve to apply a flat, enduring impact to the ore block. This is due to the elevated clay content of the arkose, combined with the general elongate rectangular shape of the objects. Distally battered and proximally pounded flat, the elongate rectangular ore milling instrument is designed to apply the full weight of the object to a more focused area of the ore block. The focal chisels (Tab. 1) are fashioned from ortho-/ metaquartzite. This process serves to remove, or ‘cobb’, the dolomite away from the chert without penetrating the chert with microfractures. Re-tooling hammers (Tab. 1) composed of ortho-/metaquartzite serve to blunt the proximal edges of the elongate rectangular instruments. Zone of Beneficiation Beneficiation is less well understood than extraction, in part because Zone 3 occurs below Zone 1, therefore both 140

Philip C. LaPorta et al.: The Prehistoric Bedrock Quarries

Fig 5. The following are artifacts classified as Zones III and IV (Zone of Processing/Beneficiation) artifacts from the LaPorta Prehistoric Quarry Model. Note: the hatching represent domains. Graphic design: Philip C. LaPorta and Scott A. Minchak.

Zone of Ore Processing

Zone of Ore Refinement

At Zone 4 dressed ore is inferred as being inspected for imperfections, which may appear again during the phase of biface thinning. The chert is sorted and the primary instrument type is the refinement hammer, which is usually fashioned from very elastic metaquartzite (Fig. 5f and Table 1). The hammers can be held within one hand easily and may be employed, along with a small class of focal chisel, to split lithon packages into utilizable units (Fig. 5b). The expression ‘washing table’ is adapted from current mining literature and represents the cleaning of hand sorted ore, which is divided out for specific needs. In order to accomplish this task, the microlithons are wetted, and closely examined for minute imperfections. The presence of broken ceramic vessels occurring at the base of this zone, lends credence to the hypothetical washing table. Other than the hand-held hammers and focal chisels, a variety of portable and portable anvils, including shoe, flat, convex, and lap anvils, are called upon for this task (Tab. 1). Formal excavations have yielded caches of both dressed ore, as well as microlithons and microlithon packages, resulting from the final stages of comminution of the domain bounded chert.

Zone 5 instruments include a non-portable anvil, usually fashioned from meta-conglomerate. These are, as mentioned above, the remnants of ruptured impactors removed from Zone 1 activities. Distributed radially around the anvil are split and rejected microlithons and microlithon packages, occasional middling cores, and the first taxonomic flake scars (Fig. 5g). It is at Zone 5 where the microlithon, for the first time, is flaked or thinned between domains into bifaces, bifacial cores, and other tools (Fig. 5b, c, e and f). Associated with the large anvil are smaller convex anvils, more portable shoe, flat, and lap anvils. They are derived from the rupture of impactors and occasionally milling tools and as such are fashioned from metaconglomerate, quartzite, meta-argillite or arkosic sandstone. The additional instrument types include every small class of focal chisels and highly elastic circular hammers fashioned from metaquartzite (Fig. 5h, 5i and Table 1). The circular hammers are, in general, four to five times as long and wide as they are thick and are commonly referred to as controlled flaking hammers. Small chert hammerstones and focal chisels fashioned from chert and quartz pebbles do occur at this zone.

141

Between History and Archaeology Quarry Chain of Operation

(Fig. 5). The domain strength of the average dressed ore is approximately 10–15cm. The backfill exhibits rounded and circular beneficiation hammers with flat or blunted upper edges, chat, thin splinters of dolomite and inferior grades of chert (Fig. 4 and Tab. 1).

The chain of operation is an outgrowth of the statistical analysis of discrete populations of quarry tailings and represents a critical component in determining the spatial relationships of the task subdivisions. This analysis of the chert, combined with the morphological, petrological, and petrofabric analysis of the quarry instruments and tools, serve to make diagnostic the five-phase quarry model for the First Tectonic Cycle.

Zone 4 may be associated with the partial washing of dressed ore, and lithon packages prior to distribution to Zone 5. The products of Zone 4 are largely smaller classes of microlithon packages and microlithons (Fig. 4). The domain strength at this position is approximately 2–5cm. The backfill contains ruptured flat anvils, remnants of caches of lithon packages, and microlithons, various types of anvils, all associated with chat and a class of very small quartz and quartzite focal chisels (Fig. 4 and Tab. 1). These refined products are washed, then sorted, and eventually arrive at Zone 5 for manufacturing into finished products such as bifaces, bifacial cores, and utilizable flakes (Fig. 6). In general, domain strength at this location is 1–2cm for single microlithons, 2–4cm as for two microlithon units and 3–6cm for the three microlithon packages. In general, one microlithon unit serves for the production of projectile points; while two microlithons as for hand held bifaces and bifacial cores; while three microlithon packages are generally polyhedral cores.

Arranged in a linear fashion, the sequence is initiated with the successful extraction of chert bearing ore blocks or block boudinage from Zone 1. The ore blocks are approximately 1.5– 2.0m in length, and may weigh upwards to 2,000 lbs. Irregularities and jagged edges on the ore block are removed with retooling hammers, resulting in a platform covered with ruptured impactors, wedges, chat, focal chisels, chocks, rejected ore blocks and dolomite flakes (Fig. 4). The slightly refined ore block is dressed at Zone 2, with elongate, blunt milling hammers employed in separating the dolomite beds from chert. The resulting crushed ore blocks and middling blocks are about 25–50cm in diameter and are bound on all sides by domains. At this location, an ore block will occasionally not yield to cobbing and instead resist breakage. This is largely due to the presence of numerous, closely spaced, resealed domains, recrystallization fabric, heterogeneity imparted to the chert through diagenesis, or possibly due to the presence of pressure solution passing through the chert block. The ore block is set to the side where it serves as a middling ore block (Fig. 4d). The middling ore block can be re-visited for the volume of utilizable chert that it may possess as economic needs change. Eventually over time, the middling block will evolve into a faceted middling core block (Fig. 4e) of substantial size; however, it never leaves Zone 2. The surfaces of many of the Wallkill Valley quarries, and the associated mounds of backfill, are veneered with tailings piles comprised of dolomite blocks, chat, middling ore blocks, middling cores, focal chisels, ruptured tools and instruments, and the architectural elements of the former episodes of extraction (Fig. 4 and Table 1). Principal Zone 2 products include middling ore blocks, middling core blocks, middling cores, large focal chisels, struts, and chat (Fig. 4).

Lastly, the discovery of small, thin, heat treated, vitrified, quartzite discs in the empty declivities of Zone 1 has cause for concern (Tab. 1). The discs are circular, half-moon and crescent shaped. They are ground along all edges and most evidence of flake scars has been removed by repeated grinding. Rarely, one of these objects is discovered fashioned from friable garnet muscovite schist, which does not occur in local glacial till, and may provenance from a distant source. The discs are lodged at the base of the Zone 1, neatly between the vertical joint planes of two contiguous ore blocks or block boudins. They have no apparent function; however, they may be fashioned from exhausted elastic thinning hammers which source to Zone 5 activities. The objects may represent a ritualized offering or ‘giving back to the Earth’ process. Conclusions Prehistoric bedrock quarries are first and foremost a geological entity. The geological setting of the raw material; the tectonic, structural and stratigraphic factors responsible for the genesis of the ore under examination, control how the material was extracted from bedrock and how prehistoric technicians worked the material into a product of choice. This investigation represents a successful attempt at using the petrofabric approach to prehistoric quarry investigations for the purpose of creating a successful model for the organization of prehistoric bedrock quarries and

Half products resulting from the initial phases of comminution are passed to Zone 3. The focus of activity at this zone is to split domains from the more homogenous areas of the chert. This is accomplished through the application of meta-argillite and ortho-/metaquartzite cobbing or dressing hammers (Tab. 1). The products emanating from Zone 3 include considerable quantities of dressed ore, microlithon packages, microlithons, and small block cores 142

Philip C. LaPorta et al.: The Prehistoric Bedrock Quarries Table 1. Attribute table for instrument and tool types for extracting and processing chert in the Wallkill River Valley: 1–meta conglomerate; 2–orthoquartzite; 3–metaquartzite; 4–meta-argillite; 5–meta-arkose; 6–granite; 7–gneiss; 8–syenite; 9–arkosic sandstone; 10–ultrabasics; 11–graywacke; 12–chert; 13–quartz. Type

Zone(s)

Material

Weight

Form

Purpose

Impactor

1

1, 2, 3, 4,5,11

11-43 kg

ovate/circular crushes ore blocks away from the quarry face

Impact Wedges

1

2, 3

9-36 kg

triangular

focused compressive stress on Joint Surface

Flat Wedges

1

1,2,3,4,5

10-12 kg

thin ovoid/ triangular

driven into joint surfaces to aid the impactor in accentuating master joints

Scaling Bar

1

6, 7, 8, 9

1-2.5 kg

elongate

retooling hammer/Removing jagged edges from walls of Zone1declivity

Struts and Chocks

1

1, 2, 4

2-6 kg

irregular fragments

recycled fragments used to support or pry the bed outward

Ceremonial Objects

1

2,3

circular, .25-1.25kg half moon, crescentic

Milling Instrument

2

2, 4, 6, 7, 9

4-11 kg

elongate rectangular

designed to apply the full weight of the object to a more focused area of the ore block

Retooling Hammer

1, 2, 3

1

1-3 kg

elongate/ rectangular

smaller tools used to maintenance Impact wedges and impactors

Focal Chisel

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 0.03-1 kg 8, 9, 12, 13

circular/ wedge

converge compressive stress of instruments

Large Faceted 1,2 Wedge

1, 2, 4, 5

8-16 kg

plano-convex

focused compressive stress on joints separating two ore blocks

Faceted Wedges

1,2

2, 3, 4

5-11 kg

elongate triangular

serves to further accentuate the join between two opposing ore blocks

Ore Dressing Instrument

2,3

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 1-4 kg 8, 9, 10

rectangular/ square, subrounded

removing the irregularities from milled ore

Ore Processing Hammers

3, 4

2, 4

1-2 kg

thin, mildly ovate to circular highly elastic ovate/circular hammers designed for thinning bifaces and bifacial cores

Beneficiation Hammers

3,4

1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9

1-5 kg

ovate/circular

Convex Anvil

3,4,5

2, 4

4-6 kg

plano-convex designed for the remoaval of flawed microlithons

Refinement Hammer

4, 5

1,2, 3

0.5-1.5 kg

circular

hand-held, employed with small class of focal chisels, split microlithon packages into utilizable packages

Lap Anvil

4, 5

2, 5

2-4 kg

mildly planoconvex

separating and crushing lithon packages

Shoe Anvil

4, 5

3, 4

3-6 kg

lentil shaped

splitting microlithons

Elastic Flaking 4,5 Hammer

3

0.5-1 kg

circular

fine flaking of bifaces and bifacial cores

Flat Anvil

4,5

4,5,9,11

Stationary Anvil

5

1, 2, 4

gift giving, giving back process

designed for dull impact on fressed ore blocks and dressed ore

tablet shaped crushing microlithons 18-41 kg

strongly convex

143

stationary control preparation of finished tools

Between History and Archaeology

Fig 6. The following are artifacts classified as Zone V (Zone of Refinement) artifacts from the LaPorta Prehistoric Quarry Model. Note: the hatching represent domains. Graphic design: Philip C. LaPorta and Scott A. Minchak.

towards the production of finished tools. Coincident with the established chain of operation is an equally as sophisticated inventory of instruments and tools employed to comminute rock along planes of weakness in an effort to obtain utilizable units of chert. The proposed petrofabric framework, and associated multitask subdivision quarry plan, represents a serious departure from the traditional perspective of rawmaterial extraction and refinement strategies. This research has adopted a terminology derived almost entirely from economic geology and ore deposit studies, converting the stark monochromatic landscape of earlier quarry-workshop investigations into a vivid panorama of prehistoric subsistence related activities generating a three-dimensional, life-like depiction of quarry subsistence.

developing a complete chain of operation stemming from the quarry face to the final product. Within the First Tectonic Cycle of the Wallkill Valley, prehistoric bedrock quarries are most elaborately developed within the normal fault and fold-thrust domains. Within these structural domains, quarries are best developed in the Wallkill Member of the Leithsville Formation, the Crooked Swamp Member of the Rickenbach Formation, and the Beaver Run and Harmonyvale members of the Ontelaunee Formation. All four of the most prominent quarry bearing horizons correlate with sea-level draw down and the preservation of thick, chert replaced evaporites, and related shoreline facies in a sabhka-like setting. Neither the stratigraphy, nor the structural geology, of the raw material individually controls the availability of the raw material for extraction. However, it is the interplay of the various aspects of the geology that creates unique, yet predictable, circumstances controlling accessibility, extraction methodology, and processing of the raw material.

Lastly, the systematic nature of quarry development throughout the Wallkill Valley suggests that indigenous peoples were intimate with their natural surroundings and the whereabouts of their natural resources. The presence of theorized ceremonial objects recovered from Zone 1 excavations, possibly represents a giving back process. This suggests that a folk geology approach to landscape analysis may have been practiced by native peoples and possibly archived in ritualized behavior.

The First Tectonic Cycle chain of operation, from the perspective of petrofabric analysis of the chert, may contain as many as 40 to 50 steps of comminution 144

Philip C. LaPorta et al.: The Prehistoric Bedrock Quarries The embodiment of this behavior is contained within the most heavily curated object at the quarry, the hammerstone or curated quarry instrument.

LaPorta, P. 1996b. Lithostratigraphy as a Predictive Tool for Prehistoric Quarry Investigations: Examples from Dutchess Quarry Site, Orange County, New York. In C. Lindner and E. Curtin (eds), A Golden Chronograph for Robert E. Funk: 47–66. Occasional Publications in Northeastern Anthropology, No. 15. LaPorta, P. 2005 A. Geological Model for the Development of Bedrock Quarries, with an Ethnoarchaeological Application. In P. Topping, and M. Lynott, editors, The Cultural Landscape of Prehistoric Mines: 123–139. Oxford, Oxbow Books. LaPorta, P. 2009. The Stratigraphy and Structure of the Cambrian and Ordovician Carbonates of the Wallkill River Valley: The Nature of the Diagenesis of Chert and Its Archaeological Potential. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, City University of New York. LaPorta, P., Minchak, S. and Brewer-LaPorta, M. 2007. Task Quarry Subdivisions of the First, Second, and Third Tectonic Cycles of Eastern North America. Abstract. Implement Petrology Group 2007 Conference, York, England, Paper Presented at the Conference. Munford, B. 1982. The Piney Branch Quarry Site: An Analysis of a Lithic Workshop in Washington, D.C. Unpublished M.A. thesis, George Washington University. Pryor, E. 1965. Mineral Processing. New York, Elsevier. Richards, R. 1903. Ore Dressing. New York, The Engineering and Mining Journal. Richards, R. and Locke, C. 1940. Textbook of Ore Dressing. New York, McGraw-Hill. Scholz, C. 2002. The Mechanics of Earthquakes and Faulting. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Simons, T. 1924. Ore Dressing: Principles and Practice. New York, McGraw-Hill. Tarr, W. A. 1930. Introductory Economic Geology. New York, McGraw-Hill. Whittaker, J. 1994. Flintknapping: Making and Understanding Stone Tools. Austin, University of Texas Press.

References Agricola, G. 1950 [1556]. De Re Metallica. Translated by Herbert C. Hoover and Lou H. Hoover. New York, Dover Books. Amick, D. 1982. Topsy: Late Archaic Biface Manufacture on the Buffalo River, Southwestern Highland Rim, Tennessee. Knoxville. University of Tennessee. von Bernewitz, M. 1931. Handbook for Prospectors. New York, McGraw-Hill. Binford, L. and Quimby, G. 1963. Indian Sites and Chipped Stone Materials in the Northern Lake Michigan Area. Fieldiana 36: 277–307. Chatterjee, K. K. 1993. An Introduction to Mineral Economics. New Delhi, India, Wiley Eastern Limited. Church, T. 1994. Lithic Resource Studies: A Sourcebook for Archaeologists (Special Publication #3, Lithic Technology). Oklahoma, Department of Anthropology, University of Tulsa. Crabtree, D. 1972. Introduction to Flintworking. Occasional Papers of the Idaho State Museum, No. 28, Pocatello, Idaho. De Sitter, L.U. 1956. Structural Geology. New York, McGraw-Hill. LaPorta, P. 1994. Lithostratigraphic Models and the Geographic Distribution of Prehistoric Chert Quarries within the Cambro-Ordovician Lithologies of the Great Valley Sequence, Sussex County, New Jersey. In C. Bergman and J. Doershuk, (eds), Recent Research into the Prehistory of the Delaware Valley. Journal of Middle Atlantic Archaeology 10: 47–66. LaPorta, P. 1996a. The Tenor of Ore. New York, Albany. Paper Presented at the First Appalachian Integrated Highland Conference

145

146

Methodical Concepts and Assumptions Underlying Research Methods for Studies on the Erratic Raw Material of the Polish Lowland. Geology versus Archaeology Piotr Chachlikowski

Institute of Archaeology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Umultowska 89D Street, 61–614 Poznan, Poland e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: Inadequate levels of identification of glacial resources of raw materials in the Polish Lowlands areas and unreliable geological determinations of the assortment and frequency of local Fennoscandian erratics have established the opinion among archaeologists of alleged shortages in appropriate petrologically differentiated material necessary for stone industry in glacial areas. The claim has been made that raw material shortages were supplemented by massive imports of exogenous rocks from areas of their natural deposits. Yet a long study undertaken by the author on the Lowland inventory of erratics has proved that they constituted an extremely abundant and lithologically diversified source of raw materials. In the study, relatively large numbers of boulders and pebbles have been examined, regardless of their so-called indicating usefulness and with their appropriate overall measurements parameters taken into consideration. The exceptional abundance of local glacial ‘deposits’ effectively balanced the deficit in imported rock raw material for the local stone worker and inhibited the demand for imports. Keywords: Fennoscandian erratics, research methodology, the Polish Lowland, prehistoric stone industry

Introduction

The inhabitants of these areas also utilised rock materials, though on a decidedly smaller scale, that was gained by way of the procurement of exogenous raw materials, i.e. ‘imports’ from areas rich in stone deposits, generally located south of the Polish Lowland areas. It has been scientifically established that the utilisation of exogenous rock materials, i.e. non-endogenous and from outside the Polish Lowland, by the local population was a phenomenon not only inconsistent2 but also, and what is particularly important, with just a marginal significance for the stone raw material industry in early agrarian societies of the Polish Lowland. Research to date on imports of raw materials used in the Polish Lowland in the Neolithic and early Bronze Age has shown that the ‘imports’ did not include all stone raw materials available in areas of their natural deposits and located outside the Lowland. The phenomenon of the procurement of exogenous material by the contemporary population was limited to just those types of rock that were used for the production of a relatively narrow assortment of products, predominantly forms that were more culturally characteristic – in particular those with a cutting edge. Moreover, even within this category of products, the share (and contribution) of imported raw materials was only incidental. The exceptions are products related to the early Neolithic stone industry and, to a lesser degree, tool implements made by the middle Neolithic colonists of the Polish Lowland that represented cultures that spread from the Danubian region.3

Due to its geological structure, the area of the Polish Lowland essentially lacks natural deposits of most significant types of non-flint raw materials that were procured and exploited by man in the prehistoric past. Similarly to other areas covered by the last Pleistocene continental glaciation, glacially deposited rock material identified in the area1 and transported away by ice sheet from distant source regions, not only accounted for an easy reservoir of raw material close at hand for prehistoric inhabitants of the area, but also constituted the primary source, and until early historical times the only one, for stone acquisition. It is not surprising then that existing scholarly knowledge and interpretation generally assume that the societies inhabiting the great valley belt of the Polish Lowland in the past, and more generally the population of the early glacial landform areas, procured raw material for stone production primarily by exploiting local resources of erratic rocks (cf. Chachlikowski 1991, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2007, 2010 and 2013; Chachlikowski and Skoczylas 2001a, 2001b and 2001c; Szydłowski 2011; Pomaniowska 2012; further references therein). For erratic rock materials (synonymous to erratic boulders or pebbles) mapped in glacial deposits in Poland, the areas of relevant corresponding resources to their natural origin (source regions) are: Scandinavia with the Baltic states and the Baltic Basin, i.e. the area of the so-called Baltic Shield (or the Fennoscandian Shield). Fennoscandian erratic pebble assemblages in the Polish Lowland represent all types of rocks, i.e. igneous, metamorphous and sedimentary (see: Konieczny 1956; Dudziak 1970; Nunberg 1971; Meyer 1983; Lisicki 2003; Woźniak 2004; Czubla et al. 2006; GórskaZabielska 2007, 2008a, 2008b and 2010; Górska-Zabielska and Zabielski 2010; Czubla 2011, 2015).

1 

With regard to both the assortment composition of raw material and the areas of their provenance and the intensity or chronology of the reception of the ‘import’ in prehistoric societies of the Lowlands. 3  From among the exogenous raw materials exploited at the time by 2 

147

Between History and Archaeology The key issue in the study of the origin and utilisation of stone raw materials, i.e. the so-called stone industry of the societies that inhabited the vast plains between the Oder and Vistula rivers in prehistory (but also in early historical times), is to distinguish and evaluate the local resources of erratic raw material – glacially deposited rocks that rest on the area following the activity of the last Pleistocene Scandinavian ice sheet. The question of a proper evaluation of the raw material inventory in the Lowland in lithic material constitutes in fact an extremely important, though still underestimated and not adequately addressed scientifically, research area of the archaeology of the Middle European Plain.

research projects,4 have limited to the minimum any attempts to approach erratic raw materials from the perspective of the evaluation of the participation of local lithic resources in satisfying the demand for rock raw materials for the local population. 1. Outline of the geological questionnaire for research on Fennoscandian erratics and its consequences for rock raw material archaeology It should be recalled at this point that despite obvious shortcomings (from the perspective of requirements of the archaeology of rock raw materials) of a geological questionnaire of research on petrography of glacial erratics in the areas within the reach of the Scandinavian glacial, an attempt has nevertheless been made. Its authors, Andrzej Prinke and Janusz Skoczylas (1978, 1980: 46–49), in order to assess the frequency and assortment inventory for glacial stones (erratics), used all the available results of geological research on the petrography of erratics that rest in glacial deposits in areas of early glacial landforms.

Meanwhile, the recognition and evaluation of the structure (in terms of assortment and frequency) of erratics from the Polish Plain as well as the evaluation of the local resources of glacial rocks belonged until quite recently to these issues of prehistory that were not addressed by scholarship at all or only addressed inadequately. The above opinion applies to the research practice both at home as well as in other Central European countries. This sphere of man’s activity in the remote past, related to the procurement and use of one of the basic raw materials by the population that inhabited the Polish Lowland, still remains inadequately scholarly researched and meagerly elucidated in prehistoriography. Although this unsatisfactory state of knowledge on erratic stone raw materials of the Polish Lowland slowly improves, things as they are indicate that these issues still remain somewhat marginal in terms of dedicated areas of research and research initiatives and projects, both for prehistoric and early historic archaeology. This state of affairs has primarily resulted from a lack of appropriately methodologically approached field surveys, (with strict research agenda and properly documented in sources), that would be aimed at evaluating the inventory of rock raw materials – Fennoscandian erratics.

It turns out, though, that the relevant geological studies available to Prinke and Skoczylas at the time, and used by both researchers to characterize the petrographic composition, frequency and number count of Fennoscandian erratics in the Polish Lowland, cannot be treated as sufficiently representative and reliable sources of knowledge on the real abundance of erratics in the local raw material reservoirs of this area. The above reservations notably apply to determinations of the diversity of the assortment of the local rock material, in particular those relative to the frequency of particular lithological rocks available in the resources of erratics in the Polish Lowland. In the opinion of the author, doubts and uncertainties as to comprehensiveness and authoritativeness of the determinations of the existing geological research on the characteristics of the erratic resources in the

Inadequate levels of recognition of glacial Scandinavian erratics that rest on the areas once covered by the last Pleistocene glaciation have prevented researchers from performing an insightful and truly reliable profile of the available glacial lithic reservoir of this area. Let us recall that it was the only accessible source for the local stone industry of the inhabitants of the Polish Lowland in prehistory. Shortages of interdisciplinary field surveys and accompanying research output, as well as methodical shortcomings of heretofore incidental

Existing studies of the assortment and frequency of glacial erratics of the Polish Lowland are burdened by vagueness and a great number of methodical shortcomings. They mainly refer to applied criteria for delimitation of erratic samples indicated for lithological surveys (Skoczylas 1989, 1990: 80–84; Grygiel 2004: 127–132; Szydłowski 2011: 296–302; Pomianowska 2012). The cited studies define the rules for a determination of the petrographic composition adopted in the relevant analysis of selected rock material for examination in a very imprecise way, or even do not include them at all. The criteria adopted and described by the above cited authors on more than one occasion do not satisfy the requirements for proper sample delimitation, namely those concerning their sufficient size and overall measurements, i.e. those related to appropriate shapes and dimensions of rock concretions submitted for scrutiny. As a result, one can discover significantly dissimilar criteria for a delimitation of glacial erratic samples identified for archaeological and petrographic examination than those adopted in research studies on erratics of the Polish Lowland written by the author (mostly with reference to the methods for their acquisition, their count and measurements). For more on the subject, see Chachlikowski 2013: 28–37, 138–145.

4 

the local population, the following have been identified more thoroughly: amphibolite, basalt, schist of different types and serpentinite from the Sudety Mountains, the Bohemian Massif and of Volhynian provenance (see: Prinke and Skoczylas 1980a, 1980b; Majerowicz et al. 1981, 1987a and 1987b; Chachlikowski 1996, 1997, 2013; Skoczylas et al. 2000; Chachlikowski and Skoczylas 2001b; Krystek et al. 2011).

148

Piotr Chachlikowski: Methodical Concepts and Assumptions Underlying Research Methods Lowland stem from fundamentally different research goals involved, as well as from the relevant construction of methodical standards formulated in geological studies and surveys5 and in the author’s own research plan for the archaeology and geology of the Polish Lowland (see: Chachlikowski 1991, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2007, 2010 and 2013; Chachlikowski and Skoczylas 2001a, 2001b and 2001c).

of the early glacial landscape (glacial tills and fluvioglacian sediments). Thereby, over half, in fact as much as 50–60%, of the total number of glacial raw materials in the Polish Lowland, still lies beyond any register of the geological questionnaire. This fact was not, and understandably remains, irrelevant to the correct and reliable determination of glacial rock resources needed for prehistorical stone workers in the areas of the great plains between the Vistula and Oder.

These doubts come primarily from the fact that a geological questionnaire for research comprises a relatively small part of the erratic rocks resting in the area, or, more precisely, limited exclusively to glacial erratics. These analyses were nevertheless limited exclusively to erratics that had a strictly defined the so-called indicating usefulness that allowed these rocks to be identified with their natural deposits, i.e. the so-called indicator rock types and erratics with limited indicating significance. Erratics were selected for research studies mainly to indicate corresponding Fennoscandian source regions and, at the same time, to establish the direction of transgression of the ice sheet to the place of the deposition of sediments, or to reconstruct the probable course of the tracks of the long-range glacial transport and the ranges of successive Pleistocene ice cap. The usefulness of an analysis of petrographic composition of erratic rocks for the stratigraphic distribution (lithostratigraphy), or, should need arise, a determination of the age of quaternary glacial sediments that contained them (chronostratigraphy), was also considered (see: Konieczny 1956; Dudziak 1970; Nunberg 1971; Meyer 1983; Czerwonka and Krzyszkowski 1994; Czerwonka 1998; Lisicki 2003; Woźniak 2004; Zabielski 2004; Czubla et al. 2006; Górska-Zabielska 2007, 2008a, 2008b and 2010; Czubla 2001, 2015; Rutkowski 2007; GórskaZabielska and Zabielski 2010).

Moreover, depending on the size classes of erratic stone samples identified for scrutiny, the results of available geological studies, including those cited by Prinke and Skoczylas, differ in assessing the reservoir of erratics occurring in the Polish Lowlands, not only in terms of their petrographic composition, but also, and which is particularly important, in terms of the estimations of the number of recognized varieties of rock. At the same time, none of these findings are based on the analysis of rock fractions useful for archaeological considerations, i.e. they do not cover these erratic concretions that were useful, in terms of their overall dimensions, to prehistoric stone implement production. In other words, the existing studies of the petrography of Lowland erratics ignore rock blocks that would meet the strict archeometric criteria. This would refer to those specimens which – due to their shape and size – would have been perfect for all kinds of products that were produced by the stone industry in the Lowland in prehistory. But then the findings of geological investigations show that the petrographic composition, or more exactly the frequency of certain varieties of raw materials present among erratics, is not irrelevant when it comes to the fraction of the selected research material. A choice of erratics for a lithological survey based on specifically and strictly established routine archeometric criteria, that is on one that would include only those specimens that have their shapes and dimensions appropriate for use in prehistoric stone production, has a very specific, and at the same time very important justification. At this point, one should refer to past experience in geology studies conducted over petrography of Lowland Fennoscandian erratics. We can see, therefore, that numerous studies on the petrographic composition of erratics resting in the sediments of glacial and fluvio-glacial accumulations of the last Pleistocene glaciation attest to the indisputable relationship between the composition of the inventory of erratics types of rocks and the fractions identified for examination. It turns out that, along with the increase in the size of analysed erratic concretions, there are significantly increased shares of the so-called crystalline rocks (specifically igneous rock, mainly granite, and, to a lesser extent, metamorphic rocks, mainly gneiss) at the expense of sedimentary rocks,

Meanwhile, in the opinion of geologists, and generally accepted by all, examinations of the petrographic composition of erratics routinely conducted in studies on the geology of the Pleistocene and the Quaternary comprise only about 40–50% of all rocks occurring in glacial erratics of early glacial areas. From that number 10% include indicator erratics, whereas a further 30–40% of the total amount of boulders and pebbles deposited in the area are the so-called indicator erratics (e.g. Meyer 1983; Czubla et al. 2006; GórskaZabielska 2007, 2008a, 2008b, 2010). All the remaining Fennoscandian glacial erratics, i.e. rock varieties that do not have any indicating usefulness, are consistently omitted in the practice of research on the petrography of sediments that contributed to the land formation 5  Notwithstanding, it seems absolutely obvious that from the point of view of questions to be posed in geological research on Scandinavian erratics, the selection (assortment) and range of applied methods has undoubtedly been, and still remains, correct, while the results achieved in this way are by all means reliable and authoritative.

149

Between History and Archaeology such as sandstones and quartzites (e.g. Konieczny 1956; Dudziak 1970; Nunberg 1971; 1974; Czubla 2001, 2015; Rutkowski 2007; Górska-Zabielska 2008a, 2010; Górska-Zabielska and Zabielski 2010). This means that the larger the size fraction of erratics selected for petrographic examination are, the more numerous will be the igneous and metamorphic rocks in the analysed sample, whereas the frequency of sedimentary rocks will decrease.

transformation (see: Chachlikowski 1991, 1997, 2000, 2007, 2010 and 2013; further literature therein). For obvious reasons, gravel fractions of erratics, especially those small in size (i.e. with a diameter of less than 6mm), remained beyond the interest of the prehistoric stone worker. On the other hand, boulder fractions and boulders with very large dimensions were also of marginal use in the contemporary stone production. In the light of current knowledge of the methods for the production of stone products in the Polish Lowland areas in prehistory, the stone production of these societies was dominated by the morphometric adaptation technique (directly on the lump of source material). This technique was based on an appropriate selection of rock mass that, by its very nature, best matched the morphometry of a final product, i.e. had the most matching shape and dimensions to their expected future application and purpose.7 Even in the case of the application of the other processing technique for concretions of local stone products, i.e. the technique of so-called morphometric transformation),8 half-raw material was used, which was obtained from pebbles or lumps of source material that were not so much larger in overall dimensions than the desired final product, e.g. using boulders with dimensions exceeding the size in diameter by several or even several tens of meters.9

Meanwhile, let us recall that earlier studies on Fennoscandian erratics in the Polish Lowland conducted by geologists, and on a larger scale, in areas covered by the last Pleistocene glaciation, predominantly take into account rock fractions that were generally useless to the prehistoric stone industry in the area, on account of their dimensions. Ultimately, most of the petrographic studies of Lowland glacial and fluvio-glacial deposits included an identification of lithological types of rocks among those erratics that either had a very small size (unconsolidated rock fragments – gravel medium and coarse fraction), or were boulders with dimensions in excess of a few, ten, or even several tens of meters in diameter (see: Skalmowski 1937; Konieczny 1956; Dudziak 1970, 1974; Numberg 1971; Meyer 1983; Czubla 2001, 2015; Lisicki 2003; Woźniak 2004; Czubla et al. 2006; Górska-Zabielska 2007, 2008a, 2008b, 2010; Rutkowski 2007; Górska-Zabielska and Zabielski 2010). It was also the size classes identified for the analysis of erratics that primarily influenced the results for the assessment of the resource of erratic raw materials – in terms of their overall diversification in the assortment (petrographic composition) and, what is vital, the number of particular varieties of rocks. The vast majority of existing geological analyses, though, ignore and exclude the analysis of these erratic fractions that would have been potentially useful – on account of their overall dimensions – in the production of all known products of stone implement manufacture in the Polish Lowland in prehistory.6

7  This way of making stone products required only minimal (or even no) corrections in the practice of lithic reduction to a natural lump of source material from which given tools were to be made. Typically, the processing of such rock concretions was limited to chopping and rounding off their rough shapeless, or uneven, surfaces and then the final shaping of the morphometric variations of a desired product by way of grinding and then the smoothening (or, should the need arise, polishing) of the surface of the final product. 8  This technique was based on the exploitation of stone blocks much larger than the desired product (requiring therefore appropriate transformations of shapes and sizes). This process allowed a single or even several blocks of half-raw material to be formed (i.e. those blocks that, due to their dimensions, were suitable for manufacture of certain types of tools). 9  A different suggestion is proposed by Marcin Szydłowski (2011: 296–301), though we think it is not substantiated enough to make such a claim. This concerns the procurement of the so-called Mszczonów sandstone by societies of the Trzciniec culture, who inhabited a settlement at Site 1 at Polesie (Łowicz district, Łódź voivodeship). The sandstone was exploited by quarrying one of the largest erratic boulders in Poland, located near Mszczonów, Żyrardów district, within the distance of about 30km from the settlement. Undoubtedly, the hypothesis of such an early exploitation, because dating from as early as the Bronze Age the Mszczonów boulder is intriguing as a research question, however it is supported by merely a single find of a splinter from this sandstone boulder. Moreover, no archaeological context of its discovery can be reliably supplied. Even if Szydłowski’s hypothesis is plausible, it is very unlikely that the local societies of Trzciniec culture exploited Mszczonów sandstone to satisfy in extenso the demand for raw materials for stone industry, which is claimed by the researcher, while the boulder from Mszczonów can be treated exclusively as an outcrop of raw material exploited by openpit mining (Szydłowski 2011: 301). In my opinion, the hypothesis of the author of the study on the stone monuments from site 1 in Polesie completely ignores a totally different aspect of the interest in the Mszczonów boulder within the local population in prehistory, generated by its extra-utilitarian function of the valorisation of landscape in the cultural space of the then inhabitants of the area (Chachlikowski 2013: 31–32).

We already know that the stone production communities in the Polish Lowland in prehistory applied two basic techniques for handling rock blocks. Generally speaking, a method for manufacturing stone products depended on the shape and dimensions of rock nodules (concretions, lumps of stone material) that were selected as a raw material for tool implement production. The first method involves a technique of morphometric adaptation of rock blocks (straight on the natural lump of raw material), while the other is a technique based on their significant morphometric 6  It should not be forgotten, however, that from the perspective of the requirements of the methodology of geological research on Fennoscandian erratics, the choice of fractions (boulders and pebbles) marked off for analysis so far is the most adequate, while the range and scope of the analysis is undoubtedly competent.

150

Piotr Chachlikowski: Methodical Concepts and Assumptions Underlying Research Methods All in all, the dependencies demonstrated between the fraction of erratic samples selected for petrographic scrutiny and their assortment frequency (lithological composition of rocks) for obvious reasons cannot be irrelevant in any correct evaluation of the resource of erratic rock useful for stone industry of the societies inhabiting the Polish Lowland in prehistory. For these reasons, it is clear that only a proper archeometric delimitation of Fennoscandian erratics selected for an investigation based on the lithological analysis of carefully selected rock blocks (those that have their sizes and shapes suitable for the execution of the full stone instrumentation used by the population) can provide a reliable and credible evaluation of the raw material potential in meeting the demand for stone production in the societies inhabiting the area in the past. No less important for the correct estimation of the resource of the local erratic rocks available for use by the local stone production remains the number (size) of erratic samples taken into consideration in the studies cited by Prinke and Skoczylas (1978, 1980: 46–49), and yet none of them meets the requirements of proper statistical representativeness.

It should be remembered, then, that the authors of the recently cited works on the origin and use of rock raw materials in the Polish Lowland in the Neolithic formulated the exploration questionnaire for imported raw materials among the products of the local stone production solely on the basis of geological evidence (Prinke and Skoczylas 1978: 54–61, 1980: 46–49). The researchers assumed that a sufficient condition for a qualification of provenance from beyond the Lowland of raw materials was the lack, or a scant trace, of the share of certain types of rocks, especially of raw materials with high technical parameters and utility (mainly basalt), in the local inventory of erratics. These are, in fact, correct premises and provide a relatively accurate identification of the ‘import’, provided, however, that the classification of these raw materials as hypothetical imports will be based on a credible assessment of the rock resources available in the Polish Lowland, which the archaeology of that time had not yet had. In light of the above conclusion, the far-reaching translocation of exogenous rock materials to the Polish Lowland area in the past was inspired only by action triggered by a necessity to balance deficits (i.e. a lack, or low frequency, of local material) of some high-quality types of rocks among the local Fennoscandian erratics. This hypothesis, widely accepted today in academic circles (mostly by archaeologists), leads, in my opinion, to a controversial hypothesis that the main reason for the take-up and use of raw materials imported by local societies in prehistory was the supposed inadequacies of local resources of glacial rocks appropriate for stone tool production and, consequently, a tendency of Lowland tool producers to have the most attractive (in terms of technical characteristics and utility) stone raw material at their disposal. In other words, the phenomenon of the ‘import’ is treated in this approach as a manifestation of activities related fully to the acquisition of raw materials of appropriate quality for stone production, caused by deficiencies in the number of types of petrographic rocks with highquality varieties among the available erratics in the Polish Lowland. The authors, as well as supporters, of this hypothesis assume then that communities living in the areas of the Polish Lowland did not have a sufficient number of rock raw materials properly diversified in terms of their assortment needed for the production of stone tools at home, which meant that shortages were supplemented with imported raw materials. From this perspective, the main reason for a long-distance circulation of rock raw materials in the past would have been of exclusively utilitarian and economic nature. Utilitarian and economic argumentation for the majority of the manifestations of the practice of importing exogenous raw materials in the Polish Lowland in the Neolithic, hitherto commonly accepted in the research community, explains, however,

The inadequate state of research on the archaeology of glacial resources of stone raw materials in the Polish Lowland, as well as the unreliable existing geological determinations of the range and frequency of Fennoscandian erratic blocks, challenge previous claims regarding the lack of certain types of rocks, or their low frequency, among the local erratics. The available research studies, in particular the publication by Prinke and Skoczylas (1978, 1980: 46–49), have contributed significantly towards establishing this particular approach (among archaeologists in particular) to the supposed shortcomings of early glacial areas in terms of sufficiently numerous raw materials, and, above all, in appropriately diversified material in terms of its assortment. In this way, the claim that the alleged raw material shortages in Lowland environments were supplemented in the past through a mass takeup and use of exogenous rocks – imports from areas of natural stone deposits – has been validated. The phenomenon of raw material imports among early agrarian communities inhabiting the Polish Lowland was primarily to involve these types of rocks that were commonly used for the production of tool molds with a separated cutting edge (e.g. axes, adzes and the like), namely amphibolite, basalt, diabase, diorite, gabbro, and biotitic gneiss (see: Prinke and Skoczylas 1980b; Chachlikowski 1991, 1997, 2000, 2007, 2010 and 2013; Chachlikowski and Skoczylas 2001a, 2001b; further literature therein), i.e. those raw materials that were believed until quite recently to be nonexistent or rare among Fennoscandian erratics in the areas covered by the last Pleistocene glaciation (Prinke and Skoczylas 1978, 1980: 46–49). 151

Between History and Archaeology neither the reasons for the chronologically uneven influx of imported raw materials to the area, or the significant differences observed in the composition of the assortment, or provenance, of the rock then ‘imported’.10

intervention and manipulation of the environment, i.e. rock block assemblages, numerous in this area, of different fraction, piled up in clearance cairns. This group consisted of boulders that had been previously removed by farmers from local arable fields and collected into mounds or cairns. In this way, i.e. from these piles of boulders, ten samples of erratics were selected for further analysis (Chachlikowski 2013: 60– 97). The further two samples were selected from rock concretions forming the so-called moraine pavements, i.e. natural accumulation of boulders and pebbles of different size embedded in glacial deposits (residuals) near Torzym, Sulęcin district, in the Lubuskie Lakeland and Strzelce-Krzyżanna, Mogilno district, on Pakoskie Lake in the Gnieźnieńskie Lakeland (Chachlikowski 2013: 40–59, 97–106). In all, 37,529 glacial erratic blocks were petrographically determined. For the samples collected in the Kujawy region, a determination of the constituting raw material was performed for 23,759 boulders and pebbles, whereas from the erratics from Lubuskie Lakeland, selected from the glacial pavement near Torzym, the affinity of rocks was established for 13,770 specimens (Chachlikowski 2013: 19–27, 106–128).

2. Outline of the archaeological questionnaire for research on the resources of Fennoscandian erratics The indicated limitations and shortcomings in the proper recognition of the resource of raw materials in the Polish Lowland, as well as the controversy surrounding the issue of the supposed scarcity of a local reservoir of glacial rocks in the material suitable for stone production, could have been overcome only by means of interdisciplinary field works and surveys dedicated exclusively to this problem. The results of several-year-long interdisciplinary studies (both field work and the following research output) on the stone erratic raw materials in the areas of the great plain belt between the Odra and Vistula rivers are widely discussed by the author (more on that in: Chachlikowski 2013). The results of field research conducted from this angle, with accompanying study work, justify the pursuit of a more comprehensive, yet reliable, assessment of Lowland Fennoscandian erratics, and, more precisely, of those that were available in Pojezierze Lubuskie (Lubuskie Lakeland) and the Kujawy region. The output of these studies is not only the general characteristics of non-flint rocks occurring among the local erratics, but also multi-faceted estimations of the resources of local lithic erratic raw materials.

From among the twelve samples of glacial boulders considered in the study, ten, mentioned above, represent rock material marked off from the piles of fieldstones located in the Kujawy region, or, more precisely, in the area of five of the so-called sample diagnostic surfaces (areas) included in the project of the detailed field survey. The characteristics of erratic raw material occurring in the area of the Kujawy sample surfaces selected for the study was based in every instance on the results of the analysis of two cross-verified samples of erratics, always selected for careful examination from two separate heaps of stones. The aim was to achieve the most thorough and reliable overview of the structure of erratic stones embedded there in the glacial past of the region.

The characteristics of the structure (assortment and frequency) of erratic stone raw materials in the Polish Lowland is based on an analysis of boulders and pebbles that are to be found in Lubuskie Lakeland and the Kujawy region. In total, twelve samples of Fennoscandian erratics sampled in both areas, overrun by the last Pleistocene glaciation, were examined. The bulk of the samples, involving as many as eleven samples, represents stone material sorted out for analysis from among erratics deposited in the Kujawy region, whereas the remaining single sample is composed of rocks deposited in Lubuskie Lakeland (Chachlikowski 2013: 19–27, 40–128).

It was only in the case of a single heap of stones, from among the total number of ten heaps of erratics in the Kujawy region, that a lithological survey was carried out for all of the stones piled up in the heap. As far as the remaining heaps are concerned, the analysis involved boulders and pebbles that formed a given part of the whole of the heaps. The selection of erratics for lithological scrutiny according to precisely pre-defined archeometric criteria for only parts of these heaps of stones was imposed by the inability to perform expert examination for all fieldstones in the heaps, simply because there were too many of them. Besides, petrographic characteristics for the total number of analysed rock erratics forming the piles of stones would have been substantively unjustified (cf. further comments below). Decisions on which fragment of the heaps should be separated for archaeopetrographical

The erratic material chosen for relevant archaeological and petrological examination was sorted out mainly from piles (cairns) of so-called fieldstones located within the Kujawy area. The stones that had been selected for examination came from a number of anthropogenic alignments that suggested human More criticism of this type of justification based on the proposed interpretation of the phenomenon of ‘imported’ rock among Lowland prehistoric societies is undertaken in: Chachlikowski 1996, 1997: 172– 181, 256–262, 2013: 9–14, 265–281.

10 

152

Piotr Chachlikowski: Methodical Concepts and Assumptions Underlying Research Methods inspection was made on an ad-hoc basis. In general, boulders and pebbles were selected from one edge of a pile, but in every case the rock blocks selected for archeometric and lithological inspection were removed consistently from the same part of the heap, once it had been selected for examination. Erratic samples extracted from moraine pavements were delimited in a different way. In the case of the pavement discovered in Torzym, appropriate examinations were performed for the vast majority of boulders and cobbles collected from 1,150 square meters of the top surface of the sample area (unit of area equal to 100 m2), whereas the sample of erratics extracted in Strzelce-Krzyżanna is represented by stones selected within an area of about 300 square meters.

Scandinavian erratics considered in the study and extracted from the heaps of fieldstones and moraine pavements sufficiently satisfy the requirements for the proper number count in a sample, i.e. the statistical representativeness of a sample size for a survey (more on that in: Chachlikowski 2013: 32), as well as the condition of representing appropriate archeometric parameters in relation to size and form. Analysis of the petrographic characteristics of the erratic raw materials was carried out for all boulders and pebbles, selected from the stone heaps and from the erratics forming moraine pavements, that were suitable in terms of their size and shape, and known to have been used in the production of all tool implements created in the Polish Lowland in the remote past. The petrographic survey included then all the selected stone samples that satisfied all the criteria for the delimitation of a sample (shape, size and number), regardless of the indicator usability, a particularly important point here, of the analysed material. Let us remember that this indicator usability belongs to the canon of a geological study on Scandinavian erratics (cf. Section 1 of the article). It was then the whole number of erratics, irrespective of their raw material affiliation, that made an indication of their corresponding Fennoscandian source regions possible. The thing is that their petrographic evaluation was applied to all erratic rocks included in the stone samples marked off for examination, therefore not only to the so-called indicator erratics that, as we know, embrace only about 40–50% of the whole of the erratic raw materials occurring in the areas covering the last Scandinavian glaciation.

The petrographic examination included only those concretions that met strictly defined dimension conditions. The guiding principle was to choose only those rock blocks that, due to their shape and size, could be a potentially useful reservoir of raw material and were suitable for their further processing in the stone industry of prehistoric societies of the Polish Lowland. Specifically, petrological examination was carried out for specimens with the length of the longer axis not less than 5cm, and suitable, due to their shape, for the production of all forms of tool implements that we know to be have been produced by this population (e.g. Prinke and Skoczylas 1980b; Chachlikowski 1991, 1997, 2000, 2007, 2010 and 2013; Chachlikowski and Skoczylas 2001b, 2001c; further literature therein). The above archeometric criteria were applied during the examination of all samples of erratics, i.e. those that had been selected for scrutiny from both heaps of fieldstones and the samples selected from the available pool of boulders and pebbles that formed the residuals unearthed at Torzym and Strzelce-Krzyżanna.

The lithological scrutiny of erratics in the samples of stones examined in Lubuskie Lakeland and the Kujawy region was carried out with the application of macroscopic scrutiny of the raw material of all boulders and pebbles (extracted from heaps and moraine pavements) that satisfied the required archeometric conditions. Proper raw material designation of erratics was always performed on the basis of a physical examination of a fresh, i.e. not eroded or weatherbeaten, split pieces of rock, as only these samples prevent us from making an erroneous petrographic classification. The application of macroscopic identification of the stone samples considered in the study can be thus justified by the fact that a naked eye examination (supported by a magnifying glass) makes it possible to recognize properly enough a petrographic classification of the majority of Fennoscandian erratics occurring in the Polish Lowland.11 It should be stressed at this point that macroscopic core descriptions (designations) were not undertaken to identify types of rock associated with known indicator erratics, but

A qualifying condition for the heaps of so-called fieldstones considered in the surface survey to be included in the archaeological and petrographic examination was the appropriate number of the composing boulders and pebbles. Therefore, in making a selection of stone heaps for examination in the Kujawy region, an assumption was made that each of the heaps of stones selected for the study should involve a sample that would include at least 1000 appropriate, in terms of their shape and size (cf. the remarks above), rock blocks. The same criteria were adopted during the delimitation process for erratic rock samples selected from the glacial pavements at Torzym and Strzelce-Krzyżanna. The minimum number of each of the twelve samples selected for the analysis was then more than 1000 boulders and pebbles, determined in view of their petrographic properties that would meet precisely defined criteria concerning their shape and size. Therefore, I believe that the samples of the

For more on the subject, see Chachlikowski 2013: 34–35, and cited references therein.

11 

153

Between History and Archaeology Conclusions

the exclusive task of applied petrographic examination was to determine a type of given rock in the analysed stone samples, without indicating any corresponding Fennoscandian source regions.12 Such identification of erratic raw materials, i.e. with topogenetic references to corresponding source regions missing, which are useless for archaeology,13 was relatively easy to perform (visual testing with just the naked eye and magnifying glass) in relation to the absolute majority of boulders and pebbles selected for petrographic survey.

The characteristics (assortment and frequency) of Fennoscandian erratics occurring in the Polish Lowland, and, in particular, the multifaceted existing evaluations of the inventory of erratic rocks with regard to their assortment and overall dimensions in prehistoric stone industry, are convincing enough to claim that the local boulders and pebbles constituted an exceptionally rich and diversified source of raw material that satisfied the needs of the local stone industry. For the prehistoric inhabitants of these areas, these sources formed exceptionally abundant inventories of stone raw material, indeed almost inexhaustible, in terms of both the count (number) of available types of rock and their petrographic diversity.

The adopted procedure of petrographic identification for Fennoscandian erratics ensures a reliable raw material classification for all erratics included in the examination, because macroscopic petrographic scrutiny makes it possible to identify correctly all lithic types occurring among Fennoscandian erratics and, in most cases, determines them with high precision, identifying a variety of a given type of rock, for example – biotite gneiss, quartzitic sandstone and others (cf. Chachlikowski 2013: 36–38).

The structure of the examined erratic blocks from Lubusz Land and the Kujawy region proves the existence of nearly all the raw materials needed for prehistoric stone tool production in the local lithic resources. At the same time, it gives us a credible basis (especially if we put it within the context of our knowledge on the petrography of erratic blocks in the Polish Lowland hitherto obtained) for assuming that the share of these types of rocks, that until recently were believed to have been unknown to the area, was surprisingly high. This is in strong opposition to the established opinion and theories which claim that they occurred only incidentally, or that were virtually non-existent among the local erratics (notably amphibolite, basalt, diabase, diorite, gabbro and biotitic gneiss).

To sum up, it should be stated that the samples of glacial rocks examined in the area of Lubuskie Lakeland and the Kujawy region represent (in terms of assortment and frequency) a structure that is typical for those local environments in the Polish Lowland. This statement can be validated by the fact of the selection of a relatively large number of boulders and pebbles for examination, regardless of their so-called identifying usability, with the simultaneous application of the necessary archeometric criterion taken into account. The inclusion of all the above conditions, which was applied during the delimitation process of the erratic samples examined in the Lubuskie Lakeland and Kujawy region, is a sine qua non condition for reliable archaeological and petrological studies on the resources of glacial erratics that were available to the societies inhabiting the Polish Lowland in the remote past.

Particularly rich sources of stone raw material for extraction and exploitation for the societies inhabiting the Polish Lowland in the remote past were boulders and pebbles that formed the so-called moraine pavements overridden by the Fennoscandian ice sheet in numerous land formations of the early glacial stage. The results of the study on the structure and frequency of the local moraine pavements indicate that they were fairy abundant, and at the same time diversified in terms of their petrographic composition, and constituted rich reservoirs of raw material providing an abundance of first-rate raw material for the prehistoric stone industry.

12  In contrast to the geology of the Pleistocene, and specifically the questions posed in the research on erratics occurring in the Polish Lowland, in terms of archaeology the identification of Fennoscandian source regions for analysed samples of glacial erratics, just as for erratic rocks recognized among the products of the local stone tool implement industry in the remote past, is absolutely irrelevant. The case here is that we are dealing with natural imports of raw material to the area of the Middle European Plain, as a result of the movement of the Scandinavian ice sheet, as opposed to the ‘imports’ that resulted from exploitation of exogenous raw material (in this case, of provenance from outside the Polish Lowland) by local inhabitants. 13  We do encounter reports of archaeological investigations that include surveys on raw materials of stone specimens annotated with corresponding Scandinavian source regions. I do not think that there is anything improper in this practice, and, undoubtedly, the resulting information has some measure of research merit, but from the point of view of archaeology it hardly has any scientific dimension or research value.

The assessment of the Lowland resources of glacial erratics fully confirms the validity of claims about the extraordinary richness of local early glacial environments in raw materials necessary for the production of stone tool implements. The local glacial ‘deposits’ represent remarkably abundant sources for raw material, both in terms of the number of available rock nodules and the variety in the assortment of rocks required for this production. The abundance of erratic blocks available in the Polish Lowland clearly exhibits the significance of the local assemblages of erratic 154

Piotr Chachlikowski: Methodical Concepts and Assumptions Underlying Research Methods blocks in satisfying the demand for raw material among the local prehistoric societies. It is worth noting that this significance of the Lowland reservoir of erratics has been grossly underestimated so far.

Chachlikowski, P. 2000. Kamieniarstwo społeczności kultur późnoneolitycznych. In A. Kośko (ed.), Archeologiczne badania ratownicze wzdłuż trasy gazociągu tranzytowego. Tom III, Kujawy, cz. 4. Osadnictwo kultur późnoneolitycznych oraz interstadium epok neolitu i brązu: 3900–1400/1300 przed Chr.: 393–409. Poznań. Chachlikowski, P. 2007. Przetwórstwo i użytkowanie surowców kamiennych. In A. Kośko and M. Szmyt (eds), Opatowice – Wzgórze Prokopiaka. Tom III. Studia i materiały do badań nad późnym neolitem Wysoczyzny Kujawskiej: 315–338. Poznań. Chachlikowski, P. 2010. Kamieniarstwo społeczności pradziejowych i wczesnośredniowiecznych Kotliny Kolskiej. In J. Bednarczyk, J. Kabaciński and A. Kośko (eds), Osadnictwo Kotliny Kolskiej. Archeologiczne badania ratownicze na trasie autostrady A2: 617–626. Poznań. Chachlikowski, P. 2013. Surowce eratyczne w kamieniarstwie społeczeństw wczesnoagrarnych Niżu Polskiego (IV–III tys. przed Chr.). Poznań. Chachlikowski, P. and Skoczylas, J. 2001a. Exploration of stone raw-materials in stone industry of lateneolithic communities of Lowland Poland (Niż Polski). Prospects for further petroarchaelogical studies in the Kujawy region. Przegląd Archeologiczny 49: 17–34. Chachlikowski, P. and Skoczylas, J. 2001b. Pochodzenie i użytkowanie surowców kamiennych spoza Niżu Polskiego w neolicie i wczesnej epoce brązu na Kujawach. Fontes Archaeologici Posnanienses 39: 163– 190. Chachlikowski, P. and Skoczylas, J. 2001c. Neolithic rock raw materials from the Kujawy region (Polish Lowland). Slovak Geological Magazine 7: 381–392. Czerwonka, J. A. 1998. Litostratygrafia glin lodowcowych: uwagi metodyczne. Biuletyn Państwowego Instytutu Geologicznego 385: 113–126. Czerwonka, J. A. and Krzyszkowski, D. 1994. Pleistocene stratigraphy and till petrography of the central Great Poland Lowland, western Poland. Folia Quaternaria 65: 7–71. Czubla, P. 2001. Eratyki fennoskandzkie w Polsce Środkowej i ich znaczenie stratygraficzne. Acta Geographica Lodziensia, Volume 80. Łódź. Czubla, P. 2015. Eratyki fennoskandzkie w osadach glacjalnych Polski i ich znaczenie badawcze. Łódź. Czubla, P., Gałązka, D. and Górska, M. 2006. Eratyki przewodnie w glinach morenowych Polski. Przegląd Geologiczny 54 (4): 352–362. Dudziak, J. 1970. Studia nad kierunkami transgresji lądolodu plejstoceńskiego. Studia Geologiczne, Volume 66. Warszawa. Dudziak, J. 1974. Zależność składu głazowego od frakcji w osadach glacjalnych zlodowacenia Południowopolskiego. Rocznik Polskiego Towarzystwa Geologicznego 44: 577–590.

Prehistoric societies of the Polish Lowland and, within a broader context, the general population inhabiting the areas covered by the last Pleistocene glaciation, procured raw material for stone production through intensive exploitation of local resources of boulders and pebbles. In stone production, raw materials that had to be ‘imported’, i.e. rocks of exogenous provenance imported from the areas of their natural stone deposits lying south of the Lowland, were used on a decidedly smaller scale. The local raw material inventory – represented by early glacial environments extremely abundant in stone assemblages – largely reduced the deficit of imported raw material demanded by local stone workers. This extremely high abundance of assemblages of lithic relics (highly diversified in terms of their raw material potential) of the glacial past of the region (or, more broadly, that of the Middle European Plain) effectively limited the necessity to import rock blocks from areas of their natural deposits. What follows, then, is a consideration that involves a change in perspective that challenges the earlier accepted theories and interpretations of most of the manifestations of the long-range displacement of exogenous raw materials in the Polish Lowland in the remote past as manifestations of a sustained regular practice of the time effected by supposed shortages of local resources of raw material in these types of rock that were most appropriate for the local stone industry. Translated by Tomasz Olszewski References Chachlikowski, P. 1991. Stone industry of the Globular Amphorae people in Kuiavia. In A. Cofta Broniewska (ed.), New Tendencies in studies of Globular Amphorae culture: 155–200. Archaeologia Interregionalis 14. Warszawa–Kraków–Poznań, Chachlikowski, P. 1994. Późnoneolityczne wybierzysko surowców skał niekrzemiennych w miejscowości Goszczewo, gm. Aleksandrów Kujawski, woj. Włocławek, stanowisko 13. Folia Praehistorica Posnaniensia 6: 59–121. Chachlikowski, P. 1996. Ze studiów nad pochodzeniem i użytkowaniem surowców importowanych w wytwórczości kamieniarskiej społeczności wczesnorolniczych Kujaw. In A. Kośko (ed.), Z badań nad genezą regionalizmu kulturowego społeczeństw Kujaw: 121–153. Poznań–Kruszwica–Inowrocław. Chachlikowski, P. 1997. Kamieniarstwo późnoneolitycznych społeczeństw Kujaw. Poznań. 155

Between History and Archaeology Górska-Zabielska, M. 2007. Narzutniaki skandynawskie – metodyka i interpretacja. In E. Mycielska Dowgiałło and J. Rutkowski (eds), Badania cech teksturalnych osadów czwartorzędowych i wybrane metody oznaczania ich wieku: 75–82. Warszawa. Górska-Zabielska, M. 2008a. Fennoskandzkie obszary alimentacyjne osadów akumulacji glacjalnej i glacjofluwialnej lobu Odry. Poznań. Górska-Zabielska, M. 2008b. Obszary macierzyste skandynawskich eratyków przewodnich osadów ostatniego zlodowacenia północno-zachodniej Polski i północno-wschodnich Niemiec. Geologos 14 (2): 55–73. Górska-Zabielska, M. 2010. Analiza petrograficzna osadów glacjalnych – zarys problematyki. Landform Analysis 12: 49–70. Górska-Zabielska, M. and Zabielski, R. 2010. Petrographic analyses and indicator erratics of gravels of the Odra Lobe. Studia Quaternaria 27: 17–25. Grygiel, R. 2004. Neolit i początki epoki brązu w rejonie Brześcia Kujawskiego i Osłonek, Tom I, Wczesny neolit. Kultura ceramiki wstęgowej rytej. Łódź. Konieczny, S. 1956. Z badań nad rozmieszczeniem eratyków krystalicznych zlodowacenia plejstoceńskiego w Zachodniej Polsce. Prace Komisji GeograficznoGeologicznej PTPN, Volume 2 (1). Poznań. Krystek, M., Młodecka, H., Polański, K. and Szydłowski, M. 2011. Neolityczne narzędzia z metabazytów typu Jizerské Hory (Masyw Czeski) na obszarze Polski. Biuletyn Państwowego Instytutu Geologicznego 444: 113–124. Lisicki, S. 2003. Litotypy i litostratygrafia glin lodowcowych plejstoceny dorzecza Wisły. Prace Państwowego Instytutu Geologicznego, Volume 177. Warszawa. Majerowicz, A., Prinke, A. and Skoczylas, J. 1981. Neolityczny import amfibolitu i serpentynitu na teren Wielkopolski. Fontes Archaeologici Posnanienses 32: 4–8. Majerowicz, A., Prinke, A. and Skoczylas, J. 1987a. Neolityczny import surowców skalnych na obszar Wielkopolski w świetle badań petroarcheologicznych. Acta Universitatis Wratislaviensis No788. Prace Geologiczno-Mineralogiczne 10: 69–89. Majerowicz, A., Skoczylas, J. and Wiślański, T. 1987b. Aus den Studien über die Steindistribution bei den frühneolithischen Kulturen auf der Polnischen Tiefebene. Przegląd Archeologiczny 34: 83–91. Mayer, K. D. 1983. Indicator pebble and stone count methods. In J. Ehlers (ed.), Glacial deposits in NorthWest Europe: 275–287. Rotterdam.

Nunberg, J. 1971. Próba zastosowania metod statystycznych do badań zespołu głazów fennoskandyjskich występujących w utworach glacjalnych północnowschodniej Polski. Studia Geologica Polonica 37. Warszawa. Pomianowska, H. 2012. Petrograficzna badania neolitycznych narzędzi kamiennych z okolic Bocienia (Pojezierze Chełmińskie). Acta Universitatis Nicolai Copernici, Archeologia 32: 193–199. Prinke, A. and Skoczylas, J. 1978. Z metodyki badań nad użytkowaniem surowców kamiennych w Neolicie. Przegląd Archeologiczny 26: 335–342. Prinke, A. and Skoczylas, J. 1980a. O neolitycznym imporcie surowca bazaltowego na teren Polski środkowo-zachodniej. Acta Archaeologica Carpathica 20: 229–250. Prinke, A. and Skoczylas, J. 1980b. Stone Raw Material Economy in the Neolithic of the Polish Lowlands. Przegląd Archeologiczny 27: 43–85. Rutkowski, J. 2007. Petrografia żwirów – możliwości badawcze i podstawy interpretacji wyników. In E. Mycielska-Dowgiałło and J. Rutkowski (eds), Badania cech strukturalnych osadów czwartorzędowych I wybrane metody oznaczania ich wieku: 45–74. Warszawa. Skalmowski, W. 1937. Naturalne materiały kamienne w budownictwie drogowym ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem materiałów krajowych. Warszawa. Skoczylas, J. 1989. Budowa geologiczna i surowce mineralne regionu Jeziora Lednickiego. Studia Lednickie, Volume I: 209–224. Skoczylas, J. 1990. Użytkowanie surowców skalnych we wczesnym średniowieczu w północno-zachodniej Polsce. Poznań. Skoczylas, J., Jochemczyk, L., Foltyn, E. M. and Foltyn, E. 2000. Neolithic serpentinite tools of west-central Poland and Upper Silesia. Krystalinikum 26: 157–166. Szydłowski, M. 2011. Zabytki kamienne (niekrzemienne) ze stanowiska Polesie 1, gm. Łyszkowice, woj. łódzkie. In J. Górski, P. Makarowicz and A. Wawrusiewicz (eds), Osady i cmentarzyska społeczności trzcinieckiego kręgu kulturowego w Polesiu, stanowiska 1, woj. łódzkie, Volume I. Tekst: 284–305. Łódź. Woźniak, P. 2004. Przydatność analizy litologicznej glin morenowych w badaniach geomorfologicznych stref marginalnych ostatniego zlodowacenia. Przegląd Geologiczny 52 (4): 336–339. Zabielski, R. 2004. Jakie cechy składu petrograficznego żwirów glin lodowcowych mogą być przydatne w litostratygrafii. Przegląd Geologiczny 52 (4): 340–346.

156

Why Foragers Become Farmers: Development and Dispersal of Food Producing Economies in Comparative Perspective Andreas Zimmermann

Institute for Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, Weyertal 125, D 50931 Köln, Germany e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: To understand the transformation from foragers to farmers it seems promising to integrate several theoretical approaches. To do so it is first necessary to distinguish different conceptions of evolution. Next, we have to think about what food producing is. Is it already burning the forest to improve hazelnut harvest or is it only dealing with domesticates like maize and wheat? In the end, we have to care for a debate between two important theoretical directions of today. Processual Archaeologists identified adaptation and political economy as important behaviors during this transformation. For Postprocessual Archaeologists what matters is agency. The proposition to reconcile these seemingly conflicting positions is to develop an integrative and comparative perspective within a Hermeneutical approach. In this respect, Johann Gustav Droysen stimulated the following paper with his textbook ‘Historik’ from 1882. Keywords: adaptation, agency, evolution, hermeneutics, neolithic, processual archaeology, postprocessual archaeology

Introduction

existed already during the Mesolithic. Later on, scholars proposed the existence of ceramics as a criterion for Neolithic assemblages. However today, we know that some forager societies also used ceramic containers and some settled people, like the Polynesians, did not use ceramics at all.

The development of food producing economy with the domestication of some plants and animals is an important turning point in human history. Impact of the ‘Neolithic Revolution’ is at least as important as the ‘Urban Revolution’ with the formation of states and the ‘Industrial Revolution’.

In that time, the 2nd half of 19th century, cultural evolutionists interpreted arriving at later stages of development as progress. It seemed reasonable to expect that underdeveloped countries would later come up to industrial countries. By this perspective, colonialism seemed legitimized. Because man is intelligent, he will recognize sooner or later the true path to progress. In this concept, cultural evolution, in contrast to biological evolution, appears as development directed by transmission of information. Teaching natives to be civilized seemed a useful application of Lamarckian evolutionism. Cultural evolution was also seen as the seemingly irreversible development to higher stages of development. These beliefs of 19th century evolutionism have all been heavily criticized and are not elements of today’s evolutionary thinking.

However, in the ‘Neolithic Revolution’, not every domestication process changed similarly the historical trajectory. Cultivation of plants resulted in higher population densities than animal husbandry. Therefore, it is preferred here not to discuss the developmental path from hunting gathering to cattle breeding in the Sahara, for example. For a better understanding of the developments, it is first necessary to discuss the history of the concept of what ‘Neolithic’ is and then to differentiate (at least at a theoretical level) systems of ‘low level food production’ and ‘subsistence systems based on farming’. With the former term, we construct generally the transition from hunter-gatherers to farming as a continuous process. With the latter term, a discontinuous model of stages might be connected.

In the 1st half of the 20th century, V. Gordon Childe changed the meaning of the term ‘Neolithic’. He used it to describe food-producing economies (Childe 1936). Producing more foodstuffs than before guaranteed more people a living. Therefore, in each of the ‘Neolithic’, ‘Urban’, and ‘Industrial Revolutions’ population increased markedly. ‘…in the economic sphere … it will be possible to recognize

History of Research and the Term ‘Neolithic’ In 1865 John Lubbock introduced the term Neolithic to distinguish later archaeological material from Paleolithic assemblages (Lubbock 1865). As a criterion, he proposed the existence of ground stone axes. Today we know that e.g. in Europe ground stone artefacts 157

Between History and Archaeology Low-Level Food Production

radical and indeed revolutionary innovations, each followed by such increases in population that, were reliable statistics available, each would be reflected by a conspicuous kink in the population graph. These revolutions can accordingly be used to mark off … stages in the historical process …’ (Childe 1941/1946: 22; Barker 2006: 10 quotes a similar reference from Childe 1936: 14). With this formulation, Childe overcame the concept that arriving at a new stage is progress (Barker 2006: 10 referring to Childe 1936: 1), and he built a bridge to biological evolution. The complete sequence of steps in the Darwinian understanding of evolution is: 1. Undirected variability by e.g. mutation; 2. Selection by competition and 3. Reproductive success.

The problem left by the conception of Childe is to delimit foraging and farming. Already hunter-gatherer societies may produce a part of their foodstuffs either by managing the environment or even from domesticated plants as seen for example with the American Hopewell. Therefore, Bruce D. Smith discusses terms as ‘resource management’ and ‘husbandry’, ‘gardening’, ‘horticulture’, ‘incipient agriculture’ as well as ‘cultivation’ (Smith 2001: 17–24). It is even more complicated using terms from different languages because e.g. the German ‘Gartenbau’ (Müller 1988) is not equivalent to English ‘horticulture’ (Johnson 1989) and so on. Another problem is that wild and domesticated species are often not easy to differentiate biologically. It needs a certain time of genetic isolation and selection by humans until a plant or an animal species changes concerning morphological attributes. Of course, we would like to recognize the beginning of the domestication process, but the problem is missing reliable attributes for its earlier phases.

It is easy to explain the dynamic expansion of foodproducing economies as selection by competition. Because farmers also collect and hunt, they removed the nutrition base from foragers in their neighborhood. The reverse (competitive exclusion of farmers) will not happen because only farmers have the additional yields of domestic plants and animals at their disposal. More general formulated – larger populations generally seem to be more competitive than smaller ones. The conceptual model of biological evolution also explains why processes of devolution are the exception and not the rule. Theoretical a reversible development, a decline of population, is possible; the cost, however, is that many people must die early. Childe developed his concept based on data from Europe and the Near East, where the term ‘Neolithic’ has proven its worth as a chronological term still today. With a global perspective the part ‘lithic’ of the word is, however, problematic because, e.g. in Africa food producing economy developed and started to expand in an ‘Iron Age’ context. In this perspective, it would be better to use the term ‘food producing economy’.

How long was the time from beginning of domestication to the development of recognizable morphological and genetic attributes? Today, regarding annual plants, only a period of a few hundred years seems reasonable. However, by recrossing with the respective wild species this time might have been extended to a few millennia. Bruce D. Smith proposes to integrate already this transitional phase in our considerations and proposes the term ‘low-level food production’ for economies with less than 30–50% energy supply from food production (Smith 2001: 28–29). In this perspective, the transition from foraging to farming appears as a continuous process of cultural history. People early on understood processes of reproduction and propagation of plants and animals. Transmission of this knowledge builds an uninterrupted tradition at least since tens of millennia. Without doubt, this is an insight of historical relevance.

Archaeologists working within the framework of Processual Archaeology emphasize the importance of changing natural environment for the transformation process: climatic development with temperature and precipitation, soils and so on. They understand the development of food producing economy as an adaptation, as using opportunities. Form a Postprocessual perspective however, its human agency (Barrett 2013: 161–162). Women and perhaps men have chosen to use special kinds of plants or animals more intensive than before. In light of this contradiction, the following statement of Matthew Johnson seems to be still true. ‘Papers that end with the depressing banal conclusion that ‘there is something to be said for both sides’ or that ‘we should look for a middle ground’ should be banned – not because a middle ground is in itself a bad thing, but because the search for a middle ground all too often becomes an easy replacement … of serious … critique of … theoretical positions.’ (Johnson 1999: 187).

Childe however emphasized the other perspective with choosing the term ‘revolution’. After exceeding a threshold of the amount of food production, a cascade of consequences, intended and not intended, in a complex sequence changed life of the people affected. For example, the actors of this transformation process will not have predicted the results of optional accumulation of wealth and social differentiation. Perhaps they just noticed that they needed more working time for farming than before. Exceeding the threshold may be characterized by two more observations in the archaeological record: a fast increase of population and the beginning of the dispersal process of this new type of economy. In the archaeobotanical record, just a few plants apparently triggered these fundamental changes in historical development. 158

Andreas Zimmermann: Why Foragers Become Farmers Development of Food Production

groups affected characteristically become dependent on these resources. In this situation, it is necessary to regulate their use. Therefore, people concerned needed effective mechanisms of management. In consequence, these societies become typically non-egalitarian. Hunter-gatherers using low-density resources in the contrary, live typically in egalitarian social relations.

A compilation of Peter Bellwood and Marc Oxenham focuses on seven areas of the world as centers where food-producing economy developed. These centers are the Middle East, central China, West Africa, New Guinea highlands, Mesoamerica, central Andes and Eastern Woodlands of the USA (Bellwood and Oxenham 2008: 16 and Fig. 1). In these case studies, two different patterns become visible. From some centers, domesticated species changed the world within a few thousand years even for people living quite in a distance. These species also help to feed the majority of world population today. In the present rice, wheat, maize and millet satisfy 60% of human energy demand (Gruissem and Bättig-Frey 2009: 9). Other domesticated species as for example the sunflower from Eastern Woodlands of the USA were never as important. While many plants allow highenergy yield per hectare, the critical species seem to be rich in energy due to their content of carbohydrates. Are they better suited to feed the hungry?

In all cases where the four important plants were domesticated, people already depended on them as dense and predictable resources. Transferring this idea to farming communities, one arrives at the formulation: Farmers produce their own dense and predictable resources. In these situations, therefore, we deal with less egalitarian social systems compared to low resource density situations. In extreme cases, sedentariness develops even in hunter-gatherer societies to allow better defending their predictable resources. The difference to sedentary farmers is that with domesticates is it possible to increase food production as much as working time can be invested.

Each of these and other potential domesticates needed specific environmental conditions. Therefore, we have to realize that particular geographical preconditions exist for domestication processes. Another precondition is the timing when it happened. In most cases, climatic changes belong to the group of possible important factors. Most significant is the end of the Ice Age with the consequence that precipitation globally increased. This was the cause why e.g. habitats with concentrations of cereals developed at the hilly flanks of the Fertile Crescent. It might also be possible that rice cultivation became possible in southern China (Werning 2003) as well as Taro in New Guinea (Barker 2006: 218–219). In a next phase of the global development of climate, we observe a limited reduction of precipitation. Precipitation did not decrease to the level of last glacial maximum, but it was sufficient that the large deserts of the world developed. It may be that this increasing aridity promoted intensive use of different kinds of millet as well as the transformation of teosinte to maize in Mesoamerica. In many cases, climatic change seems to force the domestication of plants. Collectors as well as farmers along coasts, large rivers, and lakes might have complemented their basis of subsistence by marine and limnic resources with dense and predictable resources. Summarizing preconditions of nature concerning location and time of domestication seem to be important for development of food production.

Kent V. Flannery introduced a competing classification of hunter-gatherer economical systems by the term ‘broad spectrum revolution’ (1969: 77–79). Emphasizing regional diversity in the Near East, he argued that with increase of temperature at the end of last Ice Age diversity of resources increased markedly. Economy developed away from a preferential use of specific large hoofed mammals in the Upper Paleolithic to small game including terrestrial and marine snails, mussels and so on in Late Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic. Because this development included also an increased importance of plant resources, he understands this ‘broad spectrum revolution’ as a cultural historical precondition for domestication. Use of a narrow spectrum of resources corresponds well with an economy based on dense and predictable resources. Use of broad spectrum seems to correspond with low-density resources. A discrepancy, however, might exist discussing Natufian and Pre-Pottery Neolithic people of the Near East using many different species of plants and animals on the one hand side but already energetically dependent on highly localized habitats of wheats and barley on the other hand. However, socio-economic relations establish preconditions of culture important for an understanding of domestication processes. As far as I see, no single case of an egalitarian hunter-gatherer society developing a farming economy existed without external introduction of domesticates.

Robert L. Kelly, together with other authors, distinguishes two different socio-economic relations within hunter-gatherer societies (Kelly 1995: 189 ff. with Fig. 5–4 and 5–5 referring to Dyson-Hudson and Smith 1978). If predictable and high-density resources are used (aquatic resources are only one example), the

Where plants were domesticated, actors often used several and not only one species. For example, in the Near East it is a combination of ancient wheats, barley and pulses in addition to a range of animals. In China, it is a combination of rice and of two species of millet. In the Americas, domestication of cucurbit took place 159

Between History and Archaeology much earlier than planting maize. Experts expect that oilseeds were more important than the fruit pulp in this case. In Africa, several other millets are important, and in New Guinea, it is taro and banana. We may understand this limited diversity as a means to minimize risk – if the main crop fails there is still a buffer.

of the Historicism of the 19th century in Germany. He distinguished six steps to arrive at a sufficient interpretation: 1.

Dispersal of Food Production

2.

Dispersal of food producing economies represent two different processes. Migration, transfer of knowledge or a combination of both. When migration is the reason for change, as in the case of Central European Linearbandkeramik (Haak et al. 2010) or partly in the case of wet rice cultivators of Japan (Hammer et al. 2006), the cultural situation before immigration is less important than in cases of transfer of knowledge. In the latter situation, as for example in the north European plain, the question arises why people changed their way of life ‘since early farming represents a decision to work harder …, I suspect that people did it because they felt they had to, not because they wanted to’ (Flannery 1973 cited by Barker 2006: 29).

3. 4.

5. 6.

Why expand food-producing economy? As already said, Childe overcame the answer that it was progress; instead, he proposed that it was different levels of population density. Why are population densities of farmers larger than of hunter-gatherers? The reason is the different energy efficiency of organisms at different trophic levels. Man living as vegetarian needs in average 4 Gigajoule/Person/Year. Consuming a maximal amount of animal foodstuff consumption may increase to 32 Gigajoule/Person/Year of primary energy. Primary energy considers not only the energy contents of animals’ meat and fat but also the plants needed to bring up the respective animals (Sieferle et al. 2006: 27). Herbivores consuming plants only transform a small amount of energy consumed in flesh and fat consumable for predators. Therefore, the more meat farmers or hunter-gatherer consume the larger is the area they needed to procure their subsistence. The result is higher population density within farming societies. Principally, in mutual interaction a large population will affect a small group more than vice versa. We expect that not only for the genetic composition but in many cases also for the resulting cultural habitus. Specifically, as already said, farmers outcompete hunter-gatherers because they remove their nutrition base.

Heuristics (‘research questions’): For this paper, as central research-question the subtitle of a recent book may be used (Barker 2006): Why foragers became farmers? Critics: Is it possible to answer this question by available data due to their representativeness? Pragmatic Interpretation: Data concerning the past is always incomplete; it is necessary to complement available data. Interpretation of conditions: It is important to recognize that also in the past preconditions existed which actors were not able to influence. For example, people had to react to changes in temperature and precipitation at the end of Ice Age; they were not able to change the climate. Psychological Interpretation: In the internal perspective, motivations of actors are of interest. Interpretation of ideas: Droysen believed that it is necessary to look for structures, which are more general than just preconditions of specific historical situations and the respective motivations of individual agents. In this paper, I propose to apply an integrative interpretation as well as a special comparative interpretation to approximate such generalized ideas of development.

Critics and pragmatic interpretation are important steps for understanding specific historical cases. Let us assume for the moment that our knowledge is sufficient concerning the best-known histories of development and dispersal of farming. In the comparative perspective of this paper therefore, we discuss only steps 4 to 6 in more detail. In the perspective of the interpretation of conditions, J. G. Droysen emphasizes boundary conditions independent of human action but influencing what actors did (Droysen 1882: 21 §40). He differentiated geographical and chronological conditions as well as conditions of means for example technology. In this way, one accepts natural and cultural environment as important factors for human behavior. By this position, even in Droysen’s time of colonialism people overseas evidently were not responsible for every aspect of the conditions that they were living in. Climate change and properties of plants are important preconditions of nature in this respect for development of food producing economy. This point of view resembles the concept of adaptation as accentuated by the Processual Archaeology of the 1960ies and 70ies. Of equal rank are preconditions of culture. We addressed already social relations in section ‘Development of Food Production’ and population

Integrative and comparative Interpretation As a methodological starting point for interpretation, the Hermeneutic method of Johann Gustav Droysen is used (Droysen 1882: 13–24). Beside Leopold von Ranke, Droysen is one of the important exponents 160

Andreas Zimmermann: Why Foragers Become Farmers Table 1 Suggestions from different disciplines to understand motivations of behavior. Discipline

Motivations of behavior

Author

Needs, wants, duties, abilities and opportunities

Stegmüller 1987: 130

Anthropology /Ethnology

Basic needs

Sociology

Situation, need and evaluation of situation

Philosophy

Malinowski 1939 and 1944/1966 Parsons according to Korte 2000: 174

Table 2. Selected authors with regard of motivations leading to food producing economy. Author

Needs

Cause

V. Gordon Childe 1936

Bodily needs

Jacques Cauvin 2000

Cognitive needs

Brian Hayden 1990

Nutrition

Social needs

Prestige

density in section ‘Dispersal of Food Production‘. In the perspective of the interpretation of conditions, these circumstances seem to determine human behavior. What humans do are consequences of these reasons.

Religious or spiritual understanding of the world order

To operationalize this integrative approach it is necessary to understand causes of behavior. There are several suggestions from different disciplines (Tab. 1). This paper is interested in group-motivations for adopting food producing economy. Therefore, individual abilities are not of central interest. Duties and opportunities are a result of situations. As situations are a matter beyond archaeological chronological resolution, common denominator seems to be needs. For our research question Why foragers became farmers? (Barker 2009), we do not need to care for an exhaustive list of human needs. Concerning food producing economy, until now most authors have proposed one of three types of interpretation (Tab. 2).

In the perspective of the psychological interpretation, J. G. Droysen is searching for acts of volition (‘Willensakt’). Motivations of the actors matter. This point of view resembles the concept of agency as accentuated by the Postprocessual Archaeology since the 1980s. Motivations are the cause, and specific behavior is the effect. Behavior becomes meaningful by motivations. Therefore, we have to discuss if the contradiction between Processual Archaeology with the adaptation argument and Postprocessual Archaeology with the agency argument may be overcome by an integrative and comparative interpretation. Already J. G. Droysen included both interpretations in the same Hermeneutical approach, because both look at the same relation between motivations and preconditions but from the two different points of view. In practice, humans must consider preconditions. Therefore, to arrive at a good interpretation we have to discuss dialectically these two perspectives together. The respective context comprises conditions of nature and culture as frame of reference as well as fossilized remains of human agency. Diversity of farming systems in non-state societies describes the bandwidth of decision-making that I consider. The range of solutions observed represents the freedom of choice. In the case of Central Europe during the Neolithic for example cases with and without plough seem to have existed; fields were prepared with and without burning. This is the variability needed in the first step of the biological model of evolution.

Therefore, as a general answer to the question ‘Why foragers became farmers?’ nutritional security, strive for prestige and spiritual convictions as well as different combinations offer good reasons for development and dispersal of a food producing economy. For an answer concerning a specific case in the competition of the three types of interpretation, the central argument of the evaluation we have to discuss if one specific need or a group of graded needs is more important than the others are. To evaluate the importance of a specific need, two approaches are possible. On the one hand, one could derive this importance by their own ideological position. In this case, empirical archaeological fieldwork is not needed. The other possibility is to derive the importance of the respective needs by archaeological observations concerning specific contexts – only then its possible to develop specific arguments in a comparative approach. The question is why in a specific context one need would have been more important than others. 161

Between History and Archaeology Table 3. Two case studies of different use of domesticates. Choices connect needs and preconditions by use of opportunities. Example of maize domestication in the Americas Precondition of nature

Choices

Slow domestication process from teosinte to maize → low yields

Social need to find an appropriate position within ingroup → feasting with alcoholic beverages

Precondition of culture

Comparatively high population density? Example of wheat use in Bandkeramik Europe Precondition of nature

Domestication process already advanced → high yields Precondition of culture No alternative foodstuff

Choices Choice of best soils for settlement location Small diversity of staple foods chosen

Use of wheat as staple food for bodily need nutrition

Comparatively low population density

No need for marked social inequality

As an example, I present a short draft of a comparative interpretation. One case study is domestication and dispersal of maize in Mesoamerica. The other is the use of ancient wheat in early Neolithic Linearbandkeramik in Central Europe (Tab. 3). Of course, both interpretations are valid only if step 2 and 3 of J. G. Droysens interpretation sequence are convincingly elaborated.

be an important part of nutrition. Therefore, it is not surprising that these first farmers have chosen loess soils best suitable for wheats to arrive at high yields (Zimmermann et al. 2009a: Fig. 8). They used a condition offered by their environment. On the other side, population density seems to have been quite low during this time (Zimmermann et al. 2009b: 370 and Fig. 6) so that competition for prestige does not seem a strong argument (for a different interpretation of the Linearbandkeramik case see e. g. Kreuz 2010). Therefore, an interpretation of Linearbandkeramik farming as mainly caused by desire for alcoholic beverages seems not probable.

Both cases have in common, that in the long-term cultivation of maize as well as of wheat changed the way of living of large populations at a continental scale. Of many differences in preconditions of nature, here dissimilarities in the speed of cultivation is emphasized. Teosinte developed slowly to maize (Galinat 1985: Fig. 8.1 according to Barker 2006: Fig. 10), and so yields of ancient maize would initially have been quite low. Thus at the beginning, maize probably was not cultivated primarily as a staple food. It is possible that production of alcoholic beverages was the initial intention (Smalley and Blake 2003 according to Barker 2006: 264). Feasting is a well-established impetus for gaining prestige by ambitious individuals (Hayden 1990). While pursuit of prestige could be a human universal its importance is ‘phenotypical’ very different in human societies. Therefore, to validate this function of maize in early Mesoamerican societies specific preconditions of culture should be observable. As prestige is of more importance in large-scale societies, quite high population densities and group size should be expected in the Mesoamerican cases.

Conclusion This paper understands food-producing economy in the sense of Childe. It changed the life of the affected people in a revolutionary way. Looking back from today, only a few plant species had the potential to change nutrition in such an elementary way. In this respect, in farming economy cereals, rice, maize or perhaps some kinds of millet are grown. Low-level food production as defined by Bruce D. Smith on the other hand is a useful term for many techniques in hunter-gatherer societies to improve their subsistence base. These techniques include burning forest as well as even domestication of other species such as sunflower and cucurbit. In culture historic perspective, these practices prove that man always knew how to reproduce plants and animals – in this respect food-producing economy is an evolution with a long tradition.

In contrast, in the European case, yields of ancient wheats probably have not differed too much from preindustrial farming (Wendt et al. in print). Therefore, due to missing alternatives in the spectrum of positively documented foodstuffs wheats seem to

Although development and dispersal of food-producing economy would not have happened without cultural transmission of knowledge, the three steps of Charles 162

Andreas Zimmermann: Why Foragers Become Farmers Darwin’s concept of evolution are recognizable: 1. Variability by experimentation; 2. Selection by competition and 3. Reproductive success.

Childe, V. G. 1941/1946. What happend in History. New York 1946, 1. Edition Harmondsworth. Cauvin, J. 2000. The Birth of the Gods and the Origins of Agriculture. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Droysen, J. G. 1882. Grundriss der Historik. Leipzig, 3. changed edition [First Edition 1858]. Dyson-Hudson, R. and Smith, E. A. 1978. Human Territoriality: An Ecological Reasessment. American Anthropologist 80: 21–41. Flannery, K. V. 1969. Origins and ecological effects of early domestication in Iran and the Near East. In P. J. Ucko and G. W. Dimbleby (eds), The domestication and exploitation of plants and animals. Conference London: 73–100. London, Aldine Pub. Co. Flannery, K. V. 1973. The Origins of Agriculture. Annual Review of Anthropology 2: 271–310. Galinat, W. C. 1985. Domestication and diffusion of maize. In R. J. Ford (ed.), Prehistoric Food Production in North America: 245–278. Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Museum. Gruissem, W. and Bättig–Frey, P. 2009. Magere Zeiten – Die Herausforderungen der modernen Landwirtschaft. BioFokus 80: 1–16. Haak, W., Balanovsky, O., Sanchez, J.J., Koshel, S., Zaporozhchenko, V., Adler, J., Der Sarkissian, C.S.I., Brandt, G., Schwarz, C., Nicklisch, N., Dresely, V., Fritsch, B., Balanovska, E., Villems, R., Meller, H., Alt, K.W. and Cooper, A. 2010. Ancient DNA from European Neolithic Farmers Reveals their Near eastern Affinities. PLoS Biology 8, Issue 11. Hammer, M.F., Karafet, T.M., Perk, H., Omoto, K., Harihara, S., Stoneking, M. and Horai, S. 2006. Dual origins of the Japanese: common ground for huntergatherer and farmer Y chromosomes. Journal of Human Genetics 51: 47–58. Hayden, B. 1990. Nimrods, Piscators, Pluckers, and Planters: The Emergence of Food Production. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 9: 31–69. Johnson, A. 1989. Horticulturalists: Economic Behavior in Tribes. In S. Plattner (ed.), Economic Anthropology: 49–77. Stanford, Stanford University Press. Johnson, M. 1999. Archaeological Theory. An Introduction. Oxford and Malden Ma, Blackwell Publishers. Kelly, R. L. 1995. The foraging spectrum. Diversity in huntergatherer lifeways. Washington and London, Eliot Werner Publications. Korte, H. 2000. Einführung in die Geschichte der Soziologie 6. Edition Opladen, VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. Kreuz, A. 2010. Die Vertreibung aus dem Paradies? Archäobotanische Ergebnisse zum Frühneolithikum im westlichen Mitteleuropa. Bericht der RömischGermanischen Kommission 91: 23–196. Lubbock, J. 1865/1874. Prehistoric times, as illustrated by ancient remains and the manners and customs of modern savages. London, Williams and Norgate [German edition Jena 1874].

At the level of specific answers to the question ‘Why foragers became farmers?’ responses are possible by an approach of cultural comparison. Specific archaeological observations may help to identify a specific need or a group of needs that in a particular case was probably more important than in others. In this paper, it is tried to illustrate a possible way to argue by two examples. One is cultivation of wheat in Linearbandkeramik early Neolithic in Europe. The other is domestication of maize in Mesoamerica. Different general answers exist to the question ‘Why foragers became farmers?’ In an uncompromising Processual Archaeology perspective, people just used options. Because it would have been stupid not to use these chances, it seems questionable if people really had a choice. By a Postprocessual perspective, agency becomes visible in the way actors used their options. The enormous diversity of farming systems in only one arbitrarily selected region already during non-state societies illustrates freedom of choice. In an integrative perspective, we recognize choices as considering both, preconditions as well as needs of actors. Actually human needs seem to be an appropriate basis to understand beginning of farming. Insofar, both theoretical positions within Archaeology help to understand better behavior of humans during the food producing revolution. However, the competitive relation between both Processual and Postprocessual approaches does not contribute to an improved knowledge. Acknowledgments Timothy Earle tried to improve my English and to clarify my ideas. References Barker, G. 2006. The Agricultural Revolution in Prehistory. Why did Foragers become Farmers? Oxford, Oxford University Press. Barrett, J. C. 2013. Agency: A Revisionist Account. In I. Hodder (ed.), Archaeological Theory Today: 146–166. Cambridge, Polity. Bellwood, P. and Oxenham, M. 2008. The Expansion of Farming Societies and the Role of the Neolithic Demographic Transition. In J.-P. Bocquet-Appel and O. Bar-Yosef (eds), The Neolithic Demographic Transition and its Consequences: 13–33 Dordrecht, Springer. Brown, D. E. 1991. Human Universals. New York, Temple Univ Pr. Childe, V. G. 1936. Man Makes Himself. London, Coronet Books. 163

Between History and Archaeology Malinowski, B. 1939. The Group and the Individual in Functional Analysis. American Journal of Sociology 44: 938–964. Malinowski, B. 1944/1966. A Scientific Theory of Culture and Other Essays. New York/Oxford 1966, Oxford University Press. Müller, W. 1999. Gartenbau. In W. Hirschberg (ed.), Wörterbuch der Völkerkunde: 141. Berlin, Reimer. Sieferle, R. P., Krausmann, F., Schandl, H. and Winiwater, V. 2006. Das Ende der Fläche: Zum gesellschaftlichen Stoffwechsel der Industrialisierung. Köln–Weimar–Wien, Böhlau Köln Umwelthistorische Forschungen 2. Smalley, J. and Blake, M. 2003. Sweet beginnings: stalk sugar and the domestication of maize. Current Anthropology 44: 675–703. Smith, B. D. 2001. Low Level Food Production Economies. Journal of Archaeological Research 9: 1–43.

Stegmüller, W. 1987. Hauptströmungen der Gegenwartsphilosophie II. 8. Edition Stuttgart, Kröner. Werning, J. 2003. Früheste Scherben, frühester Reis, früheste Hirse: Zur Neolithisierung in China. Eine kritische Betrachtung. In: J. Eckert, U. Eisenhauer and A. Zimmermann (eds), Archäologische Perspektiven. Analysen und Interpretationen im Wandel. Festschrift Jens Lüning. Rahden/Westfalen, Vlg Marie Leidorf. Internationale Archäologie 20. Zimmermann, A., Wendt, K.P, Frank, T. and Hilpert, J. 2009a. Landscape Archaeology in Central Europe. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 75: 1–53. Zimmermann, A., Hilpert, J. and Wendt, K.P. 2009b. Estimations of Population Density for Selected Periods Between the Neolithic and AD 1800. In J. Steel and St. Shennan (eds), Special Issue on Demography and Cultural Macroevolution: 357–380. Human Biology 81.

164

Acquisition and Circulation of Flint Materials in the Linear Pottery Culture of the Seine Basin Pierre Allard

CNRS, UMR 7055 Préhistoire and Technologie, Maison de l’Archélogie et de l’Ethnologie, 21 Allée de l’Université, 92023 Nanterre Cedex, France e–mail: [email protected] Abstract: This paper proposes a synthesis of recent discoveries and their implications for our knowledge of the Danubian lithic territory of acquisition and the circulation networks. With the recent discoveries it is really possible to talk in terms of networks in so far as the various links are now known for the Danubian period – from the flint’s extraction site to its sites of production and consumption. These networks played a part in the functions of the society of the Linear Pottery Culture and the relationships of which they are the sign are complex. There is no correlation between the distance from the sources and the intensity of the circulations. Keywords: Early Neolithic, flint, raw material, flint network, Linear Pottery Culture (LPC)

Introduction

valleys and above all the plateaus’ edges. The expansion westwards up to the outskirts of the Armorican massif is broadly attested (Marchand et al. 2006).

Thanks to preventive archaeology since the 1990s the data available concerning the lithic industry of the Early Neolithic in the North of France have become a good deal more substantial. At present, more than 200 sites can be attributed to the Danubian Neolithic and the chronology of this period is divided in two with the succession of the Linear Pottery Culture (Rubané in French) and Blicquy/Villeneuve-Saint-Germain (BQ/ VSG) cultures, i.e. 5300–4750 BC.

The chronological framework is now established to the extent that most of the recent research on the material culture shows the evident succession and descent of the LPC and subsequent Blicquy/Villeneuve-Saint-Germain cultures. The only important modification concerns a homogenisation of the periodisation in the North France Early Neolithic following numerous works on the ceramic serialisations of various regions (Lefranc 2007; Blouet et al. 2013; Meunier 2012). Thus, the Paris Basin LPC has been replaced by the ‘Seine Basin Rubané’ (Ilett and Meunier 2013) and is organised as follows: Middle Seine basin Rubané (instead of Middle Champagne Rubané), Late Seine Basin Rubané (instead of Late Champagne Rubané), and lastly Final Seine Basin Rubané (instead of Late Paris Basin Rubané [RRBP– Rubané récent du Bassin parisien] – final phase included). The dates for the whole North France Rubané sequence are included between 5300–4950 cal BC.

This article proposes a synthesis of recent discoveries and their implications for our knowledge of the Danubian lithic industries and will give special emphasis to the evolution of the territory of acquisition and the circulation networks for flint in the Early Neolithic in the Paris Basin. The Seine Basin Linear Pottery Culture (LPC) The documentation for LPC sites depends on a few wellknown (or rather better-known) sectors thanks to major systematic surveillance programmes in the valleys of the Aisne, Oise, and Yonne or Marne. Elsewhere new discoveries have been invaluable indicators for assessing gaps in the evidence and conducting surveys concerning the implantation of LPC in the Paris Basin. For example, the implantation of the sites of Colombelles and Démouville (Billard et al. 2014; Saint Allain 2010) at the edge of the Manche proves that the populations of the Early Neolithic settled the western part of the Paris Basin and reached the shores of the Manche as early as the LPC. As concerns the Villeneuve-SaintGermain / Blicquy occupation density is higher and not only includes the main valleys but also the secondary

The LPC lithic industry in the north-east of France has been the subject of several regional syntheses since the pioneering work of Jean-Paul Farruggia (1971). The multiplicity of discoveries from LPC sites in the valleys of the Aisne, the Marne (in the Perthois), the SeineYonne confluence and Alsace have led to studies on the lithic finds enabling the features of the Danubian lithic industry to be fixed in its broad outlines (Plateaux 1987, 1990; Tappret and Villes 1996; Mauvilly 1997; Augereau 2004). A global survey of the whole region concerned has been conducted which has made it possible to propose the first general synthesis for the terminal expansion area of the European LPC (Allard 2005). 165

Between History and Archaeology When we made our first synthesis (Allard 2005) two regions – Yonne and the Aisne valley – offered satisfying conditions for research, i.e. numerous sites with substantial lithic corpora. Now, the discovery of new large lithic assemblages in Champagne at Bréviandes (Laurelut 2010), Saint Martin des Près (Garmond et al. 2012), or again Pont-sur-Seine (Fournand et al. 2010), as also in Normandy (Billard et al. 2014) or again in the Yonne at Etigny le Brassot (Augereau et al. 2006) provide a complete overview of the LPC lithic industries in the North of France and more particularly of its evolution in the Seine Basin. The transition with the Blicquy/Villeneuve Saint Germain group is also well documented with the recent discoveries of Saint Pierre d’Autils in Haute-Normandie (Prost et al. 2012), Sours les Ouches (Dupont et al. 2010), or again of Moneteau in the Yonne (Augereau et al. 2011 ).

regional materials sometimes far from the settlements rather than varieties of flint available locally but of lesser quality. This observation explains the regional situations found in the Paris Basin or more generally in western Europe. •

In the LPC industry of north-east France the laminar blanks were privileged (Constantin 1985; Plateaux 1987; Mauvilly 1997; Allard 2005). A real debitage economy existed that integrated the whole of blade knapping waste (Allard 2005). Thus flake tool-making is still present, but in proportions varying greatly from one site to another. In the sector of the SeineYonne confluence all the series deliver assemblages in which the flake tools are preponderant (Augereau 2004). The typology of the lithic tools from the LPC in the Paris Basin underlines the obvious relationship between all the LPC lithic industries in western Europe (Cahen et al. 1986; Plateaux 1987; Mauvilly 1997; Allard 2005). The blade tools are the hallmark of the cultural typological unity of all the sites. The composition of the assemblages is stereotyped – being generally limited to a few categories of types by region (without taking the blanks into account). The end scrapers, the fittings for arrows and sickles, awls, and retouched blades and flakes make up the common pool. Moreover, the Paris Basin presents several regional particularities such as the abundance of splintered pieces (a point in common with Alsace and Lorraine) or the recurrent presence of toothed blades. The burins distinguish above all the Paris Basin series as this tool is practically non-existent in the other zones where the LPC was implanted (Plateaux 1982). The chronological evolution is perceptible, for the end of the Seine LPC is marked by evidence of flake debitage. This debitage becomes preponderant in the Blicquy/Villeneuve-Saint-Germain (Bostyn 1994).

•

Thus in the Seine-Yonne sector the sites are found in alluvial valleys that cross a geological landscape in which flint resources are plentiful and easily accessible whether in primary position or secondary (in the upper Cretaceous levels, Mauger 1985). The lithic series are rich and the local Cretaceous flint was used. A second variety described as fine-grained flint was used for blade knapping and the tertiary flint is occasional (Augereau 2004). An analogous situation is observed in the series of LPC sites in the Oise Basin (Pont-Sainte-Maxence et Chambly, Alix et al. 1997; Boucneau et al. 1996); the course of the Oise also runs through upper Cretaceous chalk basin which yields large quantities of flints in this sector. The lithic series from the LPC sites of the Aisne, Champagne and Normandy, on the other hand, show a wide variety of exploited flints.

In the Aisne valley an evident preference for quality existed in favour of the use of blond Senonian flints for blade knapping. The nearest deposits are at about 30–50km from the settlements. They are in principle located in the Marne and the cores arrived already prepared. Generally in the minority in the inventories, it is over-represented among the blades and the tools made from blades (Allard 2003). The Tertiary Bartonian flint is over 20km from the settlements for the known deposits. Lastly, the Turonian formations emerge in primary position 15–20km away also, but these flints are also abundant in the alluviums. They were but little exploited except for the eastern sector: in the Commune of Berry-au-Bac a real ‘frontier’ existed where the use of this flint became predominant and then almost exclusive at the sites of Berry-au-Bac ‘la Croix Maigret’ and Menneville ‘Derrière-le-Village’ (Plateaux 1990; Allard 2005). In this way, the procurement territory for the materials is wide and varied and above all oriented towards regional flints (15 to 50km). In Champagne the situation is similar to that of the Aisne valley. The main outcrops are located in the west and south-west of the Department along the Tertiary cuesta. Two varieties of Senonian flint are exploited representing 80% of the material at Juvigny, Orconte, and Écriennes and 56% at Saint-Dizier. The distribution of these two varieties differs between Juvigny and the settlements in the plain of Perthois. The flints’ origins are 10 to 15km away for Juvigny and 20–30km for the second variety in relation to the Perthois sites. The tertiary flint – probably Bartonian – is present in all the

The supplying territory In the LPC the flint resources exploited were very often diversified and quite important variations are observed between the sites or the dwelling units in the settlements. In spite of the apparent diversity of materials the blades were knapped off good quality flints. This selection was often oriented towards 166

Pierre Allard: Acquisition and Circulation of Flint Materials settlements but is rare in the Perthois (a few pieces) and not very abundant at Juvigny (7.2%) as at SaintMartin sur le Pré (Garmond et al. 2012). The tertiary flints in the settlements of the Perthois are considered to be exogenous products as they are only blades or tools (Allard 2005).

in several exhaustive syntheses that found the bases of the issue of the circulation networks for flint products in central Europe (Lech 1980, 1987, 1990). For Jacek Lech the circulations are synonyms of exchanges and consist of two types of networks. The first is essentially economic, as the technological study of the flints shows the existence of various links in the chain along which the flint materials were disseminated: from the extraction sites, through production and distribution to consumption. Certain exchanges turn out to be of a quite different nature and are manifested by the presence of a few exogenous objects on the sites in environments with abundant raw materials. This is the case, for instance, of the few obsidian objects at Cracow–Olszanica. These rare objects were socially significant and affirmed the ties or contacts with the neighbouring zones. The research studies on the lithic finds from the Polish LPC sites are the starting point for the ensuing discussions in this chapter.

Poor quality flints, frost-shattered stones, and quartz pebbles complete the spectra of the materials for each series. The quartz is knapped following non-blade patterns, in principle for use as a splintered piece (especially in comparison with what is found in Alsace according to Mauvilly 1997). Just like the settlements in the Aisne valley these materials are in a minority in the assemblages. The discovery of Bréviandes in the region of Troyes (Laurelut 2010; Allard unpublished)1, presents a range of materials oriented towards neighbouring flints, between 5 and 10km from the sites. Only one piece in Bartonian flint is present (a fitting for an arrow).

There is plenty of evidence for the circulation of flints in the Paris Basin and all the zones of settlement known were connected together. They are also of two types just as Jacek Lech describes for central Europe.

In Normandy the analyses of the lithic industry of the site of Colombelles (Billard et al. 2014) provide evidence of highly diversified procurement of raw materials. While the regional materials (flint from the Cinglais and grey-blue granular flint of unknown origin) are very much in the majority (93%), flint of secondary origin of which the nearest outcrops are over 25km from the site were also brought to the site in a form already prepared. Lastly, in the Moselle valley and Basse-Alsace, that is to say in the regions touching the Paris Basin, very high quality flints are globally absent. Nevertheless, lithic resources of variable quality – sometimes good such as the Oxfordian from the Commercy-Saint Mihiel region – are listed in Lorraine (Blouet 2005). However, the LPC settlements yield sparse series essentially comprising blades and blade tools made of flints from outside the Rhine-Meuse region and the Paris Basin (Champagne Senonian and Tertiary, Blouet 2005). In Basse-Alsace the situation is similar, but the series seem even poorer and the Neolithic knappers used various local lithic materials especially for non-blade productions (Mauvilly 2000). As for Haute-Alsace, it shows a situation similar to the Paris Basin with a mixed supply of regional materials and exogenous Senonian and Tertiary flints from the Paris Basin. The circulations of flints Very early on, Polish researchers developed the issue of acquisition and methods of procurement in the study of the LPC lithic industry (for example, the synthesis of Kaczanowska and Lech 1977), which have resulted 1 

Report about recent discovery of Bréviandes is in progress.

167

•

These circulations may have provided practically all the flint blade material as in the LPC sites of the Moselle valley and Basse-Alsace. For the Moselle corridor Campanian and Maastricht flints from the Meuse (Limburg and Hesbaye) are the most plentiful up till the Late LPC followed by flints from the Paris Basin, which replaced them in the last phases (mainly Senonian flints, Blouet 2005). A frontier exists between the Dutch flints (Rijckholt) and the flints from Belgium (Hesbaye Campanian) which distinguishes the north and south of the Moselle basin. In Basse-Alsace the flints from the Paris Basin and the North of the Jura make up the blade finds (Mauvilly 1997, 2000). This state of affairs has largely been confirmed by the recent excavations of the settlements – but also in the funerary field.

•

In the LPC sites of the Aisne valley (from the Late Paris Basin LPC) a few pieces appear sporadically in exogenous materials, in Ghlin flint at Cuiry-lèsChaudardes and also fine-grained Hesbaye flint at Missy-sur-Aisne and in a granular variety at Menneville (granular Hesbaye flint?). Ghlin flint – which is abundant in the LPC sites of the Hainaut in Belgium – is also found at Pont-Sainte-Maxence and Saint-Dizier in Champagne (one piece in each site). This last site has also yielded a small series of blades in fine-grained Hesbaye flint (Allard 2005). These few objects obviously had no economic impact, but their informative value is large since they are evidence of the existence of social relationships between the various zones of the LPC.

Between History and Archaeology The sites of the Seine/Yonne region are an interesting case in point. In this region rich in flint materials the series are significantly numerous (sometimes some tens of thousands of objects) and made from local or regional materials near at hand. Nonetheless, the presence of Tertiary flint from the centre of the Paris Basin is evidence of the circulation of a few pieces such as for instance piece 1 at Bréviandes or 1 at Etigny ‘le Brassot’ (Augereau et al. 2006). It is therefore considered to be exogenous, although the distance from its sources is not necessarily greater than the normal regional supply.

(Blouet 2005). This series is, to a certain extent, the missing link providing the proof of the presence in the Paris Basin of sites producing this flint, which was not the case with the very scanty assemblages from the Perthois – which in addition did not give this material pride of place. This flint network is the most important for the LPC in the Seine Bassin. Chronology of the circulation networks For the materials typical of the Paris Basin the chronology of the Cretaceous flints in the collections still has to be dated precisely for the earliest occupations of the LPC. Thus, pieces made from ‘upper Cretaceous flint from the Champagne plain’ are found from the early phase of the LPC in Alsace (Mauvilly 1997: 333). They are, on the other hand, well attested from the middle phase of the LPC in the Moselle corridor and Alsatian plain. The site of Malling in Lorraine presents an assemblage including an important proportion of pieces in Cretaceous and Tertiary flint from the Paris Basin (Blouet 2005). In the Paris Basin the Middle LPC is very poorly documented and no reference set is known for the lithic finds.

Acquiring materials is therefore quite a complex phenomenon in the LPC. The resources in flint were obviously not one of the criteria for choosing where to found settlements and several situations can be observed according to the availability and quality of the local and regional lithic resources. The findings observed in central Europe are entirely found again in the western margin of the LPC area of expansion. Genuine circulation networks existed representing either contacts or economic relations between the production site and the consumer. This was borne out in Germany by the studies of Andreas Zimmermann who also highlighted the competition between certain distribution networks (Zimmerman 1995).

In the late phase the networks became well established, and the circulations were dense and are very well documented (Fig. 1a). The production site of Bréviandes is dated to this phase, just as are the sites with debitage heaps in Hesbaye and the Dutch Limburg. To us the late phase seems to have been the high point for blades produced for the circulation networks. In this phase a few Bartonian flint pieces have been found which circulated towards the south of the Paris Basin (Yonne, Aube).

The problem concerning the Paris Basin rested on recognising the various links in the distribution circuits – especially for the flints which may be considered to have had a heavy economic impact. This is the case for example for the Rijckholt flints from the Dutch Limburg or the Campanian Hesbaye flints of which the sites, with perfectly identified knapping workshops as at Verlaine, are known (Burnez-Lanotte and Allard 2004; Allard 2007; Burnez-Lanotte 2010), Beek (De Grooth 1987) or again very recently at Cannerberg (Amkreutz and van Wijk 2015).

The final phase of the LPC shows a modification of the territory of supply as compared with the preceding phases in that the local materials became predominant at the expense of the regional materials (this fact is especially evident at the very end of the LPC). The circulation networks were still active and followed the same routes. At this period also the circulations between the sites in the Aisne/Oise valley and that of Saint Dizier with Belgium appeared. This concerns a few blades – Ghlin flint from the Hainaut and Hesbaye Campanian flint (Fig. 1b).

Near to Troyes, the site of Bréviandes is a major discovery for a better understanding of the diffusion of upper Cretaceous blond flints. This site has yielded a very important quantity of lithic finds; 10 to 20 times more than had been known hitherto in the LPC sites in Champagne. The technological approach shows very clearly that all the stages in the chaine opératoire were present in the dwelling units in this site. From the initial pre-shaping to throwing away the core this settlement presents all the characteristics of a blade-producing village. We are therefore in a position to propose a new comprehensive map showing the circulations of the materials, in which the site’s location is quite significant since it is near the end-user settlements of Haute-Alsace for example. A type of upper Cretaceous blond flint from the Paris Basin is indeed well attested in the Alsatian series (Mauvilly 1997) or in Lorraine

This period also witnessed the emergence of LPC sites in Normandy and raises the question of the possible circulations of the ‘Cinglais’ flint. This good quality material, massively exploited for blade production in the LPC, may have been the subject of a genuine circulation network which we are unable to document in our current state of knowledge. New discoveries are needed but also the systematic search for this flint in the collections from the centre of the Paris Basin. 168

Pierre Allard: Acquisition and Circulation of Flint Materials

Fig. 1. The flint circulation networks during the early Neolithic in the northern France. A: Late LPC; B: Final LPC; C: Blicquy/Villeneuve-Saint-Germain. Drawn: P. Allard.

169

Between History and Archaeology In the framework of a general synthesis the post-LPC is more delicate to describe as it is particularly poorly documented for the east of the Paris Basin (Champagne). In the Villeneuve-Saint-Germain a phenomenon of falling back on local raw materials occurred, but for all that the exchanges of raw materials did not disappear and continued to exist in ways that were still relatively complex. Generally, it is observed that the territory of supply in raw flint materials shrank in the VilleneuveSaint-Germain to the materials available within a radius of 5 kilometres around the village. However, the presence of Cretaceous flint on the sites right in the heart of the Tertiary basin or of Bartonian flint in villages hundreds of kilometres from the core zone (Normandy, Belgium) is evidence of an occasional recourse to regional or exogenous materials.

important contacts as they prove the existence of links with regions which are not always apparent in the other types of materials. Here we have only described the flint products but these kinds of circulations can also be observed for hard stones or for personal ornaments for example. This management of materials is entirely in line with the founding and innovative research on the LPC sites in central Europe conducted, in particular, by Lech who had demonstrated all the importance and organisation of the networks through which lithic products circulated (Lech 1987, 1990). These networks played a part in the functions of the society of the LPC and the relationships of which they are the sign are complex. For example, there is no correlation between the distance from the sources and the intensity of the circulations – as the circulation of Bartonian flint in the Paris Basin shows or the frontier effects that can be perceived. For the latter the LPC production sites are still to be discovered. The Blicquy/Villeneuve Saint Germain group reproduced communication routes that had been put in place in the LPC. Our knowledge has also increased now that the earliest flint mines have been found in Normandy – thereby also confirming the model for central Europe where these centres are disconnected from the settlements.

The Blicquy/Villeneuve Saint Germain culture is especially marked by a strong distribution network of Tertiary Bartonian flint (Bostyn 1994, 2008; Denis 2014). This material was exploited on production sites by experienced knappers and circulation routes similar to those found for the LPC reappeared. Thus, a few Bartonian pieces circulated towards the Seine/Yonne region, a few more towards Normandy, and a dense network developed with the sites of the Hainaut as far as Hesbaye in Belgium (Fig 1c). The Jurassic flint called ‘Cinglais’ was heavily exploited and regional networks developed (Charraud 2015), especially westwards, since this flint is found in the distant settlements in Brittany as for example at Betton and Saint Etienne en Cogles. The sector containing the ‘Cinglais’ flint outcrops is where the first convincing vestiges of Late Neolithic mining activity have recently been found. There are two extraction sites with simple shafts that have yielded evidence of indirect percussion blade debitage at Soumont-Saint-Quentin and Espins. The finds present the characteristics of Danubian debitage and two dates in shaft 26 of Espins indicate the beginning of the 5th millennium: 4997–4793 cal BC and 4930–4719 cal BC, i.e. the group of Blicquy/VilleneuveSaint-Germain (Charraud 2015).

The next step necessary now would be to cross the whole material culture and compare the circulation routes so as to have a clearer idea of the meaning of these links between the various zones of settlement for which we can sometimes see strong regional variations in the assemblages of finds. Translated by Tim Seller References Alix, P., Arbogast, R.-M., Pinard, E. and Prodeo, F. 1997. Le méandre de Pont-Sainte-Maxence (Oise) au Néolithique ancien. In Le Néolithique danubien et ses marges entre Rhin et Seine. Actes du XXIIème colloque interrégional sur le Néolithique: 359–399. Strasbourg Allard, P. 2003. Économie des matières premières des populations rubanées de la vallée de l’Aisne. In Les matières premières lithiques en Préhistoire. Actes de la table ronde internationale d’Aurillac (Cantal), 20 – 22 juin 2002: 15–26. Cressensac, Préhistoire du Sud-Ouest, sup. n°5. Allard, P. 2005. L’industrie lithique des populations rubanées du nord-est de la France et de la Belgique. Rahden/ Westf, Internationale Archäologie 86. Allard, P. 2007. Surplus production of flint blades in the early Neolithic of Western Europe: new evidence from Belgium. European Journal of Archaeology 8: 205– 223.

Conclusion This assessment concerning the management of the territory of acquisition and the flint circulation networks for the Paris Basin highlights the intensity of the contacts between the various zones of settlement in the LPC western area of expansion. With the recent discoveries it is really possible to talk in terms of networks in so far as the various links are now known for the Danubian period – from the flint’s extraction site to its sites of production and consumption. The regular presence of a few exogenous pieces in the assemblages is also evidence of more discreet but still 170

Pierre Allard: Acquisition and Circulation of Flint Materials Amkreutz, L. and van Wijk, I. 2015 ‘A day in the Life’ – Cannerberg (the Netherlands), August 2nd 5045 cal BC. Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia 45: 173–179. Augereau, A., 2004. L’industrie du silex du Vè au Ivè millénaire avant J.-C. dans le sud-est du Bassin parisien. Paris, Documents d’Archéologie Française 97. Augereau, A., Creusillet, M.-F. and Meunier, K. 2006. Le site rubané d’Etigny ‘Le Brassot-Est’ (Yonne). In P. Duhamel (ed.), Impacts culturels au Néolithique moyen. Du terroir au territoire  : sociétés et espaces. Actes du XXVe Colloque Interrégional sur le Néolithique, Dijon, 20–21 octobre 2001: 261–286. Dijon. Augereau, A. and Chambon, P. (eds) 2011. Les occupations néolithiques de Macherin à Monéteau (Yonne). Paris, Mémoire de la Société Préhistorique Française 53. Billard, C., Bostyn, F., Hamon, C. and Meunier, K. (eds) 2014. L’habitat du Néolithique ancien de Colombelles ‘ Le Lazzaro ‘ (Calvados). Paris, Mémoires de la Société préhistorique française 58. Blouet, V. 2005. L’industrie lithique du site Rubané moyen de Malling ‘le Domaine des Primevères’ (Moselle). In G. Auxiette and F. Malrain (eds), Hommages à Claudine Pommepuy: 29–38. Amiens, Numéro spécial de la Revue Archéologique de Picardie 22. Blouet, V., Klag, T., Petitdidier, M.-P. and Thomashausen, L. 2013. Le Néolithique ancien en Lorraine, Étude typochronologique de la céramique. Paris, Mémoires de la Société préhistorique française 55. Bostyn, F. 1994. Caractérisation des productions et de la diffusion des industries lithiques du groupe néolithique du Villeneuve-Saint-Germain. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Université de Paris X. Bostyn, F. 2008. Les importations en silex bartonien du Bassin parisien sur les sites blicquiens en Hainaut belge. In L. Burnez-Lanotte, M. Ilett and P. Allard (eds), Fin des traditions danubiennes dans le Néolithique du Bassin parisien (5100–4700 av. J.-C.). Autour des recherches de Claude Constantin: 397–412. Namur, Presses Universitaires de Namur and Société Préhistorique française. Mémoire XLIV de la Société Préhistorique Française. Boucneau, N., Bostyn, F. and Martinez, R. 1996. Chambly ‘le Clos de la Rivière’  (Oise) – un site rubané récent très occidental. In P. Duhamel (ed.), La Bourgogne entre les bassins rhénan, rhodanien et parisien : carrefour ou frontière. Actes du 23ème colloque interrégional sur le Néolithique. Dijon, 1991: 271–295. Dijon, Revue Archéologique de l’Est 14. Burnez-Lanotte, L. 2010. Acquérir, transformer, échanger ou consommer les matériaux siliceux au Rubané: problématiques et approche contextuelle du site de Verlaine ‘Petit Paradis’ (Hesbaye, Belgique). Bulletin du Cercle archéologique HesbayeCondroz 30: 175–204. Burnez-Lanotte, L. and Allard, P. 2004. Blade debitage in the Belgium Linearbandkeramik : the production at Harduémont ‘Petit Paradis’ (Verlaine). In L.

Burnez-Lanotte (ed), Production and Management of Lithic Materials in the European Linearbandkeramik. Acts of the XIVth UISPP Congress, University of Liège, Belgium, 2–8 September 2001: 59–64. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 1200. Cahen, D., Caspar, J.-P. and Otte, M. 1986. Industries lithiques danubiennes de Belgique. Liège. Charraud, F. 2015. Exploitation minière et gestion des lames en silex du Cinglais au Néolithique ancien : de la minière d’Espins (Calvados) ‘ Foupendant ‘ aux habitats du Nord-Ouest de la France. Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française 112/ 2: 317–338. Constantin, C. 1985. Fin du Rubané, céramique du Limbourg et post-Rubané: le Néolithique le plus ancien en Bassin parisien et en Hainaut. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 273. Denis, S. 2014, L’industrie lithiques des populations blicquiennes (Néolithique ancien, Belgique). Organisations des productions et réseaux de diffusion. Nanterre, Université de Paris Ouest Nanterre La Defense. Dupont, F., Liagre, J. and Irribarria, R. 2010. Sours ‘les Ouches’ (Eure-et-Loir), un site original du Villeneuve-Saint-Germain ancien en région Centre. In C. Billard and M. Legris (eds), Premiers Néolithiques de l’Ouest: cultures, réseaux, échanges des premières sociétés néolithiques à leur expansion dans l’Ouest de la France, actes du 28Colloque interrégional sur le Néolithique (Le Havre, 2007): 75–100. Presses universitaires de Rennes Farruggia, J.-P. 1971. Le Néolithique ancien dans le Bassin parisien – Aspects lithiques. Mémoire de Maîtrise. Paris, Université de Paris I. Fournand, S., Allard, P., Bonnaire, E., Fechner, K., Hachem, L., Hamon, C., Maigrot, Y., Meunier, K. and Salavert, A. 2010. Un habitat rubané à Pont-surSeine/Marnay-sur-Seine (Aube). Interneo 8: 9–22. Garmond, N., Binder, S., Bonnardin, S., Bouquin, D., Hamon, C., Lefevre, C. and Poupon, F. 2012. L’habitat rubané de Saint-Martin-sur-le-Pré ‘Rue des Castors’ (Marne). Premiers resultants. Internéo 9: 35–47 Grooth, M.E.Th. (ed.) 1987. The organisation of flint tool manufacture in the dutch Bandkeramik. Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia 20: 27–52. Ilett, M. and Meunier, K. 2013. Avant-propos. In K. Meunier and M. Ilett (eds) Chronologie du Rubané dans le Bassin parisien. Séance de la Société préhistorique française du 10 juin 2011. Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française 110(3): 415–420. Kaczanowska, M. and Lech, J. 1977. The flint industry of danubian communities north of the Carpathians. Acta Archaeologica Carpathica 17: 5–28. Lefranc, P. 2007. La céramique du Rubané en Alsace: contribution à l’étude des groupes régionaux du Néolithique ancien dans la plaine du Rhin supérieur. Strasbourg, Monographies d’Archéologie du Grand Est n°2. 171

Between History and Archaeology Laurelut, C. 2010. Bréviandes (Aube), un site danubien à forte composante non-rubanée dans la région de Troyes – Premiers éléments de réflexion. In C. Billard and M. Legris (eds), Premiers Néolithiques de l’Ouest: cultures, réseaux, échanges des premières sociétés néolithiques à leur expansion dans l’Ouest de la France, actes du 28 Colloque interrégional sur le Néolithique (Le Havre, 2007): 291–304. Presses universitaires de Rennes. Lech, J. 1980. Flint Mining among the Early Farming Communities of Central Europe. Przegląd Archeologiczny 28: 5–55. Lech, J. 1987. Danubian raw matérial distribution patterns in earstern central Europe. In G. de G. Sievering and M.H. Newcomer (eds), The human uses of flint and chert: 241–248. Cambridge. Lech, J. 1990. The organization of siliceous rock supplies to the danubian early farming communities (LBK) – central european examples. In D. Cahen and M. Otte (eds), Rubané et Cardial. Actes du Colloque de Liège, 1988: 51–59. Liège, Études et Recherches Archéologiques de l’Université de Liège n°39. Marchand, G., Pailler, Y. and Tournay, G. 2006. Carrément à l’Ouest! Indices du Villeneuve-Saint-Germain au centre de la Bretagne (le Dillien à Cléguérec et bellevue à Neulliac ; Morbihan). Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française 103(3): 519–533 Mauger, M., 1985. Les matériaux siliceux utilisés au Paléolithique supérieur en Ile-de-France. Unpublished PhD thesis, Université de Paris I. Mauvilly, M. 1997. L’industrie lithique de la culture à céramique linéaire de Haute et de Basse Alsace – état des recherches et bilan provisoire. Le Néolithique danubien et ses marges entre Rhin et Seine. Actes du XXIIème colloque interrégional sur le Néolithique. Strasbourg, 1995: 327–358. Strasbourg. Mauvilly, M. 2000. Le matériel lithique du site de Rosheim ‘Sainte-Odile’ (Bas-Rhin). Première partie

– objets en roches siliceuses et apparentées. Cahiers de l’Association pour la Promotion de la Recherche Archéologique en Alsace 16: 67–81. Meunier, K. 2012. Styles céramiques et néolithisation dans le Sud-Est du Bassin parisien. Paris, INRAP – CNRS Recherches archéologiques 5. Plateaux, M. 1982. L’industrie lithique du Rubané récent du Bassin parisien du site de Cuiry-lès-Chaudardes. Paris. Plateaux, M. 1987. L’industrie lithique des premiers agriculteurs dans le Nord de la France. In T. Szelag (ed.), Chipped stone industries of the early farming cultures in Europe. Actes du Colloque de Cracow: 225–245. Warszawa, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego. Archeologia Interregionalis 9. Plateaux, M. 1990. Quelques données sur l’évolution des industries du néolithique danubien de la vallée de l’Aisne. In D. Cahen and M. Otte (eds), Rubané et Cardial. Actes du Colloque de Liège, 1988: 157–181. Liège, Études et Recherches Archéologiques de l’Université de Liège n°39.. Prost, D., Bedault, L., Biard, M., Dupont, C., Fromont, C. and Hamon, C. 2012. Le site du Néolithique ancien de Saint-Pierre-d’Autils (Haute-Normandie-Eure): présentation liminaire. Internéo 9: 49–60. Saint Allain, M. 2010. Démouville – ZAC du Clos neuf. Bilan scientifique de la Basse-Normandie 2012: 51–53. Tappret, É. and Villes, A. 1996. Contribution de la Champagne à l’étude du Néolithique ancient. In P. Duhamel (ed.), La Bourgogne entre les bassins rhénan, rhodanien et parisien : carrefour ou frontière?, actes du 18Colloque interrégional sur le Néolithique (Dijon, 25–27 octobre 1991): 175–256. Dijon, Supplément à la Revue archéologique de l’Est, 14. Zimmermann, A. 1995. Austauschsysteme von Silexartefakten in der Bandkeramik Mitteleuropas. Bonn, Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorischen archäologie Band 26.

172

The Organisation of Flint Working in the Dutch Bandkeramik: a Second Approach Marjorie E.Th. de Grooth

Aspelweg 49, 53902 Bad Münstereifel, Germany e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: Research on the organisational aspects of flint working in the Dutch Linear Bandkeramik Culture (LBK) is summarized, focussing on approaches that analyse not only the relationships between settlements and regional extraction points, but also within- and between-site interactions in terms of craft-specialisation. Special attention is paid to the situation at the end of the LBK settlement of the region, when traditional exchange networks collapsed and new patterns of collaboration emerged. Keywords: Linear Bandkeramik Culture, craft-specialisation, lithic procurement strategies, Rhine-Meuse Area

Introduction

flint waste. Pit B–K 7 was an elongated loam pit such as regularly found alongside Bandkeramik houses. The other, pit B–K 8, was situated at about 2.5 meters to the north-east, and had an irregular shape. Not including chips (pieces smaller than 15mm) there were 4899 flints found in both pits together, with a total weight of almost 51kg.

Some four decades ago, Jacek Lech started to publish his influential research on flint mining among the early farming communities of Central Europe, (e.g. Lech 1975, 1981a,b, 1983), eventually concluding: ‘among the LBK archaeological sites it is possible to distinguish flint mines, settlements connected directly with the exploitation of deposits – settlements of producers – which played a special role in supplying flint to other communities and settlements of users, connected with former by means of networks of long-distance exchange. In regions lying far from deposits we can distinguish secondary centres of distribution of mined material’ (Lech 2003: 27).

Habitation at Elsloo (nowadays labelled ElslooKoolweg) started early in Modderman’s (1970) phase Ib and went on till the very end of the LBK sequence in the Netherlands (phase IId), comprising some ten house generations. In the Older LBK the village occupied an estimated area of 2–3 hectares, almost completely uncovered, with up to eleven houses standing at the same time. In the Younger LBK the settlement expanded over a much larger area, of which only about one-third has been excavated. In the younger phases as many as seventeen houses may have stood contemporaneously (Modderman 1970; Van de Velde 1979; Van Wijk and Porreij-Lyklema 2015). The assemblage originally studied at Elsloo consisted of 7328 flint artefacts, recovered from 218 ceramically dated rubbish pits, and associated with 75 out of the 95 houses excavated at that time.

At about the same time – lagging one International Symposium on Flint behind – I began to investigate the organizational aspects of Bandkeramik flint working, dealing mainly with the Dutch Graetheide area, but with an occasional excursion to Langweiler 8 in the German Rhineland, and focussing on the interpretation of within-site variability (de Grooth 1981, 1987, 1988). This Festschrift in honour of Jacek Lech offers a splendid opportunity for a second approach to the theme (cf. Lech 2003), evaluating research in the intervening years.

The process of Bandkeramik flint working

Initial data-set

The Beek-Kerkeveld material was excellently suitable for refitting, thus providing an insight in the chaîne opératoire (Pelegrin et al. 1988) chosen to transform raw material into manufactured products. Unworked nodules were brought into the settlement, after only cursory testing at the extraction sites. The process was aimed at the production of rather stocky blades, with more or less parallel edges. Striking platforms were made by the removal of one or several large decortication flakes. Although preparation of the core face often consisted only of the removal of bulges and decortication, sometimes a rough crest was prepared

For the initial study flint material from two Dutch Bandkeramik sites was analysed: Beek-Kerkeveld and Elsloo-Koolweg (De Grooth 1987). In Beek fifteen rubbish pits and several postholes were found in the spring of 1976 during small-scale rescue excavation at a new building estate by members of the ‘Heemkunde Vereniging Beek’. They can all be dated in Modderman’s (1970) phases IIc and possibly IId, i.e. in a late phase of the Younger LBK. Two of the rubbish pits examined at Beek-Kerkeveld contained a singularly large amount of 173

Between History and Archaeology to guide the first blade. This preparatory work was performed in the hard hammer mode. The flaking angle of the core was regularly improved by centripetal removal of tiny flakes from the striking platform (witness the faceted aspect of striking platforms on the cores and by the presence of many dihedral butts on blanks). If that did not suffice, the whole striking platform could be rejuvenated by hard hammer removal of a core tablet. The same core face remained in use, but the blades produced were 1–2cm shorter. The removal of tablets also took care of damages on the upper part of the core face when, owing to a wrong flaking angle or irregularities in the flint, hinge fracturing had occurred. Axial or lateral flanks (Cahen 1984), meant to correct damage at the bottom part of the core face, are but rarely encountered.

be characterised by high amounts of knapping debris (flakes, cores, rejuvenation pieces) and few blades and tools. Refuse pits belonging to the houses of ‘consumers’ would contain a preponderance of blades and tools. Looking for specialist flint knappers For Beek-Kerkeveld, the large amount of waste material combined with the small number of tools (less than 1%) at first sight seemed to indicate that near this two pits tools and blades could have been made that fulfilled the needs of the whole settlement. A first test of this hypothesis, however, proved to be negative: the tools and blades found in the site’s other rubbish pits were not related to the waste in the ‘rich’ pits. On the contrary, most of these pits contained preparation and rejuvenation pieces as evidence that flint had been knapped in their surroundings as well. Because only a small part of the Beek-Kerkeveld site had been excavated, this first refutation was not necessarily conclusive. Therefore, the search for Bandkeramik specialist flint knappers was continued at Elsloo (now known as Elsloo-Koolweg), as this large and long-lived settlement hopefully would provide information on structural activity patterns, i.e. patterns that recur throughout time rather than being just idiosyncratic.

Raw material The majority of flints worked at both Elsloo and BeekKerkeveld were of the type commonly referred to as ‘Rijckholt’ flint (Löhr et al. 1977), originating in the Upper Cretaceous Gulpen Formation. Additionally, at Beek-Kerkeveld, important amounts of ‘Valkenburg’ flint from the Maastricht Formation were worked (cf. De Grooth 1987, 2013b).

Given the modular (‘segmentary’) structure of the Elsloo settlement, it seemed possible that hypothetical flint knapping specialists could have worked both for the whole village, or on the level of the separate wards. The first case would result in a very high concentration of flint waste belonging to a single farmstead in every habitation phase. This kind of specialisation was labelled ‘loose mode of production’ in Piet Van de Velde’s (1979) analysis of Bandkeramik social structure. In the second case, when a lineage mode of production was practised, one would expect to find for every settlement phase systematic differences in the amount of flint waste per farmstead within the household clusters.

Bandkeramik social organisation In socio-economic terms, the Bandkeramik may be regarded as a ‘community society’ (Fried 1975) displaying a limited degree of social stratification. In settlements, contemporary houses were grouped in wards of two to five farms. Larger settlements were composed of between two and five of such wards, with totals of 10–20 dwellings. The smaller settlements, consisting of only one ward, were often occupied for shorter periods than the large ones; they were founded later, as though they were subsidiary villages of a primary settlement, and were sometimes abandoned earlier, too. Single farmsteads are rare (De Grooth and van de Velde 2005; Zimmermann et al. 2004: 62). The fact that constant groups of farms remained together for generations implies that the relationships between the occupants were fairly enduring. In anthropological terms such an enduring group is known as a lineage. In such communities some form of craft-specialisation is perfectly feasible. Basically, the term ‘specialist’ refers to those people who perform complicated tasks more successfully than others and, because of their special skills, tend to perform them more often as well, or to co-ordinate the work of less experienced team-mates (Olaussson 1997). Moreover, they consistently produce objects for people outside their own household. As regards flint working, such specialisation would lead to a clear differentiation in the assemblages dumped at different farmsteads. Rubbish left by specialists would

Again, the first analysis revealed no evidence for specialist flint knappers: In every settlement phase, the pits of most houses contained flint waste from all production stages. Even when little flint is present, we find cores, rejuvenation pieces and unmodified flakes, the most characteristic manufacturing waste. In this respect there existed no obvious differences between settlement phases. In organizational terms, such a pattern corresponds to the domestic mode of production. In this, the family, living in a single household, is the unit of production and consumption, and division of labour is based on age and sex alone. However, the different types of specialisation are not mutually exclusive. So, the evidence pointing to the existence of specialists could be covered and partly 174

Marjorie E.Th. de Grooth: The Organisation of Flint obscured by refuse produced by these domestic activities. The result would be a multivariate patterning which cannot be readily distinguished by visual inspection or simple statistical aids. The results of a Principal Components Analysis (cf. Doran and Hodson 1975; Baxter 1994) indeed revealed some hidden variability in the data-set that was thought to point to the presence of ad hoc specialists. During every house generation one or at most two of the households worked more flint, in a more efficient way, and transferred part of the blanks and tools manufactured to be used and discarded by the other households in the settlement. This ‘loose mode of production’, however, was of minor importance in comparison to the domestic one. As the knapping traditions persisted for centuries, the transmission of knowledge and know-how must have formed a stable part of the communities’ routine. The necessary theoretical knowledge may be transferred from generation to generation in myths and rituals, whilst practical know-how would have been acquired in a structured trajectory of ‘learning-by-doing’.

important of these is the Banholter Grub (mun. EijsdenMargraten, NL) in Southern Limburg, whilst the nearby sites of Mheer-Hoogbos (mun. Eijsden-Margraten, NL) and Remersdaal-Rodebos (mun. Voeren, B) may have played a secondary role (De Grooth 2007: 149–150). Subsequently, new excavations at both Beek-Kerkeveld (Van Betuw 2009) and Elsloo (De Grooth 2015a) showed that the same type of eluvial flint was used there, as was the case in several other Dutch sites. Moreover, this holds true for the Rhenish Bandkeramik as well (De Grooth 2015b). These extraction sites are located at a considerable distance from all LBK settlement areas involved in their exploitation: some 25–30km from both the Graetheide and the Aldenhovener Platte, and 10–15km from the Caberg on the left bank of the Meuse (De Grooth 2016). Thus, its users displayed a clear preference for the acquisition of high quality raw material from considerable distances, rather than make do with local rocks of lower quality.

Despite the great number of flint artefacts, at Elsloo no pits containing concentrations of manufacturing waste comparable to those of Beek-Kerkeveld were recovered. Given the ample evidence for local flint production at Elsloo, this difference does not seem to reflect structural differences in the intensity of flint working at both sites. Partly this may simply be due to a better state of preservation encountered at Beek-Kerkeveld, where a thick colluvial layer prevented erosion, but differences in the method of refuse disposal may have played a role as well.

The Flomborn-time settlement of GeleenJanskamperveld consisted of two spatial units, or wards, in the north-eastern and south-western part of the settlement respectively. Both consisted of several groups of houses. These wards differed significantly with regard to the intensity of flint working (De Grooth 2013a). Whereas similar amounts of blades and tools were present in the two wards, the south-western ward contained significantly more production waste, indicating that the inhabitants of the two wards used different procurement strategies.

Recent developments

Additionally, a comparison of the proportions of cores, flakes and blades and tools from the Flomborntime assemblages of Geleen- Janskamperveld, ElslooKoolweg and Langweiler 8 revealed marked differences between the three coeval sites (Tab. 1), indicating that in the earliest stages little flint was worked at Langweiler 8, and its inhabitants may even have received prepared cores from Geleen-Janskamperveld, and blades from Elsloo-Koolweg (De Grooth 2008).

Within- and between-site differentiation

Meanwhile, lithic assemblages from other LBK settlements have provided new insights into the themes discussed before (cf. Fig. 1). The most important of these, Geleen-Janskamperveld, extended over approximately 4.5ha, of which 2.7ha, or 61% was investigated (Van de Velde 2007). Habitation started early in the Flomborn phase, and lasted approximately 100 years (or four house generations), comprising the phases Ib and Ic of the Dutch chronology (cf. Modderman 1970). During this time an estimated number of 90 houses were constructed, of which 69 have been excavated. The settlement yielded some 7950 flint artefacts, with a total weight of c. 58kg (De Grooth 2007).

Elsloo-Koolweg: a second approach The presence of this kind of differentiated lithic interaction both within and between settlements made me feel the need for a reassessment of the ways flint working was organized at Elsloo-Koolweg, especially as regards the notion of ad hoc specialists. Starting this second approach made me realise that I initially had treated Elsloo-Koolweg too much as a closed universe, without due consideration of its relationships with the outside world. Moreover, too little attention was paid to the fact that only part of the settlement was excavated. Whereas most of the Flomborn-time houses

Through the analysis of these flints in terms of raw material provenance, it could be demonstrated that they originated from a cluster of mining sites in the Dutch/Belgian borderland, where ‘Rijckholt-type’ flints were extracted from residual loams (cf. De Warrimont and Groenendijk 1993; Felder 1998; Brounen and Peeters 2000/2001; De Grooth 2011). The most 175

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 1. Study area with relevant LBK settlements and flint extraction extraction points, plotted on simplified geological map. Adapted by Marjorie de Grooth and Ivo van Wijk from De Grooth 2011: Fig.1.

176

Marjorie E.Th. de Grooth: The Organisation of Flint that unworked flint nodules were brought into the settlement. However, during the youngest phases (Modderman IIc and IId), a drastic decrease in flint waste is documented (Fig. 2), concerning most of the houses all over the excavated part of the settlement. In the Middle Merzbach Valley similar low percentages of unmodified flakes are seen to be characteristic for small, satellite settlements. These are thought to have been partly dependent on the inhabitants of the large pioneer sites, who had better access to resources, were more actively involved in knapping and redistributed worked cores and blades on a regional scale (KeglerGraiewski and Zimmermann 2003).

Table 1. Comparison of the intensity of flint working at Elsloo-Koolweg, Geleen-Janskamperveld and Langweiler 8 during the Flomborn phase. Adapted from De Grooth 2007: Table 10–30.

% flakes

% cores/hammerst

% blades/tools

Elsloo

Geleen-JKV

Langweiler 8

76.0

72.7

63.2

2.9

18.9

1.0

24.2

2.3

32.8

N

3515

4866

1351

Flakes: Cores

26.4

75.3

27.5

Blades: Cores

Tools: Cores

Flakes: Tools

Flakes: Blades

3.9

2.4

10.5

6.4

14.2

10.8

7.0

5.3

For Elsloo-Koolweg such an interpretation would seem problematic. Apart from being itself one of the pioneer settlements on the Graetheide, the village remains a large one. In the excavated part 20 house plans belong to phase IIc, and 18 to phase IId (Van Wijk and PorreijLyklema 2015: 190).

7.7

6.6

4.2

3.6

Before offering scenarios interpreting this phenomenon, a brief discussion of the general situation at that time is called for. In the Rhine-Meuse region first signs of disruption in the seemingly stable Bandkeramik world become visible during phase IIa (or House generation IX–X of the Middle Merzbach chronology, cf. Stehli 1994: 135). In phase IIc (i.e. from House Generation XII onward) the Rhineland witnessed a period of dramatic population decline, in which the long-lived exchange and communication networks lose their importance (e.g. Gehlen and Schön 2009; Zimmermann

may have been recovered, only about one-third of the younger ones are thought to be documented (Van Wijk and Porreij-Lyklema 2015). This reassessment is still in its early stages, but the following example may serve as illustration. Given the high proportion of unmodified flakes (68.5% overall average), Elsloo-Koolweg would qualify as a settlement ‘connected directly with the exploitation of deposits’ (Lech 2003: 27), and it is generally assumed

Fig. 2. Elsloo-Koolweg: diachronic comparison of assemblages from dated pits containing at least 15 flint artefacts.

177

Between History and Archaeology 1995). Recently it has been suggested that part of the population of the Rhineland may have migrated to the Graetheide at the relevant time (Balkowski and Hartmann 2015). At both the Graetheide and the Caberg clusters an increasing number of settlements and coeval houses are documented, and the adjacent Belgian Hesbaye region is flourishing too. From phase IIa onward we see changes in lithic preferences at the Dutch sites. Whilst Elsloo-Koolweg continued to use the traditional Banholt material, some other settlements experimented with alternative flint sources (De Grooth 2016), among which the Hesbaye flints exploited at sites such as Verlaine ‘Petit-Paradis’ (Allard 2005).

based patterns of interaction between social groupings broke down (e.g.Van de Velde 2016), to be replaced by more flexible and opportunistic alliances. Such a cooperation would counteract, at least temporarily, the negative stressful relationships, based on distrust, rivalry and strife that by several researchers are seen as the basis of Younger Bandkeramik inter-and intra- village interactions (cf. Petrasch 1999; Golitko 2010; Van de Velde 2016). Concluding remarks As stated before, this reappraisal is still very much a work in progress. The idea of ad hoc lithic specialists working at Bandkeramik sites such as Elsloo-Koolweg still seems plausible. However, finding evidence for their presence turned out to be harder than I initially thought. Firstly, the vast majority of waste material seems to have been the result of domestic production on the level of individual households. Secondly, part of the variety may be the result of multiple interactions not only with the outside world, but also between different wards within the settlement. Thirdly, the importance of diachronic fluctuations has to be assessed.

To interpret the decrease in flint waste encountered at Elsloo-Koolweg, one can design several scenarios that are not mutually exclusive. A first scenario is based on within-site changes: the dominant domestic mode of production would have been replaced by the kind of specialisation between wards as outlined for Geleen-Janskamperveld. However, in that case one has to assume that all producers’ households were located in the unexcavated part of the settlement. A second scenario assumes a change in Elsloo’s procurement strategy: instead of bringing unworked nodules into the settlement, initial core preparation and part of the blade production were performed at the Banholt extraction site. The presence of blade cores and rejuvenation pieces at Banholt offer empirical support of this idea. Moreover, similar strategies have been described for sites such as Maastricht-Klinkers (De Grooth 2013b: 46)

Acknowledgements Many thanks for stimulating discussions and manifold support to Birgit Gehlen, Werner Schön, Piet van de Velde and Ivo van Wijk. References Allard, P. 2005. Surplus production of flint blades in the early Neolithic of western Europe: New evidence from Belgium. European Journal of Archaeology 8: 205– 23. Balkowski, N. and Hartmann, S. 2015. Vom Merzbachtal in die Graetheide? – Die Synchronisation der niederländischen Bandkeramik mit der Aldenhovener Platte am Beispiel der Siedlung und des Gräberfeldes von Elsloo. Archäologische Informationen 38: 531–542. Baxter, M.J. 1994. Exploratory Multivariate Analysis in Archaeology. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press. Brounen, F.T.S. and Peeters, H. 2000/2001. Vroegneolithische vuursteenwinning en –bewerking in de Banholtergrubbe (Banholt, gem. Margraten). Archeologie 10: 133–150. Cahen, D. 1984. Technologie du débitage laminaire. In M. Otte (ed.), Les fouilles de lan Place Saint-Lambert à Liège I: 171–199. Liège, Etudes et Recherches Archéologiques de l’ Université de Liège 18. De Grooth, M.E.Th. 1981. Fitting together Bandkeramik Flint. In F.H.G. Engelen (ed.), Third International Symposium on Flint, 24–27 Mei 1979 – Maastricht: 117– 118. Heerlen, Staringia 6.

On the other hand, unworked nodules were still being brought from the Banholt resource into coeval BeekKerkeveld. A third scenario is based on changes in Elsloo’s role as a supplier of flint to the outside world. With the collapse of the traditional exchange networks, those cores and blades formerly exported would instead remain in the settlement, to the detriment of the percentage of flakes. In a final scenario, Elsloo’s inhabitants would indeed have worked less flint themselves, creating an opportunistic dependency on e.g. Beek-Kerkeveld, in the framework of inter-settlement (and thus interlineage) alliance building (cf. Golitko 2010, esp. 329–33). The refitting evidence from Beek-Kerkeveld, suggesting that some of the cores prepared there were moved out of the excavated area (De Grooth 1987: 33), offers some empirical support for this scenario. The scenarios are not mutually exclusive, and all are feasible in a time of disruption, when the stable kinship178

Marjorie E.Th. de Grooth: The Organisation of Flint De Grooth, M. E. Th. 1987. The organisation of flint tool manufacture in the Dutch Bandkeramik. Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia 20: 27–52. De Grooth, M.E.Th. 1988. Zusammensetzungen von Silexartefakten. In U. Boelicke, D. von Brandt, J. Lüning, P. Stehli and A. Zimmermann (eds), Der bandkeramische Siedlungsplatz Langweiler 8, Gemeinde Aldenhoven, Kreis Düren: 787–793. Bonn, Habelt. Beiträge zur neolithischen Besiedlung der Aldenhovener Platte III, Rheinische Ausgrabungen 28. De Grooth, M.E.Th. 1994. Die Versorgung mit Silex in der bandkeramischen Siedlung Hienheim ‘Am Weinberg’ (Ldkr. Kelheim) und die Organisation des Abbaus auf gebänderte Plattenhornsteine im Revier Arnhofen (Ldkr. Kelheim). Germania 72: 355–407. De Grooth, M. E. Th. 2007. Flint: procurement and distribution strategies; technological aspects. In P. van de Velde (ed.), Excavations at GeleenJanskamperveld 1990/1991: 143–171. Leiden, Leiden University. Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia 39. De Grooth, M.E.Th. de 2008. Procurement and exchange strategies at the Early Bandkeramik settlement of Geleen-Janskamperveld (The Netherlands). In P. Allard, F. Bostyn, F. Gilligny and J. Lech (eds), Flint mining in prehistoric Europe: Interpreting the archaeological records. European Association of Archaeologists, 12th Annual Meeting Cracow, Poland 19th– 24th September 2006: 13–30. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports, International Series 1891. De Grooth, M.E.Th. 2011. Distinguishing Upper Cretaceous flint types exploited during the Neolithic in the region between Maastricht, Tongeren, Liège and Aachen. In J. Meurers-Balke and W. Schön (eds), Vergangene Zeiten. Liber amicorum. Gedenkschrift für Jürgen Hoika: 107–130. Bonn, Habelt. Archäologische Berichte 22. De Grooth, M.E.Th. 2013a. Spatial aspects of flint working at the Early Bandkeramik settlement of Geleen-Janskamperveld (prov. Limburg, The Netherlands). In C. Hamon, P. Allard and M. Ilett (eds), The Domestic Space in LBK settlements: 127–140. Rahden (Westfalen), Verlag Marie Leidorf. De Grooth, M.E.Th. 2013b. Vuursteengebruik in bandkeramische vindplaatsen. Archeologie 14: 1–28. De Grooth, M.E.Th. de 2015a. Het bandkeramische vuursteen. In I. van Wijk and A. PorreijLyklema (eds), Opgravingen in de bandkeramische nederzetting van Elsloo-Koolweg. Uitwerking van drie opgravingscampagnes aan de Joannnes Riviusstraat en Paulus Potterstraat te Elsloo: 121–144; 194–195. Leiden, Archol. Archol Rapport 252. De Grooth, M.E.Th. de 2015b. The ‘Rijckholt’ Connection: Neolithic extraction and circulation of Lanaye flints. In T. Kerig and S. Shennan (eds), Connecting Networks. Characterising contact by measuring lithic exchange in the European Neolithic: 24–41. Oxford, Archaeopress.

De Grooth, M.E.Th. 2016. Interpreting flint working diversity in the Dutch Linearbandkeramik (LBK). In: L. Amkreutz, F. Haack, D. Hofmann and I. van Wijk (eds), Something out of the ordinary? Interpreting diversity in the Early Neolithic Linearbandkeramik and Beyond: 141–158. Cambridge, Cambridge Scholars Publishing. De Grooth, M.E.Th. and Van de Velde, P. 2005. Colonists on the loess? Early Neolithic A: the Bandkeramik culture. In: L.P. Louwe Kooijmans, P.W. van den Broeke, H. Fokkens and A.L. van Gijn (eds), The Prehistory of the Netherlands: 219–242. Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press. De Warrimont, J.P. and Groenendijk, A.J. 1993. 100 jaar Rullenvuursteen: een kleurrijke vuursteensoort nader bekeken. Archeologie in Limburg 57: 37–46. Felder, W.M. 1998. Overzicht van de prehistorische vuursteenexploitaties binnen het Krijtgebied tussen Aken-Heerlen-Luik-Maastricht en Tongeren. In P.C.M. Rademakers (ed.), De prehistorische Vuursteenmijnen van Ryckholt-St. Geertruid: 169–193. Maastricht, Nederlandse Geologische Vereniging. Sectie Limburg. Doran, J.E. and Hodson, F.R. 1975. Mathematics and computers in Archaeology. Edingburgh, Edinburgh University Press. Fried, M.H. 1975. The Notion of Tribe. Menlo Park etc., Cummings. Gehlen, B. and Schön, W. 2009. Jüngere Bandkeramik – Frühes Mittelneolithikum – Rössen im Rheinischen Braunkohlenrevier: Steinartefakte als Spiegel einer sich verändernden Welt. In: A. Zimmermann (ed.), Studien zum Alt- und Mittelneolithikum im Rheinischen Braunkohlenrevier: 587–611. Rahden/Westf., Leidorf. Kölner Studien zur Prähistorischen Archäologie 1. Golitko, M.L. 2010. Warfare and Alliance Building during the bellgian Early Neolithic, Late Sixth Millennium BC. Unpublished PhD thesis, Chicago Illinois. Kegler-Graiewski, N. and Zimmermann, A. 2003. Exchange systems of stone artefacts in the European Neolithic. In L. Burnez-Lanotte (ed.), Production and Management of Lithic Materials in the European Linearbandkeramik. Acts of the XIVth UISPP Congress, University of Liège, Belgium, 2–8 September 2001: 31–36. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports, International Series 1200. Lech, J. 1975. Neolithic flint mine and workshops at Saspów near Cracow. In F.H.G. Engelen (ed.), Second International Symposium on Flint, 8–11 Mei 1975– Maastricht: 70–72. Oldenzaal, Staringia 3 Lech, J. 1981b. Flint mining among the early farming communities of Poland. In F.H.G. Engelen (ed.), Third International Symposium on Flint, 24–27 Mei 1979 – Maastricht: 39–46. Heerlen, Staringia 6, Lech, J. 1981a. Flint Mining among the Early farming Communities of Central Europe. Przegląd Archeologiczny 28: 5–55. 179

Between History and Archaeology Lech, J. 1983. Flint Mining among the Early Farming Communities of Central Europe. Part II –The Basis of Research into Flint Workshops. Przegląd Archeologiczny 30: 47–80. Lech, J. 2003. Mining and sikiceous rock supply to the early danubian early farming communities (LBK) in eastern central Europe: a second approach. In L. Burnez-Lanotte (ed.), Production and Management of Lithic Materials in the European Linearbandkeramik. Acts of the XIVth UISPP Congress, University of Liège, Belgium, 2–8 September 2001: 19–30. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports, International Series 1200. Löhr, H., Zimmermann, A. and Hahn, J. 1977. Feuersteinartefakte. In R. Kuper, H. Löhr, J. Lüning and A. Zimmermann (eds), Der bandkeramische Siedlungsplatz Langweiler 9, Ge. Aldenhoven, Kr. Düren: 131–266. Bonn, Habelt. Beiträge zur neolithischen Besiedlung der Aldenhovener Platte 2, Rheinische Ausgrabungen 18. Modderman, P.J.R. 1970. Linearbandkeramik aus Elsloo und Stein, Leiden, Instituut voor Prehistorie. Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia 3. Olausson, D. 1997. Craft specialization as an agent of social power in the south Scandinavian Neolithic. In R. Schild and Z. Sulgostowska (eds), Man and flint. Proceedings of the VIIth International Symposium: 269– 77. Warszawa, Polish Academy of Sciences. Pelegrin, J. Karlin, C. and Bodu, P. 1988. ‚Chaînes opératoires’: un outil pour le préhistorien. In J. Tixier (ed.), Technologie préhistorique: 55–62. Paris, CNRS Éditions. Notes et monographies techniques 25. Petrasch, J. 1999. Mord und Krieg in der Bandkeramik. Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt 29: 505–516. Stehli, P. 1994. Chronologie der Bandkeramik im Merzbachtal. In J. Lüning and P. Stehli (eds), Die

Bandkeramik im Merzbachtal auf der Aldenhovener Platte: 79–191. Bonn, Rheinland Verlag. Rheinische Ausgrabungen 36. Van Betuw, V. 2009. Vuursteen. In E. Lohof and S. Wyns (eds), Beek Kerkeveld, de periferie van een Bandkeramische nederzetting. Een definitief Archeologisch Onderzoek: 50–74. Amersfoort, ADC ArcheoProjecten. ADC Rapport 1292. Van de Velde, P. 1979. On Bandkeramik social structure. An analysis of pot decoration and hut distributions from the central European Neolithic communities of Elsloo and Hienheim. Leiden, Universitaire Pers. Van de Velde, P. (ed.). 2007. Excavations at GeleenJanskamperveld 1990/1991. Leiden, Leiden University. Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia 39. Van de Velde, P. 2016. ‘It’s the Lineage, Stupid!’ (The Rise and Demise of the Northwestern Linearbandkeramik). In: T. Kerig, K. Nowak and G. Roth (eds), Alles was zählt… Festschrift für Andreas Zimmermann: 233–246. Bonn, Habelt. Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorischen Archäologie 285. Van Wijk, I.M. and Porreij-Lyklema, A. (eds). 2015. Opgravingen in de bandkeramische nederzetting van Elsloo-Koolweg. Uitwerking van drie opgravingscampagnes aan de Joannnes Riviusstraat en Paulus Potterstraat te Elsloo. Leiden, Archol. Archol Rapport 252. Zimmermann, A. 1995. Austauschsysteme von Silexartefakten in der Bandkeramik Mitteleuropas. Bonn, Habelt. Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorischen Archäologie 26. Zimmermann, A., Richter, J., Frank, Th. and Wendt, K.P. (2004). Landschaftsarchäologie II. Überlegungen zu Prinzipien einer Landschaftsarchäologie. Berichte der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission 85: 37–95.

180

Jurrasic-Cracow Flint in the Linear Pottery Culture in Kuyavia, Chełmno Land and the Lower Vistula Region Joanna Pyzel and Marcin Wąs

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, University of Gdańsk, ul. Bielańska 5, 80-851 Gdańsk, Poland e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: Jurrasic-Cracow flint was one of the most important lithic raw materials in the Linear Pottery Culture (LBK) in Poland. It is registered in numerous assemblages in the Polish Lowland, but its percentages and technological structures vary through time. This paper presents the current state of research on Jurrasic-Cracow flint procurement, which is discussed in the broad context of cultural developments of early farming communities in the areas of the Lowland close to the River Vistula. Keywords: Polish Lowland, Early Neolithic, Neolithic flintworking, Jurrasic-Cracow flint, Linear Pottery Culture (LBK)

Introduction

extensive use of these published materials (see the list of sites in Tab. 1). We already have a considerable number of sites at our disposal, the exact dating of which within the LBK has been modified with reference to the latest studies (after Pyzel 2010 and Werra 2013). For the same reason, it would seem to be worthwhile to renew research on this subject, although we realise that taking into account, for example, flint assemblages from many of the hitherto unpublished sites from the A1 motorway could influence our interpretations. The aim of this article is not, therefore, so much to exhaust the topic of Jurrasic-Cracow flint in the Lowlands, as to sum up the state of research so far and to indicate new directions for research.

Studies on the distribution of flint raw materials among Early Neolithic farmers in the Lowland areas of Middle Europe have a comparatively long history, as evidenced by numerous publications. The appeal and potential of this line of research should come as no surprise, bearing in mind the unique character of the Linear Pottery Culture (LBK) and post-LBK settlement, most often defined as ‘insular’. In research on these communities, particular cognitive value is attributed to various types of artefacts made of raw materials from outside the local area, whose widespread distribution enables the monitoring of inter-regional contacts, the strength of the bonds between settlement enclaves hundreds of kilometres apart, and their variation over time. In terms of the archaeology of the earliest farming communities in Poland, a particularly important role is played by studies into the distribution of flint raw materials of Lesser Poland. This is a fairly enigmatic group of raw materials, including Jurassic-Cracow flints from the Cracow-Częstochowa Upland (Polish Jura), so-called ‘chocolate’ flints from the Holy Cross (Świętokrzyskie) Mountain Region (also of Jurassic date) and CretaceousTuronian-flints, represented by Świeciechów (grey white-spotted) flint. The characteristics of the ways in which the raw materials were distributed and exploited have been covered many times in the subject literature in Poland.

History of research Jurrasic-Cracow flint reached the widest range of distribution in the history of its use in the LBK. This seems to indicate the unique character of the social and cultural bonds which linked the communities of the LBK over extensive areas of Central Europe (Lech 2006: 402). It is this unique character that meant that this raw material has most often been written about from the global perspective (e.g. Lech 1979, 1981, 1987, 2003, 2006) or that of Lesser Poland. Although as yet no mines are known of, their existence is implied and the topic of the extraction and distribution of this raw material in general takes up a considerable amount of space in the literature. The basic question seems to be to establish whether different LBK groups obtained Jurrasic-Cracow flint through self-supply or exchange. The majority of researchers lean towards the first interpretation (e.g. Lech 1979, recently also Wilczyński 2014a and 2014b).

Often, however, particularly in the case of LBK communities in the Lowland, these sources were discussed together. This is why we felt it right to examine the subject of Jurrasic-Cracow flint alone among these communities. Our observations are confined to the area of the Vistulian enclaves of LBK settlements, i.e. Kuyavia, Chełmno Land with a part of the lower Vistula valley. These regions have been relatively well studied so far (Pyzel 2010; Werra 2013). In our paper, we make

Jacek Lech was also concerned with the matter of functional variations among LBK sites, introducing the division into primary and secondary production sites and settlements of users (Lech 1981, 1988, 2003). One of 181

Between History and Archaeology Table 1. Number of finds of different raw materials from sites analysed in this paper with the percentage of Jurrasic-Cracow flint. N. d. – no data.

72

IIB

129

53

III

78

242

30

III

137

55

3

31

7

31

IIA

4

IIB

7

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 7. 8. 9. 10. 10. 10. 11. 11. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.

Brześć Kujawski 3, Włocławek dist.

Brześć Kujawski 4, Włocławek dist.

Chabsko 40, Mogilno dist.

Grabie 4, Aleksandrów I Kujawski dist. Guźlin 2, Włocławek dist.

Guźlin 2, Włocławek dist.

Kuczkowo 5, Aleksandrów Kujawski III dist.

Łąkocin 1, Inowrocław IIB dist. Ludwinowo 7, Włocławek dist.

Ludwinowo 7, Włocławek dist.

Ludwinowo 7, Włocławek dist.

Miechowice 4, Włocławek dist.

Miechowice 4, Włocławek dist.

Miechowice 4, Włocławek dist.

% JurassicCracow flint

6

Bożejewice 22/23, Mogilno dist.

total

IIA

2.

undefined

3

obsidian

3

Świeciechów

III

Baba 12, Rypin dist.

JurassicCracow

1.

Chocolate

Phase Baltic

No. Site

Volhynian

Pommeranian

Number of flints References

6

0

Domańska 2004

54

147

10.2

Kabaciński 2010

7

189

0

Grygiel 2004

20

376

7.98

Grygiel 2004

25

221

1.36

Kabaciński 2010

6

75

41.33

Domańska 2016

9

13

0

Grygiel 2004

6

13

0

Grygiel 2004

42

11.9

Domańska and Kabaciński 2010

1

6

0

Kabaciński 2010

2

106

14.15

Kabaciński 2010

25

141

5.67

Kabaciński 2010

37

15

6 1

5

4

1

IIA

38

51

15

IIB

11

96

8

III

4

48

6

15

74

8.11

Kabaciński 2010

IIA

43

182

39

73

340

11.47

Grygiel 2004

IIB

34

155

15

74

278

5.4

Grygiel 2004

2

6

0

Grygiel 2004 Domańska 1995; Kabaciński 2010

3

III

1

4

Miechowice 7, Inowrocław dist.

IIA

4

38

43

5

90

47.78

Piecki 8, Inowrocław dist.

III

6

6

1

1

14

7.14

IIA

3

40

1

44

0

Domańska 2004

169

7

218

0

Domańska 2016

Olsza 9, Mogilno dist.

Przybranowo 3, Aleksandrów Kujawski III dist. Radziejów 5, Radziejów dist.

Rożniaty 2, Inowrocław dist.

41

1

Kabaciński 2010

III

3

26

22

2

53

41.51

Gabałówna 1963

IIA

1

6

1

2

10

10

Kabaciński 2010

26

1

2

30

3.33

Kabaciński 2010

Rzadkwin 22, Mogilno III dist.

182

Joanna Pyzel and Marcin Wąs: Jurrasic-Cracow Flint

19. 19. 19. 20. 20. 21. 22. 23. 23. 24. 25. 26.

Siniarzewo 1, Aleksandrów Kujawski IIA dist.

5

30

15

3

53

28.3

Domańska and Kabaciński2010

7

23

8

3

41

19.51

Domańska and Kabaciński2010

Siniarzewo 1, Aleksandrów Kujawski III dist.

9

11

20

0

Domańska and Kabaciński2010

IIA

4

3

7

0

Grygiel 2004

III

13

115

3

131

0

Grygiel 2004

IIA

78

13

17

108

1.85 (?)

Wiślański 1959

IIA

146

73

4

223

0

Grygiel 2004

IIB

1

23

1

1

26

0

Grygiel 2004

III

3

113

3

1

120

0

Grygiel 2004

III

14

7

3

28

14.29

Kabaciński 2010

IIB

8

15

23

0

Kabaciński 2010

III

5

11

16

0

Kabaciński 2010

172

2.33

Małecka-Kukawka 2008

Siniarzewo 1, Aleksandrów Kujawski IIB dist.

Smólsk 4, Włocławek dist.

Smólsk 4, Włocławek dist. Strzelce 2, Mogilno dist.

Wolica Nowa 1, Środa Wielkopolska dist. Zagajewice 1, Inowrocław dist.

Zagajewice 1, Inowrocław dist.

Żabienko 12, Mogilno dist. Żegotki 2, Mogilno dist.

Żegotki 18, Mogilno dist.

27.

Annowo 31, Grudziądz IIA dist.

28.

Bocień 5, Toruń dist.

IIA

28.

Bocień 5, Toruń dist.

29.

Boguszewo 41, Grudziądz dist.

30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38.

Boguszewo 43a, Grudziądz dist.

Gruta 52, Grudziądz dist. Kornatowo 14, Chełmno dist.

Linowo 6, Grudziądz dist. Lisewo 31, Chełmno dist. Małe Radowiska 17, Wąbrzeźno dist.

Ryńsk 42, Wąbrzeźno dist. Stolno 2, Chełmno dist. Wieldządz 31, Wąbrzeźno dist.

2 (?)

4

168

4

35

104

2

6

147

1.36

III

22

11

1

4

38

2.63

I

25

3

86

21

135

63.7

I

1

29

3

34

85.29

34

94.12

33

0

64

7.81

55

7.27

n. d. n. d. 82

4.88

I IIB

1 2

25

IIA

4

4

59

5

17

4

IIA

21

III

n. d. n. d. n. d.

IIA

32

39

IIA

117

12

IIB

4

6

13

4

n. d. n. d.

1 144

183

40

2.5

273

0

10

0

Małecka-Kukawka 2012

Małecka-Kukawka 2012

Małecka-Kukawka 2008

Małecka-Kukawka 2008

Małecka-Kukawka 2008 Małecka-Kukawka 2008

Małecka-Kukawka 2008

Małecka-Kukawka 1992 Osipowicz et al. 2012

Małecka-Kukawka 2008 Małecka-Kukawka 2008 Małecka-Kukawka 2008

Between History and Archaeology

39. 40. 41.

Wielkie Radowiska 22, III Wąbrzeźno dist.

74

Wielkie Radowiska 44, III Wąbrzeźno dist. Kościelna Jania 13, Starogard Gdański dist.

IIA

10

10

74

0

Małecka-Kukawka 2008

246

13

259

5.02

Małecka-Kukawka 2008

6

4

30

13.3

Czerniak et al. 2016

the basic criteria for this distinction was the distance from the outcrops. As regards raw materials from Poland, nobody has studied the question as thoroughly as Andreas Zimmermann did for the Rhineland, where he noticed variation even within one microregion, depending on the site’s rank and function (Zimmermann 1995). Recent large-scale rescue excavations in Poland raise the hope that such detailed studies could take place in the future, while even now it is possible to investigate, for instance, chronological differentiation within the LBK to a considerably greater degree. Thus, for example, Jarosław Wilczyński suggests for the LBK site at Targowisko 10 and 11, Cracow district, dated to the Zofipole and Music Note phases, that the inhabitants supplied their raw materials themselves (Wilczyński 2014a), while for Brzezie 17, Cracow district, located nearby and dated to the later Music Note and Żeliezovce phases, specialised flint-workshops were discovered, which testify to the fact that, together with the development of the LBK, an intensification of production took place, specialists appeared and largescale exchange began (Wilczyński 2014b).

him Jurrasic-Cracow flint in the Lowland is rather an example of exchange and not independent distribution, and then connected with ‘other purposes of ritual and social exchange’ (Lech 1987). The subject of this raw material in the Lowlands was nevertheless practically only dealt with separately from that of chocolate flint in the context of the origin of the LBK and the possible routes of the influx of migration (e.g. Domańska 1988, 1995, see also Gronenborn 1997: 137). The specificity of research on Jurrasic-Cracow flint in the Lowland inventories – verification of sources The attempt to characterise the place and role of Jurrasic-Cracow flint in flint production as a whole in the LBK should be preceded by a few remarks. These remarks concern the state of sources and publications which document the presence of this raw material in the LBK inventories. Attention is drawn primarily by the unique position of flint artefacts in the publication of the results of find processing, where they are most often presented – which is understandable in a certain sense – as a secondary category of artefacts with regard to pottery. As a consequence, analysis of this group of artefacts is often in the form of annexes, or they are completely overlooked as a unique category, attracting the attention only of flint specialists.

In many of these general considerations of JurrasicCracow flint in the LBK, some sites from the Lowlands have been mentioned, but they served mainly as background information and were not the research subject itself (see Lech 1979, 1981, 2003, 2006). Bogdan Balcer in his paper on so-called imported raw materials in the LBK distinguished regions of differing importance for Jurrasic-Cracow flint in the flint industry as a whole. In the Lowland Jurrasic-Cracow flint can be classified to stage C, and thus as economically irrelevant (Kuyavia), or even totally absent (Pyrzyce district: Balcer 1983).

At the same time, a certain paradox can be perceived in the fact that flint artefacts of so-called imported raw materials draw particular attention in the relevant papers. Indeed, they have gained the reputation of being material relics of interregional social relations (as expressed earlier). Unfortunately, studies of these raw materials (including Jurrasic-Cracow flint) are most often confined to ascertaining their inclusion in the inventory, using simple quantitative indicators to do so, and then creating a ‘superstructure’ with frequently repeated terms, such as procurement, distribution and exchange.

Jurrasic-Cracow flint was also discussed, of course, in a series of publications from the Lowland perspective (e.g. Domańska 1988, 1995; Małecka-Kukawka 1992; Kabaciński 2010). Essentially, however, in the Lowlands this raw material remains in the shadow of the dominant chocolate flint (see, for example, MałeckaKukawka 2008). They are most often dealt with together as so-called ‘imported’ raw materials; it has been suggested that their distribution followed the same networks (recently Kabaciński 2010: 182). Lech was always of a different opinion, and according to

Although the research potential of imported materials is undeniable, the way in which flintworking is characterised and analysed may leave a feeling of unfinished business. The evident latitude in the classification and presentation of flint inventories 184

Joanna Pyzel and Marcin Wąs: Jurrasic-Cracow Flint in fact give a false picture when evaluating the quantity of ‘imported’ Jurrasic-Cracow flint. In order to estimate the quantity of raw material imported to a site, it could be useful to weigh the nonlocal materials; however, in the case of the assemblages examined in the present paper, source work does not provide information about their mass. Presentation of the data General remarks In the present paper, we look at flint inventories of altogether 41 sites: 26 from Kuyavia, 14 from Chełmno Land and one from Pomerania (Tab. 1 and Fig. 1). All of these sites are classified to separate LBK phases, divided into LBK I, LBK IIA, LBK IIB and LBK III (description of phases presented by Pyzel 2010). At seven sites there are materials from several phases: at four settlements there are two phases and at three as many as three phases. Each phase was examined separately and as a minimum we assumed the presence of a total of five flint finds. In total this gave us 51 sites/phases and 4768 flints (see Tab. 1). We deliberately did not include so-called Podgaj-type sites (recently Rzepecki 2013) in the work because of their suggested distinctness in flint industries; we were trying to find the norm, not deviations from it. We assume that most of the sites analysed in this paper represent quite ordinary LBK villages.

Fig. 1. Map of sites analysed in this paper. Number of sites according to Table 1. Drawn: J. Pyzel.

Analysis of the proportion of Jurrasic-Cracow flint was conducted separately for each phase. Thus from phase I we have four sites, in all of which Jurrasic-Cracow flint is present, with an average share of 64%.

and the lack of a standardised system therefore result in difficulties in conducting comparative studies. The present paper, too, has many deficiencies for the above reasons.

There are 18 sites dated to phase IIA, at 13 of which (72%) there is Jurrasic-Cracow flint in different quantities, from 1–2% (Ryńsk 42, Wąbrzeźno district, Bocień 5, Toruń district, probably Strzelce 2, Mogilno district) to 48% (Miechowice 7, Inowrocław district), with an average (for all sites) of 8%.

A separate issue is that of the method for measuring and determining the proportion of non-local raw materials in flint inventories of the LBK in the Lowland. Most often the measure of the proportion of imported flints is the nominal number of artefacts. It is usually shown as a percentage against the assemblage as a whole. Such a perspective is not, unfortunately, the right way to evaluate the proportions of an individual raw material within the general raw material composition of the analysed inventory. The shortcomings emerge, in particular, in comparative analyses confronting very small assemblages (with a few elements) and rich assemblages (with several hundred artefacts). Then the percentage of non-local raw material reduced to the role of indicators of the percentage composition could

In phase IIB Jurrasic-Cracow flint is only present at three sites out of ten (30%). All of these sites are multiphase sites with evidence of previous settlement. In all, the average share of Jurrasic-Cracow flint is 4% for all sites of this phase, from 5% in Miechowice 4, Włocławek district, to 19% in Siniarzewo 1, Aleksandrów Kujawski district. In phase III Jurrasic-Cracow flint is present at 11 out of 19 sites from this phase (58%). On average it constitutes 185

Between History and Archaeology Table 2. Group of products made of Jurrasic-Cracow flint from selected sites. A – products of blade/flake core exploitation; core procurement products; products of cresting and rejuvenation flakes; B – products of splintered technique; C – unidentified products, wastes, chunks; D – conventional tools. Chronology

Phase I

Groups of products

Sites

A

Boguszewo 41, Grudziądz dist.

70

Grabie 4, Aleksandr ów Kujawski dist.

11

Boguszewo 43a, Grudziądz dist.

23

Gruta 52, Grudziądz dist.

27

Annowo 31, Grudziądz dist.

1

Bożejewice 22/23, Mogilno dist.

Kościelna Jania 5, Starogard Gdański dist.

Ludwinowo 7, Włocławek dist. Phase IIA

Miechowice 4, Włocławek dist. Rożniaty 2, Inowrocław dist. Ryńsk 42,Wąbrzeźno dist.

Phase IIB

Phase III

4

6

26

6

1

Bocień 5, Toruń dist.

1

4

Brześć Kujawski 4, Włocławek dist.

24

Kuczkowo 5,Aleksandrów Kujawski dist.

5

Olsza 9, Mogilno dist.

1

Małe Radowiska 17, Wąbrzeźno dist. Rzadkwin 22, Mogilno dist.

1

8

2

3

10

Żabienko 12, Mogilno dist.

5%, from 1.36% in Chabsko 40, Mogilno district, to 41.5% in Radziejów 5, Radziejów district.

31

3

1

32 4

15

2

15

4

5

28

1

1

4

1

3

29

7

6

1

Wielkie Radowiska 24, Wąbrzeźno dist.

19

6

1

2

86

11

1

sum

16

5

3

8

Chabsko 40, Mogilno dist.

1

1

4

D 6

1

Siniarzewo 1, Aleksandrów Kujawski dist.

Miechowice 4, Włocławek dist.

C

6

15

Miechowice 7, Inowrocław dist.

B

3

43 1

15 11 1

30 3 5 4 1 1

13 4

Unfortunately, not all of the sites presented above can be subjected to a more detailed characterisation, meaning that the analysis of the technological profile and the tool structure is of necessity limited to 377 artefacts from 23 inventories.1 Similar considerations determined the necessity of adopting a very general manner of presentation of the flint products taken together.

The aim is to cancel out, as it were, the differences between individual publications, and particularly any divergence manifest in the application of various systems for the classification of flint artefacts. It is not, however, our aim to negate perspectives adopted in the past or to propose a new method for grouping and describing flint finds. In order better to depict the technological specificity of flint artefacts made of Jurrasic-Cracow flint, and to avoid errors which would certainly be revealed by a more detailed correlation of different classification systems present in source work, we propose treating them in four groups:

This limitation results from the very varied state of the presentation of flint products in source publications, which made it impossible to identify them in more detail. This refers to the following inventories: Lisewo 31, Chełmno district, Linowo 6, Grudziądz district, Radziejów 5 and some of the artefacts made of Jurassic-Cracow flint from Ludwinowo 7, Włocławek district, Siniarzewo 1 and Bocień 5 (in total about 30 unidentified artefacts not included in this characterisation).

A. Products of blade/flake core exploitation; core procurement products; products of cresting and rejuvenation flakes (e.g. groups: I, II, III, V after Domańska and Kabaciński 2010). B. Products of the splintered technique (e.g. group IV after Domańska and Kabaciński 2010).

Presentation of flint material from separate phases

1 

186

Joanna Pyzel and Marcin Wąs: Jurrasic-Cracow Flint In the whole assemblage, only10 unidentified products were found (group C – 2.7%). Because such a curtailed assemblage does not allow detailed comparative analysis of sources to be carried out, we propose only a general outline of the specificity of Jurrasic-Cracow flint inventories in individual phases of the LBK settlement in Lowland areas of interest to us. LBK I Despite the fact that this phase is only represented by the inventory from four sites, products of JurrasicCracow flint are the most strongly represented in it. Also from the overall perspective of the database of LBK flints in the Lowland, they constitute almost half (over 47%) of the analysed inventory of 377 artefacts, standing out against the background of the following phases of this culture. In the whole assemblage of phase I, containing 178 artefacts of Jurrasic-Cracow flint, only relics classified into two groups are in fact visible. Almost three-quarters of the assemblage (74%) is composed of products of blade/flake core exploitation (131 items). The remaining part consists of conventional tools, totalling 46 items (26%). It is worth remarking that in the light of available sources there is no sign in this phase of products of the splintered technique, or of morphologically and technologically unidentified products. LBK II

Fig. 2. LBK sites from individual phases analysed in this paper. Grey dot – sites with Jurrasic-Cracow flint; black dot – other sites. Drawn: J. Pyzel.

The sources for the research on the role of the JurrasicCracow flint in the second phase of the LBK settlement in the Lowland are 137 artefacts from nine inventories from phase IIA and one from phase IIB. Due to the strong disproportion in favour of this chronological group, which is representative of flintworking, sites from phase IIA will be discussed in more detail.

C. Unidentified products, wastes, chunks (e.g. group VI after Domańska and Kabaciński 2010). D. Conventional tools (e.g. group VII after Domańska and Kabaciński 2010).

Although as many as 126 artefacts come from phase IIA (constituting over 33% of the total inventory), their considerably smaller quantity at individual sites compared to LBK I is clearly visible. Apart from the inventory from Miechowice 4 including 43 artefacts of Jurrasic-Cracow flint, at other sites this material is not as numerous as in the oldest phase. At some sites, indeed, there are only traces (4 pieces only both in Annowo, Grudziadz district, and Kościelna Jania, Starogard Gdański district, and single finds in Rożniaty, Inowrocław district and Ryńsk).

In total, in the group of 377 artefacts made of JurrasicCracow flint recorded at all of the sites discussed here, products classified as group A are dominant in terms of quantity (Tab. 2). This group consists of 245 products of classical blade/flake exploitation: blanks, cores, procurement wastes and so-called ‘technical flakes and blades’ (crested blades, core tablets, rejuvenation flakes). Together they make up 65% of the whole assemblage. The second in terms of numbers is group D (over 25%). So-called conventional tools, which are classified in this group, form a collection comprising 95 artefacts.

In addition, the ‘internal’ structure of the assemblage of Jurrasic-Cracow flints from this phase differs from that of LBK I. There is a distinct alteration of the technological profile, in which artefacts of group A are reduced to about 51% (64 items) in favour of products of

In comparison, group B is very modest, comprising products of the splintered technique (about 7%). 187

Between History and Archaeology the splintered technique, which constitute 16% of the whole assemblage in this phase.

Function and purpose of Jurrasic-Cracow flint materials at Lowland LBK sites

It is also worth noting that, despite the changes emerging in Jurrasic-Cracow flintworking technology, the profile of the tool group remains relatively homogeneous. Naturally, along with the general decline in the quantity of Jurrasic-Cracow flints on the LBK IIA sites, the actual quantity of tools also decreases (35 items), and yet their percentage in this phase is almost identical to that in the overall inventory of LBK I, fluctuating around 28%. In addition the internal structure of the tool group does not display significant differences; all types of conventional tools are present with end-scrapers and truncations being quantitatively dominant.

Significant data on the role of Jurrasic-Cracow flint artefacts at Lowland LBK sites can be supplied by the results of traceology. Analyses aimed at determining the function and purpose of flint in LBK societies were also conducted in the case of inventories from Kuyavia and Chełmno Land (Winiarska-Kabacińska 2003; MałeckaKukawka 1992, 2001). It should be noted that there are glaring disproportions between the intensity and degree of advance in the research of the two regions. Particularly effective are papers by Jolanta MałeckaKukawka, who analysed flint inventories of the following LBK sites from Chełmno Land: Boguszewo 41, Boguszewo 43a (Grudziądz district), Annowo 7, Gruta 52 (Grudziądz district), Wielkie Radowiska 22 and 24 and Bocień 5 (Małecka-Kukawka 2001: 32, 2012). These are supplemented by the later papers of Grzegorz Osipowicz on the flint assemblage from Małe Radowiska 17, Wąbrzeźno district (Osipowicz et al. 2012).

LBK III Finds of Jurrasic-Cracow flint from the youngest LBK phase in the Lowland constitute the smallest assemblage in comparison with the previous phases. It consists of 62 products, which constitutes over 16% of the total Jurrasic-Cracow flint inventory.

In the context of the subject discussed here, it is notable that in this research particular emphasis is placed on the presence of imported finds made of Lesser Poland raw materials, with Jurrasic-Cracow flint playing a vital role (Małecka-Kukawka 2001: 159). In order to assess the role and specificity of this raw material, a series of questions was posed, covering such issues as the way tools made of Jurrasic-Cracow flint were used and whether they had any particular use that diverged from that of analogical forms of local flints.

As in previous periods, also in LBK III, Jurrasic-Cracow flint is most numerously connected to blade/flake core exploitation (46 items Group A, i.e. 74%). This represents a slight increase in comparison with the earlier period, which in turn correlates with the decline in the share of products of the splintered technique (c. 8% – 5 items). The most significant difference emerges in this phase in the quantity of tools (group D – 8 items). Compared with the previous phases, where the presence of tools was fairly clearly visible, the share of Jurrasic-Cracow flint in LBK III seems to have a diminished role. Apart from the fact that its share falls to the level of 13%, of no less significance is the distinct disturbance of the existing internal structure of the conventional tool group. Of particular note is the absence of the classical typological core group of end-scrapers and truncations. Apart from a single end/scraper from Wielkie Radowiska, Wąbrzeźno district, none of the other tools represents classical forms of typological tools. In the place of such forms as trapezes, borers and side-scrapers present in older phases, only amorphic tool types, such as retouched blades and retouched flakes (2 items), but especially unidentified ones (3 items), occur in LBK III.

As a result of the research conducted on a sample numbering 165 pieces of Jurrasic-Cracow flint, 86 types of functional application were identified, which gives a fairly high rate of using a single tool (Małecka-Kukawka 2001: 162). Such a result indicates the considerable significance of imported raw materials in the context of technologically specialised economic activity. The functional characteristics of Jurrasic-Cracow flint artefacts from Chełmno Land are particularly interesting. Małecka-Kukawka distinguishes the following functional tools: hide scrapers (18), hide burins (1), wood scrapers (16), wood burins (9), wood chisels (1), whittles (1), bone/antler scrapers (1), bone/ antler burins (3), cereal sickle inserts (8), cereal sickle inserts/grass knives (1), and meat knives (23). Two areas of application of products of Jurrasic-Cracow flint clearly emerge: for processing animal products (meat, hide, bone/antler: 46 items) and for wood-working (27 items). Jurrasic-Cracow flint artefacts together with another imported raw material – chocolate flint – are the dominant raw material group in the category of tools also connected with cereal harvesting; against this

It may be understood that this difference is decisive not only in the decline in the nominal quantity of the tools themselves, but also in the distinct change in the role of Jurrasic-Cracow flint in the latest stage of the LBK in the Lowland.

188

Joanna Pyzel and Marcin Wąs: Jurrasic-Cracow Flint Table 3. Percentage of tools in Jurrasic-Cracow flint inventories from selected sites. Sites Grabie 4, Aleksandrów Kujawski dist.

Tools (%)

Gruta 52, Grudziądz dist.

Others (%)

Total

61

39

31

16

84

32

Boguszewo 41, Grudziądz dist.

19

81

86

Boguszewo 43a, Grudziądz dist.

21

79

29

Ryńsk 42, Wąbrzeźno dist.

0

100

1

Annowo 31, Grudziądz dist.

75

25

4

Bożejewice 22/23, Mogilno dist.

47

53

15

Rożniaty 2, Inowrocław dist.

100

0

1

Ludwinowo 7, Włocławek dist.

13

87

15

Siniarzewo 1, Aleksandrów Kujawski dist.

40

60

15

82

28

Miechowice 4, Włocławek dist.

18

Miechowice 7, Inowrocław dist.

26

74

43

Kościelna Jania 5, Starogard Gdański dist.

0

100

4

Miechowice 4, Włocławek dist.

55

45

11

Chabsko 40, Mogilno dist.

0

100

3

Bocień 5, Toruń dist.

0

100

1

Rzadkwin 22, Mogilno dist.

0

100

1

Małe Radowiska 17, Wąbrzeźno dist.

25

75

4

Wielkie Radowiska 24, Wąbrzeźno dist.

23

77

13

Olsza 9, Mogilno dist.

0

100

1

Brześć Kujawski 4, Włocławek dist.

13

87

30

Kuczkowo 5, Aleksandrów Kujawski dist.

0

100

5

Żabienko 12, Mogilno dist.

0

100

4

district. No traces of use were identified on the first specimen, while the second is connected with wood working (Grygiel 2004).

background local Baltic erratic flints were of marginal importance. It is also worth emphasising that in the light of traceological analysis, the dominant functional category here, i.e. meat knives (as many as 93 items altogether), is composed solely of raw, unretouched blades made exclusively of Lesser Poland raw materials, with a complete lack of analogical tools of local Baltic erratic flints. According to the author of this research, these observations provide grounds for claiming that in the LBK tradition there were rigorous rules for the production and use of meat knives (Małecka-Kukawka 2001: 168). Perhaps this conclusion should be perceived as the key to understanding the ‘Jurrasic-Cracow flint phenomenon’ in the Lowland LBK inventories.

In conclusion, the state of traceological studies on LBK inventories enables the position of artefacts of imported raw materials in the overall economic activity undertaken within LBK settlements to be approximately determined. Discussion The analysis of the percentage share and the technological structure of Jurrasic-Cracow flint artefacts at LBK Lowland sites, despite all of the limitations presented in this work, demonstrated clear tendencies and significant chronological differences within this culture. It is worth presenting them again here in the wider context of the development of the local Lowland LBK communities.

Against the background of the microwear analysis in Chełmno Land outlined above, the results of analogical studies on Kuyavian assemblages are considerably more modest. Among LBK sites from the Brześć Kujawski, Włocławek district, and Osłonki region only two Jurrasic-Cracow flint artefacts have been analysed: a borer from Brześć Kujawski 4 and a borer combined with an end-scraper from Miechowice 4, Włocławek

The first issue is that of the origin of these communities. Although their general southern, Lesser Poland provenance seems indisputable with regard to all cultural traits, it is, nonetheless, flint materials from 189

Between History and Archaeology

side-scrapers

others

3

 

1

4

 

 

5

5

4

2

 

 

5

3

3

Bożejewice 22/23, Mogilno dist.

4

1

Miechowice 4, Włocławek dist.

1

 

Rożniaty 2, Inowrocław dist.

1

Annowo 31, Grudziądz dist.

 

Miechowice 7, Inowrocław dist.

Phase IIB

4

Gruta 52, Grudziądz dist.

Ludwinowo 7, Włocławek dist.

Phase III

4

3

Grabie 4, Aleksandrów Kujawski dist.

Phase IIA

borers

Boguszewo 43a, Grudziądz dist.

trapezes

Boguszewo 41, Grudziądz dist.

ret. flakes

Phase I

ret. blades

Sites

truncations

Chronology

end-scrapers

Table 4. Tool types made of Jurrasic-Cracow flint from selected sites.

Siniarzewo 1, Aleksandrów Kujawski dist.

Miechowice 4, Włocławek dist.

 

 

1

 

1

6

2

 

 

 

2

1

 

 

1

 

 

1

19

17

Wielkie Radowiska 24, Wąbrzeźno dist.

 

32

 

 

1

2

 

 

2

2

1

1

2

 

 

9

1  

 

 

1

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5

 

 

3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

2

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2

 

 

 

1

1

SUM

 

 

Brześć Kujawski 4, Włocławek dist.

Małe Radowiska 17, Wąbrzeźno dist.

 

 

 

 

2

 

 

9

3

Fig. 3. Percentage of tool types made of Jurrasic-Cracow flint from sites presented in Table 4. Drawn: M. Wąs.

Kuyavia and Chełmno Land that show the strength of that connection clearly. This is evidenced not only by the high percentage share of Jurrasic-Cracow flint in Lowland LBK I; it was also the most important raw material for the Lesser Poland LBK communities. It should also be noted that at Lowland LBK I sites there

are no clear indications of the adaptation of local flint sources for the production of conventional-type tools using blade technology. Perhaps local raw materials (especially Pomeranian flint, the so-called ‘swalloweggs’) could not be exploited intensively for at least four reasons (of equivalent status or not): 190

Joanna Pyzel and Marcin Wąs: Jurrasic-Cracow Flint • •

•

•

insufficient knowledge of local raw materials and places where they occurred in great quantities; inappropriate technical properties and parameters of the local raw material to fulfil production needs, and particularly the production of blades and blade tools (e.g. truncations, sickle inserts, etc.); insufficient knowledge and know-how of processing local raw-materials (erratic Baltic flint and pebble-shaped Pomeranian flint) using blade technology; the considerable ‘cultural’ significance of products made of ‘southern’ raw materials.

pieces and splintered flakes), their presence should not be trivialised. In a sense, they can be interpreted as an effect of the change in the position of imported flint in LBK flintworking as a whole in the Lowland. It cannot be excluded that behaviours connected with the origins of local flintworking in the LBK in Kuyavia and Chełmno Land are apparent here, which gradually developed ‘technologically’ independently from settlement and production centres in the south. Although the above thesis is as yet poorly supported by the sources, this line of interpretation seems to be worth studying further. The growing role of chocolate flint should also be seen in this context, its significance in the Lesser Poland LBK communities being much smaller than that of JurrasicCracow flint, and it being a raw material typical for the Lowland communities. That is also why these raw materials should not be treated together. From the time when LBK communities in Kujavia and Chełmno Land became more autonomous, Jurrasic-Cracow flint played a marginal role in their flintworking. It is nevertheless interesting that it did not disappear completely; quite the contrary – after a certain regress in LBK IIB – in LBK III it occurs sparsely, but at the majority (60%) of sites throughout the Lowland. In part this increased presence can be explained by changes in the production of this flint in Lesser Poland, which is reflected in the intensification of large-scale exchange over time. The percentage of this raw material increases in many regions in later phases, e.g. in Lower Silesia (Furmanek and Masojć 2016), Moravia (Mateiciucová 2008; Kuča et al. 2009) or Bohemia (Lech 1989). It is interesting that such interregional contacts, mirrored by the presence of specific flint raw material, are not reflected in other kinds of material culture, for example pottery. Each region maintains its specific features and identity, including the Lowland communities, and this distinguishes the later developments from the beginning of the settlement there, with still existing strong genetic connections with the south.

Although there are distinct differences in quantities among LBK I sites, and also in proportions among individual technological groups within particular inventories (e.g. Boguszewo 41, Grudziądz district and Grabie 4, Aleksandrów Kujawski district), a general tendency is visible nevertheless. The most significant attribute of the specificity of this phase must be the lack of splintered pieces and splintered flakes in the group of Jurrasic-Cracow flints. Assuming that this reduction method is the most typical for local flintworking (based mainly on Baltic erratic flint), one can conclude that in this phase Jurrasic-Cracow flint was not exploited in this way. On the other hand, there is an absence of clear indications that would enable researchers to state unequivocally that Jurrasic-Cracow flint was reduced using blade core methods within LBK sites in the study area. It cannot, in fact, be excluded that products of classical blade/flake exploitation could have appeared ‘ready-made’ in the form of imports. This idea fits in well with the relatively numerous group of tools in which the forms making up the core of tools in the LBK – end-scrapers and truncations – are particularly visible (Tabs. 3 and 4; Fig. 3). It should be clearly emphasised that the question of the functioning of local flintworking requires further research, and in particular the identification of products typical for flint-workshops.

However, for the regions mentioned above, JurrasicCracow flint had more or less a basic technological function and its supply was an economic necessity. It was definitely not the case in LBK III in the Lowland, where only single artefacts reached the local settlements. At this point, a change in the tools’ structure should be pointed out, as it may be evidence of a distinct shift in the role of Jurrasic-Cracow flint in the latest stage of the LBK in the Lowland.

Lowland LBK I flint inventories seem to confirm the preconceived idea of the origins of the LBK in the Lowland as being the consequence of demographic migration. Newcomers slowly adapted to the new terrain and, with time, the links to the old region weakened. This is the context in which we should view the raw material structure of flint assemblages of LBK IIA, which, on the basis of pottery analysis, can be regarded as a direct continuation of LBK I and represents the same foremost, original, migration wave and its implications in the Lowland (Pyzel 2014).

Also the contemporaneity of the latest phases in different regions may turn out to be only apparent. Thus the disappearance of the LBK and the beginning of the Stroke Band Pottery Culture in Bohemia, Lower Silesia and Moravia can be dated even as early as 5100 cal BC (Kulczycka-Leciejewiczowa 1997: 145), which is contemporaneous only with the beginnings of LBK

Gradually, a local specificity in flintworking begins to emerge in this phase, which can be seen in the example of products of the splintered technique in LBK II. Although in total there are only 20 artefacts (splintered 191

Between History and Archaeology III in the Lowland! In addition, in Bohemia, Moravia and Lower Silesia the share of Jurrasic-Cracow flint declines just before the end of the LBK (Lech 1987), so even earlier. In the Lowland it is present until the very end of this culture, for example at Wielkie Radowiska 24, Wąbrzeźno district dated to 4900–4850 cal BC (Pyzel 2010: 96 and tab. 23, further references therein). Additionally, it is also present, albeit to a slightly lesser extent, at some sites of the subsequent post-LBK phase I in Kuyavia (Kabaciński 2010: 185 and fig. 59). Although this matter requires further detailed study, a cautious hypothesis may be formulated that connections of the Lowland with Lesser Poland, reflected by the presence of Jurrasic-Cracow flint, could have survived the demise of the LBK. This is interesting in the context of the discussions as to the continuation of, or the hiatus in, the post-LBK settlement of the Lowland.

of new research problems, whose character should be correlated with the growing state of sources in recent years and with the scope of knowledge about the earliest Neolithic settlement on the Lowland. Based in part on the results obtained in this paper and the shortcomings that became apparent during the research, we propose that the questions of the spread and use of non-local raw materials by LBK communities on the Lowland (e.g. Kuyavia) should be tackled as far as possible taking into account the divergences among the individual species of flint (both petrographic and geological, as well as their ‘technological’ properties). We are convinced that the convention of treating several species together as a group of so-called Lesser Poland flints blurs the outwardly discrete differences between the various raw materials, making it difficult (or even impossible) to observe and perceive significant differences in the ways they ‘functioned’ and to identify their real role as so-called exotic raw materials among the early farming communities of the Lowland. This is all the more important as studies on the distribution of raw materials among prehistoric communities act as markers of wider phenomena of a ‘culture-forming’ nature, and of course archaeology aspires to identify them, particularly in such an ‘attractive’ period of prehistory as the beginning of the Neolithic.

In the subject literature generally, the dominant hypothesis is that of the collapse of communication networks organising flint supply, even in the scenario of an undoubted cultural continuation (e.g. Lower Silesia; Furmanek and Masojć 2016) at the end of the LBK. The example of Jurrasic-Cracow flint in the Lowland shows, nevertheless, that every type of raw material should be examined separately. Above all, Jurrasic-Cracow flint and chocolate flint must not be analysed together – they were raw materials with a different economic and social significance. Jurrasic-Cracow flint definitely did not play any important technological or economic function in the late flintworking of the Lowland LBK. Maybe its meaning was much more of a semiotic nature. In the time when the LBK world began to collapse the Lowland communities might have referred to some material signs to emphasise their ancestry and identity. Jurrasic-Cracow flint could probably have acted from the beginning as an ‘allocative resource’ (in sensu Giddens; see also the role of Szentgál radiolarite in Mateiciucová 2010) and this could have been mobilised at a time when the continuity became endangered.

Translated by Hazel Pearson References Balcer, B. 1983. Wytwórczość narzędzi krzemiennych w neolicie ziem Polski. Wrocław, Warszawa, Kraków, Gdańsk, Łódź. Czekaj-Zastawny, A. 2014. Brzezie 17: Osada kultury ceramiki wstęgowej rytej. Kraków. Via archaeologica. Źródła z badań wykopaliskowych na trasie autostrady A4 w Małopolsce. Czerniak, L., Pyzel, J. and Wąs, M. 2016. The beginning of the Neolithic in Eastern Pomerania. Settlement of the Linear Band Pottery Culture at Kościelna Jania, Comm. Smętowo Graniczne, site 13, Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 68: 193–222. Dębiec, M. and Dzbyński, A. 2007. Die ersten Radiokarbondarierungen aus der Siedlung der Linearbandkeramischen Kultur in Zwięczyca, Gm. Boguchwała. Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 59: 53–62. Domańska, L. 1988. Recepcja małopolskich surowców krzemiennych wśród kujawskich społeczeństw cyklu wstęgowego. In A. Cofta-Broniewska (ed.), Kontakty pradziejowych społeczeństw Kujaw z innymi ludami Europy: 81–91. Inowrocław. Domańska, L. 1995. Geneza krzemieniarstwa kultury pucharów lejkowatych na Kujawach. Łódź. Domańska, L. 2004. Materiały krzemienne z badań wykopaliskowych na trasie gazociągu MogilnoWłocławek i Mogilno-Wydartowo. In J. Bednarczyk

Unfortunately, we do not know exactly what the contacts between the Lowland communities and Lesser Poland were like because the end of the LBK there has not been well investigated. We do not know how to date the Želiezovce phase (e.g. Dębiec and Dzbyński 2007; Czekaj-Zastawny 2014: 93–105; Valde-Nowak 2014: 32), and the beginnings of Malice culture are equally enigmatic. It is also not known who supplied the latest LBK and earliest post-LBK communities from the Lowland with Jurrasic-Cracow flint. Although research on the distribution of raw flint materials has a long tradition in Polish archaeology of the Neolithic, it should be developed further as an area of unusual cognitive potential. At the same time, we should highlight the need for a change in the direction of archaeological investigations and for the formulation 192

Joanna Pyzel and Marcin Wąs: Jurrasic-Cracow Flint and A. Kośko (eds), Od długiego domu najstarszych rolników do dworu staropolskiego: Wyniki badań archeologicznych na trasach gazociągów MogilnoWłocławek i Mogilno-Wydartowo: 503–513. Poznań. Domańska, L. 2016. Change and continuity. Traditions of the flint technology as seen from the Tążyna Valley perspective, Kuyavia. Łódź. Domańska, L. and   Kabaciński, J. 2010. Wczesnoneolityczne materiały krzemienne ze stanowisk Kuczkowo 1 oraz Siniarzewo 1, woj. kujawsko-pomorskie. Fontes Archaeologici Posnanienses 46: 137–181. Furmanek, M. and Masojć, M. 2016. The use of erratic stone by the communities of Linear Pottery culture in view of the excavations in Kostomłoty, site 27, province of Lower Silesia. Archeologia Polona 54: 181– 200. Gabałówna, L. 1963. Ślady osadnictwa kultur z cyklu wstęgowych w Radziejowie Kujawskim. Prace i Materiały Muzeum Archeologicznego i Etnograficznego w Łodzi, Seria Archeologiczna 9: 25–95. Gronenborn, D. 1997. Silexartefakte der ältestbandkeramischen Kultur. Bonn. Grygiel, R. 2004. Neolit i początki epoki brązu w rejonie Brześcia Kujawskiego i Osłonek I. Wczesny neolit. Kultura ceramiki wstęgowej rytej. Łódź. Kabaciński, J. 2010. Przemiany wytwórczości krzemieniarskiej społeczności kultur wstęgowych strefy wielkodolinnej Niżu Polskiego. Poznań. Kuča, M., Přichystal, A., Schenk, Z., Škrdla, P. and Vokáč, M. 2009. Lithic raw material procurement in the Moravian Neolithic: the search for extra-regional networks. Documenta Praehistorica 36: 313–326. Kulczycka-Leciejewiczowa, A. 1997. Strachów: Osiedla neolitycznych rolników na Śląsku. Wrocław. Lech, J. 1979. Krzemieniarstwo w kulturze społeczności ceramiki wstęgowej rytej w Polsce. Próba zarysu. In W. Wojciechowski (ed.), Początki neolityzacji Polski południowo-zachodniej: 121–136. Wrocław. Lech, J. 1981. Górnictwo krzemienia społeczności wczesnorolniczych na Wyżynie Krakowskiej: Koniec VI tysiąclecia-1 połowa IV tysiąclecia p.n.e. Wrocław– Warszawa–Kraków–Gdańsk–Łódź, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. Lech, J. 1987. Danubian raw material distribution patterns in eastern central Europe. In G. Gale de Sieveking and M. H. Newcomer (eds), The human uses of flint and chert: Proceedings of the Fourth International Flint Symposium held at Brighton Polytechnic 10–15 April 1983: 241–248. Cambridge. Lech, J. 1988. O rewolucji neolitycznej i krzemieniarstwie: Część I. Wokół metody. Archeologia Polski 33(2): 273– 345. Lech, J. 1989. A Danubian Raw Material Exchange Network: A Case Study from Bylany. In J. Rulf (ed.), Bylany Seminar 1987: Collected Papers: 111–120. Praha.

Lech, J. 2003. Mining and siliceous rock supply to the Danubian early farming communities (LBK) in eastern central Europe: a second approach. In L. Burnez-Lanotte (ed.), Production and Management of Lithic Materials in the European Linearbandkeramik: Actes du XIVème Congrés UISPP, Université de Liège, Belgique, 2–8 septembre 2001: 19–30. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 1200. Lech, J. 2006. Wczesny i środkowy neolit Jury Ojcowskiej. In J. Lech and J. Partyka (eds), Jura Ojcowska w pradziejach i w początkach państwa polskiego: 387–438. Ojców. Małecka-Kukawka, J. 1992. Krzemieniarstwo społeczności wczesnorolniczych ziemi chełmińskiej (2 połowa VI–V tysiąclecie p.n.e.). Toruń. Małecka-Kukawka, J. 2001. Między formą a funkcją: Traseologia neolitycznych zabytków krzemiennych z ziemi chełmińskiej. Toruń. Małecka-Kukawka, J. 2008. O mezolicie, neolicie i krzemieniu czekoladowym. In W. Borkowski, J. Libera, B. Sałacińska and S. Sałaciński (eds), Krzemień czekoladowy w pradziejach. Materiały z konferencji w Orońsku, 08–10.10.2003: 185–202. Warszawa–Lublin. Studia nad gospodarką surowcami krzemiennymi w pradziejach 7. Małecka-Kukawka, J. 2012. Traseologia w badaniach krzemieniarstwa najstarszych społeczności rolniczych na Niżu Polskim. Materiały krzemienne kultury ceramiki wstęgowej rytej ze stanowiska 5 w Bocieniu, gm. Chełmża, woj. kujawsko-pomorskie. Acta Universitatis Nicolai Copernici Archeologia 32: 113– 160. Mateiciucová, I. 2008. Talking stones. The chipped stone industry in Lower Austria and Moravia and the beginnings of the Neolithic in Central Europe (LBK), 5700– 4900 BC. Brno. Mateiciucová, I. 2010. The beginnings of the Neolithic and raw material distribution networks in eastern Central Europe: symbolic dimensions of the distribution of Szentgál radiolarite. In D. Gronenborn and J. Petrasch (eds), Die Neolithisierung Mitteleuropas. The Spread of the Neolithic to Central Europe Internationale Tagung, Mainz 24. bis 26. Juni 2005. Mainz: 273–300. Osipowicz, G., Balonis-Chyb, A., Pomianowska, H. and Wałaszewska, M. 2012. Materials of Linear Band Pottery Culture from site 17 in Małe Radowiska, Wąbrzeźno Comm., Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship. Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 64: 215–67. Pyzel, J. 2010. Historia osadnictwa społeczności kultury ceramiki wstęgowej rytej na Kujawach. Gdańsk. Pyzel, J. 2014. Findet sich im Norden Polens die älteste Bandkeramik? Probleme der Periodisierung der polnischen Linearbandkeramik. In T. Link and D. Schimmelpfennig (eds), No future? Brüche und Ende

193

Between History and Archaeology kultureller Erscheinungen. Fallbeispiele aus dem 6.–2. Jahrtausend v. Chr: 83–93. Kerpen-Loogh. Rzepecki, S. 2013. Beside the mainstream. Some reflections on the LBK in Kujavia. Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 65: 79–130. Valde-Nowak, P. 2014. Long Houses on the hilltop – Camps in the Mountains: Some Aspects of the Neolithic in the Dunajec Project. In T. L. Kienlin, P. Valde-Nowak, M. Korczyńska, K. Cappenberg and J. Ociepka (eds), Settlement Communication and Exchange around the Western Carpathians: International workshop held at the Institute of archaeology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków October 27–28, 2012: 27–49. Oxford. Werra, D. 2013. Społeczności kultury ceramiki wstęgowej rytej na ziemi chełmińskiej. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń. Wilczyński, J. 2014a. Krzemienny oraz obsydianowy inwentarz kultury ceramiki wstęgowej rytej ze

stanowiska Brzezie 17, gm. Kłaj. In A. CzekajZastawny (ed.), Brzezie 17: Osada kultury ceramiki wstęgowej rytej: 499–546. Kraków. Wilczyński, J. 2014b. Neolityczne materiały krzemienne z wielokulturowego stanowiska 10, 11 w Targowisku, pow. wielicki. In A. Zastawny (ed.), Targowisko, stan. 10, 11. Osadnictwo z epoki kamienia: 459–534. Kraków. Winiarska-Kabacińska, M. 2003. Analiza funkcjonalna wybranych zabytków krzemiennych kultury ceramiki wstęgowej rytej z terenu Kujaw, Unpublished manuscript at Muzeum Archeologiczne i Etnograficzne, Łódź. Wiślański, T. 1959. Wyniki prac wykopaliskowych w Strzelcach, w pow. mogileńskim, w latach 1952 i 1954. Fontes Archaeologici Posnanienses 10: 1–95. Zimmermann, A. 1995. Austauschsysteme von Silexartefakten in der Bandkeramik Mitteleuropas. Bonn.

194

Morphological and Functional Differentiation of the Early Neolithic Perforators and Borers – a Case Study from Tominy, South-Central Poland Marcin Szeliga

Institute of Archaeology, Faculty of Humanities, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, Plac Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej 4, 20–031 Lublin, Poland e-mail: [email protected]

Katarzyna Pyżewicz

Institute of Archaeology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, 89D Umultowska St., 61–614 Poznan, Poland e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: This contribution presents a collection of 68 typological perforators and borers discovered during excavations conducted in 2006–2009 at site 6 in Tominy, Opatów district (south-central Poland), which is currently one of the largest collections of such tools across the territorial range of Linear Pottery Culture (LPC). In the light of previous findings from the area of Poland, that collection is characterized by a very unusual material structure (domination of Świeciechów flint), as well as the degree of morphological diversity (high share of forms with clearly shaped, intensively constricted points, including the Vedrovice perforators). The results of conducted microwear analyses indicate a relatively limited range and method of practical usage of particular pieces, i.e. as a tool primarily intended for processing (mainly drilling) of bone/antler. It indicates indirectly the functioning within the settlement in Tominy of a workshop specialized in processing these raw materials, for the production of specific products. Keywords: perforators, borers, early Neolithic, Linear Pottery Culture (LPC), morphological and microwear analyses

Introduction

central and western Europe, generally revealing the very low content of perforators and borers, oscillating to amounts of only a few percent, and only occasionally a little higher, i.e. between 10 and 15% (e.g. Davis 1975: 42–51; Kaczanowska 1985: 44–45; Gronenborn 1997: 91). These proportions have remained at a similar level over the entire period of LPC development, regardless of the classification of individual inventories in the context of the internal periodization of this formation (Mateiciucová 2008: graphs 18–19).

Perforators and borers are among the most distinctive – in terms of morphology – components of tool instrumentarium of early agrarian communities both in the Anatolian-Balkan region, as well as in areas bordering the Danube (e.g. Gatsov 1987: 46–47; 2009: 50–98; Kaczanowska and Kozłowski 2012: 164–167). Their presence in early Neolithic European inventories is particularly marked during the development of Linear Pottery Culture (LPC), and confirmed in the whole of its territorial coverage (e.g. de Grooth 1977: Tab. 12; Löhr et al. 1977: 231–236; Cahen et al. 1986: 32; Larina 1999: 44; Allard 2005: Fig. 21). Their occurrence has been documented throughout the entire period of development of this formation, starting from the oldest, pre-music note phase (e.g. Tichý 1962: 269; Gronenborn 1997: 90–91), clearly intensifying in the younger stages of its development (Mateiciucová 2008: 88–89).

Perforators and borers in LPC inventories of Poland The data obtained from the area of Poland correspond very well with this general picture. In the light of the current state of research, the presence of perforators and borers has been recorded across all clusters of LPC settlement, known both from the area of the Polish Lowland, as well as upland areas in the basins of the upper Vistula and Oder. Their sporadic presence has already been documented in some units of the premusic note phase of LPC (Małecka-Kukawka 1992: 65; Kukułka 2001: 35; Grygiel 2004: Tab. X, XIV; Kabaciński 2010: 204), but much more often and in greater numbers in inventories corresponding to the classical and late stage of LPC development (e.g. Kozłowski 1970: 83–85; Milisasuskas 1986: 134–135; Kowalski 2007: 56). Regardless of the stylistic ceramic context of particular units, the overwhelming majority of them provided

Despite such an extensive chronological and territorial spread of occurrence of these two categories of tools in context of LPC pottery, and in some cases also numerous representations within particular inventories, their percentages definitely are inferior in relation to frequencies of most other forms of prepared tools, especially endscrapers, truncated blades and retouched blades and flakes. This is clearly reflected in the collective structures of numerous tool inventories from 195

Between History and Archaeology a very small series of perforators and borers, mostly represented by a single or up to few pieces, representing usually up to 10% of prepared tools (e.g. Kozłowski 1970: Tab. II; Kaczanowska and Lech 1977: 14; Lech 1979: 129; Kaczanowska et al. 1987: 102, 107; Wilczyński 2014: Tab. 7), and only occasionally more (e.g. Breitenfellner and Rook 1991: 14, 17). Only in the case of several sites has a greater number of these types of tools been recorded. The largest of them is the collection from site 4 in Cracow-Olszanica, Cracow district, including a total number of 73 pieces, of which 40 are perforators and 33 are borers (Milisasuskas 1986: Tab. 74),1 being the most numerous, and until recently the only such large series of these types of tools in the whole basin of the Vistula and Oder. Also of extreme interest is the large, but unspecified precisely, set from site 1 in Karwowo (Police district, West Pomeranian Voivodeship) represented by ‘several dozen’ perforators and borers, obtained mainly from a single LPC object and represented by very fine, almost microlithic specimens with clearly marked, very soft points (Kowalski 2007: 36). This modest list of the richest inventories includes very numerous, and at the same time a very unusual set of perforators and borers obtained in recent years at site 6 in Tominy, Opatów district, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. Its presentation, especially in the context of raw material and the morphological and functional differentiation of individual pieces, is a fundamental objective of this contribution.2

distinguished and carefully formed, thin and delicate points (e.g. Kaczanowska and Lech 1977: 14; Lech 1979: 129; Balcer 1983: 66; Mateiciucová 2008: 88–89). Among the latter ones, by far the most effective group of finds are the Vedrovice-type perforators, distinguished by especially precisely formed, highly elongated, and at the same time very narrow and thin points, located often within proximal parts of the blades (Kaczanowska 1980: Abb. 4, 1985: 14). This type of perforator has been defined on the basis of findings from the eponymous site of Vedrovice-Zábrdovice, Znojmo district, connected with the music note phase (Ondruš 1975–1976: 136–137), but the occurrence of similar forms was emphasized in relation to the oldest stage of LPC development (e.g. Tichý 1962: 269, Obr. 9: 3–5; Kaczanowska 1980: 87) and was interpreted as a manifestation of the continuation of older Anatolian-Balkan traditions (Kozłowski 1970: 74). So far the presence of these types of tools on Polish territory has been recorded only at Spytkowice, Nowy Targ district, and Brzezie, Wieliczka district, where they have been discovered in the context of pottery decorated in the music note style (Dryja 1998: ryc. 1; Wilczyński 2014: Tabl. XX: 12–18). In addition to perforators and borers made of blades, flake forms are also known from LPC inventories of Poland, usually shaped with stocky, thick and short points, located generally within the distal parts of the blanks. They were produced mainly of flakes with wholly or partly flaked (e.g. Balcer 1983: ryc. 8: 14, 18–19; Lech 1981: ryc. 1: n; Breitenfellner and Rook 1991: ryc. 6: o; Grygiel 2004: ryc. 130: 7; 210: 5), and only occasionally completely natural dorsal surfaces (Kaczanowska et al. 1987: Pl. VII: 13), originating from very different stages of preparation and exploitation, as well as repair and modification of blade and flake cores. These forms usually occur in very low numbers within particular inventories, generally revealing much lower frequencies in relation to pieces made of blades. This corresponds to observations made at many other LPC sites in central and western Europe (e.g. Bender 1992: Abb. 195; Gronenborn 1997: Abb. 3.29), reflecting – as it seems – some general preferences in the selection of blanks for production. Inventories from BolechowiceZielona, Cracow district, and Cracow-Olszanica, Cracow district, deviate from this principle, revealing the clear outnumbering of flake forms (Milisauskas 1986: Tab. 75; Breitenfellner and Rook 1991: 17). In the case of the Cracow-Olszanica sites, their clear dominance was also recorded in the assemblages of typological perforators, while among the borers the forms made of blades clearly prevailed (Milisauskas 1986: Tab. 75).

Morphological and functional differentiation of perforators and borers Despite the low occurrences and usually small numbers of perforators and borers in LPC inventories, these tools have a significant degree of morphological and metrical diversity, resulting on the one hand from the type and size of blanks used for their production, and on the other from varying degrees of shaping and method of formation, as well as metric parameters and location of points. This diversity was emphasized in current literature (e.g. Kozłowski 1974: 20; Balcer 1983: 66) and often were reflected in the uneven typological classification systems developed for different regions (e.g. Kaczanowska 1985: 14; Cahen et al. 1986: 32; Allard 2005: 63–64; Mateiciucová 2008: 175, graph 19). In the light of the current state of research, among the findings from the area of Poland, by far the largest group are forms made of blades, represented on the one hand by pieces provided with weakly distinguished, rather stocky and massive points, located on the point of contact of two gradually converging retouched edges of blades, and on the other by forms with well

The high degree of morphological diversity of the perforators and borers suggests the uneven extent of their distribution and practical application by early Neolithic communities. It seems to confirm the results

Despite such a large number of perforators and borers, their share in the overall tool-structure of the site was estimated at only 3% (Milisasuskas 1986: Tab. 77). 2  The research was founded by the National Science Centre, granted pursuant to decision No DEC-2011/03/N/HS3/02016. 1 

196

Marcin Szeliga and Katarzyna Pyżewicz: Morphological and Functional Differentiation of previous use-wear studies, according to which these tools were used for the working of very different, mainly hard, organic and mineral raw materials, including wood, hide, bone/antler, shells, ceramic and stone (e.g. Cahen et al. 1986: 52–55; Caspar et al. 1989: Tab. 1; van Gijn 1990: 30–36; Vaughan 1994: Tab. II; Allard 2005: 209; Mateiciucová 2008: 90). This functional diversity only partially reflects the current data from the area of Poland. The evidence, however, is very modest and incomplete, since it concerns only a dozen examples, obtained from sites located mainly in the areas of the Polish Lowland, including, primarily, within Chełmno Land, and to a much lesser extent Kuyavia also. Among them the most numerous were drilling tools used for bone/antler processing, and – far less frequently – wood, some of which also had traces of hafting (MałeckaKukawka 2001: 35–49; Osipowicz 2010: 160–180, 227). In particular cases the perforators for hide have also been identified (Małecka-Kukawka 2001: 43; Grygiel 2004: Tab. LII). Traces of wood and unclean, dry hide were also recognized on two pieces from site 62 at CracowNowa Huta-Mogiła, Cracow district (Caspar et al. 1989: 192). So far, these are the only examples of typological perforators to have been subject to microwear analyses across the whole highland zone of LPC settlement in Poland. The results of research on pieces from Tominy that are presented in the following part of the article significantly increase this extremely modest source database for these terrains.

including 63 perforators and only five borers (Fig. 3: 1; 4: 12, 16, 18–19), made mostly of Świeciechów flint and only occasionally of other types of flints and obsidian (Tab. 1). Only a small proportion (11 pieces) represent finds from features, obtained from only a few fixed objects (Fig. 2: 1–3, 5–6, 11, 17, 23; 4: 1, 6, 16). By far the largest part of the presented collection is represented by pieces discovered from within layers outside the features, i.e. in humus, especially deluvial layers. Their connection with the LPC is justified on the one hand by the fact that they were obtained in the area of the greatest concentration of permanent relics of the Early Neolithic settlement, within the excavated part of the site, and on the other by the high morphometric convergence to both the artefacts obtained from the features and those pieces from other sites of that culture. State of preservation In terms of preservation, the analyzed collection is characterized by the quantities of incomplete pieces, represented both by fragments of tools with partially, or completely broken points or, sometimes, opposite parts (Fig. 2: 22–24, 28), and by various fragments of points, bearing traces of single or double-sided breakages (Fig. 2: 1–2, 6–12). Entirely preserved perforators and borers represent a much smaller group of finds (26). Some of them are also characterized by macroscopic usable chipping on the vertices of points (Fig. 2: 16, 22; 3: 17; 4: 18), which also indicates the partially transformed and incomplete state of preservation. Such findings, linked to the clear predominance of incomplete forms, creates serious difficulties when it comes to interpreting particular pieces, and at the same limiting the ability to make a correct and reliable typological classification of the entire collection.

The assemblage from Tominy Site 6 at Tominy is located within the south-eastern edge of the Iłża foothills, in the immediate vicinity (c. 1km) of the compact loess cover of the Sandomierz upland (Kondracki 1998: Fig. 38). It is situated at the culmination of the gentle, south-western slope of the headland, on the eastern edge of the steep-walled valley of a small watercourse, the so-called Wyszmontowski Stream (Fig. 1). The excavations carried out at this site since 2006 have led to the recognition of an area with a total extent of over 1ha, and the discovery of large quantities of remains of a multicultural, prehistoric settlement, including, in particular, the remains of an LPC settlement from the music note and earlyŽeliezovce phases. Several features and a rich collection of artefacts have so far has been associated with that horizon, including very large inventory of flints (Szeliga 2008: 9–13). Its raw material and morphological structure indicate the productive nature of the settlement, oriented on the processing of local varieties of Turonian flints, including primarily Świeciechów (grey, white-spotted) flint (Szeliga 2014: Figs 3–4).

Blank The material analysis of perforators and borers reveals the clear dominance of pieces produced from blades (61). The overwhelming majority of these was made of blades from more or less advanced phases of the exploitation of single platform cores, manifested by the presence of completely negative (34 finds), or partially – mainly longitudinally – natural (25 finds) dorsal surfaces, and by the compliance of scar orientation with the direction of blade removal. Only two finds represented forms made of blades with completely natural upper surfaces (Fig. 3: 2, 13). Regardless of the nature of dorsal surfaces, the current sizes of the complete and slightly reduced samples allow us to assume that quite narrow blades (with lengths of up to c. 50mm, and only occasionally larger) were selected primarily for the production of perforators and borers (Fig. 2: 21, 27; 3: 4–5, 13; 4: 2–3). Most of these were also characterized by parallel or narrowing of their edges

Raw material differentiation and context of finds The presented collection of artefacts was acquired in 2006–2009 and contains a total of 68 typological tools, 197

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 1. Tominy, site 6, Opatów district. Location and extent of site (fragment of map 145.313 Bidziny, scale 1:10 000; published by the Main Centre of Geodetic and Cartographic Documentation in Warsaw, Warsaw 1979. Graphic design: M. Szeliga.

Formal differentiation

to the distal end and distinct curvature of the apical parts. These properties naturally determined the distal location of points and their symmetrical arrangement in relation to the débitage axis of the blank, as well as a more or less claw-like nature – the predominant features of the tools analyzed (Fig. 2: 14–15, 19). The dominant collection of blade tools is supplemented by forms made of flakes, represented by only 3 borers and 4 perforators (Fig. 4: 13–19). Next to non-distinctive negative or cortical flakes of undefined technological origin (Fig. 4: 15, 17), products of secondary reduction and transformation of blade cores were used for their production, with fragments of the negatives of blade removal on their dorsal surfaces (Fig. 4: 13–14, 16, 18–19). These forms have generally well distinguished and elongated points, located symmetrically each time within the narrower and thinner parts of the blanks, and most frequently (but not always; see Fig. 4: 13, 15, 17) on their distal ends.

Despite the above-mentioned limitations of interpretation, arising from the incomplete state of preservation of most of the pieces, analysis of the degree of separation, and the method of forming and size of their points, reveals two basic formal varieties of perforators/borers, showing fairly clear differences in this respect. The first group is represented by blade forms with well distinguished, slender and elongated points, the production of which was connected with intense transformation of the natural course of the side edges of blades and prominent reduction of their basic width (Fig. 2). This highly advanced and precise processing led to the shaping of extremely narrow and delicate points, with minimum widths of even 1.5–2mm (Fig. 2: 3, 8). Most often this was the result of the radical narrowing of a partially or completely retouched (Fig. 2: 14–15) fragment, and, to a much lesser extent, the 198

Marcin Szeliga and Katarzyna Pyżewicz: Morphological and Functional Differentiation

Fig. 2. Tominy, site 6, Opatów district. Perforators and borers discovered between 2006–2009: 1–2, 11 – feature No. 94; 3, 5–6, 17, 23 – feature No. 108; 4, 7–10, 12–16, 18–22, 24–28 – outside LPC features. Raw materials: 1–3, 8–10, 13–23, 25–27 – Świeciechów flint; 5, 7, 11 – Jurassic-Cracow flint; 4, 6, 28 – Chocolate flint; 12 – Obsidian; 24 – dark-grey Turonian flint. Drawn: M. Szeliga, (1–2, 11–12; after Szeliga 2008: ryc. 3: 22; 14: 10–12). Character of microscopic traces: A – use-wear; B – hafting; C – use-wear/hafting; D – technological; E – photographed areas of tools, presented in Fig. 5–6.

199

Between History and Archaeology Functional differentiation

natural (Fig. 2: 25, 27) edges of the blades. Moreover, in the case of several pieces, at least, the processing covers the entire, or almost entire, length of both edges of the blade blanks, leading to their complete transformation into types of particularly narrow and piercing points, mostly with single (Fig. 2: 1, 16), and occasionally with two oppositely situated vertices (Fig. 2: 3). In most cases the points were located within the distal, and only occasionally the proximal parts of the blades (Fig. 2: 11–12, 16, 21, 23, 28), and shaped with abrupt retouch, with values often close to right angles. A few pieces also presented evidence of additional thinning treatment – to a very limited extent (i.e. to the very vertices of the points) within the dorsal surface of the blank (Fig. 2: 6, 25).

All the previously mentioned typological perforators and borers have been subjected to microwear analyses. Its main purpose was to try and determine the actual destination, range and usage of particular pieces, especially within the context of the observed morphological diversity. The research was carried out using the methods and instruments commonly used in microwear analyses. The tools were analyzed at magnifications of 50x, 100x and 200x, revealing the precise locations and detailed identifications of various traces, i.e. micro-flake scars, linear traces and polish. Interpretations of all observed deformations were carried out on the basis of comparative studies; microscope images of surfaces of the Neolithic pieces was referenced to the experimental forms, used in all kinds of activities.

In terms of the degree of separation and final dimensions of the points of particular pieces, as well as their large number, the group of tools under discussion represents a unique collection in terms of known LPC discoveries from the area of Poland, with rare and not particularly close analogies elsewhere. This applies particularly to some blade perforators with long and slender points located at the proximal or distal parts, and much broader, usually un-retouched, opposite parts (Fig. 2: 1, 12, 14, 16, 21). These pieces reveal accurate morphological references to Vedrovice-type perforators, so far known only from Spytkowice, Nowy Targ district, and Brzezie, Wieliczka district (Dryja 1998: 146; Wilczyński 2014: 506). It is very likely that this type is represented also in the Tominy inventory by some fragments (Fig. 2: 6–8, 10, 20, 23, 28).

During the preliminary analysis all the potential deformations were identified that were caused by postdepositional factors. It was possible to conclude that most of the artefacts do not have extensive evidence of this type of wear. Such damage occurred mainly in the form of a more or less intense surface sheen related to the location of the artefacts in the sediment (e.g. Plisson and Mauger 1988: 4; van Gijn 1990: 53; Levi-Sala 1993; 1996: 31–32, 71). Such changes were particularly visible in the items made of chocolate flint, but generally they were not intense enough to impede or prevent the interpretation of the microscopic image. Their occurrences mostly influenced the ability to identify hafting traces, which are usually slight, and on the interpretation of usage polish, tending to be poorly developed. Apart from the surface sheen previously mentioned, the second type of post-depositional deformation recorded on particular flint pieces was the damage caused as a result of their contact with high temperatures.

From the discussed pieces, the second group of perforators and borers, made of blades and flakes, clearly differs, generally manifested by a greater size (especially thickness) and weight (Fig. 3–4). The selection of such blanks had a fundamental influence on the morphometric properties of finished tools, especially on their final parameters and dimensions of points. These points are usually quite wide and stocky, and at the same weakly distinguished and gently tapering to the top, due to a slight reduction of the initial width of the blades and flakes, only slightly distorting the natural course of the edges. They were located each time on the narrower and thinner parts of the blank, primarily within their distal and only exceptionally their proximal (Fig. 3: 10; 4: 9, 17) parts. The extent of retouch has a fairly high degree of differentiation, including both relatively small sections of the side edges of the blanks (Fig. 3: 7, 13) as well as the substantially larger or even whole extent (Fig. 3: 8–9, 12, 18) of their course. As in the case of the previously described pieces, the vast majority of the points was formed solely by retouch of the side edges. Only occasionally did the processing include also the dorsal and/or ventral side of the blank, and only within the apical part of the point (Fig. 4: 2, 13).

We may summarise, that the presence of these effects of post-depositional factors did not allow to recognize the location and identification of potential microscopic traces of usage in 23 (c. 33.82%) of the analyzed tools. In this group, 11 tools were characterized by the presence of fractures, micro-flake scars or the crushing of points, indirectly confirming their use in an unspecified way. Only a few pieces recorded microscopic traces of the processing methods used. On the surfaces of two preserved butts (Fig. 2: 24; 3: 14) were traces of contact with stone tools visible, suggesting that hammerstones were used for acquiring blanks intended for use as perforators. In turn, on the third piece (Fig. 4: 1), in the areas of the bulb parts of the scars of the chips forming the point, there were clear line traces revealing the trajectory and nature of the stone retoucher. The detailed use-wear research (Tab. 1) revealed that most of 200

Marcin Szeliga and Katarzyna Pyżewicz: Morphological and Functional Differentiation

Fig. 3. Tominy, site 6, Opatów district. Perforators and borers discovered outside LPC features between 2006–2009. Raw materials: 1–9, 11–16, 18–19, 21 – Świeciechów flint; 10 – Jurassic-Cracow flint; 17, 20 – dark-grey Turonian flints. Drawn: M. Szeliga. Character of microscopic traces according to Fig. 2.

201

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 4. Tominy, site 6, Opatów district. Perforators and borers recovered between 2006–2009: 1 – feature No. 39; 6 – feature No. 105; 16 – feature No. 50; 2–5, 7–15, 17–19 – outside LPC features. Flint raw materials: 1, 6, 14 – Chocolate flint; 2–5, 7–13, 15–19 – Świeciechów flint. Drawn: M. Szeliga. Character of microscopic traces according to Fig. 2.

202

Marcin Szeliga and Katarzyna Pyżewicz: Morphological and Functional Differentiation artefacts, regardless of their parameters, raw material variation, morphological properties and typological classification (perforator – borer), were characterized by the presence of fairly uniform traces of usage. The microscopic polish recorded was usually the result of contact of the tool with organic materials (38 items). For locations where the traces were characterized by a more intense form, it may be concluded that the processed materials were mainly bones or antlers (based on the

previous experimental studies it should be added that in some cases microscopic traces resulted from bone and shell processing can be similar), and sometimes also wood (e.g. Keeley 1980: 35–36, 42–49, 55–60; Moss 1983: 86–92; Vaughan 1985: 31–34; van Gijn 1990: 30–36; Juel Jensen 1994: 34; Pawlik 1995: 86–89; Korobkowa 1999: 38; Osipowicz 2005: 54–65; Fig. 5: 1–4). In the context of the described polish, some tools revealed the linear orientation of traces (Fig. 5: 1–2), indicating that the

Table 1. Tominy, site 6, Opatów district. Results of use-wear analysis of perforators and borers discovered between 2006–2009. Raw materials: Ś – Świeciechów flint; T – dark-grey Turonian flints; C – Chocolate flint; J – Jurassic-Cracow flint; O – Obsidian. Identification of use-wear traces: B/A – bone/antler; H – hide; W – wood; OM – undefined organic material; MM – undefined mineral material. Lp. 1

Point Raw Hafting materials Polish Breakage Functional traces identification Ś

B/A?

-

-

-

4: 18

+

+

B/A?

+

-

-

3: 21; 6: 4

+

+?

MM

+

-

2: 18

+

4

Ś

+

5

Ś

6

T

7

Ś

8

Ś

+

+

-

B/A?

+

B/A or W

+?

B/A

+

B/A

-

-

B/A

-

11

Ś

+

-

OM

+

Ś

+

-

B/A and H?

+

Ś

-

+?

?

-

12

13

14

15 16

Ś

Ś

Ś

+ +

-

+

B/A H

+

+

B/A

+

19

Ś

+

+?

B/A

+

21

C

-

+?

?

-

23

Ś

+

-

20

22

24 25 26

27 28

29

Ś C

-

Ś

+

Ś

+

Ś Ś

Ś Ś

Ś

+?

+

OM

-

+

+ -

-

B/A

+

OM

?

-

?

+

-

4: 14; 5: 1

-

-

-

-

-

?

203

3: 5

4: 3

3: 8

3:18

3: 11

-

3: 4; 5: 3

-

4: 10; 5: 6

-

3: 13

2: 14 2: 8

-

-

2: 22

-

-

2: 28

-

-

2: 27

-

4: 15

-

4: 19

-

?

3: 17

-

-

-

4: 13

3: 9; 5: 5

-

-

+?

+?

?

+

MM or/and H B/A or W

?

-

+

-

+

?

?

-

3: 7

previous traces of siliceous plant cutting

-

-

Ś

18

-

+

17

-

-

+

+

-

-

-

C Ś

-

-

9

10

Figures

-

Ś

Ś

Notes

+

2

3

Technological traces

-

-

-

-

-

4:1

4: 4 4: 9

4: 11 4: 16

4: 17

Between History and Archaeology

Lp.

Point Raw Hafting materials Polish Breakage Functional traces identification

30

Ś

32

Ś

+

Ś

+

31

33 34 35

Ś

Ś J

36

O

38

Ś

37

Ś

-

46

47

Ś J

B/A or W

-

-

-

+? -

+?

?

H?

+?

B/A or W

-

+?

?

T

+

54

Ś

+

56

C

-

58

Ś

+

+

-

-

B/A

+

OM

+

+?

B/A

-

-

B/A

+

+?

?

-

+ +

B/A

-

?

-

-

2: 10

-

3: 1, 5: 2

+

4: 6

+

OM

+

-

60

Ś

+

+

B/A

+

-

62

Ś

+

+

B/A

+

-

OM

+

-

64

Ś

65

C

67

Ś

66

68

J

Ś

+ +

+ +

B/A or W

+

?

-

+?

-

+

+

?

?

-

-

+

-

-

-

-

-

+

-

204

3: 6

-

-

+

2: 24

-

+

OM

-

2: 16

3: 14

Ś

+

-

2: 4

-

59

+

-

+

+

Ś

3: 3

-

+

63

3: 16

2: 7

-

-

-

-

+

B/A

4: 5

-

B/A

+

3: 2

2: 19

-

+

3: 10

-

+

Ś

3: 20

-

-

+

-

3: 12

2: 26

Ś

H

-

2: 9

2: 12

-

-

?

2: 2

-

-

+

2: 1

-

-

-

-

-

2: 15

2: 11

-

-

?

2: 13

-

-

?

-

-

+?

61

?

-

-

+?

+?

-

-

57

Ś

+?

+

52

55

-

+

+

Ś

OM

-

+

Ś

53

-

-

-

-

+

50

Ś

?

Figures 2: 21

-

-

B/A or W

+

51

B/A

?

-

+?

C Ś

B/A

+

48

49

+

+

Ś Ś

-

+?

43 45

B/A

-

-

Ś

+

+

Ś

44

+

+

41

Ś

B/A

+

+

42

-

+

T J

Notes

?

39

40

Technological traces

-

-

2: 20 4: 2

3: 13

previous traces of siliceous plant cutting

2: 23

-

3: 15

-

2: 25; 6: 1

-

2: 6; 5: 4; 6: 2

-

2: 17; 6: 3

-

4: 8

3: 19 4: 7 2: 5

2: 3

Marcin Szeliga and Katarzyna Pyżewicz: Morphological and Functional Differentiation

Fig. 5. Tominy, site 6, Opatów district. Use-wear traces related to the processing of: bone/antler (1–4); siliceous plants (5) and hide (6). Magnification: 200x (1–4) and 100x (5–6). Photo: K. Pyżewicz.

traces have been located on the projecting parts of the artefacts (mainly on ridges), mostly on their nonretouched parts. These traces could be the result of mounting in organic hafts (e.g. Rots 2010). It is also possible that some of studied pieces, especially those with smaller parameters, were the components of more sophisticated ‘devices’ designed to drill holes.

tools performed rotary movements. The microscopic traces often extend to the very large, protruding parts of points. In addition, usually the vertices of the points have been broken or crushed, probably during, or as a result, of the usage of the flint tools. On the surfaces of tools other kinds of traces were also observed. These occurred in the form of a rounding of the protruding parts and polish spots, resulting from contact with organic material (Fig. 6). These

Exceptions include usage traces of other types, recorded only on particular artefacts of larger size. These are 205

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 6. Tominy, site 6, Opatów district. 1–4 – Hafting traces. Magnification: 200x (1, 3–4) and 100x (2). Photo: K. Pyżewicz.

deformations caused by drilling or cutting different types of materials, including unspecified mineral raw material, hide (Fig. 5: 6) or siliceous plants (Fig. 5: 5). On one of the examples of this type – a massive blade perforator (Fig. 2: 23) – traces of reuse were observed; some traces of plant cutting had been partially obliterated by retouch and the item reused as a borer. A second item in this group (Fig. 3: 13) has hide incision traces extending along the whole long edge, while traces of hafting were recorded at the proximal and distal parts. Another find – a large blade perforator (Fig. 4: 10) – was characterized by the presence of intense traces caused as a result of contact with hide, but their linear nature indicates that this tool performed rotary movements. Moreover, on the surfaces of two other artefacts were traces of the processing of an indefinite mineral raw material (Fig. 2: 18; 4: 4). One of these (Fig. 4: 4) had also usage traces resembling those caused by contact with hide.

drilling of holes. Evidence of this is the location of usage traces, and in particular examples also their linear orientation, transverse to the cutting edges, as well as the morphological properties of particular tools. The heterogeneous diameters of their points shows in the diverse widths of the holes drilled. Moreover, it is possible, that some of the analyzed pieces were used for woodworking. Traces of contact with other materials (hide, indefinite minerals) were recorded very much less frequently. These observations correspond very well with previously referenced results of analyses on this category of tools, conducted both on findings from Poland, as well as other areas occupied by LPC communities (e.g. Caspar et al. 1989: 192, Tab. 1; van Gijn 1990: 30–36; Vaughan 1994: Tab. II; Małecka-Kukawka 2001: 134, 146; 2012; Grygiel 2004: Tab. LII; Allard 2005: 209; Osipowicz 2010: 160–180, 227). In the context of the rather rare presence of functional perforators and borers among the analyzed inventories of Neolithic flint artefacts highlighted by the authors of particular studies, the data presented – in connection with aboveaverage numbers of collections and frequency of recorded traces of usage – is a particularly important

Summarizing the results of use-wear research, it must be stated that the perforators and borers analysed were used mainly for work related to the processing of bone and antler, including – at least partially – the 206

Marcin Szeliga and Katarzyna Pyżewicz: Morphological and Functional Differentiation contribution to use-wear studies on these types of products.

from Tominy may provide new, quite suggestive and convincing data in this respect.

Conclusion

Translated by T. M. Myśliwiec

The collection of perforators and borers from Tominy is one of the largest sets of such typological tools obtained throughout the whole territorial range of LPC. Due to its morphological diversity (including its high proportion of forms with very narrow and thick points, including Vedrovice-type pieces), its atypical raw material structure (the dominance of Świeciechów flint, unknown from any other sites of this culture), and its context of discovery (production settlement), this collection represents a very significant contribution to the study of this discussed group of tools in the early Neolithic.

References Allard, P. 2005. L’industrielithique des populations rubanées du Nord-Est de la France et de la Belgique. Internationale Archäologie 86. Rahden/Westf. Balcer, B. 1983. Wytwórczość narzędzi krzemiennych w neolicie ziem Polski. Wrocław–Warszawa–Kraków– Gdańsk–Łódź. Bender, W. 1992. Steingeräte. In J. Lüning, P. Stehli, Der bandkeramische Siedlungsplatz Lamersdorf 2, Gemeinde Inden, Kreis Düren: 175–195. Rheinische Ausgrabungen 37. Bonn. Breitenfellner, A. and Rook, E. 1991. Sprawozdanie z badań osady kultury ceramiki wstęgowej rytej w Bolechowicach – Zielonej, gm. Zabierzów, woj. Kraków, stanowisko 9. Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 43: 9–20. Cahen, D., Caspar, J.-P. and Otte, M. 1986. Industries lithiques Danubiennes de Belgique. Liège. ERAUL 21. Caspar, J.-P., Kaczanowska, M. and Kozłowski, J. K. 1989. Chipped Stone Industries of the Linear Band Pottery Culture (LBP): Techniques, Morphology and Function of the Implements in Belgian and Polish Assemblages. Hellinium 29(2): 157–205. Davis, F. 1975. Die Hornsteineräte des älteren und mittleren Neolithikums im Donauraum. Bonner Hefte zur Vorgeschichte 10. Bonn. de Grooth, M. E. Th. 1977. Silex der Bandkeramik. In P. J. R. Modderman, Die neolithische Besiedlung bei Hienheim, Ldkr. Kelkheim. I. Die Ausgrabungen am Weinberg 1965 bis 1970: 59–70. Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia 10. Leiden. Dryja, S. 1998. Pierwsze znalezisko wczesno neolitycznych przekłuwaczy typu Vedrovice z ziem polskich. Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 50: 143–148. Gatsov, I. 1987. L’industrie lithique du site Néolithique Usoye (Bulgarie Nord-Orientale). In J. K. Kozłowski and S. K. Kozłowski (eds), Chipped stone industries of the early Farming Cultures in Europe: 41–50. Warsaw. Gatsov, I. 2009. Prehistoric Chipped Stone Assemblages from Eastern Thrace and the South Marmara Region 7th – 5th mill. B.C. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 1904. van Gijn, A. L. 1990. The wear and tear of flint. Principles of functional analysis applied to Dutch Neolithic assemblages. Leiden. Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia 22. Gronenborn, D. 1997. Silexartefakte der ältestbandkeramischen Kultur. Mit einem Beitrag von Jean-Paul Caspar. Universitätsforschungen zur Prähistorischen Archäologie 37. Bonn.

In this context, therefore, the results of the microwear analyses are very important. They reveal – regardless of raw material classification and morphometric properties of particular pieces – the very slightly varied nature of the documented micro-traces of usage, limited in the greatest extent to deformations typical of contact with bone and antlers. This may indicate a limited range of practical use of typological perforators and borers by early agrarian communities from Tominy, i.e. as specialized tools primarily intended for processing (mainly drilling) these materials. It seems, that this phenomenon has some analogies at other LPC sites. In addition to the previously mentioned, relatively modest data from the area of Poland, on a fairly narrow range of functional diversity of typological perforators and borers within similarly dated inventories, seem to indicate also the results of analyses of a much more numerous series of such tools from some sites in western Europe. This is fairly clear in the case of the collection from Darion (Liége area, Belgium), where there are occurrences of the usage of these types of artefacts primarily for woodworking and dry hide processing, and occasionally also for ceramic use (Caspar et al. 1989: Tab. 1). A similar situation has also been recorded at sites located in valley of the River Aisne in the Paris Basin (after Allard 2005: 209). These data, in addition to the results presented of the analyses from Tominy, may indirectly indicate the functioning of workshops specialized in the processing of particular raw materials for production of specific tools within LPC settlements. Attention has been paid to this situation much earlier, in relation to a large collection of perforators accompanying a concentration of animal bones, tools made of them and their half-finished products, from Feature 098/1972 from Vedrovice-Zábrdovice, by interpreting this as a workshop specialized in the processing of this raw material and possibly also in the production of composite tools (Lech 1982: 51, 1983: 13). The presented results of microwear analyses 207

Between History and Archaeology Początki neolityzacji Polski południowo-zachodniej: 121– 136. Wrocław. Lech, J. 1981. Materiały krzemienne z osad społeczności wstęgowych w Niemczy, woj. Wałbrzych. Badania z lat 1971–1972. Silesia Antiqua 23: 39–45. Lech, J. 1982. Flint Mining among the Early Farming Communities of Central Europe. Part II – The Basis of Research into Flint Workshops. Przegląd Archeologiczny 30: 47–80. Lech, J. 1983. Flint work of the Early Farmers. Production Trends in Central European Chipping Industries from 4500–1200 B.C. An Outline. Acta Archaeologica Carpathica 22: 5–63. Levi-Sala, I. 1993. Use-Wear Traces: Process of Development and Post-depositional alterations. In P. C. Anderson, S. Beyries, M. Otte and H. Plisson (eds), Traces et fonction, les gestes retrouvés. Actes du colloque international de Liège, 8—9—10 décembre 1990: 401–416. ERAUL 50. Liège. Levi-Sala, I. 1996. A Study of Microscopic Polish on Flint Implements. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 629. Tempus Reparatum. Löhr, H., Zimmermann, A. and Hahn, J. 1977. Feuersteinartefakte. In R. Kuper, H. Löhr, J. Lüning, P. Stehli and A. Zimmermann, Die Bandkeramische Siedlungsplatz Langweiler 9, Gemeinde Aldenhoven, Kreis Düren: 131–266. Rheinische Ausgrabungen 18. Bonn. Małecka-Kukawka, J. 1992. Krzemieniarstwo społeczności wczesnorolniczych ziemi chełmińskiej (2 połowa VI – IV tysiąclecie p.n.e.). Toruń. Małecka-Kukawka, J. 2001. Między formą a funkcją. Traseologia neolitycznych zabytków krzemiennych z ziemi chełmińskiej. Toruń. Małecka-Kukawka, J. 2012. Traseologia w badaniach krzemieniarstwa najstarszych społeczności rolniczych na Niżu Polskim. Materiały krzemienne kultury ceramiki wstęgowej rytej ze stanowiska 5 w Bocieniu. gm. Chełmża, woj. kujawsko-pomorskie. Acta Universitatis Nicolai Copernici, Archeologia 32: 113–160. Mateiciucová, I. 2008. Talking Stones: The Chipped Stone Industry In Lower Austria and Moravia and the Beginnings of the Neolithic in Central Europe (LBK), 5700– 4900 BC. Brno. Milisauskas, S. 1986. Early Neolithic Settlement and Society at Olszanica. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology University of Michigan 19. Ann Arbor. Moss, E. 1983. The Functional Analysis of Flint Implements. Pincevent and Pont d’Ambon: Two Cases from the French Final Paleolithic. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 177. Ondruš, V. 1975–1976. Neolitické dilny z VedrovicZábrdovic. Sbornik praci filozofické fakulty Brněnské Univerzity 24–25, Řada archeologicko-klasická E 20–21: 133–139.

Grygiel, R. 2004. Neolit i początki epoki brązu w rejonie Brześcia Kujawskiego i Osłonek. Tom I. Wczesny neolit. Kultura ceramiki wstęgowej rytej. Łódź. Juel Jensen, H. 1994. Flint tools and plant working. Hidden traces of stone age technology. A use wear study of some Danish Mesolithic and TRB implements. Aarhus. Kabaciński, J. 2010. Przemiany wytwórczości krzemieniarskiej społeczności kultur wstęgowych strefy wielkodolinnej Niżu Polskiego. Poznań. Kaczanowska, M. 1980. Steinindustrie der Kultur der Linienbandkeramik. In J. K. Kozłowski (ed.), Problèmes de la néolithisation dans certaines régions de l’Europe: 79–96. Cracow. Kaczanowska, M. 1985. Rohstoffe, Technik und Typologie der Neolithischen Feuersteinindustrien im Nordteil des Flussgebietes der Mitteldonau. Warsaw. Kaczanowska, M. and Kozłowski, J. K. 2012. Körös lithics. In A. Anders and Z. Siklósi (eds), The First Neolithic Sites in Central/South-East European Transect, Vol. III: The Körös Culture in Eastern Hungary: 161–170. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 2334. Kaczanowska, M., Kozłowski, J. K. and Zakościelna, A. 1987. Chipped Stone Industries of the Linear Band Pottery Culture Settlements in the Nowa Huta Region. Przegląd Archeologiczny 34: 93–132. Kaczanowska, M. and Lech, J. 1977. The Flint Industry of Danubian Communities North of the Carpathians. Acta Archaeologica Carpathica 17: 5–28. Keeley, L. H. 1980. Experimental Determination of Stone Tool Uses. A Microwear Analysis. Chicago. Kondracki, J. 1998. Geografia regionalna Polski. Warszawa. Korobkowa, G. F. 1999. Narzędzia w pradziejach. Podstawy badania funkcji metodą traseologiczną. Toruń. Kowalski, K. 2007. Dolnoodrzańska enklawa osadnictwa ludności kultury ceramiki wstęgowej rytej w świetle badań archeologicznych w Karwowie, gm. Kołbaskowo. In G. Nawrolska (ed.), XV Sesja Pomorzoznawcza. Materiały z konferencji 30 listopada – 02 grudnia 2005: 27–39. Elbląg. Kozłowski, J. K. 1970. Z badań nad wytwórczością krzemieniarską w kulturze ceramiki wstęgowej rytej. In J. K. Kozłowski (ed.), Z badań nad w kulturą ceramiki wstęgowej rytej: 73–94. Kraków. Kozłowski, J. K. 1974. Über die Untersuchungen der östlichen Peripherien der LinienbandkeramikKultur. Acta Archaeologica Carpathica 14: 5–56. Kukułka, A. 2001. Wczesnoneolityczna osada w Gwoźdźcu, gm. Zakliczyn, stan. 2 na Pogórzu Wiślickim. In J. Gancarski (ed.), Neolit i początki epoki brązu w Karpatach polskich: 11–40. Krosno. Larina, O. V. 1999. Kul’tura linejno-lentočnoj keramiki Pruto-Dnestrovskogo regiona, Stratum plus 2: 10– 140. Lech, J. 1979. Krzemieniarstwo w kulturze społeczności ceramiki wstęgowej rytej w Polsce. Próba zarysu. In W. Wojciechowski, B. Gediga and L. Leciejewicz (eds), 208

Marcin Szeliga and Katarzyna Pyżewicz: Morphological and Functional Differentiation Osipowicz, G. 2005. Metody rozmiękczania kości i poroża w epoce kamienia w świetle doświadczeń archeologicznych oraz analiz traseologicznych. Toruń. Osipowicz, G. 2010. Narzędzia krzemienne w epoce kamienia na ziemi chełmińskiej. Studium traseologiczne. Toruń. Pawlik, A. F. 1995. Die mikroskopische Analyse von Steingeräten. Experimente – Auswertungsmethoden – Artefaktanalysen (= Urgeschichtliche Materialhefte 10). Tübingen. Plisson, H. and Mauger, M. 1988. Chemical and mechanical alteration of microwear polishes: An experimental approach. Hellinium 28: 3–16. Rots, V. 2010. Prehension and Hafting Traces on a Flint Tools. A Methodology. Leuven. Szeliga, M. 2008. Kontynuacja badań wykopaliskowych na wielokulturowym stanowisku 6 w Tominach, pow. opatowski, w latach 2006–2007. Archeologia Polski Środkowowschodniej 10: 9–27. Szeliga, M. 2014. The distribution and importance of Turonian flints from the north-eastern margin of

the Holy Cross Mountains in the flint raw material economy of the earliest Danubian communities. Acta Archaeologica Carpathica 49: 77–112. Tichý, R. 1962. Osídlení s volutovou keramikou na Moravě. Památky Archeologické 53: 245–305. Vaughan, P. C. 1985. Use-Wear Analysis of Flaked Stone Tools. Tucson. Vaughan, P. C. 1994. Microwear analysis on flints from the bandkeramik sites of Langweiler 8 and Laurenzberg 7. In J. Lüning and P. Stehli (eds), Die Bandkeramik im Merzbachtal auf der Aldenhovener Platte: 533–558. Rheinische Ausgrabungen 36. Bonn. Wilczyński, J. 2014. Krzemienny oraz obsydianowy inwentarz kultury ceramiki wstęgowej rytej ze stanowiska Brzezie 17, gm. Kłaj. In A. CzekajZastawny (ed.), Brzezie 17. Osada kultury ceramiki wstęgowej rytej: 499–546. Kraków. Via Archaeologica. Źródła z badań wykopaliskowych na trasie autostrady A4 w Małopolsce.

209

210

A Danubian Raw Material Exchange Network: a Case Study from Chełmno Land, Poland Dagmara H. Werra

Autonomous Research Laboratory for Prehistoric Flint Mining, Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, 105, Solidarności Avenue, PL 00–140 Warszawa e-mail: [email protected]

Rafał Siuda

Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Petrology, Faculty of Geology, Warsaw University, 93, Żwirki i Wigury, Avenue, PL 02-089 Warszawa e-mail: [email protected]

Jolanta Małecka-Kukawka

Laboratory of Traceology, Institute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Szosa Bydgoska 44/48, PL 87-100 Toruń e-mail: [email protected]

Stone raw materials are our best indicators of the range of mutual contacts of the Early farming communities Lech 1989: 118 Flint supply is one of the best indicators of the range of mutual interregional contacts of prehistoric communities Lech 1997: 623 Abstract: The paper presents the results of petrographic and geochemical analyses of flint artefacts from Linear Pottery Culture sites from Chełmno Land. The Polish Lowlands are poor in high-quality natural flint resources, which creates an ideal opportunity for research on its distribution. In this paper we present a comparison between macro- and micro-analysis of flint. Twelve flint artifacts were macroscopically analyzed by Jolanta Małecka-Kukawka and Jacek Lech and the results were compared with those determined by electron probe micro analysis (EPMA). The results of the comparisons have revealed that in some cases the ‘eye of the researcher’ is infallible, but in some other cases the use of petrographic methods is necessary for correct flint source identification. Keywords: Linear Pottery culture (LPC), ‘chocolate’ flint, Jurassic-Cracow flint, Chełmno Land, electron probe micro analysis (EPMA)

Introduction

this area took part in long-distance goods exchange and that the raw material inventory does not differ from the assemblages elaborated for the LPC in the south of Poland (Małecka-Kukawka 1994; Lech 1997). The accurate identification of those flint rocks that were the objects of exchange in prehistoric societies remains an important question.

The issue of procurement and distribution of flint by Linear Pottery Culture (LPC) communities has been addressed in Polish literature since the 1960s (Kozłowski ed. 1971). Papers written during that time were concerned with working out a list of tools and determining the importance of flint complexes for the division of cultures and with detecting contacts between Mesolithic and Neolithic societies, using studies on the procurement, processing and distribution of flint (Lech 1988: 276).

Chełmno Land and the state of research on Linear Pottery Culture Chełmno Land is situated in the east of the Central European Lowland, in a lake region which surrounds the Baltic Sea from the south, enclosing a fragment of the right side of the Vistula river basin. Its borders are demarcated by three rivers: the Osa on the north, the Drwęca on the southeast – two Vistula confluents – and on the west by the Vistula valley (Fig. 1). It is a land with a geomorphologically diversified landscape,

The issues of distribution are particularly important in relation to Chełmno Land, which is poor in highquality natural flint resources, thus creating an ideal opportunity for research on distribution, i.e. the relation between the miner, the processor, and the user. The research conducted since the 1980s showed that 211

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 1. Chełmno Land (shaded area) and its location within the sphere of Linear Pottery Culture society in Europe. Drawn: D. H. Werra, after Price and Bentley 2005.

different from those settled by the LPC communities of the loess highlands in the south. Its geological form was shaped during the older phases of the last glaciation and presents itself today mainly as flat or wavy moraine highlands composed of early glacial erratics. The area is cut by numerous sub-glacial channels with lakes. Numerous also are the pro-glacial stream valleys and river valleys with sand terraces along the wide floor of the Vistula valley (Galon 1984: 11). Moraine hills do not exceed a height of 150m a.s.l. (Kondracki 1978: 288).

the oldest LPC phase in the Vistula basin (phase Ia). The early chronology was confirmed by radiocarbon dating: 6420±100 BP (Gd–4427) and 6444±120 BP (Gd–6046), obtained for artefact 24 from site 43b at Boguszewo (Kirkowski 1990: 13; Jadin and Cahen 2003: 660). During the last two decades of the 20th century, systematic surface collections of archaeological material and archaeological surveys were undertaken in Chełmno Land. This recent research documented 250 settlement points related to LPC communities and, as a consequence, numerous flint products made of so-called ‘imported’ raw materials (Małecka-Kukawka 1994; Kukawka et al. 2002: 92 and fig. 2).

The first known archaeological material belonging to LPC identified in Chełmno Land came from excavations in the area of Grudziądz (Grudziądz district; German: Graudenz) and Chełmża, Toruń district (Kossinna 1910: 61; Kozłowski 1924: 53; Kostrzewski 1928: 100). Although no subsequent research relating to the Early Neolithic was conducted in this region for many years, it was believed that this area was peripheral to the wider region of Danubian societies (KulczyckaLeciejewiczowa 1979: 46).

The issues Previous research identified the use of imported raw materials by prehistoric societies living in Chełmno Land and thus their role and importance in the daily lives of prehistoric communities (Lech 1997). What needs further clarification is the issue of the correct identification of the raw materials.

Only at the end of the 1980s, as a result of excavations at site 43a at Boguszewo, Grudziądz district, were the first dwelling remnants of Danubian communities discovered, and at site 41 at Boguszewo numerous LPC sherds, and much rarer flint artifacts, were also found. The pottery analysis showed (Kirkowski 1990: 12) that the collection could be distinguished by the ornaments, which, according to Anna Kulczycka-Leciejewiczowa (1983a, 1983b, 1987, 2008: 70–81), were characteristic of

In the Vistula basin we find deposits of several highquality raw materials, such as ‘chocolate’ flint, JurassicCracow flint, grey white-spotted (Świeciechów) flint, striped flint, and in the eastern zone Volhynian flint. Although each of these raw materials has its very own characteristic features, mistakes in their identification are not uncommon – particularly ‘chocolate’ flint and 212

Dagmara H. Werra et al.: A Danubian Raw Material Exchange Network

Fig. 2. Occurrence of ‘chocolate’ flint in pre-Quaternary formations on the northeastern outskirts of the Holy Cross Mountains; 1 – Chronów-Kolonia, Szydłowiec district; 2 – Guzów Szydłowiec district; 3 – Orońsko ‘Mały Orońsk’ Szydłowiec district; 4 – Orońsko (Orońsk II) Szydłowiec district; 5 – Tomaszów Szydłowiec district; 6 – Rzeczków, Radom district; 7 – Wierzbica quarry, Radom district; 8 – Wierzbica ‘Zele’, Radom district; 9 –Wierzbica ‘Krzemienica’, Radom district; 10 – Polany colonies IV, Radom district; 11 – Polany colonies I, Radom district; 12 – Polany colonies II, Radom district; 13 – Polany colonies IIa, Radom district; 14 – Polany III, Radom district; 15 – Polany colonies III, Radom district; 16 – Polany I, Radom district; 17 – Polany II, Radom district; 18 – Pakosław, Radom district; 19 – Seredzice, Radom district; 20 – Seredzice ‘Kolonia’, Radom district; 21 – Iłża ‘Wąwóz Żuchowiec’, Radom district; 22 – Iłża ‘Krzemieniec’ II, Radom district; 23 – Iłża ‘Krzemieniec’ I, Radom district; 24 – Błaziny Górne, Radom district; 25 – Prędocin, Radom district; 26 – Gliniany ‘Wzgórze Kruk’, Opatów district. Drawn: D. H. Werra, after Schild 1971; 1976; Balcer 1976; Budziszewski 2008, 2015.

identyfikacji w badaniach archeologicznych1 (Differentiation of Upper Jurassic ‘chocolate’ flint from Central Poland – possibilities of identification in archaeological research).

Jurassic flint, which are often mistaken for one another. In his 1971 publication, Romuald Schild showed the main locations of occurrences of ‘chocolate’ flint and divided this raw material into eleven groups. On this occasion he also pointed to its similarity to JurassicCracow flint, in particular, his remarks concerned the allocated group IX (Schild 1971: 14). Almost forty years later Janusz Budziszewski emphasized the necessity of elaborating methods for describing raw materials in terms of petrographic categories, as well as for identifying its different types (Budziszewski 2008: 95).

The basic goal of the project was to work out a method or methods of distinguishing flint rocks and to apply the results obtained to research on its archaeological distribution. Initial emphasis was put on specifying the description of ‘chocolate’ flint diagnostic features. Presently we know of twenty-six sites where this raw material occurs. They form a complex consisting of the largest number of prehistoric mining fields in Poland (Fig. 2). Despite the fact that research on the occurrence

In answer to the acknowledged necessity of filling the knowledge gap in identification of flint rocks in 2012, we started a scientific project entitled: Zróżnicowanie górno jurajskich krzemieni ‘czekoladowych’ ze środkowej Polski z punktu widzenia możliwości

The project was financed by the National Center for Science (DEC2011/03/N/HS3/03973).

1 

213

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 3. Sites of Linear Pottery Culture society in Chełmno Land: a – sites presented in text: 1 – Boguszewo; 2 – Annowo; 3 – Ryńsk; 4 – Nowy Dwór; b – aggregation of Linear Pottery Culture society sites; c – singular sites of Linear Pottery Culture society. Drawn: D. H. Werra, after Kukawka et al. 2002, with changes.

devoid of admixtures of rare earth elements (REE). Simultaneously it was observed that the presence of REE-enriched phosphates is characteristic of the Jurassic flints from the Cracow area. These observations confirmed the elevated content of REE in the JurassicCracow flint from Sąspów, Cracow district – as already discovered in 1976 by Jacek Lech (Lech 1980: 217).

and geological nature of ‘chocolate’ flint has been conducted for over ninety years, there are important gaps in knowledge of both topics. Among basic problems we can name: determining the number of levels of occurrence of this raw material in the limestone bedrock; determining their stratigraphic contexts; and the geological dating of these layers. We concentrated in this project on presenting the differentiation of raw material based on mineralogical categories, as well as its characteristic features in comparison to other flint rocks.

The positive results from the analyses performed on geological samples allowed the beginning of the next stage of investigations – an attempt to identify the archaeological material by examining the chemical composition of minerals in micro-scale on the basis of macroscopic identification. Chosen for this procedure were 12 flint artifacts from four Chełmno Land sites related to the activities of LPC societies (Fig. 3 and 4).

One of the methods used was the micro-area chemical composition analysis of minerals. During the examination of geological samples the mineral compositions of various types of flint from different areas of Poland were analyzed, resulting in the precise recognition of subordinate minerals present in flint concrections (Werra and Siuda 2015). The results obtained pointed to the importance of apatite and other phosphates in the identification of flint provenance. For example, a distinctive feature of the ‘chocolate’ flint occurring in the Jurassic rocks of the northern and north-eastern Mesozoic border of the Holy Cross Mountains is the presence of carbonate fluorapatite,

The research method Identification of subordinate minerals occurring in the flint material under examination was based on the micro-area chemical composition analyses. For this purpose, uncovered and polished microscope thin sections were made from flint samples. The chemical analyses were conducted with the use of an electron 214

Dagmara H. Werra et al.: A Danubian Raw Material Exchange Network

Fig. 4. Photographs of analyzed flints. Numbers are compatible with the numbers in Table 4: 1 – Nowy Dwór, site 9, GolubDobrzyń district, object A12, 1st mechanical layer; 2 – Nowy Dwór, site 9, Golub-Dobrzyń district – heap; 3 – Nowy Dwór, site 9, Golub-Dobrzyń district, object A 46 1 mechanical layer; 4 – Boguszewo, site 41, Grudziądz district; 5 – Nowy Dwór, site 9, GolubDobrzyń district, trench 24B, 1 mechanical layer; 6 – Nowy Dwór, stan 9, Golub-Dobrzyń district, object A6, 1 mechanical layer; 7 – Ryńsk, site 42, Wąbrzeźno district; 8 – Annowo, site 7, Grudziądz district; 9 – Nowy Dwór, site 9, Golub-Dobrzyń district, object A6, 2 mechanical layer; 10 – Nowy Dwór, site 9, Golub-Dobrzyń district, object A46, 1 mechanical layer; 11 – Nowy dwór, site 9, Golub-Dobrzyń district, object A12, 2 mechanical layer; 12 – Nowy dwór, site 9, Golub-Dobrzyń district, object A12, 2 mechanical layer. Photo: M. Osiadacz.

215

Between History and Archaeology microprobe, CAMECA SX–100 model, at the InterInstitute Analytical Complex for Minerals and Synthetic Substances (University of Warsaw). The accelerating voltage was 15kV, and the current was 10nA. The electron beam diameter was set according to the size of the analyzed inclusions and varied from 5 to 10μm.

their high porosity. This unfavourably influences the quantification of the particular elements, leading to a drop in the analytical total to below 100 wt. % of element oxides. Deficient chemical analyses of apatites are also due to the presence of carbonate ions, which typically occur in the so-called ‘bone’ apatite constituting the skeleton elements of organisms. Due to the analytical problems, the empirical formulas calculated for the apatite based on the micro-area analyses are only tentative. The calculations were based on the ideal amount of calcium, considering the obtained Ca concentrations as the ones being least affected.

Micro-area chemical analysis occurs through an excitement of X-rays in a sample by using an electron beam, with electrons emitted by glowing tungsten filament and accelerated in an electrostatic field. Before touching the material under analysis, the x-ray beam is shaped by a set of electromagnetic lenses to focus on the smallest cross section possible (usually few μm). The X-rays excited in the sample are separated by a spectrometer before reaching a detector and then subjected to analysis. Qualitative and quantitative determinations of chemical elements are then determined based on comparisons with standard data obtained using identical excitation conditions.

Pyrite This mineral usually occurs in the form of euhedral cubic crystals, up to a few μm in size. The pyrite crystals create pseudomorphoses after organic remnants or framboidal aggregates (Fig. 5A). Irregular pyrite aggregates are sometimes encountered, inter-grown with hematite and aluminium phosphates.

Minerals

Hematite

Based on the micro-area analyses and BSE (backscattered electrons) images, a few subordinate minerals were identified (Tab. 1). In most cases it is impossible to determine the mineral type precisely because of the small size of the analyzed mineral aggregates. The accurate identification is also sometimes hindered by the strong hydration of these aggregates and

Hematite is one of the most commonly occurring minerals. Its aggregates are usually found in the form of very fine segregations, up to 5 μm in diameter, randomly dispersed in the flinty rock matrix. They occur in most of the analyzed flint samples (Fig. 5B). From time to time hematite create pseudomorphoses

1 2

3

x

xxx

xxxx

Phosphate Al.

phosphate REE

phosphate Al(Pb) x

xx xx

5 6 7

x

xx

8

xx

10

xxx

12

xxx

11

goethite

xx

4

9

hematite

leucoxene

rutile

ilmenite

feldspar K

barite

pyrite

apatite

Sample No.

Table 1. Comparison of presence of subordinate minerals in analyzed flint.

xx xxx xx

xxxx xx

xx

xxxx

x

xxx

xx

xxxx xx

x – singular grain xx – grains rarely encountered xxx – grains often encountered xxxx – grains very often encountered

216

xx

xx

xx

xx

xx

Dagmara H. Werra et al.: A Danubian Raw Material Exchange Network

Fig. 5. A – framboidal pyrite aggregate; B – hematite inclusions; C – tabular crystals of hematite in voids after crinoids; D – pseudomorphose of hematite after framboidal pyrite Photo: R. Siuda.

Iron oxyhydroxides (goethite)

after organic remains. These are usually composed of fine-crystalline hematite, forming homogenous fillings of skeleton elements of microfossils with undetermined taxonomic affiliation. Very rarely pseudomorphoses comprising tabular hematite crystals are encountered; the tabular crystals reach 50μm in length. In this case the hematite crystal fills voids after skeleton elements of Echinodermata (Fig. 5C). Pseudomorphoses of hematite of framboidal pyrite are relatively scarce (Fig. 5D). Hematite also appears in the form of very fine segregations within aggregates of phosphate minerals.

Strongly hydrated phases rich in Fe (most likely goethite) form irregular aggregates, up to 10 or so μm in size. They are usually accompanied by pseudomorphosed efflorescent framboidal pyrite (Fig. 6E). Sometimes one can observe thin veinlets filled by Fe oxyhydroxides. Unlike hematite, during WDS analyses the Fe oxyhydroxides are very unstable and quickly decompose under the electron beam, consequently conducting the correct chemical analysis of these phases was impossible.

Ilmenite

Baryte

This mineral forms very small grains, up to 10 or so μm in size. They are characterized by a strong curvature of the edges, indicative of detrital ilmenite, which is allogenic in origin (Fig. 6A). Ilmenite identification was based on EDS analysis (Fig. 6B).

Baryte usually occurs in the form of tiny (up to 20μm in size) spherical or oval aggregates built of thin-tabular crystals. They are usually randomly set within the flinty matrix. Occasional fragments with more frequent barite aggregates are observed (Fig. 6F).

Rutile

K feldspar

This mineral occurs as elongated grains, up to 30μm in size (Fig. 6C). Due to the small size of rutile aggregates their identification was based on EDS analysis only (Fig. 6D).

A mineral of the K feldspar composition was identified in a single sample, where it occurs as grains reaching 40μm in size. 217

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 6. A – ilmenite grain; B – EDS spectra of ilmenite; C – rutile grain; D – EDS spectra of rutile; E – iron oxyhydroxide after pyrite; F – small inclusions of barite. Photo: R. Siuda

Apatite

During the current research, the chemical composition of apatite was determined from samples 10 and 12 (Ta. 2). Apatite from the first sample occurred as a single, very small grain of an irregular shape (Fig. 7C). It is characterized by an elevated amount of yttrium, lanthanum, and cerium, accounting for a total of c. 2.5 wt.% REE2O3. Apatite from flint no. 12 occurred in the form of elongated lath-like crystals randomly spaced in the flinty rock matrix (Fig. 7A, B). This type of apatite does not contain REE elements. Both analyzed apatites show a distinct deficiency of the phosphate anion in the tetrahedral site. It is probably compensated by the presence of carbonate ion.

Apatite is a rare constituent in the flints under consideration here, and when present they usually form elongated aggregates, up to 100μm in length and distinguished by the presence of numerous, very tiny cracks, set perpendicularly to the aggregate elongation (Fig. 7A). They may also show high porosity. Single segregations of pyrite or barite are encountered in such apatite aggregates (Fig. 7B). Very rarely found are irregular apatite accumulations. All morphological types of apatite represent fragments of skeleton elements coming from microfossils of undetermined taxonomic affiliation. 218

Dagmara H. Werra et al.: A Danubian Raw Material Exchange Network Table 2. Chemical analysis of apatite. Sample No 10 CaO

FeO

Na2O

SrO

MgO

51.71 0.41

1.58

0.17

0.15

52.83 0.67

0.41

0.17

0.13

50.60 1.22

50.32 5.18

2.29

0.45

0.17

0.16

0.13

0.13

52.13 1.86

0.42

0.16

0.15

50.55 0.35

0.74

0.10

0.37

Sample No 12 50.37 0.33

0.74

0.16

0.32

49.43 0.28

1.05

0.21

0.41

49.72 0.12

1.18

0.16

0.38

52.29 0.34

0.87

0.22

0.44

51.20 0.22

0.53

0.11

0.00

50.25 0.35

0.49

0.11

0.00

MnO

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

Y 2 O3

nd

nd

nd

nd

nd

nd

nd

nd

nd

nd

0,13

0,14

Al2O3 La2O3

Ce2O3

nd nd nd

nd nd nd

nd

nd

nd nd

nd nd

nd nd nd

nd nd

nd nd

nd

nd

nd nd nd

nd nd nd

nd nd nd

0,32 0,00 0,11

0,43 0,10 0,00

P 2 O5

34.72

33.91

29.11

32.22

33.54

36.03

34.88

37.21

37.05

36.82

33.00

33.26

SiO2

1.05

1.00

0.62

0.33

0.26

0.13

0.20

0.14

0.11

0.36

1.31

2.06

SO3

CO2* F

total O=F

1.09

0.37

2.96

94.21 -1,25

1.02

0.49

2.73

93.35 -1,15

1.15

1.29

0.90

2.54

88.73 -1,07

0.70

3.26

94.02 -1,37

1.37

0.58

3.04

93.49 -1,28

1.39

0.24

3.22

93.10 -1.35

1.35

0.34

2.94

91.61 -1.24

1.08

0.12

3.04

92.96 -1.28

1.22

0.23

2.21

92.38 -0.93

1.10

0.38

2.26

95.06 -0.95

1.07

0.00

1.94

89.94 -0.82

1.19

0.00

2.76

91.12 -1.16

total

92.96

92.20

87.66

92.65

92.21

91,75

90,37

91,68

91,45

94,11

89,12

89,96

Ca2+

4.69

4.86

4.52

4.54

4.77

4.79

4.80

4.73

4.73

4.77

4.85

4.83

0.26

0.07

0.37

0.07

0.07

0.13

0.13

0.18

0.20

0.14

0.09

0.08

Fe

2+

Na

+

Sr2+

Mg2+ Mn Al Y

2+

3+ 3+

PO4

3-

SO4

2-

SiO44CO32F

-

0.02 0.00 nd

3+

Ce

0.01

nd

3+

La

0.03

nd nd

0.05 0.01 0.02 0.00 nd nd nd nd

0.08 0.01 0.02 0.00 nd nd nd nd

0.36 0.01 0.02 0.00 nd nd nd nd

0.13 0.01 0.02 0.00 nd nd nd nd

0.03 0.01 0.05 0.00 nd nd

0.02 0.01 0.04 0.00 nd nd

nd

nd

nd

nd

0.02 0.01 0.05 0.00 nd nd nd nd

0.01 0.01 0.05 0.00 nd nd nd nd

0.02 0.01 0.06 0.00 nd nd nd nd

0.02 0.01 0.00 0.00

0.03 0.00 0.00 0.00

0.03 0.01 0.00 0.00

0.05 0.00 0.00 0.00

2.49

2.46

2.05

2.30

2.43

2.70

2.63

2.81

2.78

2.65

2.47

2.53

0.09

0.09

0.05

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.03

0.12

0.18

0.07 0.50 0.79

0.07 0.66 0.74

0.07 1.22 0.67

0.08 0.95 0.87

0.09 0.79 0.82

0.09 0.32 0.90

Unidentified Al, REE and Pb phosphates

0.09 0.46 0.83

0.07 0.16 0.86

0.08 0.31 0.62

0.07 0.51 0.61

0.07 0.00 0.54

0.08 0.00 0.78

in the range from 6.92 to 8.18 wt.% REE2O3. The observed elevated amounts of iron, barium and sulphur should be connected with the occurrence of tiny inclusions of pyrite, hematite, and barite.

Single aggregates of Al, REE and Pb phosphates were encountered in three samples of the flints we studied. In sample no. 8 a single, elongated aggregate of aluminum phosphate was found, c. 100μm long (Fig. 7D). In the analyzed mineral the amount of aluminum varies from 27.44 to 32.43 wt.% Al2O3 (Tab. 3). This element is accompanied by calcium (from 4.64 to 5.87 wt.% CaO) and rare earth elements. Total REE concentration varies

Aluminium phosphate was also detected in sample no. 2. Here it occurs as a single grain, c. 15 μm in size (Fig. 7E). The amount of aluminium in this mineral fluctuates from 29.39 to 30.30 wt.% Al2O3 (Tab. 3). This element is associated with small amounts of calcium 219

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 7. A – elongated apatite aggregate (sample no 12); B – apatite aggregate (grey) with small inclusions of pyrite and barite (white) (sample no 12); C – irregular aggregate of apatite (sample no 10); D – unidentified Al phosphate (P–Al) with inclusions of pyrite (py) and hematite (he) (sample no 8); E – unidentified Al phosphate (sample no 2); F – aggregate of Al phosphate (P-Al) and REE phosphate (P REE; sample no 11). Photo: R. Siuda.

(from 5.42 to 5.98 wt.% CaO) and rare earth elements. The total amount of the REE changes from 2.54 to 2.87 wt.% REE2O3. A characteristic feature of the analyzed mineral is the presence of lead, in amounts varying from 5.94 to 6.43 wt.% PbO.

in the first phosphate changes from 23.06 to 32.43 wt.% Al2O3, and that of phosphorus from 26.47 to 27.48 wt.% P2O5. An elevated concentration of rare earth elements is also observed, varying from 8.00 to 10.11 wt.% REE2O3 (Tab. 3). Mutual ratios of these elements may indicate that the analyzed phase is compositionally close to florencite-Ce. The younger phase is represented by REE phosphate. Total REE amounts in this phase vary from 37.42 to 44.05 wt.% REE2O3 (Tab. 3). Among these elements the main role is played by cerium. The amount of aluminium is small and varies from 1.10 to 4.17 wt.% Al2O3. Noteworthy is a similar level of calcium

Al- and REE-containing phosphates were also found in sample no. 11. In this sample the presence of a polymineral, an elongated aggregate reaching 70μm in size, was detected (Fig. 7F). The aggregate is composed of an older aluminium phosphate in the process of being replaced by a younger REE phosphate. The amount of Al 220

Dagmara H. Werra et al.: A Danubian Raw Material Exchange Network Table 3. Chemical analysis of unidentified phosphates Al, Al (Pb) and REE. % wag. Al O

Sample No 8

Sample No 2

Al phosphate

Al (Pb) phosphate

Sample No 11 Al phosphate

REE phosphate

27.44

29.16

28.28

30.30

29.39

29.52

32.43

31.38

30.15

PbO

0.00

0.00

0.00

5.94

6.15

6.43

0.00

0.00

0.00

SrO

1.87

1.84

1.95

4.82

5.12

5.07

2.06

1.88

2.03

0.21

0.35

4.31

5.17

4.27

1.16

1.17

1.31

4.88

5.18

4.41

18.22

21.00

19.07

2.43

8.00

10.40

10.31

1.04

0.99

0.96

2

3

CaO

4.66

FeO

7.72

BaO

Ce O 2

4.02 3

Pr2O3

0.00

La2O3

Nd O 2

Sm O 2

YO 2

3

2

PO

5

SiO

2

SO F

3

-

2.75

3 3

0.00 0.00 0.00

5.30 2.34

4.45

0.00 3.01 0.00 0.00 0.00

4.64 7.22

5.14

0.00 2.65 0.00 0.00 0.00

5.42 1.37

0.98

0.00 1.42 0.00 0.00 0.00

5.81

5.98

1.30

1.52

1.06

3.70

0.00

1.38

0.00

1.43

0.00

3.59

0.00

0.00 0.00

0.71

1.58

0.00

5.87

0.90

0.00

0.17

0.14

0.00

5.56 0.52

4.23

0.06 3.52 1.29 0.00 0.00

6.38

5.50

7.44

5.23

4.78

13.17

0.66

0.07

5.30

0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00

25.09

25.97

25.58

26.53

27.35

27.48

26.47

2.54

1.39

1.96

2.67

3.07

3.51

0.18

0.18

0.14

0.00

0.30

1.21 0.25

1.45 1.09

2.79 0.70

0.42 0.60

5.58 0.52

4.71 0.71

1.10

4.95

27.83 2.88

4.17

4.90

25.84 1.04

2.22

4.81 0.63

0.00

0.38

1.81 7.17 1.18

0.00

1.57 8.38 1.72

0.00

0.00

1.62 7.59 1.60

25.01

30.43

24.23

0.18

0.32

0.14

23.27 0.29

0.72

0.18

3.74

0.20

total

82.19

83.66

82.67

82.59

83.51

84.02

87.95

86.71

89.72

99.15

92.02

89.28

total

82.19

83.52

82.55

82.11

83.19

83.76

87.73

86.41

89.45

99.01

92.02

89.18

O=F

0.00

-0.14

-0.11

-0.48

-0.32

-0.26

-0.22

-0.30

-0.27

-0.13

0.00

-0.10

the group of rare earth elements. The occurrence of carbonate-fluorapatite inclusions was observed exclusively in ‘chocolate’ flint originating from the Jurassic carbonate rocks that constitute the N and NE borders of the Holy Cross Mountains. On this basis we can propose that this mineral is a diagnostic feature for this type of flint. The significance of phosphates containing REE for the purpose of identification is much more restricted; their presence was recognized exclusively in flint originating from the region around Cracow, and even there they are absent in the samples taken from Wołowice, Cracow district. Nearly 40 years ago Jacek Lech pointed out the high level of REE presence in Jurassic Cracow flint (Sąspów; Lech 1980: 217), and we now know that the presence of hematite may be an indicator as to the flint’s original location (Přichystal 2013). Admittedly, this mineral occurs in various types of flint, but it is particularly abundant only in samples originating from the Cracow area.

concentration in both phosphates: it only changes from 4.90 to 6.38 wt.% CaO. Concentrations of iron and silicon determined by some analyses are likely due to the presence of subtle inclusions of hematite and quartz (chalcedony). Origin of flints in the light of the analysis of the subordinate minerals Flints are sedimentary rocks of a unique character. Their monomineral character and lack of significant amounts of accessory or subordinate minerals means that the determination of the provenance of flinty material based on mineralogical research is exceedingly difficult. However, research on mineral compositions of different flint types from various areas of Poland conducted by the authors allowed us to recognize in detail the subordinate minerals occurring in flint concretions (Werra and Siuda 2015), and the research carried out here shows that apatite and other phosphate minerals may be used for flint identification.

The results of the micro-area analyses were compared with the macroscopic results. The latter were performed by Jolanta Małecka-Kukawka from the Nicolaus Copernicus University at Toruń, in consultation with various researchers of flint rocks (cf. Małecka-Kukawka 2001). The last determination of raw materials was performed in 2003 for samples taken from the site at Nowy Dwór, Golub-Dobrzyń

Phosphates present in the analyzed flints can be divided into two types. The first of these is represented by carbonate-fluorapatite, which is the building material of skeleton elements in organisms (these are most probably fish bone fragments). The second type is composed of phosphates containing elements from 221

Between History and Archaeology Table 4. Macroscopic analysis results compared to microscopic results. Jolanta MałeckaKukawka – 2003

Micro-area analysis results

Flake removed from a flaking surface of a flake Jurassic-Cracow core (technical) with an flint initial splintered piece exploitation

undefined

The presence of hematite may suggest Jurassic-Cracow flint or Baltic erratic flint

Flake with negative Jurassic-Cracow flake scars on the dorsal flint surface

Jurassic, area around Cracow

The presence of hematite and of phosphates enriched with REE may suggest Jurassic-Cracow flint

Raw material – Jurassic-Cracow flint; but cortex like in‘chocolate’ flint

The presence of hematite may suggest Jurassic-Cracow flint or Baltic erratic flint

Site

Description

1 – Nowy Dwór, site 9, Golub-Dobrzyń district, object A12, 1st mechanical layer 2 – Nowy Dwór, site 9, Golub-Dobrzyń district, heap

Jacek Lech – 2015

3 – Nowy Dwór, site Flake with negative flake Jurassic-Cracow 9, Golub-Dobrzyń scars and unprepared flint district, object A 46 1 butt mechanical layer 4 – Boguszewo, site Partially initial flake 41, Grudziądz district

Jurassic-Cracow flint

Jurassic-Cracow flint

The presence of hematite may suggest Jurassic-Cracow flint or Baltic erratic flint. The absence of apatite excludes ‘chocolate’ flint

5 – Nowy Dwór, site 9, Golub-Dobrzyń Flake butt fragment, district, trench 24B, 1 scar mechanical layer

Jurassic-Cracow flint

undefined

The presence of hematite may suggest Jurassic-Cracow flint or Baltic erratic flint

6 – Nowy Dwór, stan 9, Golub-Dobrzyń district, object A6, 1 mechanical layer

Flake scar

Baltic erratic flint, undefined lightly burned

The presence of hematite may suggest Jurassic-Cracow flint or Baltic erratic flint

7 – Ryńsk, site 42, Wąbrzeźno district

Partially initial flake

Jurassic-Cracow flint

undefined

undefined

chip

Possible JurassicCracow or ‘chocolate’ flint with emphasis on ‘chocolate’ flint

undefined

The presence of hematite and phosphates enriched with REE may suggest Jurassic-Cracow flint

chip with scars

Possible JurassicCracow flint or Baltic erratic flint, undefined with certainty of no ‘chocolate’ flint

The presence of hematite may suggest Jurassic-Cracow flint or Baltic erratic flint

8 – Annowo, site 7, Grudziądz district 9 – Nowy Dwór, site 9, Golub-Dobrzyń district, object A6, 2 mechanical layer

10 – Nowy Dwór, site Flake with negative Jurassic-Cracow 9, Golub-Dobrzyń flake scars on the dorsal flint district, object A46, 1 surface mechanical layer

Jurassic-Cracow flint

The presence of apatite without REE points to ‘chocolate’ flint

11 – Nowy dwór, site 9, Golub-Dobrzyń Partially initial flake district, object A12, 2 mechanical layer

‘chocolate’ flint – light colour

The presence of hematite and phosphates enriched with REE may suggest Jurassic-Cracow flint

‘chocolate’ flint

‘chocolate’ flint 12 – Nowy dwór, site Flake with negative – from outcrops 9, Golub-Dobrzyń flake scars on the dorsal from central part district, object A12, 2 of ‘chocolate’ flint surface mechanical layer stream

222

‘chocolate’ flint – The presence of apatite without dark colour variety REE points to ‘chocolate’ flint

Dagmara H. Werra et al.: A Danubian Raw Material Exchange Network The differences in macroscopic identification and micro-area identification may result from the features of the material, its small size, and the lack of all diagnostic features. The so-called ‘chocolate’ flint on the Cracow-Częstochowa Upland (Krajcarz and Krajcarz 2009; Krajcarz et al. 2012; Cyrek 2013: 23) also contains macroscopic features that are close to those of the ‘chocolate’ flint from the north-eastern borders of the Holy Cross Mountains.

district. Some samples contained material which could not be clearly determined in terms of the presence of subordinate ingredients (due either to the small size of samples or the lack of cortex, etc.). At the same time, they showed features that allowed us to eliminate their local (erratic) origin. Such samples, among others from the sites at Ryńsk, Wąbrzeźno district, and Annowo, Grudziądz district (cf. Małecka-Kukawka 2001: 38, 42), as well as at Nowy Dwór (Małecka-Kukawka 2009: 170– 171), were declared as undefined, with an indication of their south-Polish origin. Examples of such specimens, considered as undefined, were chosen for chemical constituents analysis. The specimens were chosen from several sites and were unambiguously identified by Małecka-Kukawka, as well as other scientists consulting in this material examination. These are samples 2 (Nowy Dwór), 4 (Boguszewo), 10, 11, and 12 (Nowy Dwór). In addition, a renewed determination of the sources of these raw materials was carried out by Jacek Lech in 2015 before submitting the specimens to chemical analysis. Table 4 shows the results of the macroscopic analyses compared to the microscopic results.

Translated by Beata Kita References Balcer, B. 1976. Position and stratigraphy of flint deposits, development of exploitation and importance of Świeciechów flint in prehistory. Acta Archaeologica Carpathica 16: 179–199. Budziszewski, J. 2008. Stan badań nad występowaniem i pradziejową eksploatacją krzemieni czekoladowych. In W. Borkowski, J. Libra, B. Sałacińska and S. Sałaciński (eds), Krzemień czekoladowy w pradziejach. Materiały z konferencji w Orońsku, 08–10.10.2003: 33– 106. Warszawa–Lublin, Instytut Archeologii UMCS and Państwowe Muzeum Archeologiczne. Studia nad gospodarką surowcami krzemiennymi w pradziejach 7. Budziszewski, J., Grużdź, W., Jakubczak, M. and Szubski, M. 2015. Chalcolithic raw material economy in light of new data from the ‘Przyjaźń’ mining field in Rzeczkowo (Central Poland). In X. Mangado, O. Crandell, M. Sánchez, and M. Cubero (eds), International Symposium on Knappable Materials ‘On the Rocks’, 7–11 September 2015, Barcelona, Abstracts: 56. Barcelona. Cyrek, K. 2013. Jaskinia Biśnik. Wczesny środkowy Paleolit. Toruń, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika. Galon, R. 1984. Województwo toruńskie: przyroda – ludność i osadnictwo – gospodarka. Warszawa, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe. Jadin, I. and Cahen, D. 2003. Datations radiocarbones et Rubané : Pour un mariage de raison. In I. Jadin (ed.), Trois petits toures et puis s’en vont... La fin de la présence danubienne en Moyenne Belgique: 523–696. Liège, Etudes et recherches archéologiques de l’Université de Liège. Kirkowski, R. 1990. Boguszewo, gm. Gruta, województwo toruńskie, stanowisko 41, obiekty 3 i 5. In D. Jankowska (ed.), Z badań nad chronologią absolutną stanowisk neolitycznych z ziemi chełmińskiej: 9–14. Toruń, Instytut Archeologii i Etnografii Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika. Kondracki, J. 1978. Geografia fizyczna Polski. Warszawa, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe.

As comments on the effectiveness of the presented method we may draw the following conclusions: 1.

2.

3.

4. 5.

Samples 1, 3, 5, 6, and 9 were identified by Małecka-Kukawka as undefined, and by Lech in 2015 as Jurassic-Cracow flint: the micro-area analysis confirmed with a high probability that these samples are made of Jurassic-Cracow flint. Samples 2 and 4 were unambiguously determined by Małecka-Kukawka and Lech as JurassicCracow flint: the micro-area analysis confirms the correctness of the macroscopic results. Sample 12 was also unambiguously determined by both Małecka-Kukawka and Lech as ‘chocolate’ flint: the micro-area analysis confirms the correctness of the macroscopic results. Sample 10 was unambiguously determined by both scientists as Jurassic-Cracow flint: according to the micro-area analysis it is ‘chocolate’ flint. Sample 11 was unambiguously determined by both scientists as ‘chocolate’ flint: but according to the micro-area analysis it is not ‘chocolate’ flint.

The results presented in points 1, 2 and 3 above confirm the concordance of traditional, macroscopic raw material determinations with the method of chemical ingredients analysis and point to the usefulness of the latter in settling certain doubts (e.g. samples 1, 3, 5, 6, 9). Equally interesting are the discrepancies in the determination of raw materials while using the ‘traditional’ (samples 10 and 11) and chemical methods. 223

Between History and Archaeology Kossinna, G. 1910. Der Ursprung der Urfinnen und Uridogermanem und ihre Ausbreitung nach dem Osten. Mannus 2. Kostrzewski, J. 1928. Osada starszej ceramiki wstęgowej w Chełmży w pow. toruńskim na Pomorzu. Roczniki Muzeum Wielkopolskiego 4: 100–128. Kozłowski, L. 1924. Młodsza epoka kamienna w Polsce (Neolit). Lwów, Towarzystwo Naukowe. Kozłowski, J. K. (ed.) 1971. Z badań nad krzemieniarstwem neolitycznym i eneolitycznym. Referaty i komunikaty przedstawione na sympozjum w Nowej Hucie dn. 10, 11 maja 1971 r. Kraków, Muzeum Archeologiczne w Krakowie. Krajcarz, M. T. and Krajcarz, M. 2009. The outcrops of Jurassic flint raw materials from southwestern margin of the Holy Cross Mountains. Acta Archaeologica Carpathica 44: 183–195. Krajcarz, M. T., Krajcarz, M., Sudoł, M. and Cyrek, K. 2012. From far or from near? Sources of KrakówCzęstochowa banded and chocolate silicite raw material used during the Stone Age in Biśnik Cave (Southern Poland). Anthropologie 50(4): 411–425. Kukawka, S., Małecka-Kukawka, J. and Wawrzykowska, B. 2002. Wczesny i środkowy neolit na ziemi chełmińskiej. In B. Wawrzykowska (ed.), Archeologia toruńska. Historia i teraźniejszość. Materiały z konferencji naukowej zorganizowanej z okazji 140–lecia muzealnych zbiorów archeologicznych w Toruniu. Toruń 16–17 maj 2002: 91–107. Toruń, Muzeum Okręgowe w Toruniu. Kulczycka-Leciejewiczowa, A. 1979. Pierwsze społeczności rolnicze na ziemiach polskich. Kultury kręgu naddunajskiego. In T. Wiślański and W. Hensel (eds), Prahistoria ziem polskich, tom 2 Neolit, Wrocław: 19–164. Warszawa-Kraków, Zakład Narodowy imienia Ossolińskich Wydawnictwo Polskiej Akademii Nauk. Kulczycka-Leciejewiczowa, A. 1983a. The Oldest Linear Pottery Communities and their Contribution to the Neolithization of Polish Territories. Archaeologia Polona 21–22: 47–61. Kulczycka-Leciejewiczowa, A. 1983b. O zofipolskim stylu ceramiki wstęgowej rytej w Polsce. Archeologia Polski 28(1): 67–97. Kulczycka-Leciejewiczowa, A. 1987. Pierwsze wspólnoty kultury ceramiki wstęgowej rytej na ziemiach polskich. Archeologia Polski 32(2): 293–348. Kulczycka-Leciejewiczowa, A. 2008. Samborzec. Studium przemian ceramiki wstęgowej rytej. Wrocław, Instytut Archeologii i Etnologii PAN. Lech, J. 1980. Geologia krzemienia jurajskiego– podkrakowskiego na tle innych skał krzemionkowych. Wprowadzenie do badań z perspektywy archeologicznej. Acta Archaeologica Carpathica 20: 163–228. Lech, J. 1989. A Danubian raw material exchange network: a case study from Bylany. In J. Rulf (ed.),

Bylany Seminar 1987. Collected papers: 111–120. Praha, Archeologický ústav ČSAV. Lech, J. 1988. O rewolucji neolitycznej i krzemieniarstwie. Część I. Wokół metody. Archeologia Polski 33(2): 273– 345. Lech, J. 1997. Remarks on Prehistoric Flint Mining and Flint Supply in European Archaeology. In A. RamosMillán and M. A. Bustillo (eds), Silceous roks and culture: 611–637. Granada, Universidad de Grenada. Małecka-Kukawka, J. 1994. Gospodarka surowcami krzemiennymi wśród społeczności wczesnorolnicznych ziemi chełmińskiej z perspektywy teorii wymiany społecznej. In L. Czerniak (ed.), Neolit i początki epoki brązu na ziemi chełmińskiej: 37–50. Grudziądz, Muzeum w Grudziądzu, Instytut Archeologii i Etnologii Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika. Małecka-Kukawka, J. 2001. Między formą a funkcją. Traseologia neolitycznych zabytków krzemiennych z ziemi chełmińskiej. Toruń, Instytut Archeologii i Etnologii Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika. Małecka-Kukawka, J. 2009. Aktualne problemy badawcze nad krzemieniarstwem społeczności wczesnorolniczych na Pomorzu nadwiślańskim. In M. Fudziński and H. Paner (eds), Aktualne problemy epoki kamienia na Pomorzu: 167–177. Gdańsk, Muzeum Archeologiczne w Gdańsku. Price, T. D. and Bentley, R. A. 2005. Human mobility in Linearbandkeramik: An archaeometric approach. In J. Lüning, Ch. Frirdich and A. Zimmermann (eds), Die Bandkeramik im 21. Jahrhundest. Symposium in der Abtei Brauweiler bei Köln vom 16.9–19.9.2002: 203– 215. Internationale Archäologie 7. Rahden, Marie Leidorf. Přichystal, A. 2013. Lithic Raw Materials in Prehistoric Times of Eastern Central Europe. Brno, Masarykova univerzita. Schild, R. 1971. Lokalizacja prahistorycznych punktów eksploatacji krzemienia czekoladowego na północnowschodnim obrzeżeniu Gór Świętokrzyskich. Folia Quaternaria 39: 1–60. Schild, R. 1976. Flint mining and trade in Polish prehistory as seen from the perspective of the chocolate flint of central Poland. A second approach. Acta Archaeologica Carpathica 16: 147–177. Werra, D. H. and Siuda, R. 2015. The mineral composition of ‘chocolate’ flint compared to other varieties of chert from Central and Southern Poland used by prehistoric communities. In X. Mangado, O. Crandell, M. Sánchez and M. Cubero (eds), International Symposium on Knappable Materials ‘On the Rocks’. Barcelona 7–11 September 2015. Abstracts: 128. Barcelona, University of Barcelona.

224

Lithic Workshops and Depots/Hoards in the Early/Middle Neolithic of the Middle Danube Basin and of the Northern Balkans Małgorzata Kaczanowska and Janusz K. Kozłowski

Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, Sławkowska street 17, 31-016 Kraków, Poland e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: In the earliest horizon (Karanovo I-Starčevo-Körös), the workshops where blanks were produced were situated close to the raw material deposits. Lithic production within settlements was very limited, and blanks produced off-site were used. With the Early Neolithic expansion to the middle Danube basin, some part of production gradually moved to settlements. Depots of cores or blades appear in settlements, which can be linked with itinerant specialists-knappers. In the eastern linear complex (ALP) lithic production took place within special areas of the settlements or households. Depots discovered in settlements and containing cores and blades usually made from local raw materials were a supply available for the inhabitants of a given settlement. In the western linear complex (LBK) one can notice the wide circulation of various meso- and extra-local raw materials processed on-site but not in separate zones. The depots of blades and tools comprise artefacts made of extra-local rather than local materials. Keywords: Karanovo I-Starčevo-Körös, Alföld Linear Pottery (ALP), Linear Band Pottery Culture (LBK), raw materials, depots, workshops

Introduction

and obsidian have not been identified as yet. Obsidian workshops might have functioned in Melos and possibly Ghiali islands, but there are insufficient grounds for their chronology to be reliably established (Kaczanowska and Kozłowski 2013).

The aim of this study is to analyse specific aspects of lithic production and distribution: the relation between places of production and settlements, and the occurrence of ‘depots’ of the knapped artefacts. These depots contain objects representing various stages of lithic processing along with complete products. The presented analysis aims to reconstruct the socioeconomic context of lithic production as well as its ideological and symbolic aspects.

From the Early Neolithic horizon only two finds are known, both from territories north of Thessaly, which can be interpreted as hoards of some kind: the find of 400 standardised blades discovered in the Nea Nicomedea site in Macedonia, within a structure regarded by some researchers as a ‘temple’ (Perlès 2001; Rodden and Rodden 1964a, 1964b), and the collection of waste material from the preparation and repair of 4 cores, recovered from one pit in the Mavropigi site in Macedonia (Karamitrou-Mentessidi et al. 2015: Fig.2). If the first depot points to the off-site production of blades, the second is evidence for the on-site core reduction and deposition of the resulting waste. In Macedonia, other changes in the lifestyles of Early Neolithic communities can also be noticed, such as for example the appearance of cooking pots (Perlès 2001).

The scope of our discussion encompasses the northern Balkans and the middle Danube basin in the Early and beginnings of the Middle Neolithic. This is an area of fundamental importance for understanding the formation of the Neolithic cultures in Europe. In terms of taxonomy, the study includes the Karanovo I-Starčevo-Körös-Criş complex and both complexes of Linear cultures – eastern and western (Fig.1). Karanovo I-Starčevo-Körös-Criş complex In the chronological horizon predating the Karanovo I-Starčevo-Körös-Criş complex the predominant mode, in Thessaly in particular, was off-site production based on extra local raw materials (Perlès 2001). Further to the north, in Macedonia, some part of production based on local or meso-local materials took place within settlements.

Moving on to the description of the Karanovo I-Starčevo-Körös-Criş complex, one can notice that in certain units, e.g. Karanovo I, in the eastern part of the Starčevo culture, and in the southern Körös range, the bulk of lithic production relied on meso- and extralocal raw materials. Of particular importance in that period was ‘Balkan flint’ originating from Mesozoic outcrops of the Moesian Platform. The localisation and differentiation of these outcrops have in recent years been the subject of a debate in literature (Šarić 2002;

The workshops providing Early Neolithic settlements with extra-local raw materials such as ‘silex blond’ 225

Between History and Archaeology

Fig 1. Map of the analized territory: a) Karanovo I – Starčevo – Körös- Criş, b) Eastern Linear Pottery (ALP), c) Western Linear Pottery (LBK). Sites mentioned in the text: 1. Nea Nikomedea (Central Macedonia ), 2. Mavropigi (Western Macedonia), 3. Szentpeterszeg-Körtvélyes (Eastern Hungary), 4. Endröd 119 (Eastern Hungary), 5. Szarvas 23 (Eastern Hungary), 6. Endröd 39 (Eastern Hungary), 7. Lepensky Vir (Serbia), 8. Ecsegfalva (Eastern Hungary), 9. Mehtelek (Northeastern Hungary), 10. Donja Branjevina (Vojvodina, Serbia), 11. Grivac (Serbia), 12. Zadubravlje (Eastern Croatia), 13. Galovo (Eastern Croatia), 14. Vörs (Transdanubia) 15. Gellénháza (Transdanubia), 16. Humenné (Eastern Slovakia), 17. Moravany (Eastern Slovakia), 18. Kašov (Eastern Slovakia), 19. Velka Trna (Eastern Slovakia), 20. Slavkovce (Eastern Slovakia), 21. Šarišské Michal’any (Eastern Slovakia), 22. Boldogkőváralja (Northeastern Hungary), 23. Polgár Ferencihát (Eastern Hungary), 24. Brunn II (Lower Austria), 25. Vedrovice (Southern Moravia), 26. Borovce (Western Slovakia), 27. Modlnica 5 (Lesser Poland), 28. Kraków-Nowa HutaBieńczyce 12,15, 29. Kraków-Nowa Huta-Mogiła 62 30. Kraków-Nowa Huta-Mogiła 1.

226

Małgorzata Kaczanowska and Janusz K. Kozłowski: Lithic Workshops and Depots/Hoards

Fig. 2. Mavropigi (Western Macedonia, Greece). Stratum 1, pit 37: Depot of lithic waist (selected artifacts).

Bogosavljević-Petrović 2004;Gurova and Natchev 2008; Bonsall et al. 2010; Gurova 2011). Off-site production was clearly predominant in the discussed territory, hence the known inventories range from a few up to more or less hundred artefacts (Szentpeterszeg-Körtvélyes – 34 pieces, Endröd 119 – 51 pieces, Szarvas 23 – 108 pieces). The inventories from these sites contain no cores and a very small number of flakes. The acquisition of ready artefacts did not rule out the production of

blanks within settlements, e.g. by highly specialised itinerant knappers. This can be evidenced, for example, by a deposit of waste (100 pieces) originating from the reduction of 3 cores (Fig.3), found in a ceramic vessel in Endröd 39 (Kaczanowska et al. 1981). Two deposits hidden in typical vessels from a Starčevo layer in Lepenski Vir site (IIIb) are of a different nature. One of the vessels contained four single-platform 227

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 3. Endröd 39 (Eastern Hungary). Depot of lithic waist (1–9) in Körös Culture vessel (10).

Fig. 4. Lepensky Vir (Serbia). Layer IIIb Cores depot (after D. Srejović).

Fig. 5. Lepensky Vir (Serbia). Layer IIIb Depot of blades (after D. Srejović).

228

Małgorzata Kaczanowska and Janusz K. Kozłowski: Lithic Workshops and Depots/Hoards macroblade cores in the stage of full reduction (Fig.4), and the other one 52 blades and their fragments (Fig.5; Srejović 1969). From the same layer also come other ‘hoards’ in vessels, of which one contained four flat, miniature axes, and another – a string of beads made from Spondylus shell and other materials. The diversified composition of deposits allows for varying interpretations: in commercial-utilitarian or symbolicprestigious terms.

production, based on local, lower-quality raw materials. The discussed processes are more strongly marked in Croatia, in the western fringes of the Starčevo culture. This is reflected in the rise of the local production based on meso-local materials such as radiolarites from the Slavonian Mountains (Zadubravlje – Karavanić et al. 2009) or cherts from northern Bosnia (Galovo – Bunčić 2009). This rise of local production is accompanied by its concentration in selected zones of settlements, with some of the features containing more than 500 artefacts.

The lithic raw material supply relied in the Karanovo I-Starčevo-Körös-Criş complex on the deposits of Balkan flints situated in the areas occupied by Early Neolithic groups representing the discussed complex, with the Danube and Tisza rivers being a convenient route of communication and distribution. The Carpathian obsidian outcrops exploited in that period were situated outside the range of Earliest Neolithic occupation. Workshops were identified near the outcrops of both obsidian and Balkan flint, but linking them with the Early Neolithic poses difficulties. Despite the objections repeatedly raised by Maria Gurova, the Early Neolithic attribution seems the most likely for the Balkan flint workshops discovered on the Osam river by Paolo Biagi and Elisabetta Starnini (2010).

Similar processes can be observed in Transdanubia, although the Starčevo culture settlement is less intensive there. In this area one can also notice changes in subsistence patterns, manifesting themselves, as in the upper Tisza basin, in the increasing role of fishing and hunting, for waterbirds in particular. It was in that period that the exploitation of radiolarites started in the Bakony and Mecsek Mountains, which was subsequently continued by LBK communities (Vörs – Biró 2001, 2002; Gellénháza – Biró and Simon 2003). Numerous workshops are known from these radiolarite-bearing areas (Biró and Regenye 2003), but none of them can be reliably linked with the Early Neolithic. Transdanubia became the core area of the western linear complex (LBK; Bánffy 2004), exactly as the upper Tisza basin was where the eastern linear complex (ALP) formed.

With the spreading of the Körös culture to the north of the middle and upper Tisza basin, the systems of lithic production began to change. Balkan flint clearly drops in frequency in these areas, being replaced by limnoquartzites and obsidian. This can be seen in such assemblages as Ecsegfalva (Mateiciucová 2007), where the total number of artefacts rises to 465, and even to approx. 1000 in the sites further to the north (Mehtelek – Kaczanowska and Kozłowski 2012 ). This proves the increasing role of on-site production, with specialised workshops losing their previous importance.

Eastern linear complex (ALP) In the northern part of the ALP range, the deposits of raw materials for chipped stone production could be found, among which the most important role was played by obsidians: Carpathian 1 (Slovakia), Carpathian 2 (Hungary), and Carpathian 3 (Transcarpathian Ukraine). One should also mention abundant deposits of limno- and hydro-quartzites, and the radiolarite outcrops in the Klippen Belt. Apart from obsidian, these raw materials generally did not spread over longer distances, while obsidian reached as far as nearly 200 km to the south (Szarvas 8/23 in Southeastern Hungary, Alföld– Proto-Vinča phase).

In the western ranges of the Starčevo culture, between the Drava, Danube and Sava rivers, the systems of lithic production also underwent significant modifications. Production gradually shifted from specialised workshops to settlements, and the role of specialists knappers was then taken by residents of particular households. The Balkan flint, still processed in specialist workshops and brought to settlements in the form of ready products, was gradually replaced in lithic production with local and meso-local materials. The pace of this process differed in particular regions; for instance, in Donja Branjevina, opposite the place where the Drava joins the Danube (Šarić 2002, 2005), blade production took place in many stages, which refers to the Balkan traditions. The high technical skills of the knappers should also be noticed. On the other hand, in Grivac in the middle Morava basin (phases I– III; Bogosavliević-Petrović 2004) flakes greatly outnumber blades, testifying to the greater role of local

Chipped stone inventories known from ALP settlements confirm the tendencies recorded in the northern and western parts of the Starčevo-Körös complex, with the production gradually shifting from off-site workshops to settlements or even particular households. The discussed tendency is particularly clearly noticeable in the territories close to the deposits of obsidians, limnoquartzites, and radiolarites, first of all in the upper Tisza basin. Lithic production becomes more and more a mass phenomenon, which creates a picture in which some parts of settlements played the role of workshops. The changes in the organisation of lithic production, reflected by the occurrence of workshop 229

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 6. Kašov (Eastern Slovakia). Concentration of cores in the humic layer (after L. Bánesz).

zones and the phenomenon of depots, will now be presented on the example of particular raw materials.

In Kašov an elongated, oval feature 700 x 200cm wide was discovered, oriented along an NE–SW axis. Four concentrations of debitage products were discovered in this feature, which Ladislav Bánesz interpreted as belonging to separate workshops. In total, the feature yielded about 4000 debitage products (flakes, blades, single tools, core fragments). In the ceiling part, 13 large, single-platform blade cores with carefully prepared striking platforms were found (Fig. 6). The upper part of the pit also yielded fragments of daub with

.

In some of the settlements situated within a 50 km radius from the deposits of obsidians, first of all Carpathian 1, the share of on-site processed obsidian reaches 90%. To this group belong settlements in Eastern Slovakia, such as Humenne (Kaczanowska and Kozłowski 2002), Moravany (Kaczanowska et al. 2015), or Kašov (Bánesz 1991). 230

Małgorzata Kaczanowska and Janusz K. Kozłowski: Lithic Workshops and Depots/Hoards in a specific part of the settlement, maybe even in a single household. Similar features were discovered in the Moravany settlement, linked with the early phase of ALP (Kozłowski et al. eds 2015), where chipped stone production also concentrated in several large pits most likely accompanying above-ground dwellings. Some of the finds from the ALP range were typical hoards, a prime example being Slavkovce, Eastern Slovakia, where one of the features produced 34 obsidian nodules with no traces of processing or bearing only single scars (14 pieces). The total weight of the nodules was 8.76kg. The largest nodule, 20 x 11.5 x 8.6cm in size, weighted 2.9kg, while the smallest one, 4.6 x 6.0 x 2.3cm, merely 0.1kg (Fig.7). Three of the nodules bore traces of a red mineral pigment on the surface which was interpreted as resulting from the nodules having been used as pigment grinders. However, one cannot rule out a symbolic nature of the pigment’s presence in the assemblage. The pit also produced fragments of thick-walled pottery with plastic decoration, as well as painted sherds and lumps of daub. It is worth noticing that some of the sherds were secondarily burnt. Thus, the obsidian nodules were deposited in a large pit, most likely used as a place from where the clay needed for house construction had been extracted. The pit was backfilled with the destruct of the house after it burnt down. Regrettably, no information is available about the depth at which the nodules were found, so we cannot determine whether the deposition took place before or after the house destruction.

Fig. 7. Slavkovce (Eastern Slovakia). Feature E/88. Depot of obsidian nodules.

the imprints of a wooden construction and fragments of Bükk culture pottery (Šiška 1991). The limited extent of the excavation makes the interpretation of the feature difficult, although its size, shape, and filling characteristics suggest it was a long pit running parallel to a wall of an above-ground structure, perhaps filled back when clearing the surface after the destruction of the house (probably in a fire). The debitage concentrating within the four ‘workshops’ identified by Bánesz (1991) may correspond with places where individual knappers worked in, or more likely near, the house. After the pit was filled, the cores were deposited in the ceiling part of the filling. Their stylistic homogeneity, similar sizes (up to 15cm in length), and the low degree of reduction indicate that the cores might have been deposited deliberately as a kind of a hoard.

In the northern zone of the ALP range, obsidian loses its leading role to radiolarites, which were local to that region. The organisation of radiolarite processing can be shown on the example of the Sarišske Michal’any settlement, Eastern Slovakia (Kaczanowska et al. 1993), dated to Lichardus (1974) phases AB and B. There was no separate workshop zone in this settlement, but 6 depots were found (Fig.8). Two of them were discovered in a dwelling, one in a pit, and the others, originally placed in organic containers or bunched, were found in the lower parts of the topsoil. Four of the depots comprised of cores. These were pre-cores or cores in the early phases of reduction. Only one of the depots contained cores in a more advanced stage of reduction, but which still qualified for further blade exploitation (Fig.9). The depots contained from 5 to 17 pieces. All bar one were made of local radiolarite, which in the entire Bükk culture inventory made up approx. 50%. The depots should most likely be seen as raw material stocked for the needs of particular households. The depots of blades contained 20 and 11 pieces, respectively (Fig.10). Blades in the depots could be refitted together, which indicates they were produced by a single knapper. On some of the blades, traces of their use as knives and scrapers can be macroscopically identified, which allows these

The site of Velka Trna, Eastern Slovakia, mentioned in the literature as where 620 obsidian artefacts were discovered in a single pit having the diameter of 1 m, can perhaps be seen as a kind of workshop. The assemblage contained no cores, and only one obsidian nodule weighting 1.9kg (Janšak 1935). Another possible workshop was discovered at Humenne, Eastern Slovakia (Kaczanowska and Kozłowski 2002). In a large, relatively shallow pit 859 x 680cm wide more than 1700 artefacts were found, most of them made from obsidian. The workshop was focused on the production of blades, which were used or processed into tools somewhere else. The high representation of retouched tools indicates that, apart from lithic production, the feature also contained finds connected with the everyday life of the settlement’s residents. The workshop was oriented on meeting the needs of people living 231

Between History and Archaeology artefacts to be interpreted as tools belonging to the inhabitants of a given household. The unique nature of these assemblages is emphasised by the fact that some of the blades were 8–10cm long, which is notably longer than in the entire Bükk culture settlement, where the majority of blades fall within the range of 2–5cm in length. To the west of the Zemplin mountain range, in the Hornad valley, and even further to the west in the Cserhat range, local limnoquartzites (limnosilicites) played a role analogical to obsidians and radiolarites. The hoard of 566 blades (Fig. 11) made from local limnoquartzite and deposited in a vessel was found near a dwelling in a Bükk culture settlement at Boldogkőváralja, Northeastern Hungary (Kemenczei and Végh 1964; Vértes 1965; Mester and Tixier 2013). The blades are 50–90mm long and 15–30mm broad. They were removed from single-platform cores using the indirect percussion technique. Some of the blades can be refitted. The blades were most likely produced in workshops situated within the settlement and, according to the interpretation proposed by Mester and Tixier (2013), kept in a vessel available for all the members of the community. Such an approach assumes individual specialisation, the presence of one or several specialists – knappers in a settlement, who worked for the needs of local community rather than long distance exchange. An argument in support of this model is the discovery in many settlements of separate places dedicated to chipped stone production. The production probably took place in workshops situated near the dwellings. Summarising the above discussion, the raw material supply and chipped stone production in ALP is marked by the following: 1.

2. Fig. 8. Šarišské Michal’any (Eastern Slovakia). Map of the northern part of the site with position of lithic depots 1–6.

232

The important role of obsidian, especially in older phases. Obsidian was transported to settlements in the form of nodules (Slavkovce depot), probably brought as a result of expeditions to the outcrops. In the obsidian distribution to the both south and north, major role was played by the routes running along rivers. The supply zone, which according to the definition by C. Renfrew et al. (1966, 1968) is the area from where the expeditions were undertaken directly to the sources, reaches 80–90km from the outcrops. In this area the percentage of obsidian was at least 80%. In younger phases of ALP development the role of obsidian slightly decreases to the advantage of other, local and possibly easier accessible raw materials, namely limnoquartzites and radiolarites.

Małgorzata Kaczanowska and Janusz K. Kozłowski: Lithic Workshops and Depots/Hoards

Fig. 9. Šarišské Michal’any (Eastern Slovakia). Depots of cores in house 1 (selected speciments): 1–5 depot 1; 6, 7 depot 2.

3.

At the same time, some obsidian artefacts, e.g. large cores, produced in workshops by specialists – knappers and discovered in graves, may have played the role of prestige objects (Polgár–Ferencihát, middle Tisza basin, Eastern Hungary).

from the north-western fringes of the Starčevo culture. This is reflected by the production moving to the level of settlements and households. In the earliest LBK horizon, in the materials from Brunn 2 settlement in Wienerwald, lithic production was carried out on-site, although raw materials were mostly imported. Among the 2500 artefacts analysed by Mateiciucová (2008) more than half were made from raw materials originating from Transdanubia (150–160km away), while approx. 1/3 were radiolarites from the Vienna region. As LBK spread to the north, to the middle Danube basin,

Linear Band Pottery Culture (LBK) The model of lithic production in the earliest phase of LBK development continues the tendencies known 233

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 10. Šarišské Michal’any (Eastern Slovakia). Depot of blades including refitted pieces (depot 5 in sector 6).

Transdanubian radiolarites were replaced with raw materials originating in Lower Austria and Moravia (Mateiciucová 2008; Kaczanowska and Kozłowski 2014). In Moravia, in the earliest phase the full processing cycle took place within settlements described by Mateiciucová (2008) as ‘producer settlements’. Along with a variety of local cherts raw material from distant places also appear, such as flints from the Kraków-

Częstochowa Upland, for instance. The planigraphic analyses of LBK settlements in Moravia indicate that, despite the evidence for full lithic processing, no separate production zones can be distinguished. There are sites, however, where the finds were made which are interpreted as depots (Ondruš 1975–1976; Lech 1982; Mateiciucová 2008). These are deposits of blades, e.g. from pit 037/1966 at Vedrovice, Southern Moravia, 234

Małgorzata Kaczanowska and Janusz K. Kozłowski: Lithic Workshops and Depots/Hoards

Fig. 11. Bolgogköváralya (Northeastern Hungary). Depot of blades (selected specimens).

of these new types of raw materials over considerable distance, up to hundreds of kilometres, e.g. to Moravia (170–180km) or Bohemia (200–210km). The raw materials were sometimes transported in the opposite direction to LBK expansion, i.e. towards LBK core areas. The exploitation of local sources of Jurassic flint, both from weathered clay and alluvial deposits, already played an important role in the early phase of LBK in Lesser Poland. Because in Lesser Poland the deposits, especially those of alluvial origin, occurred in areas marked by the high settlement potential for Early Neolithic farmers, lithic production concentrated in settlements from Lesser Poland such as for example Modlnica 5, (Kaczanowska and Kozłowski 2014), Kraków-Nowa Huta-Bieńczyce 11, 15, or Kraków-Nowa Huta-Mogiła 62 (Kaczanowska et al. 1987). The presence

where 9 blades removed from two Jurassic flint cores were found, and possibly from pit 098/1966 where 26 perforators were discovered, of which 20 were made from Jurassic flint (Fig.12). It should be noted that the ‘depots’ from Moravia contained artefacts made from extra-local raw materials, which makes them different from ALP depots which comprised of objects from local materials. Analogical situation was recorded in western Slovakia, where a depot of 35 blades (Fig. 13) was discovered in a Želiezovce phase pit in the Borovce site, Western Slovakia of which all but one were made from flint originating from Polish Jura (Kolnik and Paulik 1957). Further expansion of LBK to areas rich in lithic raw materials (e.g. to Lesser Poland) resulted in the inflow 235

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 12. Vedrovice (Moravia). Hoard of perforators (selected specimens).

of groups linked with early LBK in Kraków-Częstochowa Upland is confirmed by cave finds (Rook 1980), which may be the relics of short-term camps of knappers exploiting flint from weathered clay deposits. Thus far, no workshops outside settlements are known that could be attributed to LBK. In the Kraków-Nowa HutaMogiła 1 site four hoards were discovered: two of cores (Kaczanowska 1981) and two of blades (Kozłowski 1961). They were initially linked with LBK, but today such an attribution seems questionable. Now, they seem much more likely to be connected with the Lengyel culture. On-site production is clearly predominant in LBK, even though basic raw materials are those of meso- and extralocal origin. Discovering new deposits coincides with subsequent stages of expansion from the Danube basin to the north. Some raw materials, e.g. Transdanubian radiolarites, spread with the direction of the expansion, while others, e.g. Jurassic flint, were transported in the opposite direction, i.e. towards the core areas.

Fig 13. Borovce (Western Slovakia). Depot of blades (after Kolnik and Paulik 1957).

236

Małgorzata Kaczanowska and Janusz K. Kozłowski: Lithic Workshops and Depots/Hoards Conclusion

J.K. Kozłowski and P. Raczky (eds), Neolithization of the Carpathian Basin: Northernmost distiribution of the Starčevo/Körös Culture: 119–136. Kraków–Budapest. Biró, T.K. 2001. Lithic materials from the Early Neolithic in Hungary. In R. Kertész and J. Makkay (eds), From the Mesolithic to the Neolithic: 89–100. Budapest. Biró, T.K. 2002. Advances in the study of Early Neolithic lithic materials in Hungary. Antaeus 25: 119–170. Biró, T.K. and Regenye, J. 2003. Exploitation regions and workshop complexes in the Bakony Mountains, Hungary. In Th. Stöllner, G. Körlin, G. Steffens and J. Cierny (eds), Man and mining – Mensch und Bergbau: 55–63. Bochum. Der Anschnitt 16. Biró, T.K. and Simon, K.H. 2003. Lithic material of the Starčevo culture at Gellénháza-Városrét. In E. Jerem and P. Raczky (eds), Morgenrot der Kulturen. Frühen etappen der Menschheitsgeschichte in Mittel–und Südosteuropa: 115–126. Budapest. Bogosavljević-Petrović, V. 2004. Predmeti od okresanog kamena. In M. Bogdanović (ed.), Grivac naselja protostarcevacke i vinčanske kulture: 379–438. Kragujevac. Bonsall, C. Gurova, M., Hayward, C., Nachev, Ch. and Pearce, N.J.G. 2010. Characterization of ‘Balkan flint’ artefacts from Bulgaria and the Iron Gates using LA– ICP–MS and EPMA. Interdisciplinary Studies 22: 9–18. Bunčić, M. 2009. Stone Finds of the Starčevo Culture From the Site of Galovo in Slavonski Brod. The results of the Lithic Analysis From Pit House SU 291. Prilozi Instituta za arheologiju u Zagrebu 26: 291–308. Gurova, M. 2011. Prehistoric flint assemblages from Bulgaria: A new material perspective. Orient şi occident. Călăraşi 2: 96–115. Gurova, M. and Nechev, C. 2008. Towards the understanding of Early Neolithic populations: a flint perspective from Bulgaria. Documenta Praehistorica 35: 111–119. Janšak, Š. 1935. Praveké sídliská s obsidiánovou industriou na východnom Slovensku. Bratislava. Kaczanowska, M. 1981. Neolityczne składy krzemienne na stanowisku Nowa Huta-Mogiła 1. Acta Archaeologica Carpathica 21: 119–129. Kaczanowska, M. and Kozłowski, J.K. 2002. Bükk Culture lithic assemblage from Humenné, Eastern Slovakia. Studijne Zvesti Archeologického ústavu Slovenskej Akadémie vied 34: 65–90. Kaczanowska, M. and Kozłowski, J.K. 2012 Körös lithic. In A. Anders and Z.Siklósi (eds), The First Neolithic sites in Central/South-est European Transpect, vol.III. The Körös Culture in Eastern Hungary: 161-170. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 2334. Kaczanowska, M. and Kozłowski, J.K. 2013. Mesolithic Obsidian Networks in the Aegean. In E. Starnini (ed.), Unconformist Archaeology Papers in honour of Paolo Biagi: 17–26. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 2528.

In the earliest horizon analysed here, the workshops where blanks were produced were most likely situated close to the raw material deposits, although they remain virtually unknown. Thus, lithic production within settlements was very limited, and blanks produced off-site were used. With the Early Neolithic expansion to the middle Danube basin, some part of production gradually moved to settlements. Depots of cores or blades appear in settlements, which can be linked with itinerant specialists-knappers. The small-scale on-site production of blanks is perhaps reflected by depots containing waste, being the evidence of single episodes of on-site core reduction. Moving the production to settlements or even households can be observed in the north-western range of the Starčevo culture and in the northern peripheries of the Körös culture. The phenomenon is connected with the discovery and exploitation of local or mesolocal sources of raw material in the middle Danube basin, and the same tendency continues in the communities of the eastern and western Linear complex. In the eastern linear complex (ALP) there is evidence for special areas within settlements, perhaps even within households, where lithic production took place. This production, performed by specialised community members, was oriented to meet local needs. Depots discovered in settlements and containing cores and blades usually made from local raw materials were a supply available for the inhabitants of a given settlement. The situation recorded in ALP suggests the existence of individual specialisation among the members of a given community. In the western linear complex (LBK) one can notice the wide circulation of various meso- and extra-local raw materials processed on-site but not in separate zones. The depots of blades and tools comprise artefacts made of extra-local rather than local materials. In flint-bearing areas, settlements associated with its exploitation and processing are known, although it cannot be unequivocally claimed that this production was aimed at exchange. References Bánesz, L. 1991. Neolitická dielňa na výrobu obsidiánovej industrie v Kašove. Východoslovenský pravek 3: 39–68. Bánffy, E. 2004. The 6th Millenium BC bonduary in western Transdanubia and its role in the Central European Neolithic Transition (The Szentgyögyvölgy-Pityerdomb settlement). Budapest. Biagi, P. and Starnini, E. 2010. The Early Neolithic chipped stone assemblages of the Carpathian Basin: typology and raw material circulation. In 237

Between History and Archaeology Kaczanowska, M. and Kozłowski, J.K. 2014. The origin and spread of the Western Linear Pottery Culture: between forager and the food producing lifeways in Central Europe. Archeologiai Értesítő 139: 293–318. Kaczanowska, M., Kozłowski, J.K. and Makkay, J. 1981. Flint hoard from Endrőd, site 39 (Körös Culture). Acta Archaeologica Carpathica 21: 105–118. Kaczanowska, M., Kozłowski, J.K. and Šiška, S. 1993. Neolithic and Eneolithic chipped stone industries from Šarišské Michal’any, Eastern Slovakia. Kraków. Kaczanowska, M., Kozłowski, J.K. and Wasilewski, M. 2015. Chipped, Ground and polished stone industries at the early Neolithic settlement of Moravany. In J.K. Kozłowski M. Nowak and M. Vizdal (eds), Early farmers of the Eastern Slovak Lowland: the settlement of the Eastern Linear Pottery Culture at Moravany: 163– 196. Kraków, Polska Akademia Umiejętności. Kaczanowska, M., Kozłowski, J.K. and Zakościelna, A. 1987. Chipped stone industries of the Linear Band Pottery Culture settlements in the Nowa Huta region. Przegląd Archeologiczny 34: 93–132. Karamitrou-Mentessidi, G., Efstratiou, N., Kaczanowska, M. and Kozłowski, J.K. 2015. Early Neolithic settlement of Mavropigi in western Greek Macedonia. Eurasian Prehistory 12(1–2): 47–116. Karavanić, I., Šošić-Klinžić, R. and Bunčić, M. 2009. Chipped stone assemblage from the Early Neolithic site of Zadubravlje. Prilozi Instituta za arheologiju u Zagrebu 26: 5–20. Kemenczei, T.K. and Végh K., 1964. A Herman Ottó Múzeum leletmentései és ásatásai az 1959–1963 években. Herman Ottó Múzeum Évkönyve 4: 233–242. Kolnik, T. and Paulik, J. 1957. Záchranný výskum na neolitickom siedlisku v Borovciach pri Piešt’anoch. Slovenská Archeológia 5(2): 271–306. Kozłowski, J.K. 1961. Dwa neolityczne składy krzemienne z Nowej Huty-Mogiły. Materiały Archeologiczne 3: 5–13. Kozłowski, J.K, Nowak, M. and Vizdal, M. (eds) 2015. Early farmers of the Eastern Slovak Lowland: the settlement of the Eastern Linear Pottery Culture at Moravany. Kraków, Polska Akademia Umiejętności. Lech, J. 1982. Flint minning among the early farmers communities of Central Europe. Part II – the basis of research into flint workshops. Przegląd Archeologiczny 30: 47–80. Lichardus, J. 1974. Studien zur Bükker Kultur. Bonn. Mateiciucová, I. 2007. Worked stone: obsidian and flint. In A. Whittle (ed.), The Early Neolithic on the Great Hungarian Plain. Investigations of the Körös culture site of Ecsegfalva 23: 677–726. Budapest, County Békés 2.

Mateiciucová, I. 2008. Talking Stones: The Chipped Stone Industry In Lower Austria and Moravia and the Beginnins of the Neolithic In Central Europe (LBK) 5700–4900 BC. Brno. Mester, Z. and Tixier, J. 2013. Pot à lames: The Neolithic Blade Depot from Boldogkővarálja (Northeast Hungary). In A. Anders and G. Kulcsár (eds), Moments in time: 173–186. Budapest. Ondruš, V. 1975–1976. Neolitické dílny z VedrovicZábrdovic. Sborník Prací Filosofické Fakulty Brnĕnské University E20–21: 133–139. Perlès, C. 2001. The Early Neolithic in Greece. Cambridge. Renfrew, C., Dixon, J.E. and Cann, J.R. 1966. Obsidian and the early cultural contact in the Near East. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society (New Series) 32: 30–72. Renfrew, C. Dixon, J.E. and Cann, J.R. 1968. Futher analysis of Near Easter obsidians. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society (New Series) 34: 319–331. Rodden, R.J. and Rodden, J.M. 1964a. A European link with Chatal Huyuk: uncovering a seventh millennium settlement in Macedonia. Part I. Site and pottery. Illustrated London News (11 April 1964): 564–567. Rodden, R.J. and Rodden, J.M. 1964b. A European link with Chatal Huyuk: uncovering a seventh millennium settlement in Macedonia. Part II. Burials and the shrine. Illustrated London News (18 April 1964): 604–607. Rook, E. 1980. Osadnictwo neolityczne w jaskiniach Wyżyny Krakowsko-Częstochowskiej. Materiały Archeologiczne 20: 5–130. Srejović, D. 1969. Lepenski Vir Nova prastorijska kultura u podunavlju. Beograd. Šarić, J. 2002. Stone as material for production of chipped artefacts in early and middle Neolithic of Serbia. Starinar (New Series) 52: 11–26. Šarić, J. 2005. The chipped stone assemblage. In S. Karmanski (ed.), Donja Branjevina: a Neolithic settlement near Deronje in the Vojvodina (Serbia): 57–64. Societá per la preistoria e protoistoria della regione Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Ouaderno 10. Šiška, S. 1991. Keramika a datovanie neolitickej dielnie v Kašovie. Východoslovenský pravek 3: 69–74. Vértes, L. 1965. The depot of silex blades from Boldogkővarálja. A technological model of the manufacture of stone implements. Acta Archaeologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 17: 129–136.

238

Considerations on the Topic of Exceptionally Large Cores of Chocolate Flint Anna Zakościelna

Institute of Archaeology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Plac Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej 4, 20-031 Lublin, Poland e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: Among the products of chocolate flint the precores and cores of exceptionally large size draw particular attention. These are carinated specimens with narrow flaking faces, striking platforms prepared usually only within active area, and with two flaking faces on two opposite sides of flint chunk being prepared for exploitation. Lateral sides are cortical, distal ends also either covered with cortex or natural. Although they were found in ambiguous cultural contexts, their morphometric characteristics allow to associate them with Eneolithic, the so-called post metric revolution stage of the development of prehistoric flint knapping. The following paper presents two specimens of this type that are firmly placed in the context of a Lublin-Volhynian culture settlement at site ‘Grodzisko I’ in Złota, Sandomierz district, which indirectly also clarifies cultural attribution of the remaining similar items. Keywords: exceptionally large cores, chocolate flint, Złota ‘Grodzisko I’, Lublin-Volhynian culture

Introduction

1985; Kadrow and Zakościelna 2000; Zakościelna 2006a: 77), he investigated much more numerous series of flint materials from this site. At that time the knowledge about the flint industry of this cultural entity was in its initial stage of development – very scarce materials had been published and merely a first attempt to describe its nature had been undertaken (Zakościelna 1981). The publication by Balcer reveals that the settlement in Złota yielded a series that was assessed by the scholar to comprise over 1000 specimens (Balcer 1983: 95). He published drawings of 37 artefacts, including 5 cores (Balcer 1983: Fig. 13) and 32 tools (Balcer 1983: Fig. 14: 6–8, 11–16, Fig. 15). In the group of cores made of chocolate flint two initial cores of considerable size were included. One was referred to by Balcer as tabular (height: 105mm, width: 44mm, length: 98mm – Balcer 1983: Fig. 13: 4), and the other as carinated (height: 80, width: 76, length: 113mm – Balcer 1983: Fig. 13: 5). The latter core came from pit No. 40at site ‘Grodzisko I’ in Złota.1 It turns out that in the same pit one more similar specimen, though of much bigger size, had been deposited. In a box with a label ‘stone’, unwashed and covered in dirt it had been lying there for over 80 years. Bearing in mind the importance of the find and very brief description of the core that was published by Balcer (1983: 99), it was decided to present the core once again.

Among Polish researchers in the field of Neolithic flint knapping finds of exceptionally large precores and cores of chocolate flint arouse significant interest, no matter whether they originate from accidental discoveries or were found in caches. In either case, they are devoid of direct context, which could indicate their chrono-cultural attribution. So far in the literature of the subject at least two such finds were described: exceptionally large concretion from the surface of site 1C in Gródek, Hrubieszów district (Zakościelna 1996: table VIII; Libera and Zakościelna 2013: Fig. 3) and an enormous core from a cache discovered in Zagórzyce, Kazimierza Wielka district (Kalicki et al. 2014). It turns out that the third one – and the most important in terms of culturalchronological attribution – had been discovered before them, already in 1928 at a settlement of the LublinVolhynian culture in Złota ‘Grodzisko I’, Sandomierz district. However, this core had to await more than 80 years to be re-discovered. Although in 1953 Zofia Podkowińska published some information and drawings of a few items from ‘Grodzisko I’ (1953: 6 and Fig. 3), and several subsequent ones were presented also in other publications (e.g. Kaczanowska and Lech 1977: Figs. 7, 8 and 9), but all these publications lacked the information about this unique find. Neither can they be found in the monograph Neolithic flint tools production in the Polish lands [Wytwórczość narzędzi krzemiennych w neolicie ziem Polski] by Bogdan Balcer, which was published in 1983. While describing the flint production during the younger period of the so-called LengyelPolgar cycle, in which he included ‘Lublin-Volhynian group’ (according to modern terminology LublinVolhynian culture – cf. Kruk and Milisauskas 1981,

Description of the feature and archaeological materials Pit No. 40 was located in the western part of the settlement within field ‘Grodzisko I’, about 10m to the east of the ditch marked I1 that together with ditches Collection of the State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw stored in the Storage and Research Unit at Rybno, catalogue no. II-7700.

1 

239

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 1. Złota, ‘Grodzisko I’, pit No. 40, Sandomierz district. Drawn: A. Zakościelna. Graphic editing: E. Starkova.

I2 and II1 created from this side the fifth, innermost line of fortification of the headland (Sałacińska and Zakościelna 2007: Fig. 10). Preserved records indicate that the pit had an approximately circular outline, trapezoid cross-sectional and flat bottom. At the level of the discovery the pit had the diameter of 130cm and it equalled to 170cm at the bottom. The pit had 70–80cm in depth. According to ‘quantitative inventory of materials’ drawn up by Danuta Rauhut,2 the fill of the pit No. 40 contained: 214 pottery sherds, 62 flint artefacts, 3 tools made of antler, and 3 fragments of animal bones. Discovered potsherds allowed for the reconstruction of at least six vessels (two cups, one small amphora, bowl, mortar-shaped vessel, and lower part of a large vessel with biconical body), out of which three were published (Podkowińska 1953: Tables II: 2 – cup, IV: 1 – small amphora, VII: 2 – ‘mortar-shaped’ vessel). In addition two clay nozzles (1953: Tables XVIII: 2, XX: 1), and – already mentioned – three flint artefacts (1953: Fig. 3: 2–5) from this feature were also published.

active areas of the striking platform a fragment devoid of attributes of intentional removals is still visible. In both of the active areas of the striking platform negatives of large, flat platform rejuvenation flakes removed from the direction of respective flaking faces are visible. On the ‘main’ flaking face negatives of 10 blades are recorded. Most likely they were detached in two series of detachments, after which the striking platform was rejuvenated and retouched. However, the latter treatment partly destroyed the platform edge from the right lateral side, where a few deep, hinged flake negatives are seen. In this part the platform angle is close to 90°. The second flaking face was only initially exploited and abandoned. Negatives of only three blades and a few irregular flakes are visible. Moreover, also a fragment of the natural surface remained perceptible. The platform angle exceeds 90°. The ‘main’ flaking face was extended to both lateral sides of the core. The cortex on the right lateral side is nearly completely removed, and it is still present only in the central part of the surface. The cortex was removed by extending the ‘main’ flaking face, probably using cortex blade removal method and a series of regular, fairly short blade-like flakes and flakes detached from the direction of the striking platform. Also negatives of the ‘abandoned’ flaking face partially extend to this side. From the core distal end the cortex on this lateral side is removed by two flat flakes. The left side is almost entirely covered by thin, smooth cortex with ferruginous staining indicating the conditions of deposition while still in natural flint bed. It is possible that in order to form the ‘main’ flaking face originally at least partial crest was created, which seems to be suggested by a fragment of a large flake negative perpendicular to

Core No. 1 (Fig. 1) From the original descriptive label we learn that it was discovered on 7 July 1928 at the depth of 20cm. It is a carinated blade core with two separate flaking faces on both narrower sides of flat concretion. The remaining lateral sides are still cortical. Nearly entire surface of the striking platform was prepared by detachments from one of the lateral sides. Originally it probably was a natural surface, resulting from fracture and breaking off from a bigger lump of raw material – on one of the 2  Department of Scientific Documentation of State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw no. 6374 in the register of arrivals.

240

Anna Zakościelna: Considerations on the Topic of Exceptionally Large Cores

Fig. 2. Złota, ‘Grodzisko I’, pit No. 40, Sandomierz district. Drawn: A. Zakościelna. Graphic editing: E. Starkova.

Fig. 3. Złota, ‘Grodzisko I’, pit No. 40, Sandomierz district. Photo: E. Starkova.

A flat, natural surface of concretion was chosen for striking platform. It was only prepared in the active area adjacent to the flaking face by detachment of a series of a few removals from the side of the flaking face and right lateral side. The platform edge is retouched (one hinged negative), denticulate with platform angle of about 90°. The flaking face is rounded, extending to both cortical lateral sides (probably without need to form crests), with negatives of nine blades. Both flat lateral sides have almost entirely preserved smooth, thin (1.5–3mm) cortex. The back of the core is flat, created by natural, fractured surfaces, partly flattened by removals of flakes from the direction of both lateral sides, perhaps intended to prepare surfaces for second flaking face. Natural and cracked distal end. Dimensions: length: 117mm, width/thickness: 79mm, height: 80mm, width of the flaking face 62mm, the longest blade negative: 73mm, weight: 1160g. The core is in initial stage of exploitation.

flaking face. In addition, a few negatives detached from the direction of the core distal end are also visible. The core distal end itself is flat, natural in the central part, and partially flattened with a few removals detached from both lateral sides. Dimensions: length: 191mm, width/thickness: 82mm, height: 116mm, width of the ‘main’ flaking face: 77mm, the longest blade negative: 91mm, width of the ‘abandoned’ flaking face: 64mm, the longest blade negative: 83 mm, weight: 2655g. The core still has considerable potential for further reduction, as it was abandoned at an early stage of exploitation. However, in the present form it was in fact unsuitable for further use. It would demand a re-working of the striking platform by considerable shortening of the core to remove the existing protuberance, or breaking the core into half and forming two new, smaller cores. Core No. 2 (Fig. 2 and 3).

Discussion

It was discovered on 9 August 1928, at the depth of 40– 60cm. This is a carinated blade core with flaking face on the narrow side of a concretion of regular shape.

As mentioned in the introduction the cores from pit No. 40 at site ‘Grodzisko I’ in Złota, Sandomierz district 241

Between History and Archaeology are the only specimens, whose cultural attribution does not raise any doubts. Rich pottery inventory clearly indicates the association of the feature with a settlement of the Lublin-Volhynian culture. In the case of the other two pieces there are strong, but only indirect, indications pointing to their affiliation with the said culture. Precore from Gródek, Hrubieszów district was found on the surface of a multicultural site 1C, known primarily as an extensive upland settlement of the Funnel Beaker culture (Gumiński 1989; Jastrzębski 1991; Zawiślak 2013 and older literature there). However, the Eneolithic sequence of settlement at this multicultural site begins with a settlement of the classic phase of the Lublin-Volhynian culture, which is accompanied by graves ‘scattered’ within various areas of the site. It is then followed by a settlement and cemetery of the late phase of the same culture. It was not until around 3650 BC when this site was taken over by the Funnel Beaker culture population (Bronicki et al. 2003: 24–32, 2004: 101–108 and 121–123; Zakościelna 2010: 35). Taking into consideration the characteristics of the flint knapping of both the Lublin-Volhynian culture and the Funnel Beaker culture, and especially raw material preferences of the representatives of these two cultures, the exceptionally large precore, despite the fact of being an accidental find lacking direct archaeological context, was associated with the former of these cultures (Zakościelna 1996: 31; Zakościelna and Libera 2013).

treatments. Preliminary treatment was limited to the preparation of active area of striking platform(s), for which usually flat natural surface of concretion was selected (core No. 2 from Złota, precore from Gródek, core from Zagorzyce). Only core No. 1 from Złota bears traces of intense work on the striking platform. The platform angles of these specimens are close to 90°. Additionally, convenient shapes of concretions with reasonably thin cortex did not require forming crests for future flaking faces. The exploitation probably started with the detachment of a cortex blade. In similar manner flaking faces were extended on cortical lateral sides. If during the core reduction flaking face became too flat, it was corrected by partial crests in the distal part of a core. A common feature of these specimens is that blade production was in absolutely initial stage. In almost all cases, one or both of flaking faces display traces of negatives of one, clearly trial series of blade detachments, after which exploitation was put on hold in order to adjust, or not, the platform edge. At this stage, with enormous potential of raw material, the precores/ initial cores were taken from workshops located in immediate vicinity of mining fields and transported, at times, over great distances. The settlement in Złota is the closest one to the outcrops of chocolate flint. In a straight line the distance separating them is around 78km. The distance to Zagórzyce increases to about 115km, and in the case of Gródek it is about 210km. All these finds are a significant contribution to understanding the organisation of raw material supply in the Lublin-Volhynian culture settlements, to which primarily blade blanks were imported, but also some precores and initial cores, even – despite of the economics of transport – such exceptionally large ones (Zakościelna 1996: 82–85).

The core from Zagórzyce, Kazimierza Wielka district, discovered at a multicultural settlement, is a part of an utilitarian cache deposited at the bottom of a settlement pit together with a few pottery sherds, one of which has the formal and stylistic characteristics similar to pottery production of the Lublin-Volhynian culture (Kalicki et al. 2012: 124–127 and Fig. 6). The analysis of all the cores found in this cache, additionally supported by the presence of said pottery sherd, led the researchers to associate pit No. 92 with the LublinVolhynian culture (Kalicki et al. 2012: 129–131).

Dimensions of all the specimens are impressive (Tab. 1). They belong to a group of the largest blade cores, not only those of chocolate flint, so far known in the Polish territories. Their weight varies from 1160g (core No. 2 from Złota) up to 8405g (core from Zagórzyce). Similar weight, though of a fundamentally different form, is known only in the case of some cores of the Funnel Beaker culture made of Świeciechów flint (Balcer 1975: Tab. 2, Figs. 8 and 9, 2002: 35–41; Libera and Zakościelna 2013: Fig. 7).

Presented here chocolate flint cores from Złota, and the items from Gródek and Zagórzyce have a few things in common: shape, metric category, the method of knapping, and the level of exploitation. These are carinated specimens with narrow flaking faces, prepared striking platforms, which were usually worked to prepare them for blade production from two flaking faces on the opposing sides of the flint lump. Lateral sides are cortical, distal ends are also either cortical or natural, resulting from cracking or breaking off of an exceptionally large concretion. Sometimes they have traces of crushing from resting cores on hard anvil. In order to prepare such cores, one had to choose flat, ‘headcheese-shaped’ concretions of regular shape with smooth and not very thick cortex. This allowed knappers to reduce the amount of preparatory

With such extraordinary dimensions and weight, cores described here were not intended for production of macroblades in a manner that is accepted for obtaining Eneolithic specimens by pressure flaking, probably using simple machines increasing pressure (e.g. Migal 2002: 258–259, 2003: 61; Pelegrin 2006: Fig. 5). And this fact is not affected by the longest blade negative that is present on the core from Zagórzyce, which has 180mm 242

Anna Zakościelna: Considerations on the Topic of Exceptionally Large Cores Table 1. Characteristics of exceptionally large items for core exploitation made of chocolate flint. Length

Width

Height

The longest blade negative

in mm Złota, ‘Grodzisko I’ pit No. 40, Sandomierz dist., core No. 2

Weight (g)

117

79

80

73

1160

Złota, ‘Grodzisko I’ pit No. 40, Sandomierz dist., core No. 1

191

82

78

116

2655

Zagorzyce, site 1, pit 92, Kazimierza Wielka dist.

220

117

135

72

4640

270

160

165

180

8405

Gródek, 1C, Hrubieszów dist.

in length (Kalicki et al. 2012: 125). Exeptionally large carinated cores were exploited with the use of antler drift. Although this technique renders the opportunity to detach relatively long and very long blades – up to 30cm in length, but as it was evidenced by the experimental trials of Witold Migal (2003: 61) – they have substantially different characteristics than macrolithic super blades. Blades obtained by indirect percussion have plain butts, rather prominent percussion bulbs, traces of intense retouch and abrading to correct the platform edge, unevenly distributed weight and edges rarely parallel over the entire length, not to mention strong incurvation of blade and even its plunging (Migal 2002: 257; Pelegrin 2006: Figs. 2 and 3a).

valley contained 24 blades of chocolate flint, including 18 complete or slightly damaged pieces (Florek and Zakościelna 2003: Figs. 1, 2 and Table 1). They were obtained from at least three single platform cores in early stages of exploitation when striking platforms did not require rejuvenation by removal of rejuvenation flakes or core tablets. Only one piece has butt with visible negatives, the others have natural plain butts, hence the striking platforms were not prepared even in the active area. However, all blades with preserved proximal part wear traces of corrections made during core exploitation, primarily retouch of platform edge (Florek and Zakościelna 2003: Figs. 3, 6, 8:2,3,9 and 10:1–3,5), and in distal parts of some specimens relics of crests correcting flaking face are visible (Florek and Zakościelna 2003: 4:2,4 and 6:3,4). Majority of the specimens have cortex surfaces, usually lengthwise along one side, or at least in the distal part (Florek and Zakościelna 2003: Figs. 3:4, 4:1,3,4, 6:1,2,4, 8:2,3 and 9:1). All pieces are of macrolithic size and are very short and broad. They are incurved, sometimes very strongly, and plunging in the distal parts. The blades from the cache in Krowia Góra are sound examples of products obtained by indirect percussion (Migal 2002: 257), and at the same time they correspond with the morphometrics of the discussed exceptionally large cores.

Indirect percussion as the primary technique for blade detachment is very typical of the flint knapping of the Danubian milieu, particularly in the early stages of its development, when it was the dominant technique (e.g. Kaczanowska et al. 1987; Balcer 1983; Mateiciucová 2008; Papiernik 2008). During the younger phase strong pressure (lever?) appears, by means of which macroblades were produced. People of the Lublin-Volhynian culture utilized both blade production techniques: macroblades were made mostly of Volhynian flint (Zakościelna 1996: Figs. XXV, XXVI, XXXII–XXXIV, 2006b: Figs. 2, 4:1, 2008: Figs. 1–2, 3:1,2,4), short and mid-sized blade blanks were made of chocolate flint (Zakościelna 1996: Table X:13–16, XII:12, 2006b: Figs. 3, 4:2), although there are single pieces known of blades obtained from this raw material by a strong pressure method (blade from grave No. 122 in Złota ‘Grodzisko II’, retouched blade with converging edges from Zaliszcze, Parczew district – cf. Zakościelna 1996: Table XXXVIII: 19 and XL:7).

It is an extremely difficult task to try to associate the exceptionally large precores and cores with any of the known points of prehistoric exploitation of chocolate flint, having in mind diversity and variability of macroscopic characteristics of this raw material (shape and size of concretions, colour and thickness of cortex, or colour of the siliceous body) often present even within a single flint deposit. This peculiarity has been emphasised by all researchers (Budziszewski 2008: 45–49 and older literature there). Any macroscopic assessments, even those articulated in the form of classifications, are intuitive and subjective in nature. In the case of the discussed here artefacts the situation is somewhat ‘easier’ since their dimensions strongly differ

Blades from a cache in Krowia Góra, Sandomierz district, seem to be very much in line with the size of the discussed cores and the indirect percussion method of reduction. This underwater deposit that was accidentally found within the bottom of the Vistula river 243

Between History and Archaeology from sizes of concretions occurring in most of the known points of procurement. Janusz Budziszewski stresses that ‘Definitely beds of big loaf-shaped nodules having thickness of several centimetres and diameter of several dozen centimetres are the most rarely encountered’ (Budziszewski 2008: 45), and such nodules had to be the initial forms of all presented here specimens. In the light of the present-day state of research on the occurrence and exploitation of chocolate flint, places of extraction of raw material suitable for items with the size and shape analogous to the discussed precores and cores should be primarily looked for in the northwestern and central stretch of the deposits of this flint. Identification through surface surveys of the points of chocolate flint extraction indicates that it is, indeed, within this area that traces of activity of Neolithic communities are particularly visible. They are, inter alia, evidenced by the presence of single platform blade cores with narrow flaking faces (Budziszewski 2008: 92). Here quarry Tomaszów I is located, in shafts 4 and 5a of which very similar carinated precores of significant dimensions were discovered (Schild et. al. 1985: Tables VI, VII). The discoverers associate these cores, on the basis of radiocarbon determinations, with communities of the Linear Band Ceramic culture and of the earlier phases of the so-called Lengyel-Polgar cycle (Schild et al. 1985: 70–74, contra Zakościelna 1996: 80–81).

penetrations into the outcrops of chocolate flint. Having found it they undertook attempts to obtain blades of bigger sizes, of the so-called post metric revolution parameters, obtained primarily using the indirect percussion method (presented precores, cores and the cache from Krowia Góra) and – perhaps to a limited extent – also the pressure technique (mentioned above: blade from grave No. 122 in Złota ‘Grodzisko II’ and convergent retouched blade from Zaliszcze). Recently a discovery of a mining field ‘Przyjaźń’ in Rzeczkowo, Radom district, was announced. The discoverers with no doubts associated it with the LublinVolhynian culture (Budziszewski et al. 2014: 13; 2015: 56). Description of the raw material obtained there and, above all, further studies on it will clarify whether this mining field could have provided concretions suitable for exceptionally large blade cores. Translated by Paweł W. Zagórski Acknowledgements I would like to thank the management of the State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw for the opportunity to use the materials. I also would like to express my gratitude to Adam Kulesza, MA – the head of the State Archaeological Museum Storage and Research Unit at Rybno and his staff taking care of the collections, for comfort of work and always hospitable attitude. Last but not least, I would like to thank Elena Strakova, PhD for the joint work in Rybno, taking photographs of the artefacts and computer-based editing of the figures.

Conclusions For many years intensive research on the occurrence and exploitation of chocolate flint did not reveal materials that would allow to correlate any of the existing procurement points with the activities of the Lublin-Volhynian culture flint knappers, even though in settlement clusters on the Nałęczów Plateau, Sandomierz Upland, and also on the Rzeszów Foothills (the so-called western zone of raw materials procurement) it used to be a strategic resource and had to be brought in by direct expeditions to flint deposits (Zakościelna 1996: 77–78; Zakościelna and Libera 2013: 277–278). In small quantities it also reached the West Volhynian Upland and Miechów Upland, though settlements located there benefited primarily from closer located outcrops of Volhynian flint (in the case of the former area) and Jurassic flint (in the case of the latter one). Chocolate flint was used to produce blade tools using indirect percussion method, primarily short and medium long ones (Zakościelna 1996: 37–40). The demand for macroblades blanks was accommodated by Volhynian flint products obtained by pressure core reduction and brought in from own centres of the discussed culture located in Volhynia. It is obvious that flint knappers of this culture, who had extensive knowledge and skills in the field of new technology allowing to obtain macroblades, had to look for raw materials with appropriate properties during their

References Balcer, B. 1975. Krzemień świeciechowski w kulturze pucharów lejkowatych. Eksploatacja, obróbka i rozprzestrzenienie. Wrocław, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. Balcer, B. 1983. Wytwórczość narzędzi krzemiennych w neolicie ziem Polski. Wrocław, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. Balcer, B. 2002. Ćmielów – Krzemionki – Świeciechów. Związki osady neolitycznej z kopalniami krzemienia. Warszawa, Wydawnictwo Instytutu Archeologii i Etnologii PAN. Bronicki, A., Kadrow, S. and Zakościelna, A. 2003. Radiocarbon Dating of the Neolithic Settlement in Zimne, Volhynia, in Light of the Chronology of the Lublin-Volhynia Culture and the South-Eastern Group of the Funnel Beaker Culture. In: A. Kośko (ed.), The Fundations of Radiocarbon Chronology of Cultures between the Vistula an Dnieper 4000–1000 BC: 22–66. Baltic-Pontic Studies 12. Poznań, Adam Mickiewicz University Press.

244

Anna Zakościelna: Considerations on the Topic of Exceptionally Large Cores Bronicki, A., Kadrow, S. and Zakościelna, A. 2004. Uwagi na temat wzajemnych relacji chronologicznych późnej fazy kultury lubelsko-wołyńskiej oraz kultury pucharów lejkowatych z uwzględnieniem najnowszych wyników badań w Zimnie. In: J. Libera and A. Zakościelna (eds), Przez pradzieje i wczesne średniowiecze. Księga pamiątkowa dedykowana doc. dr. Janowi Gurbie w siedemdziesiątą piątą rocznicę urodzin: 101–125. Lublin, Instytut Archeologii UMCS. Budziszewski, J. 2008. Stan badań nad występowaniem i pradziejową eksploatacją krzemieni czekoladowych. In: W. Borkowski, J. Libera, B. Sałacińska and S. Sałaciński (eds), Krzemień czekoladowy w pradziejach. Materiały z konferencji w Orońsku, 08–10.10.2003: 33– 106. Warszawa–Lublin, Instytut Archeologii UMCS and Państwowe Muzeum Archeologiczne. Studia nad gospodarką surowcami krzemiennymi w pradziejach 7. Budziszewski, J., Gróżdź, W., Jakubczak, M. and Szubski, M. 2014. Nowe punkty pradziejowej eksploatacji krzemieni czekoladowych. In: J. Libera and A. Zakościelna (eds), XXX Konferencja Badania archeologiczne w Polsce środkowowschodniej, zachodniej Białorusi i Ukrainie w roku 2013. Streszczenia wystąpień: 13. Lublin, Instytut Archeologii UMSC and Muzeum Lubelskie. Budziszewski, J., Gróżdź, W., Jakubczak, M. and Szubski, M. 2015. Chalcolithic raw material economy in light of new data from the ‘Przyjaźń’ mining field in Rzeczkowo (Central Poland). In: X. Mandago and O. Crandell, M. Sánchez, M. Cubero (eds), International Symposium on Knappable Materials. Barcelona, 7-12 september 2015 University of Barcelona. Abstracts volume: 56. Barcelona, SERP – Universitat de Barcelona. Florek, M. and Zakościelna, A. 2003. Depozyt wiórów krzemiennych z Krowiej Góry koło Sandomierza (stan. 14, gm. Łoniów, woj. świętokrzyskie). Wiadomości Archeologiczne 56: 51–60. Gumiński, W. 1989. Gródek Nadbużny. Osada kultury pucharów lejkowatych. Wrocław, Narodowy Zakład im. Ossolińskich. Jastrzębski, S. 1991. The Settlement of the Funnel Beaker Culture at Gródek Nadbużny, the Zamość District, Site 1C – Brief Characteristic. In: D. Jankowska (ed.), Die Trichterbecher kultur. Neue Forschungen und Hypothesen. Material des Internationalen Symposium, Dymaczewo, 20–24 September 1988, Teil 2: 189–196. Poznań, Adam Mickiewicz University Press. Kaczanowska, M., Kozłowski, J.K. and Zakościelna, A. 1987. Chipped Stone Industries of the Linear Band Pottery Culture Settlements in the Nowa Huta Region. Przegląd Archeologiczny 34: 93–132. Kaczanowska, M. and Lech, J. 1977. The flint industry of Danubian communities north of the Carpathians. Acta Archaeologica Carpathica 17: 5–28. Kadrow, S. and Zakościelna, A. 2000. Outline of the Evolution of Danubian Cultures in Małopolska and Western Ukraine. In: A. Kośko (ed.), The western border

area of the Tripolye culture: 187–255. Poznań, Adam Mickiewicz University Press. Baltic-Pontic Studies 9. Kalicki, S., Valde-Nowak, P. and Witkowska, B. 2012. Neolithic deposit of flint cores in Zagórzyce, Kazimierza Wielka district. Recherches Archeologiques: 123–134. Nouvelle serie 4. Kruk, J. and Milisauskas, S. 1981. Chronology of Funnel Beaker, Baden-like and Lublin-Volynian Settlements at Bronocice, Poland. Germania 59(1): 1–19. Kruk, J. and Milisauskas, S. 1985. Bronocice. Osiedle obronne ludności kultury lubelsko-wołyńskiej (2800–2700 lat p.n.e.). Wrocław, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. Mateiciucová, I. 2008. Talking Stones: The Chipped Stone Industry In Lower Austria and Moravia and the Beginnings of the Neolithic in Central Europe (LBK), 5700– 4900 BC. Brno, Muni Press. Migal, W. 2002. Zamysł technologiczny wióra krzemiennego z Winiar, gm. Dwikozy. In: B. Matraszek and S. Sałaciński (eds), Krzemień świeciechowski w pradziejach. Materiały z konferencji w Ryni 22 – 24. 05. 2000: 255–266. Warszawa, Semper. Studia nad gospodarką surowcami krzemiennymi w pradziejach 4. Migal, W. 2003. Analiza technologiczna wiórów z Krowiej Góry. Wiadomości Archeologiczne 56: 60–62. Papiernik, P. 2008. Krzemieniarstwo grupy brzeskokujawskiej kultury lendzielskiej. In: R. Grygiel, Neolit i początki epoki brązu w rejonie Brześcia Kujawskiego i Osłonek. Vol. II. Part 3. Środkowy neolit. Grupa brzeskokujawska kultury lendzielskiej: 1271–1534. Łódź, Fundacja Badań Archeologicznych K. Jażdżewskiego. Pelegrin, J. 2006. Long blade technology in the Old World: an experimental approach and some archaeological results. In: J. Apel and K. Knutsson (eds), Skilled Production and Social Reproduction. Aspects of Traditional Stone-Tool Technologies: 37–68. Uppsala, Societas Archaeologica Upsaliensis. Podkowińska, Z. 1953. Pierwsza charakterystyka stanowiska eneolitycznego na polu Grodzisko I we wsi Złota, pow. Sandomierz. Wiadomości Archeologiczne 19: 1–52. Sałacińska, B. and Zakościelna, A. 2007. ‚Pierwsze groby kultur ceramik wstęgowych w Polsce’. Groby kultury lubelsko-wołyńskiej ze stanowiska Złota ‚Grodzisko I’ i ‚Grodzisko II’. Wiadomości Archeologiczne 59: 77– 114. Schild, R., Królik, K. and Marczak M., 1985. Kopalnia krzemienia czekoladowego w Tomaszowie. Wrocław, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. Zakościelna, A. 1981. Materiały krzemienne tzw. kultur południowych z Lubelszczyzny. Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie Skłodowska, sec. F, vol. 35/36: 3–23. Zakościelna, A. 1996. Krzemieniarstwo kultury wołyńskolubelskiej ceramiki malowanej. Lublin, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej. Zakościelna, A. 2006a. Kultura lubelsko-wołyńska. Zagadnienia jej genezy, periodyzacji i chronologii/ The Lublin-Volhynian Culture. The problems 245

Between History and Archaeology Zakościelna, A. 2010. Studium obrządku pogrzebowego kultury lubelsko-wołyńskiej. Lublin, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej. Zakościelna, A. and Libera, J. 2013. The flint raw materials economy in Lesser Poland during the Eneolithic Period: The Lublin-Volhynian culture and the Funnel Beaker culture. In: S. Kadrow and P. Włodarczak (eds), Environment and Subsistence – forty years after Janusz Kruk′s ‘Settlement studies’: 275–293. Studien zur Archäologie in Ostmitteleuropa/Studia nad Pradziejami Europy Środkowej 11. Rzeszów– Bonn, Instytut Archeologii, Uniwersytet Rzeszowski. Zawiślak, P. 2013. Obiekty neolityczne ze stanowiska 1C w Gródku, pow. Hrubieszów (z badań w latach 1983– 1985 Sławomira Jastrzębskiego). In: A. Pozikhovskij, J. Rogoziński and M. Rybicka (eds), Na pograniczu kultury pucharów lejkowatych i kultury trypolskiej: 109–214. Uniwersytet Rzeszowski. Collectio Archaeologica Ressoviensis 26. Rzeszów, Instytut Archeologii.

of its origin, periodization and chronology. In: M. Kaczanowska (ed.), Dziedzictwo cywilizacji naddunajskich: Małopolska na przełomie epok kamienia i miedzi/The danubian Heritage: Lesser Poland at the Turn of the Stone and Copper Ages: 77–94. Kraków, Muzeum Archeologiczne w Krakowie. Zakościelna, A. 2006b. Flint Inventory of Graves of the Lublin-Volhynian Culture on Site 2 in Książnice, Busko Zdrój District/Inwentarz krzemienny grobu nr 5 kultury lubelsko-wołyńskiej ze stanowiska 2 w Książnicach, pow. Busko Zdrój. Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 58: 271–291. Zakościelna, A. 2008. Wiórowce-sztylety jako atrybuty pozycji społecznej mężczyzn kultury lubelskowołyńskiej. In: J. Bednarczyk, J. Czebreszuk, P. Makarowicz and M. Szmyt (eds), Na pograniczu światów. Studia z pradziejów międzymorza bałtyckopontyjskiego ofiarowane Profesorowi Aleksandrowi Kośko w 60. rocznicę urodzin: 577–591. Poznań, Wydawnictwo Poznańskie.

246

Romancing the Stones: a Study of Chipped Stone Tools from the Tisza Culture Site of Hódmezővásárhely-Gorzsa, Hungary Barbara Voytek

Archaeological Research Facility, 2251 College MC1076, University of California, Berkeley CA 94720-1076, United States e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: This paper presents some of the findings of an on-going research study of the chipped stone tools from the Tisza culture site of Hódmezővásárhely-Gorzsa, Hungary. During a period of five study seasons, the author and Elisabetta Starnini, Ph.D., from the University of Genoa, examined over 3,000 pieces of chipped stone in terms of raw material, technology, typology, use-wear traces, and characteristics of the pieces. Following the premise of lithic organization technology, we attempted to understand the choices that the early toolmakers and tool users made during the life history of the assemblage. This paper focuses on the use-wear traces and how their study, woven into the fabric of other attributes, can inform us more about the prehistoric behaviour of the inhabitants of this Neolithic tell site. Keywords: Neolithic, Tisza archaeological culture, Hungary, lithic analysis

Introduction

to 1990, only 1.4% of the extent of the settlement had been brought to light. Occupation deposits of the telllike part of settlement accumulated to a height of approximately 2.6 to 3 meters with levels dating to the Late Neolithic, the Early and Late Copper Age, the Early and Middle Bronze Ages, and the Sarmatian period (Gulyas et al. 2010; Horváth 1991).

The site of Hódmezővásárhely-Gorzsa (district Csongrád), a Tisza culture tell-site, lies at the confluence of the Tisza and Maros rivers in Southeast Hungary about 25km northeast of the city of Szeged and 15km southwest of the city of. Hódmezővásárhely After water management activities of the 19th century, the location of the site was on a natural terrace at a height of 4–5m, surrounded by water courses, swamps and marshes due to the fluvial system of the Tisza river. The location is aptly suited to hunting-fishing-gathering and animal husbandry, as well as crop cultivation. At the foot of the terrace, an ancient stream, the Kero, constitutes a direct link with the Tisza, the Hód lake near Hódmezővásárhely, the Száraz stream, and the Maros river (Horváth 1991, 2005; Starnini et al. 2007: 269; Starnini and Voytek 2012).

Carbonized cereal grains and impressions indicate that subsistence was heavily based on food production. During the first two phases of occupation, the percentage of domestic animals among the faunal remains measured close to 80% and the diet was also supplemented by fish and mollusks. Studies of ceramics have shown that the people of Gorzsa had extensive cultural and economic relationships with neighboring sites and archaeological cultures. Studies of the stone assemblage have suggested similar results (Biró 1998a; Starnini et al. 2007; Szakmány et al. 2009, 2011).

The most recent excavations began in 1978, directed by Ferenc Horvath, of the Móra Ferenc Museum of Szeged. They became part of the ongoing study of tell settlements in the region, for example, at Szegvár and Tápé-Lebő. The layers of the settlement formed a sequence that was 2.60 to 3m thick and contained remains from the late Neolithic to the period of the Sarmatians. The thickest layer was 180–200cm and was that of the late Neolithic, representing the early, classic and late periods of the Tisza culture. In terms of absolute chronology, calibrated dates place the sequence roughly between 4970 and 4380 BC (Horváth 2005; Starnini et al. 2007:269; Starnini and Voytek 2012).

Objectives In 1999, a study of the chipped stone assemblage was begun by the author (microscopic use wear analyses, raw material identification, microphotos) and Elisabetta Starnini, Ph.D. from the University of Genoa (typology, technology of the stone tools, raw material identification, drawings, digital photos). The work continued during the summers of 2000 and 2001, but was put on hold until funding was again available in 2011. The study of the lithic assemblage from Gorzsa was completed in 2012, funded by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA), with the Principal Investigator being Ferenc Horváth who had directed the excavations. A total of over 3,000 chipped stone artefacts were examined during this study which

The expanse of the site is approximately five hectares. The area of the actual tell complex is estimated to have been around 3 to 3.5ha. During the 12 years 1978 247

Between History and Archaeology took place at the Mora Ferenc Museum in Szeged. A preliminary report on this research was made in 2006 at the Middle/Late Neolithic conference held in Krakow, Poland, and subsequently published (Starnini et al. 2007). More recent publications are found in the bibliography of this paper.

•

•

The research presented here is only part of a larger study which proposes to study the social and cultural developments that characterize the Neolithic through time. The inhabitants of the site of HódmezővásárhelyGorzsa, had good knowledge of, and access to, the raw materials that they chose. By the time of the Tisza archaeological culture represented at the site (ca. sixth and fifth millennia BC), the agro-pastoral subsistence base had been established. Connections with neighbouring territories, through exchange and/ or trade, had been developed. But the Neolithic was not a static time period. Change and development continued particularly in terms of the development of social relations and the growth of socio-economic complexity (Starnini and Voytek 2012).

use-wear study of all the artefacts, unretouched implements included, under a low-power stereoscopic binocular microscope (Voytek 1985; Tringham et al. 1974); creation of a database of the assemblage, incorporating provenience information, typology, use/function, metrics including weight, and inventory numbers (Starnini et al. 2007);

Raw Materials The studies by Katalin Takacs-Biró (1998b) have produced interesting results especially regarding raw materials represented at the site. Briefly, several raw materials are represented in the sequence, among which the most significant are Mecsek radiolarite, Central Banat flint, and Transdanubian radiolarite. They demonstrate ongoing contacts with southeastern, northwestern and southwestern regions. Less common materials include ‘chocolate’ flint (Jurassic), obsidian and Volynian/Prut flint which come from north and northeast sources as well as opal and limnoquartzite.

Methodology

Tool Types

The approach to the lithic study was based on what has come to be called by some, ‘lithic technological organization’ (MacDonald 2009: 72). Accordingly, we focussed on the entire life history of the lithic artifacts from choice of raw material, to manufacture of the tools with resultant debris and debitage, to usage and then subsequent discard or reuse and discard. Throughout the life history of the artifacts, the toolmakers and tool users made choices including choice of raw materials to produce specific types of tools that were used for specific purposes. We hypothesized that if there were a strong correlation between these three variables (raw material, tool type, and use), then the Neolithic peoples had based their choices on the functionality of the raw material. If, however, there were no strong correlation, and the choices appeared to be random, the functionality or characteristics of the raw material was not the main factor. Other issues, such as ease of access including social access, had been in play (Starnini and Voytek 2012).

The most common tool type within the assemblage as a whole is the endscraper, mostly the short type (G3, Laplace 1964), followed by unretouched blades (i.e., with unmodified edges). The latter frequently revealed, after the microwear study, to have been used (classified by L0 according to Laplace’s typology). Other tool-types represented in the sequence of the examined trenches are borers, truncations and scrapers. Blade and bladelet cores are sporadically found in the whole sequence. Obsidian cores demonstrate the continuity in the use of the small nodules, typical of the Carpathian sources, which were only partially decorticated, with the same exploitation system already utilized in the Early Neolithic (Starnini et al. 2007)

This study, as mentioned, Specifically, it involved: • • •

was

Findings of the Use-Wear Analysis This paper deals principally with the results of the use-wear analysis for which the author of this paper was responsible. Microwear analysis or traceology as it is sometimes called (Longo and Skakun eds 2008) has an important role in examination of stone tool assemblages. Recent experiments by Olli and Verges have shown that there are three main variables in the formation of use-wear on a tool edge: (a) the tool itself; (b) the worked material including hardness, stiffness, plasticity, dryness and wetness; and (c) the action (Olli and Verges 2008: 48). In this study I examined each piece under a low-power microscope with magnifications ranging from 10 to 100x (Voytek 1985). This methodology provides information on the type of activity in which the tool was engaged and the nature of the worked material. Some materials are very resistant

multi-facetted.

typological analyses of the retouched implements according to Laplace’s type-list (Laplace 1964); typometrical study of the complete chipped artefacts according to the method suggested by B. Bagolini (1968); raw material determination using as reference the Lithoteca collection of the Hungarian National Museum, Budapest (Biró and Dobosi 1991; Biró et al. 2000).; 248

Barbara Voytek: Romancing the Stones or hard such as bone or antler. At the other end of the spectrum are soft or least resistant materials such a meat or fresh skins (Odell 2004:143–152). Arguments have been made that microwear analysts should use both low-power binocular microscopes (6 to 100x) and high-power metallurgical microscopes (50 to 500x) as well as SEM (Rots 2008). In a perfect world this advice could be followed. However, research budgets, field conditions, time, and several other factors often dictate otherwise (Andrefsky 2005: 5–7). Activities The quantities reported in this section come from a sample of the total assemblage that the author examined. Only single-use tools from clearly defined phases of the stratigraphy were counted. The total came to 693 pieces. Within the sample, ‘boring/perforating’ was the least common activity (4%). ‘Scraping’ and ‘cutting’ were much more commonly found with scraping slightly higher. Scraping tools measured 56% while cutting tools totalled 23%. Sickles were also represented at 17% (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1 Sickle gloss, Gorzsa Square Va. 1 second exposure. 20 x magnification. Photo: B. Voytek.

The most common activity was scraping hard materials such as bone or antler (Fig. 2). This is perhaps not too surprising in that the use-wear from such an activity is usually severe and could mark the end of a tool’s use-life, causing its discard and thus prevalence in archaeological debris. We plan to examine this observation further by conducting a study of the metrics of the scrapers. We believe that this can help us understand the degree to which tool edges had been worn down and then resharpened and reused.

Fig. 2 Microwear from cutting hard, Gorzsa Square Vb, 1 second exposure. 30x magnification. Photo: B. Voytek.

Worked Materials

Conclusions

The most commonly found worked material was vegetation related. I already mentioned the sickles. In addition, there were tools that had been used on plants with silica content but not used as sickles. Plantprocessing tasks included working with willow, nettle, rush and other such plants to make baskets, mats, flooring, among other items that do not survive in the archaeological record. Such tools are more difficult to identify as opposed to those used in food-gathering activities such as sickles (Hurcombe 2008: 205). There is a sheen on the edges of plant-processing tools that resembles sickle sheen but is less extensive (Fig. 3). The percentage of tools used on such substances was c. 17%.

As mentioned above, the objectives of this study are to document, as well as possible, the lithic technological organization manifested by the assemblage at Gorzsa. Along these lines, we sought patterns that reveal the technological choices made by the inhabitants. For example, we determined that there was an extensive use of hafting, likely with wooden handles. In many cases much of the tool edge and surface had been inserted into a haft leaving only the very edge of the tool exposed. Hafting and the attendant behavior, retooling, can be valuable in understanding issues such as the availability of lithic raw material, length of occupation, seasonality, etc. (Keeley 1982: 808). At the same time, however, I must admit that it is difficult to determine hafting traces with a low-power microscope (Rots 2008: 75).

Tools used on wood – both cutting and scraping – were especially common. Pieces used for wood-working, including both hard and soft species (such as oak and pine), measured 25% of the sample. As mentioned above, scraping hard materials was a common activity and generally working hard materials measured 27% of the sample.

Earlier findings had indicated interesting differences between the Early and Classic (Late) Tisza assemblages (Starnini and Voytek 2012). For example, we found 249

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 4 Pie chart indicating raw materials from Phase A (later Neolithic layers). Graphic designer: B. Voytek.

Fig. 3 Microwear from cutting vegetation such as reeds or grasses, Gorzsa V, 1 second at 10x; 1/2 second at 40x. Photo: B. Voytek.

obsidian principally in the later Tisza levels. In the Early Tisza, no used tools of obsidian were noted in the sample we studied at that time. In addition, during the later Tisza occupation, it appears that although there had been knowledge and use of Prut flint, no Prut flint was found among the Early Tisza artefacts of that sample. The author of this paper decided to follow up on this observation and compare the used tools from Phase A (the most recent Neolithic) and Phase D2 (earlier Neolithic layers). Figs. 4 and 5 show the results. As can be seen, the earlier assemblage had significantly less raw material variability, while the more recent assemblage included materials from several sources.

Fig. 5 Pie chart indicating raw materials from Phase D2 (earlier Neolithic layers). Graphic designer: B. Voytek.

Comparing lithic assemblages from archaeological sites further south, associated with the Vinča archaeological culture, the author has found that over time, local and nearby rock sources had been used more and more frequently during the Neolithic (Voytek 1990, 2001). At Gorzsa a slightly different pattern may be discerned.

The decision to use a certain raw material is obviously a technological choice but such choices have a ‘socialcultural background’ (Van Gijn 2008: 217). Unlike in the earlier phases of the Neolithic, there is evidence for long-distance trade of chipped stone materials from northern regions in the later phases. Connections with neighbouring territories, through exchange and/ or trade, had been developed early on, but during the progress of the Neolithic, these connections seemed to have expanded.

The pattern of expanding social ties and cultural contacts through exchange was one of the precursors to the Copper Age settlement pattern. Research has shown that during the Copper Age settlements became less nucleated and more spread out. It has been suggested that this change was due to a ‘reorganization of the society in response to some stress’ and that the stress in turn might have been due to ‘attempts at control over lithic and ore resources by some community 250

Barbara Voytek: Romancing the Stones members’ (Salisbury 2010: 23). Our research tends to support the fact that during the Neolithic the sources of the chipped stone tool materials diversified and involved lithic varieties from relatively long distances. It is conceivable that these resources played a role in the changing settlement pattern described for the subsequent Copper Age.

Horváth, F. 2005. Gorzsa. Előzetes eredmények az újkőkori tell 1978 és 1996 közötti feltárásából. In L. Bende and G. Lőrinczy (eds), Hétköznapok Vénuszai: 51–83. Tornyai János Múzeum. Hurcombe, L. 2008. Looking for prehistoric basketry and cordage using inorganic remains: the evidence from stone tools. In L. Longo and N. Skakun (eds), Prehistoric technology 40 years later: functional studies and the Russian legacy. Proceedings of the International Congress. Verona 20–23 April 2005: 205–216. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 1783. Keeley, L. 1982. Hafting and retooling: effects on the archaeological record. American Antiquity 47: 798– 809. Laplace, G. 1964. Essaie de typologie systématique. Annali dell’Università di Ferrara n.s. 15 (1), suppl. II: 1–85. Longo, L. and Skakun, N. 2008. Prehistoric technology 40 years later: functional studies and the Russian legacy. Proceedings of the International Congress. Verona 20–23 April 2005. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 1783. MacDonald, D.H. 2009. Understanding decision-making among prehistoric hunter-gatherers via the study of lithic organization technology. Lithic Technology 34: 71–92. Odell, G.H. 2004. Lithic Analysis.. New York, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers. Olli, A., and Verges, J. M. 2008. SEM functional analysis and the mechanism of microwear formation. In L. Longo and N. Skakun (eds), Prehistoric technology 40 years later: functional studies and the Russian legacy. Proceedings of the International Congress. Verona 20–23 April 2005: 38–49. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 1783. Rots, V. 2008. Hafting traces on flint tools. In L. Longo and N. Skakun (eds), Prehistoric technology 40 years later: functional studies and the Russian legacy. Proceedings of the International Congress. Verona 20–23 April 2005: 75–84. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 1783. Salisbury, R.B. 2010. Rejection of urban sedentism: settlement transtions in Southeast Hungarian prehistory. Fulbright Student Conference Papers, AY2007–2008: 13–29. Budapest, Hungarian-American Commission for Educational Exchange. Starnini, E. and Voytek, B. 2012. ‘Post’ Transformation: preliminary research into the organization of technology during the Neolithic. Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica Natural Sciences in Archaeology (IANSA) 3: 47–63. Starnini, E., Voytek, B., and Horváth, F. 2007. Preliminary results of the multidisciplinary study of the chipped stone assemblage from the Tisza Culture site of tell Gorzsa (Hungary). In J.K. Kozłowski and P. Raczky (eds), The Lengyel, Polgár and Related Cultures in the

The data from this research study are still being analyzed. However, the author believes that the approach, grounded in lithic technological organization, will produce fruitful results. Acknowledgements Firstly, the author acknowledges her colleague, Dr. Elisabetta Starnini, who shared equally the research and interpretation of the findings. In addition, she thanks the Stahl Endowment of the Department of Anthropology, University of California at Berkeley for its financial assistance through the years of the study. The author also expresses her gratitude to Dr. Horváth Ferenc, the director of the tell Gorzsa excavations, for having been involved in the study of the lithic assemblage of Gorzsa. This research is carried out thanks to a grant from the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund n. OTKA K84151. References Andrefsky, W. 2005. Lithics: macroscopic approaches to analysis. New York, Cambridge University Press. Bagolini, B. 1968. Ricerche sulla dimensioni dei manufatti litici preistorici non ritoccati. Annali dell’Universita di Ferrara 1(10): 195–219. Biró, K.T. 1998a. Stones, numbers—history? The utilization of lithic raw materials in the Middle and Late Neolithic of Hungary. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 17: 1–18. Biró, K.T. 1998b. Lithic Implements and the Circulation of Raw Materials in the Great Hungarian Plain during the Late Neolithic Period. Budapest, Hungarian National Museum. Biró, K.T., and Dobosi, V.T. 1991. Lithotheca. Comparative Raw Material Collection of the Hungarian National Museum. Budapest, Hungarian National Museum. Biró, K.T., Dobosi, V.T. and Schléder, Z. 2000. Lithotheca II. Comparative Raw Material Collection of the Hungarian National Museum 1990–1997. Budapest, Hungarian National Museum. Gulyás, S., Sumegi, P. and Molnár, M. 2010. New radiocarbon dates from the Late Neolithic Tell Settlement of Hódmezővásárhely-Gorzsa, SE Hungary. Radiocarbon 52 (2–3): 1458–1464. Horváth, F. 1991. Hódmezővásárhely-Gorzsa. un habitat de la culture de la Tisza. In Les Agriculteurs de la Grande Plain Hongroise (4000–3500 av. J.-C.): 33–49. Dijon, Musée Archéologique de Dijon 251

Between History and Archaeology Van Gijn, A. 2008. Toolkits and technological choices at the Middle Neolithic site of Schipluiden, the Netherlands. In L. Longo and N. Skakun (eds), Prehistoric technology 40 years later: functional studies and the Russian legacy. Proceedings of the International Congress. Verona 20–23 April 2005: 217–225. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 1783 Voytek, B. 1985. The Exploitation of Lithic Resources in Prehistoric Southeast Europe. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Berkeley. Voytek, B. 1990. The Use of Stone Resources at Selevac. In R. Tringham and D. Krstic (eds), Selevac: A Neolithic Village in Yugoslavia: 437–495. Los Angeles, Institute of Archaeology Press, University of California. Voytek, B. 2001. The Use of Lithic Resources in the Vinča Archaeological Culture: the Case of Opovo-Ugar Bajbuk. In: B. Ginter (ed.), Problems of the Stone Age in the Old World, Jubilee book dedicated to Professor Janusz K. Kozłowski, Kraków, 289–295. Kraków, Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University.

Middle /Late Neolithic in Central Europe: 269–278. Kraków, The Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences. Szakmány, G., Starnini, E., Bradák, and Horváth, F. 2011. Investigating trade and exchange patterns in prehistory: preliminary results of the archaeometric analyses of the stone artefacts from tell Gorzsa (south-east Hungary). In I. Turbanti-Memmi (ed.), Proceedings of the 37th International Symposium on Archaeometry, Siena 12th – 16th May 2008: 311–319. Berlin Heidelberg, Springer Szakmány, G., Starnini, E., Horváth, F., Szilágyi, V. and Kasztovsky, Zs. 2009. Investigating trade and exchange patterns during the Late Neolithic: first results of the archaeometric analyses of the raw materials for the polished and ground stone tools from Tell Gorzsa (SE Hungary). Őskoros Kutatatók Összejövetele, Szombathely 6: 369–383. Tringham, R., Cooper, G., Odell, G., Voytek, B. and Whitman, A. 1974. Experimentation in the formation of edge damage: a new approach to lithic studies. Journal of Field Archaeology 1: 171–196.

252

Flint Knapping as a Family Tradition at Bronocice, Poland Marie-Lorraine Pipes

Department of Anthropology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Ellicott Complex, Buffalo, NY 14261–0026, USA e-mail: [email protected]

Janusz Kruk

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Cracow Branch, Sławkowska Street 17, 31–016 Cracow, Poland e-mail: [email protected]

Sarunas Milisauskas

Department of Anthropology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Ellicott Complex, Buffalo, NY 14261–0026, USA e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: By examining flint artifacts, we investigated Funnel Beaker households at Bronocice, Pińczów district and the development of flint knapping as a family tradition. Lithic data, raw materials and production debris, are reflections of social changes that occurred in the settlement. Flint workshops and a bakery were investigated and flint types, tool diversity and volume of debitage compared. Trade in lithic materials is indicated by exotic flint types from distant sources, however most flint came from a nearby source. Keywords: lithic traditions, flint production workshops, Neolithic, Bronocice

Introduction

household pits, human burials, two defensive ditches, and two enclosures for domestic animals were investigated at Bronocice (Kruk and Milisauskas 1981a, b, 1982, 1983, Milisauskas and Kruk 1984, 1989, 2012; Milisauskas et al. 2012a, b).

This article presents our interpretation of flint remains from the Funnel Beaker and Funnel BeakerBaden occupations at Bronocice, Pińczów district, southeastern Poland (Lesser Poland). From the flint artifacts and features we attempt to tell a story how some inhabitants of Bronocice specialized in flint working. It is important to recognize that our interpretation of Funnel Beaker flint knapping depends on how one looks at the data.

The Neolithic settlement at Bronocice (3900 BC to 2900/2800 BC) existed during a major phase of social and economic transformations (Fig. 1). This period of economic growth and technological advances occurred within the context of long standing social traditions and cultural practices. Continuity and change are evident in the archaeological record as seen in the social and cultural composition of this complex settlement. The lithic materials recovered from two workshops and a bakery serve as examples of specialized trades passed down from one generation to the next. They offer insights in traditional lithic manufacturing practices as well as the consumption of lithic products over time in the face of social and economic changes.

The State University of New York at Buffalo and the Polish Academy of Sciences conducted a cooperative archaeological project at the Bronocice site, from 1974 to 1978 (Fig. 1). The Director and Principal Polish investigator of this cooperative project was Witold Hensel and Sarunas Milisauskas was the Principal American investigator. The objectives of this archaeological project were twofold: 1) to investigate the prehistoric environments, chronologies, economies, settlement systems, and social organizations of the Middle Neolithic Funnel Beaker and Late Neolithic Funnel Beaker-Baden communities in the basin of the Nidzica River and 2) to demonstrate the origin of complex societies in that region.

Lithic Orientation The presence of non-local products and material at Bronocice indicate trade relations with other communities. Non-local ceramics, such as those of the Comb and Pit Ornamented Pottery culture, suggest an interrelationship with populations inhabiting sandy areas east of Bronocice. Faunal and textile data have revealed that the site became a center of trade involving the exchange of livestock and textiles. There

The chronological and cultural sequence at Bronocice includes several archaeological cultures. The longest occupations belonged to the Funnel Beaker and Funnel Beaker-Baden cultures (Fig. 2 and Tab. 1). Numerous 253

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 1. Map of location of Bronocice, Pińczów dist. Drawn: I. Jordan

lithic assemblages than those farther away. Bogdan Balcer (1975) refers to such settlements as ‘production settlements’.

are different varieties of flint that suggest the presence of an extensive exchange system (Kruk and Milisauskas 1989). For example, Jurassic flint from the Cracow area, flint from Volhynia in Ukraine, banded (striped) flint from Krzemionki, Świeciechów (gray white-spotted) flint from the Annopol area, and ‘chocolate’ flint from the Radom area were exchanged between the Funnel Beaker settlements. These varieties of flint are found hundreds of kilometers away from their sources. Jurassic flint was mainly exchanged among Funnel Beaker communities within 100km radius of Bronocice, for this flint is very rare or absent at those sites which are located 100km from Bronocice. The relatively high frequencies of the Świeciechów flint tools found at different sites indicate that they were considered to be a prized possession and were traded more extensively among the Funnel Beaker communities. For example, Gródek Nadbużny, Hrubieszów district, is located 140km from the Świeciechów flint source, but 10% of its flint artifacts were made from this raw material. Settlements located near the flint sources, such as Ćmielów, Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski district, Poland, have much higher frequencies of flint debitage in their

Lithics Lithics are one of the most durable artifact materials. Nearly indestructible, their presence at most prehistoric sites emphasizes their economic and functional importance to ancient societies. Southern Poland is a geologic area rich in lithic resources. Control over access to lithic resources has been recognized based on the locations of large settlements nearby, e.g., the early Neolithic site of Olszanica, Cracow district was located at a Jurassic flint mine indicating control over access (Lech 1981; Milisauskas 1986). That these people traded with others who likely came to obtain finished products is seen in the presence of non-local ceramics, obsidian and stone tools found inside some of the houses (Milisauskas 1986; Pelisiak 2008). Olszanica’s flint found its way to Early Neolithic communities in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia (Kaczanowska and Kozłowski 1976; Lech 1989, 2008). Another major 254

Marie-Lorraine Pipes et al.: lint Knapping as a Family Tradition at Bronocice, Poland Table 1. Chronology, cultural sequence, settlement size and population estimates at Bronocice, Pińczów dist. Phase

Culture and Phase

1 (BR I)

Funnel Beaker

Dates BC Calibrated

Settlement size

Population estimates

3900-3800

2 ha

48

8 ha

I92

2 (L-V)

Lublin-Volhynian

3800-3700

2.4 ha

4 (BR III)

Funnel Beaker

3400-3100

21 ha

504

2900-2700

17 ha

408

3 (BR II)

5 (BR IV) 6 (BR V)

Funnel Beaker

Funnel Beaker-Baden Funnel Beaker-Baden

3700-3400 3100-2900

26 ha

57

624

Fig. 2. The development of Neolithic settlement on the elevation ‘Baski’ at Bronocice, Pińczów dist. Areas A, B, and C were investigated at the highest points of elevations in BR I–V, L–V phases. Key: 1 – Bronocice settlement; 2 – dispersed settlements; 3 – Lublin–Volhynian fortified settlement; 4 – Funnel Beaker cemetery phases BR II – BR III; 5 – Funnel Beaker–Baden (BR IV) enclosure at the highest point of area C; 6 – fortification ditch of phase BR V on the highest point of area B. Drawn: I. Jordan

flint mine was at Krzemionki, Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski district in southeastern Poland, initially exploited by Funnel Beaker community at Ćmielów, Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski district (Balcer 2002; Bąbel et al. 2005; Piotrowska et al. 2014). Balcer (1995) notes that the inhabitants of this site produced mostly preforms of axes. Such settlements located near specific resources,

such as flint, provided them with an opportunity to practice a degree of economic specialization. Lithic data, including raw materials, finished artifacts, and production debris are reflections many of the social changes that occurred at Bronocice. Over time there were shifts in frequencies of lithic materials, 255

Between History and Archaeology the acquisition of finished tools via trade and the manufacture of lithic tools in the settlement. The people of Bronocice were thrifty and managed their resources economically. Many of the flint chips from the production of tools, especially of axes, show signs of use. Some tools were made from broken or used pieces, e.g., endscrapers made from broken retouched blades. Multiple function tools were also found such as endscrapers/sickle blades. Most of the cores were of Jurassic flint, though they were not numerous, and were small and heavily used. There were also Jurassic pre-cores and reduction flakes. Most lithic artifacts were made of Jurassic flint. The source of this flint was closest to Bronocice, located approximately 35–40km away (Tab. 1). Specific types of flints were associated with certain types of tools and artifacts. Most burins, sidescrapers, and perforators were made of Jurassic flint. A few perforators were produced of Świeciechów flint. Most retouched blades, sickle blades, endscrapers and axes were made of both Jurassic and Świeciechów flints (Figs. 3, 4 and 5). Some sickle blades were of Volhynian flint and some axes of banded flint (Fig. 6).

Fig. 3. Jurassic Flint from Bronocice, Pińczów dist. Photo: S.Milisauskas

Beginning in Phase 3 Świeciechów flint became the second most abundant type used for making tools after Jurassic flint (Fig. 7). Chocolate flint became the least common type of flint after Phase 3, while banded flint first appeared during this Phase. Volhynian flint rarely occurs after Phase 3. The rise in importance of Świeciechów flint may indicate a shift in economic trade relations. Settlement Description A description of the architectural, cultural and economic features of Bronocice provides the context in which the lithic workshops and bakery families operated. One of the most striking features of Bronocice is the development of increasing internal spatial complexity over the course a thousand years. Bronocice is the site of two sequential Funnel Beaker occupations. The first was located in the western Table 2. Approximate distances from Bronocice, Pińczów dist., to flint sources. Flint Type

Jurassic

Distance (km) Direction and location

35

Banded

105

Volhynian

270

Świeciechów 135

Chocolate

110

West, Cracow area

Northeast, Krzemionki area

Northeast, Annapol area

East, Volhynian in Ukraine

Northeast, Radom area

Fig. 4. Świeciechów flint blades from Bronocice, Pińczów dist. Photo: S. Milisauskas

256

Marie-Lorraine Pipes et al.: lint Knapping as a Family Tradition at Bronocice, Poland

Fig. 5. Jurassic (left and center) and Świeciechów (right) flint axes from Bronocice, Pińczów dist. Photo: S. Milisauskas

Fig. 6. Banded flint axes from Bronocice, Pińczów dist. Photo: S. Milisauskas

Fig. 7. Relative percentages of flint types by phase of occupation for the entire site. Graphic designer: M.-L. Pipes

257

Between History and Archaeology portion of the site, while the second was located in the eastern portion of the about 1 kilometer apart (Fig. 8). There is a temporal break of 50–100 years or so between them, interrupted by a Lublin-Volhynian occupation situated on the first Funnel Beaker settlement. This article focuses on the development of the second occupation in Areas A and B.

settlement, while the other was located in Unit B8, an area located to the south of the center of the settlement. The bakery was found in Unit A2. By 3700 BC Bronocice had arisen as the dominant political and economic body in the area (Milisauskas and Kruk 1984, 1989). The increasing volume of flint artifacts from household deposits dating to the period suggests the presence of lithic specialists serving the needs of the community.

The first settlement was a small hamlet similar to many hundreds others in the region, dating to 3900 BC. This settlement was distinguished by a few structures and a cemetery. Around 3800 BC a group of Lublin-Volhynian people settled at the same location. This cultural group marked the landscape by building an impressive ditch and palisade around their settlement. The construction of the fortification had important consequences for the subsequent Funnel Beaker settlement. Many Funnel Beaker settlements were occupied by small extended family groups and the sites abandoned after one or two generations. With the disappearance of the LublinVolhynian group, not only did the settlement expand, it became heavily involved in long distance trade of commodities among which were textiles, livestock, lithics, salt, and likely other goods for which no evidence is extant.

Around 3500 BC a flint specialist was producing high quality flint blades. This workshop was located in Area B (Pit 2B–road). A small variety of other tools were also made most of which were of Jurassic flint. Around 3300 BC axes were being produced in high numbers by another specialist located in Area B8. Based on several thousand axe flakes it has been estimated that approximately 102 axes were reflected in a single deposit from Phase 5. The bakery was located at a distance from the main part of the settlement, perhaps due to fear of fire. The ovens were rebuilt several times from 3500–2900 BC. This is only the location at the site at which large ovens were discovered during excavations. Because of the uniqueness of these features it appears that bread baking was a controlled activity. The consumption of fuel may have been an important factor. At this point in time it is difficult to determine if individual households made their bread at home then brought it to the bakery for baking, or if bread was made at this location as a commodity for the community.

As the settlement expanded over time, neighborhoods developed and some areas became associated with specialized activities (Pipes et al. 2014a–c). Key areas in and around the settlement included the animal enclosures, a weavers area, cultivation fields, lithic workshops and a bakery (Pipes et al. 2014a–c). The animal enclosures were critical economically. They were used to hold imported livestock from outside the region. These animals were then traded to outlying settlements (Pipes 2014). The power to enclose large numbers of animals gave Bronocice a strategic economic advantage over other settlements. The presence of the enclosures is a good indicator of control over labor, and the organization of time and energy and by default reveals the existence of a developing social hierarchy.

The great length of time during which the bakery existed made it an excellent case study for examining the consumption and use of lithic tools. It is not unlikely that the tools recovered from the bakery were obtained from lithic workshops in the settlement, though not necessarily from the two described here. It is worth mentioning that since only one percent of the site was sampled other lithic workshops were probably in operation at Bronocice as well.

A significant part of the economic life of Bronocice lay in fiber and textile production (Pipes et al. 2014c). A very large assemblage of artifacts associated with spinning fibers and weaving textiles was recovered during the excavations. These artifacts were primarily concentrated in one area of the site and dated from Phase 3 to 6. In spite of a reduction in the size of the settlement during the last phase of occupation, the volume of fiber and textile production artifacts remained high indicating that production and trade of textiles continued to be economically important.

Data Analysis The lithic assemblages from the workshops and the bakery were examined and compared by flint types, range of tools and volume of debitage. Most likely the inhabitants of Bronocice identified the stone tools based on what they were for, where they were used, or who used them. In order to facilitate comparisons between locations and lithic compositions the artifacts were classified by group and class designations. Groups were used to separate artifacts into Tool Production and Tools. Classes were used to separate Tools by function, which were further delineated by lithic material. Within

The lithic workshops and the bakery were located outside of the main community. One workshop was located along the dirt road on the northern edge of the 258

Marie-Lorraine Pipes et al.: lint Knapping as a Family Tradition at Bronocice, Poland

Fig. 8. Site plan of the excavations at Bronocice, Pińczów dist. Lithic workshops were located in units Bd and B8, and the bakery in A2. Drawn: I. Jordan

Table 3. Summary of tool production and tools by group and class and by location and phase. Group

Class

Object

Lithic Material

Tool Production

Usage Material

Core

Jurassic

Debitage

Flake

Jurassic

Subtotal

Banded

Subtotal Tool

Świeciechów

Digging Cutting

Pick

Blade

Jurassic

5108 25 2

5135 1

78

Retouched Blade

Jurassic

5

Retouched Flake

Jurassic

3 1

Unknown

Świeciechów

Unknown

Sidescraper

Jurassic

Chopping

Axe

Jurassic

Unknown

2

2

Jurassic

Scraping

Pounding

Phase 4 #

Hammerstone Unknown tool

Jurassic Jurassic

Świeciechów Unknown

Subtotal Lithic Total

1

2

1 2 5

16 1 1

117 5253

259

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 9. Relative frequencies of flint and other lithic material types by location and phase of occupation. Graphic designer: M.-L. Pipes

the lithic tools were made of Jurassic flint (Fig. 9). A few tools were made of Świeciechów flint. While some banded flint debitage was identified no tools were present of that material. Cutting tools were the most frequent class, among which blades were the most abundant. The high frequency of blades suggests that this was the main tool type produced. One Świeciechów retouched blade was present. Other tools were present in the deposit such as axes, hammerstones, a side scraper and a pick, as well as expedient tools made of retouched flakes. A fair number of tools were unidentified because they were broken. There was a relatively high number of Jurassic flint axes well suggesting they were also being produced at this workshop.

the Tool Production group there were two classes of artifacts: raw materials consisting of cores and debitage consisting of chips and flakes. In the Tool group there were several classes of artifacts which included: digging, drilling, cutting, scraping, pounding, chopping, weapon and tools of unknown function. Debitage was the most frequent class within Tool Production artifacts, while cutting was the most frequent class within Tools (Tab. 3). The latter included blades, retouched blades and retouched flakes. The great majority of all artifacts found at the two workshops and the bakery were made of Jurassic flint. Lithic Workshop, 2B–road – Phase 4 The lithic workshop associated with Pit 2B–Road was found along the dirt road in Area B and dates to Phase 4. The majority of artifacts were recovered on the floor of the pit. A child’s skeleton was also found on the pit floor. It would appear the pit was reused as a burial chamber after the structure was no longer inhabited (Fig. 10). The workshop at this location contained a lithic deposit composed of a great majority of debitage flakes, approximately 98 percent (Tab. 4). With the exception of a few Świeciechów and banded flint flakes all of the debitage was Jurassic flint. Two Jurassic flint cores were present as well.

Lithic Workshop, Unit B8 – Phases 5 and 6 A second lithic workshop was found in Unit B8. Excavations at this location revealed the remains of two houses spanning phases 5 and 6, and consisting of several pits. The location of this site on the periphery of the settlement as well as the internal complexity of the structures suggests it was near cultivated fields. A large lithic assemblage was found associated with the Phase 5 structure and pits. The later structure yielded a much smaller lithic assemblage. The deposits associated with the earlier structure were clearly generated by a lithic workshop. This workshop had a more expansive range of tool types produced though it was focused mainly on axe and blade production (Fig. 11, Tab. 3). The pits were

Tools included digging, cutting, scraping, pounding, and chopping artifacts. An overwhelming majority of 260

Marie-Lorraine Pipes et al.: lint Knapping as a Family Tradition at Bronocice, Poland

Fig. 10. Lithic workshop pit in 2b–road. Flakes were distributed across the floor of the cellar pit. Photo: S. Milisauskas

Table 4. Summary of lithic materials from 2–BR, the Phase 4 lithic workshop. Group

Class

Object

Lithic Material

Tool Production

Usage Material

Core

Jurassic

Debitage

Flake

Jurassic

Subtotal

Banded

Subtotal Tool

Świeciechów

Digging

Cutting

Pick

Blade

Retouched Blade Retouched Flake

Jurassic

Świeciechów Jurassic

Unknown

Axe

Jurassic

Jurassic Jurassic

Świeciechów

Unknown

Subtotal Lithic Total

2

5135 1

5

Chopping

Unknown tool

25

Jurassic

Unknown

Jurassic

Unknown

5108

78

Sidescraper

Hammerstone

2

2

Jurassic

Scraping

Pounding

Phase 4 #

1 2 3 1 1 2 5

16 1 1

117 5253

261

Between History and Archaeology Table 5. Summary of lithic materials from Unit B8, the Phase 5/6 lithic workshop. Group

Class

Object

Lithic Material

Tool Production

Usage Material

Core

Jurassic Banded

Unknown

Subtotal Debitage

Flake

Cutting

Pick

Retouched Flake

60

-

Unknown

6

1

2

8 -

Jurassic

5

1

1

-

Banded

Świeciechów Unknown Jurassic Granite

1 2 5 2

-

2

-

1

1

-

1 9

Unknown

-

Jurassic

1

Świeciechów

1

Jurassic

-

3

Jurassic

Subtotal

rich in debitage, cores and tools. One pit in particular appears to have been the location where cores were stored (Pit 7–B8), while the main cellar in the structure was the work area (Pit 1–B8). This large cellar floor yielded cores and the majority of debitage. Much of the debitage was related to axe production (Tab. 5). Most of the cores and debitage were of Jurassic flint (Fig. 12). A large amount of Świeciechów flint debitage was also present though no core was recovered.

2

2

Banded

Lithic Total

3

11

Unknown

Unknown

21

Jurassic

Jurassic

Unknown

-

143

1

Hammerstone

Projectile Point

53

15

2887

Banded

Pounding

Weapon

4

39

Jurassic

Axe

711

Jurassic

Side Scraper

Chopping

-

Banded

Scraping

End Scraper

5

-

107

Świeciechów

Retouched Blade

2

2059

Jurassic

Blade

2

Jurassic

Unknown Digging

18

2

Chocolate

Tool

Phase 6 #

25

Świeciechów

Subtotal

Phase 5 #

2 97

3009

-

1 -

18

164

A wide variety of tools were present including a pick, blades, retouched flakes and blades, a sidescraper and endscrapers, hammerstones, axes, and a projectile point (Tab. 5). Blades were the most abundant tool in the assemblage, mostly made of Jurassic flint. But there were also blades of banded and Świeciechów flints. Most other tools were also made of Jurassic flint. The great range of tools reflected in the assemblage may

262

Marie-Lorraine Pipes et al.: lint Knapping as a Family Tradition at Bronocice, Poland was a greater diversity of flint types including Jurassic, Świeciechów, banded and chocolate flint, whereas in the later phase only Jurassic and Świeciechów flints were present (Tab. 5). This suggests continuity in tool production even though it was diminished in comparison with the earlier workshop. This may be due partly to data recovery issues since only part of the later structure was excavated. This period coincides with the decline in size and population of Bronocice. Like the workshop at 2B– road, the partial remains of an adult human were found in association with the lithic specialist assemblage. The layout of the two structures, their proximity, and the similarity in lithic assemblages suggests that a longterm lithic tradition was practiced over generations at this location. A series of large circular wattle and daub features were identified in Unit A2 showing signs of heat exposure (Fig. 13). These features appear to be the remains of large ovens probably for baking bread. Because this is only location at the site where this type of feature was found it is thought that this was a bakery. Communal

Fig. 11. Broken polished stone axe recovered from the Phase 5 workshop in Unit B8. Photo: S. Milisauskas

Fig. 12. Jurassic core from the Phase 6 structure in Unit B8. Photo: S. Milisauskas

have been partly related to other activities that took place at this workshop. The later phase occupation was characterized by a much smaller lithic assemblage. As with the earlier structure Jurassic cores were recovered from the Phase 6 deposits. The volume of debitage was notably smaller. Most of the debitage was composed of Jurassic flint though Świeciechów flint was also represented. There was far less diversity of stone tools. These included a pick, blades, hammerstones, and an axe. Earlier there

Fig. 13. The bakery in Unit A2 – Phases 3–6. Photo: S. Milisauskas

263

Between History and Archaeology Table 6. Summary of lithic materials from Unit A2, the bakery, Phases 3–6. Group

Class

Object

Lithic Material

Tool Production

Usage Material

Core

Jurassic

Chocolate

Debitage

Flake

Phase 5 #

Phase 6 #

1

-

-

1

1

2

1

2

3

Jurassic

6

19

42

53

Banded

1

-

2

-

Unknown

2

11

24

25

-

-

3

3

Świeciechów Baltic Erratic

Tool

Phase 4 # -

Unknown

Subtotal

Phase 3 #

Subtotal

-

1

-

-

9

1

3

1

34

1

1

2

71

-

2

-

-

78

Drilling

Burin/Borer

Jurassic

Cutting

Blade

Jurassic

1

4

5

4

Retouched Blade

Jurassic

-

2

4

1

Jurassic

1

5

7

8

Unknown

-

-

3

-

Retouched Flake

Scraping

Pounding

Chopping Unknown

Side Scraper

End Scraper

Hammerstone Axe

Unknown

Subtotal

Banded

Unknown Unknown Świeciechów

Jurassic

-

-

-

1 -

-

1 -

-

3 -

-

-

-

2 1

1 1

Jurassic

-

-

1

1

Unknown

-

1

-

-

-

1

-

-

Świeciechów Jurassic

Unknown Jurassic

Świeciechów Unknown

Lithic Total

-

-

-

2 -

-

1 2

-

2

-

1

1

-

2

17

30

25

16

51

103

106

bread baking was a common practice in parts of Europe until the twentieth century. Women brought their bread to be baked in a communal oven once a week. The ovens span multiple phases of occupation at Bronocice, Phases 3–6. The ovens were rebuilt many times. The lithic artifacts from this location provide insights into the likely consumption and use of tools made by specialists at Bronocice.

presence of low frequencies of debitage. Tools related to cutting were the most abundant tool class (Tab. 6). Stone tools were made primarily of Jurassic flint of Świeciechów. The Phase 5 assemblage exhibited the greatest diversity of lithic materials (Fig. 9). By this point in time the settlement had reached its zenith and greatest cultural diversity. Therefore it is not surprising that the lithic assemblage reflected variety as well.

Unlike the two workshops, in which debitage was the most frequent category, it was far less abundant at the bakery. Tool re-sharpening most likely accounts for the

It is worth mentioning that this pattern of consumption suggests the presence of other lithic specialists who produced tools of Banded and Świeciechów flints. Tab. 264

Marie-Lorraine Pipes et al.: lint Knapping as a Family Tradition at Bronocice, Poland 6 summarizes the lithic artifacts from deposits by phase of occupation. The earliest phase has the least amount of material while the last phase yielded the greatest volume. Tools included burins and drills, blades, retouched flakes, sidescrapers, endscrapers, axes, and a hammerstone. It is interesting to note that there were. relatively few axes, since a bakery would have required a lot of fuel in the form of wood to heat the ovens.

The lithic assemblage at the bakery did not diminish in volume over time. Instead it was larger during the last phase than the earlier three phases of occupation. Cutting tools were the most frequent of any tool type. The production of bread at this location throughout the entire span of occupation in the eastern portion of the site appears to have remained constant. The increasing size of the lithic assemblage may in fact be a testament to the growing importance of the bakery in the community. There are many metaphors about bread being the staff of life that have survived from prehistory. It is easy to imagine the importance of this food within the community. Like the property in Unit B8, it is assumed that the property in Unit A2 was owned by a family and occupied subsequently by descendants. The continuation of the large ovens at this location suggests that this was a long lived family enterprise.

Summary The site of Bronocice is not the first to suggest the presence of lithic specialists. Specialized production sites such as Ćmielów, located near mines, have been known for a long time as having individuals buried with special lithic tool kits, for example such as was found at Michałowice, Cracow district, a Pleszów phase of the Lengyel culture (Lech 1981). Such people were skilled specialists. ‘Manufacturing macrolithic blades required a high skill and specific tools. Also production of axes was by no means an easy task, accessible only for a few skilled persons’ (Balcer 2002: 171).

However, there was a decrease in the variety of lithic types by Phase 6 reflecting the same shift seen in the Phase 6 deposits in Unit B8. There developed a primary reliance on Jurassic flint for making tools. Clearly this was a pattern that happened everywhere in the settlement. This reliance of Jurassic flint may be seen as a retraction of Bronocice extensive trade relations and intensified concentration on economic exchanges within the region. Throughout the settlement’s history tools had been dominated by Jurassic flint. It appears in the last phase that trade did not actually diminish but instead became more localized. Perhaps surrounding the growing influence and power of Baden communities usurped Bronocice’s economic trade network blocking access to former trading partners from whom they used to obtain non-local exotic flints.

At Bronocice, the two workshops and the bakery represent different aspects of the community involving local people. The three locations were similar in being places at which goods were produced. The lithic workshops produced tools in excess of what their households would have consumed. From Phase 3–6 the nature of blades and axes produced at Bronocice varied little. The workshops both produced axes and blades in addition to a variety of other tools. The earlier workshop at 2B–road was more limited in terms of the range of products produced. The later workshop in Unit B8 produced more diversified tools. Against a backdrop of cultural changes at least one of the lithic workshops continued to produce the same basic types of tools.

In conclusion, the data offer some insights into the lives of three households and the long-term production and use of lithic materials.

The occupation associated with the workshop in unit B8 lasted from a period of time during which the settlement was at its peak in terms of physical size and population through the end of the settlement when it shrank to a smaller size. The reduction in lithic materials, both raw materials and finished products, may be a reflection of a decreased market for lithic tools within the community. It is assumed that the property belonged to a family and was occupied over multiple generations by descendants of the first lithic specialist.

Acknowledgments We are grateful to Joshua Howard for his help with this article. References Bąbel, J., Braziewicz, J., Jaskóła, M. and Kretschmer, W. 2005. The radiocarbon dating of the neolithic flint mines at Krzemionki in central Poland. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 240: 539–543. Balcer, B. 1975. Krzemień świeciechowski w kulturze pucharów lejkowatych: eksploatacja, obróbka i rozprzestrzenienie. Wrocław. Balcer, B. 1995. The relationship between a settlement and flint mines. A preliminary study of the Eneolithic

At the bakery, the composition of the lithic artifacts dating to four distinct phases of occupation gives some understanding of lithic use. There is some evidence that tools might have been made since two cores were found. But the range of tools overall was small, primarily consisting of cutting tools. Surprisingly absent were axes.

265

Between History and Archaeology workshop assemblages from Ćmielów (Southern Poland). Archeologia Polona 33: 209–221. Balcer, B. 2002. Ćmielów–Krzemionk–Świeciechów: Związki osady neolitycznej z kopalniami krzemienia. Warszawa. Kaczanowska, M. and Kozłowski, J.K. 1976. Studia nad surowcami krzemiennymi południowej części Wyżyny Krakowsko–Częstochowskiej. Acta Archaeologica Carpathica 16: 201–216. Kruk, J. and Milisauskas, S. 1981a.Chronology of Funnel Beaker, Baden-like, and Lublin–Volhynian settlements at Bronocice, Poland. Germania 59: 1–19. Kruk, J. and Milisauskas, S. 1981b. Wyżynne osiedle neolityczne w Bronocicach. Archeologia Polski 26(1): 65–113. Kruk, J. and Milisauskas, S. 1982. A multiple Neolithic burial at Bronocice, Poland. Germania. 60: 211–216. Kruk, J. and Milisauskas, S. 1989. Das System des Austausches und die Entwicklung der Sozialstrukturen im Äneolithikum des Flußgebietes der oberen Weichsel. Praehistorica 14–15: 151–156. Lech, J. 1981. Flint mining among the early farming communities of Central Europe. Przegląd Archeologiczny 28: 5–55. Lech, J. 1989. A Danubian raw material exchange network: a case study from Bylany. In J. Rulf (ed.), Bylany Seminar 1987: 111–120. Prague, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. Lech, J. 2008. Materiały krzemienne społeczności kultury ceramiki wstęgowej rytej z Samborca, pow. Sandomierz. In A. Kulczycka-Leciejewiczowa (ed.), Samborzec. Studium przemian kultury ceramiki wstęgowej rytej: 151–204. Wrocław. Milisauskas, S. 1986. Early Neolithic Settlement and Society at Olszanica. Ann Arbor. Milisauskas, S., Kruk, J., Pipes, M.-L. and MakowiczPoliszot, D. 2012a. Butchering and Meat Consumption in the Neolithic: The Exploitation of Animals at Bronocice. Kraków. Milisauskas, S., Kruk, J., Ford, R. and Lityńska-Zając, M. 2012b. Neolithic Plant Exploitation at Bronocice. Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 64: 77–112. Milisauskas, S. and Kruk, J. 1984. Settlement organization and the appearance of low level hierarchical societies during the Neolithic in the Bronocice microregion, southeastern Poland. Germania 62(1): 1–30. Milisauskas, S. and Kruk, J. 1989. Economy, migration, settlement organization, and warfare during the

late Neolithic in southeastern Poland. Germania 67(1): 77–96. Milisauskas, S. and Kruk, J. 2012. Middle Neolithic/ Early Copper Age, continuity, diversity, and greater complexity, 5500/5000–3500 BC. In S. Milisauskas (ed.), European Prehistory, A Survey: 223–291. New York. Pelisiak, A. 2008. The Jurassic Flint Type G in Central Europe in the Late Neolithic (3100–2300 BC). In M. Furholt, M. Szmyt and A. Zastawny (eds), The Baden Complex and the Outside World [Proceedings of the 12th Annual Meeting of the EAA 2006. Cracow SAO/SPEŚ] 4: 147–154. Bonn. Pipes, M.-L., 2014. Trade, Exchange, and Social Relationships in Southeastern Poland: X–Ray Fluorescence and Mitochondrial Dna Analyses of Neolithic Sheep. Doctoral dissertation, University at Buffalo. SUNY, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Pipes, M.-L., Kruk, J., Makowicz-Poliszot, D. and Milisauskas, S. 2009. Funnel Beaker Animal Husbandry at Bronocice. Archaeologia Baltica 12: 31–45. Pipes, M.-L., Kruk, J. and Milisauskas, S. 2014a. Assessing the Archaeological Data for Wool-Bearing Sheep during the Middle to Late Neolithic at Bronocice, Poland. In H.J. Greenfield (ed.), Animal Secondary Products, Domestic Animal Exploitation in Prehistoric Europe, the Near East and the Far East: 80–102. Oxford. Pipes, M.-L., Kruk, J. and Milisauskas, S. 2014b. Changing architecture and its cognitive meaning at Bronocice. In K. Czarniak, J. Kolenda and M. Markiewicz (eds), Szkice Neolityczne: 301–329. Wrocław. Pipes, M.-L., Kruk, J. and Milisauskas, S. 2014c. Searching for Threads of Household Cloth Production at Bronocice. In K. Kristiansen, L. Šmejda and J. Turek (eds), Paradigm Found, Archaeological Theory – Present, Past and Future: 215–233. Oxford. Piotrowska, D., Piotrowski, W., Kaptur, K. and Jedynak, A. (eds) 2014. Górnictwo z epoki kamienia: Krzemionki – Polska – Europa. W 90. Rocznicę odkrycia kopalni w Krzemionkach [‘Stone Age mining: Krzemionki – Poland – Europe. On the 90th anniversary of Krzemionki mine discovery’]. Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Muzeum HistorycznoArcheologiczne w Ostrowcu Świętokrzyskim Silex et Ferrum Vol. 1.

266

The Cucuteni – Trypillia ‘Big Other’ – Reflections on the Making of Millennial Cultural Traditions John Chapman and Bisserka Gaydarska

Durham University, Department of Archaeology, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: The second methodological revolution for Trypillia mega-sites is leading to an interpretative shift from the study of entire mega-sites to the study of their constituent Neighbourhoods and Quarters. We are now in the process of developing the theoretical implications of this shift, which should lead to a parallel change in social interpretations from the classification of the political structure of an entire mega-site to a more nuanced study of the nested levels of the settlement – person, household, neighbourhood and entire settlement. We begin this theoretical work in this chapter which we take pleasure in dedicating to John’s friend Jacek Lech. It focuses on a neglected, but key, aspect of the research agenda: the Cucuteni–Trypillia ‘Big Other’. Keywords: Cucuteni, Trypillia, ‘Big Other’, houses, figurines, pottery

Introduction

and decorated pottery – a theme that will relate the domestic domain to the mortuary domain; and (2) an explanation for the paradox of Trypillia exchange – how was it that so few prestige goods were exchanged across the Trypillia world? In this chapter, we begin by discussing the Cucuteni–Trypillia ‘Big Other’.

The time-place distribution of the Cucuteni–Trypillia groups – two millennia (4800–2800 cal BC) and 250,000km2 – makes them one of the largest and most long-lasting groups in ‘Old Europe’ (Fig. 1). Three key points stand out from the long history of Trypillia and Cucuteni studies since their respective discoveries in the AD 19th century (for full histories, see Videiko 2012; Monah and Monah 1997): the apparent utter predominance of the domestic domain over the mortuary sector in both groups, the closely related near-absence of the materialization of hierarchies in either group and the differential development of massive sites (the so-called ‘mega-sites’) in certain zones of the Trypillia group but not in others and not at all in the Cucuteni sites. In recent international projects such as the Kyiv–Durham and the Kyiv–Frankfurt–Kiel collaborations, the second methodological revolution has occurred in our understanding of mega-sites, through which we have begun to understand much more clearly the spatial components of mega-sites and their combinations and re-combinations in neighbourhoods (Chapman et al. 2014a, 2014b). But there has been little or no concurrent development of the Trypillia mega-site theoretical research agenda. The ultimate aim of this work is clearly the identification of explanations for the origins, maintenance and decline of the largest settlements known in 4th millennium BC Europe. However, there is much to be done before we can approach these fundamental questions.

The Cucuteni – Trypillia ‘Big Other’ The Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek has discussed Jacques Lacan’s idea of the ‘Big Other’ – something which is sufficiently general and significant to attract the support of most members of society but, at the same time, sufficiently ambiguous to allow the kinds of localized alternative interpretations that avoid constant schismatic behavior (Žižek 2007a, 2007b). The notion is discussed by Sheila Kohring (2012) as a link between the structuring of a group’s symbolic world and its creation of material traditions; it also maps onto Peter Jordan’s (2003) ideas of the ways that community values are etched onto the landscapes by routines of movement, exploitation and consumption and Stephen Gudeman’s (2001) notions of the economy as a set of non-monetary values, with an emphasis on the formation of the ‘commons’ as a community value. How can we define the Cucuteni–Trypillia ‘Big Other’? In harmony with the dominance of the settlement domain in narratives of both life and death, it is clear that one core element of the Cucuteni–Trypillia ‘Big Other’ is the house (Burdo et al. 2013; Fig. 2). Cucuteni– Trypillia houses materialised an entire worldview for their occupants, creating a warm, safe, comfortable, decorated, ritualised and monumental place (Fig. 2a) which could be endlessly reproduced and indeed was, over an estimated 70 successive generations. The house also symbolised a widespread aesthetic principle – the

If we were to ask ‘What are the key current problems for the Cucuteni–Trypillia theoretical research agenda?’, two areas for discussion are immediately apparent: (1) the characterization of the Cucuteni–Trypillia ‘Big Other’ based upon the ideology of houses, figurines 267

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 1. Location map of Cucuteni–Trypillia group. Graphic designer: B. Gaydarska.

creation of monumental geometric order through the construction of essentially rectangular spaces. The cultural importance of geometric order can be seen in painted pottery as well as in many prestige objects but the monumental scale of houses projected its visual cultural symbolism onto the rolling loess landscapes. Another key contribution of the house was its potential for variations on its long-term theme of cultural continuity. The rectangular form allowed for different house sizes, as well as additions and extensions, sub-divisions and spatial re-combinations. Thus, architectural responses to social or family changes could be managed within the vernacular tradition. The second, flexible trait of houses is their almost limitless capacity for combination and re-combination into groups of houses, whether two dozen or two thousand (Fig. 2c).

This flexibility implies the existence of households that are partly individual (relatively ‘independent’ of each other) and partly dividual – inextricably linked to neighbouring houses and street-based groupings. The apparent lack of any architectural materialisation of hierarchy in the mega-sites suggests that there may be local community structures organising the logistical provisioning of these huge sites. It is hard to see how households did not play an important role in these community groupings, at the very least through shared ritual practices and also with household leaders forming local ‘councils’ for the resolution of disputes and decision-making. The identification of ‘shrines’ in what otherwise looked like dwelling-houses suggests that public ritual was one of the practices connecting local households. In addition to this possibility, there is 268

John Chapman and Bisserka Gaydarska: The Cucuteni – Trypillia ‘Big Other’

Fig. 2. The Cucuteni – Trypillia house: (a) reconstruction of a Cucuteni house (source: Monah and Monah 1997: 62); (b) the burning of an experimental ‘Neolithic’ house, Nebelivka village, Kirovograd Oblast, May 2015: 35 minutes after start of the burning (photo: Marco Nebbia); (c) Nebelivka Square, with houses on 3 or 4 sides of the square and pits in the central space (Source: ASUD, re-drawn by Y. Beadnell)

269

Between History and Archaeology strong evidence for shared practices at the household level, with the entire household – residents, visitors, ritual occupants and ancestors – playing their parts in ceremonies. The wide spatial and temporal distribution of similar domestic ritual practices, often involving figurines and house models, suggests that this action was very important for the social integration of community groups in mega-sites and other large sites.

practiced house-burning was celebrated by a long and complex, multi-stage sequence of mortuary practices, including the deposition of an often large number of ‘grave goods’ in the burnt house. The practice of the deposition of house ‘grave goods’ somehow removed the personal link between the objects and the newlydead, creating a household assemblage rather than a personal tribute. The effect was the limitation of personal accumulation of potentially prestige goods. This meant a cap on the materialization of individual differentiation in favour of household variability. We suggest that this was an important aspect of Cucuteni– Trypillia social structure.

The most dramatic practice involving houses was the deliberate burning of the house at the end of its use-life, which included as one of a sequence of death-of-house rituals the deposition of a ‘dead house assemblage’ of objects in the house before it was set alight. It is widely recognized that the mortuary domain of Cucuteni– Trypillia groups was weakly developed until the final, C phase of the Trypillia group (Kruts 2012: Fig. 10.1; Bailey 2005, 2013; Popovici 2010: 105–106). Volodymyr Kruts has explained the absence of inhumations by suggesting that the principal mortuary practice was cremation without placing the ashes in urns – both for persons and for houses (Kruts 2003). Within all Cucuteni–Trypillia settlements, as in many groups in South East Europe, a large number of houses had been burnt down as their final act.

The second key component of the Cucuteni–Trypillia ‘Big Other’ – closely related to the house and often to its burning – was the fired clay anthropomorphic figurine (Fig. 3). The late Dan Monah made two monumental studies of the anthropomorphic corpus – the larger part of the total of 30,000 anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines (Monah 1997, 2012). Monah’s study of the contexts in which the figurines were deposited shows that sets of complete figurines were rarely found, in structures thereby interpreted as shrines, while fragmentary figurines – often deliberately broken in mid-life and re-used ‘after the break’ (Chapman 2000; Chapman and Gaydarska 2007; Gheorghiu 2005) – could be deposited in houses, pits or the occupation level (Monah 2012: 41–49). The re-fitting of fragments from the same figurine in different burnt house assemblages on the same site (e.g., Majdanetske: Shmaglij and Videiko 2002–3) shows that there is more to figurines than a simple dichotomy between living contexts (complete figurines used in sets) and contexts of deposition (fragments of figurines deposited after their use-life was over; e.g., Marangou 1996). There is strong evidence for the use of both complete and fragmentary figurines in ceremonies, especially in various stages of the ‘death-of-the-house’ rituals. Moreover, there is good evidence that figurines were made so as to be easily broken (Chapman 2000).

For present purposes, we shall take as fundamental Mirjana Stevanović’ (1997) argument that it was impossible to reach the temperatures at which the daub of most houses burned from the materials of the house itself – the timber posts, wattle-and-daub walls, daub floor and thatched rooves. Hence, the addition of additional fuel meant that, in the majority of cases, house-burning was a deliberate act to terminate the life of the house. A recent house-building and-burning experiment at Nebelivka, Kirovograd Oblast, showed that many times the amount of firewood was required to burn the house than the timber needed to build it (Johnston et al. in press; Fig. 2b). Ruth Tringham (2005: 105) has proposed that, after the Early Neolithic, the burning of houses, without the deposition of the dead person in the house, and intramural burials on dwelling sites were probably mutually exclusive practices (Chapman 2015). There are several implications of Tringham’s striking idea. First, house-burning and intramural burial were, in some sense, structural equivalents of each other. Secondly, one sense of this structural equivalence is that house-burning materialized the death of an important household or community member, replacing the performance of an intramural burial by the more spectacular performance of a house-burning. Thirdly, the absence of the body of the deceased household leader from both the house and the site meant yet a third extra-mural place linked to house and settlement in the sequence of mortuary practices, and possibly other places. Fourthly, the death of a household or community leader in groups who

The small size of the image of the human body and its relative ease of making offered the possibility of enormous diversity of forms – a potential that was certainly exploited (see the over 3000 figurines published by in Monah 2012). A skilled figurine-maker could model a variety of human forms, denoting individuality and other aspects of identity1 (Fig. 3). Figurines showed their individuality through facial expression (Monah 2012: Figs. 21/13, 118/7 [here Fig. 3e], 223/4), coiffure (2012: Figs. 118/1 [here Fig. 3d], 3, 8: 210/2), costume (2012: Figs. 50 – 56 (all) [here Fig. 3b]) or tattooes (2012: Figs. 96/4, 6; 165/10 [here Fig. 3g]; 187/10). Other identities denoted included age (2012: young female – Fig. 205/2 [here Fig. 3i]; old male – Fig. 175/1 [here Fig. 3h]; older female – Figs. 107/3, 182/2; younger female – Figs. 110/2, 183/10), gender (2012: male – Figs. 36/7 [here Fig. 3c], 140/9; female – Fig. 82/1; hermaphrodite – Figs. 39/4 – 5 [here Fig. 3a], 41/3; no gender – Figs. 59/3, 81/1), ritual status (through symbols: 2012: Figs. 27/2,

1 

270

John Chapman and Bisserka Gaydarska: The Cucuteni – Trypillia ‘Big Other’

Fig. 3. Cucuteni – Trypillia figurines (source Monah 2012): (a) hermaphrodite, Scânteia, Iaşi district; (b) costumed female, Drăguşeni, Botoşani district; (c) male figure, Obârşia – Voineşti, Olt district; (d) female with coiffure and expressive face, Krinički, Nikolajevas district; (e) young female, Volodimyrivka, Kirovograd Oblast; (f) female figure with symbol on chest, Cucuteni – Cetăţuia, Iaşi district; (g) female figure with tattooing on legs, Moldova; (h) old male, Ruseni, Edineţ district; (i) young female, Rizino, Cherkassy Oblast.

271

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 4. Cucuteni painted pottery (source: Monah and Monah 1997): (a) white and black on red trichrome painted cup, Cucuteni A3, Costeşti, Argeş district; (b) white and black on red trichrome painted rectangular vessel, Cucuteni A2, Izvoare, Floreşti; (c) black, red and white on brown painted necked carinated bowl, Cucuteni B, Ghelăieşti, Neamţ district; (d) the ‘Hora’ of Drăguşeni, Botoşani district: red on white painted pot–stand with hollow body, Cucuteni A4; (e) white and black on red trichrome painted lid, Cucuteni B1, Ghelăieşti, Botoşani district; (f) white and black on red trichrome painted amphora, Cucuteni AB, Cucuteni – Dâmbul Morii, Iaşi district.

At the same time, and especially in the later phase (Cucuteni B – Trypillia C), many highly stylized figurines with few individualizing features at all (e.g. Monah 2012: Figs. 132/1, 189) were deposited on settlements, which were easy to make with a little standard manual dexterity.2 This is not to deny the skill of figurine-makers, especially those who made tiny figurines and miniature chairs for sets perhaps used in practices designed to overcome problems of infertility (cf. Dumitrescu 2008 with Watson and Gaydarska 2014).

domestic and non-domestic rituals. Dragos Gheorghiu (2005, 2010) has provocatively linked the so-called ‘dressed’ figurines to mummies wrapped in shrouds, indicating a relational bond between figurines and house-burning mortuary rituals. Equally provocative is the discovery of cereal grains and small fired clay balls inside the hollow bodies of some figurines (e.g., Monah 2012: Fig. 22/6). The third frequent component of Cucuteni–Trypillia lifeways was the decorated pottery, comprising both fine wares (painted in the Western part [Fig. 4]; incised in the East) and coarse wares (mostly incised and/or impressed; Tsvek 1996; Tsvek and Rassamakin 2005). The shapes and decorative motifs of painted wares have been used to classify and date Trypillia phases, subphases and regional groups in a complex, interlocking typological scheme (Ryzhov 2005, 2012). Pottery dominated the ‘grave goods’ deposited in mortuary house-burning ceremonies. The finely painted wares could easily be imagined as a prestige good in their own right. It could then be argued that the contribution by several households of pottery (or, more frequently, decorated sherds) to a house-burning ceremony was a kind of potlatch, in which fragments and, rarely, whole vessels were placed in the house before burning and/ or placed on top of the burnt mass of daub after the fire had died down.

The ways in which figurines were used before their fragmentation offers a further vector of diversity, in which we can definitively transcend the Gimbutassian ‘Great Mother/Earth Goddess’ and her pantheon (Gimbutas 1982; Burdo 2008), while accepting Marija Gimbutas’ idea of the active use of figurines in ceremonies (Gimbutas 1982). Since the vast majority of figurines were found in ‘dead house’ contexts, in pits and in the occupation level, it is difficult to identify the ceremonies in which figurines were used but their size and portability made them ideal and flexible aspects for settlement mobility and re-use in a sequence of 67/3, 83/1 [here Fig. 3f]) and other social statuses conveyed through personal ornaments (2012: Fig. 47/3 and 7). 2  In Dragoş Gheorghiu’s Vadastra experimental session (Southern Romania) of 1999, children of junior-school age learnt in one day how to make these ‘stylised’ figurines, often producing ten per day.

272

John Chapman and Bisserka Gaydarska: The Cucuteni – Trypillia ‘Big Other’ Table 1: Characteristics of four ethnographic modes of pottery production (source: data in Peacock 1982: 13–43). Characteristics in italics refer to those found in Cucuteni – Trypillia settlements. Characteristics

Household production

Household Industry

Workshop Industry

Nucleated Industry

Replacement of broken pots

Common

coarse vessels

coarse vessels

coarse vessels

specialised vessels

common

Rare

Imports from beyond Rare the house

Export beyond house Rare

Seasonal production

Local clays

Surface or pit firing

Wheel / turntable

Kiln–firing

Differentiated production areas

Normal

Common

Common

None

common

common

normal

common

common

high–quality > distance

common

very rare

rare

essential

essential

rare – can be year–round

high–quality > distance

very rare

essential

None

rare

essential

None

rare

workshop +/– kiln

highly differentiated: specialised products

subsidiary

complementary

complementary

Relation of potting Subsidiary to agriculture

Linda Ellis (1984) has postulated the emergence of a higher scale of pottery production in the villages dating to the Trypillia BI – Cucuteni A phase. The basis for this change from household production to higher-level production was identified by Sander van der Leeuw (1977) in terms of variables such as the time involved, the scale of production, the location of resources for potting, the permanent loci of production, the range of distribution and the higher division of labour (Ellis 1984: Table 21). However, van der Leeuw (1977) does not distinguish between two levels of pottery production – workshop production and village industry.

essential

as Varvareuvka VIII, Mykolaiv Oblast (Ellis 1984: 162, Figs. 61–62 and Table 21) and Vesely Kut, Odes’ka Oblast (Tsvek 1994), as well as the numerous settlements with pottery kilns (Ellis 1984: 142–156; cf. Korvin-Piotrovskiy et al. 2016) but quite different to claim village-scale production as a distinctive specialisation for regionalscale pottery production. For this different idea, Ellis has far less evidence – in effect, restricted to van Stern’s (1909, 1927) excavations on the outer ring of the Trypillia BII site of Petreni, in Moldova. Ernst van Stern found that the eight ‘houses’ were packed with pottery of all sizes, but contained very few animal bones or charred grain, little lithic debitage and scanty remains of other dwelling discard. He interpreted these features as ‘houses of the dead’, whereas Ellis (1984: 162–164) proposes that they indicate a ‘pottery manufacturing district’, with the likelihood that kilns would be found nearby.

A more detailed ethnographically-based study of pottery production was developed for comparisons with Roman pottery production (Peacock 1982) but the descriptors remain comparable for prehistory pottery. David Peacock distinguishes between household production, household industries, workshop industries and nucleated industries (Tab. 1). While Peacock emphasizes the problems in making sharp differences between these four ‘ideal’ types, it is clear that the Cucuteni–Trypillia evidence cited by Ellis is most consonant with production at the household industrial or workshop industrial scales but that there was little trace of characteristics most frequently associated with nucleated workshop industries.

The latest geophysical prospection of Trypillia megasites has identified particularly strong magnetic anomalies as the loci of pottery kilns (Rassmann et al. 2016). Indeed, the geophysical plan of Petreni, Drochia district (Rassmann et al. 2014: Figs. 38–39; cf. Ellis 1984: Fig. 69) indicates a series of 14 large circular anomalies on the periphery of the site, outside a perimeter ditch. Knut Rassmann et al. (2016) interpret these features as kiln-shaped anomalies, indicating a kiln: house ratio of 1: 35. Another research paper on Trypillia kilns cites 21 kiln-like anomalies at Petreni, with a kiln: house ratio of 1:25 (Korvin-Piotrovskiy et al. 2016). The various kiln: house ratios suggest specialized pottery production for on-site consumption rather than regional pottery production.

There is no question that Cucuteni–Trypillia potters in the Cucuteni A / Trypillia BI phase and later were more specialized than those of Pre–Cucuteni / Trypillia A communities, as demonstrated by the range of forming and firing processes in the later phases. However, it is one thing to propose workshop production at sites such 273

Between History and Archaeology Our gloss on Linda Ellis’ idea is that specialized workshop ceramic production would have been underpinned by communal co-operation, with individual households contributing to the workshop in a variety of ways, whether through the construction of the workshop, the collection of clay and firewood, the provision of manganese for paint through their exchange links, the building and maintenance of kilns, pottery design, the firing of vessels in kilns, the painting of the fine ware vessels, etc. The material effects of any sense of overall leadership would have been limited by the communal debts owed to all participants. The flexibility in house form allowed conversion of what looks like a ‘normal’ dwelling house into a pottery workshop. In this way, a specialized production practice combining the labour of many persons was itself integrated into one of the key aspects of Trypillia lifeways. The development of mega-sites enabled the creation of larger numbers of workshops in several neighbourhoods.

settlements. There would appear to be three possible solutions to this paradox: (1) social differentiation was important but was achieved in a hitherto undiscovered mortuary zone; (2) social differentiation was important but was achieved communally through the ‘Big Other’ rather than through copper and gold objects; and (3) there was no such social differentiation as we have hitherto imagined but that dwelling on Trypillia megasites was on a much smaller scale and possibly seasonal. In other words, two of the possible explanations for the exchange paradox are tightly focused on facets of the ‘Big Other’. The absence of a Cucuteni–Trypillia mortuary domain has been disputed (see above, p. 268) through the linkage of burnt house rituals to the death of important household members. Given the difficulty of proving a negative, the unseen presence of Trypillia A– and B– phase cemeteries cannot be excluded. However, it is important to note that the intra-mural graves at the Trypillia settlement of Chapaevka – for long the only known group of graves in Phase B settlements – have now been re-dated to a hitherto unrecognised Forest Neolithic phase of the site.

In summary, the three principal components of the Cucuteni–Trypillia ‘Big Other’ were indeed both generic and ambiguous – offering the potential for varied renderings of the house and figurine forms, while simultaneously providing the chance for varied readings of these forms. Part of their success was the combination of individual and dividual identities that both houses and figurines embodied. A house, a figurine or a vessel was conjointly an individual object with specific meanings and a dividual part of a class of entities, its meaning negotiated in relation to the wider whole. Another key element of the ‘Big Other’ was its reliance on ancestral values, materialized in the long-term traditions of houses, figurines and pottery. Such ancestral values were nested in a communitarian manner, emphasizing the settlement over the neighbourhood, the neighbourhood over the household and the household over the person. It was not that there was necessarily an anti-accumulation ethos in ancestral values – rather that these values could channel accumulation in different ways, often away from individual prestige gains (for a parallel case of ancestral values in tell settlements, see Chapman 1989).

There is much to commend the second solution to this paradox – not least the overall importance of the materialization of the ‘Big Other’ as houses, figurines and pottery in Cucuteni–Trypillia lifeways. Instead of the accumulation of prestige metalwork, mega-sites constituted accumulations of the three aspects of the ‘Big Other’ – not least houses. Moreover, there was an intensification in the building of larger dwellinghouses as well as even larger structures – what we have termed ‘Assembly Houses’ – buildings which acted as public meeting spaces for different Quarters on megasites such as Nebelivka (Chapman and Gaydarska 2016). A comparable intensification can be seen in pottery production, with village workshops rather than entire villages producing sufficient pottery of all shapes and sizes for a mega-site neighbourhood. However, the third, most radical solution posits a smaller number of permanent residents at a mega-site – perhaps two or three thousand – or a much smaller residential core with the majority of people making seasonal visits. These models would entail a dramatic reduction of resources, not least salt – something that seasonal visitors would bring with them – with a concomitant fall in scalar stress (Johnson 1982; Chapman 2017) and a less diversified social hierarchy. This minimal model also best fits the remarkably low level of human impact found in the Nebelivka pollen diagram from a core taken 250m from the edge of the mega-site (Albert et al. submitted). We are currently modeling the relationship between length of occupation, number of houses and

Discussion The characterization of the Cucuteni–Trypillia ‘Big Other’ has demonstrated the essential links between millennial cultural traditions and their materialization in houses, figurines and pottery. At this juncture, it is useful to relate the ‘Big Other’ to another major issue in Trypillian archaeology – the Trypillia exchange paradox. Put simply, this paradox states that, despite the expectation of social hierarchy at such massive megasites, there were remarkably few examples of prestige metalwork, such as gold and copper, in these large 274

John Chapman and Bisserka Gaydarska: The Cucuteni – Trypillia ‘Big Other’ size of population for all of the scenarios currently envisaged.

of discussion about Cucuteni–Trypillia; Roland Fletcher and the Hawaii / Tucson ‘Big Sites’ group; the villagers of Nebelivka; Stoilka Terziiska-Ignatova; and the fieldwork teams of Durham and Kirovograd students.

Conclusions The second methodological revolution of the Trypillia mega-sites (Chapman et al. 2014) has resulted in a mass of new data which, in and of itself, has created a new excavation and fieldwork agenda for the next 20 years (for a beginning, see chapters in Müller et al. 2016). However, without a comparable theoretical revolution integrated with the new field data, this methodological revolution has obvious limits, both technical and intellectual. In this chapter, we make a modest start to developing a new Trypillia theoretical landscape, open to hitherto unrecognised interpretative possibilities.

References Albert, B., Innes, J., Krementskiy, K., Millard, A., Gaydarska, B., Nebbia, M. and Chapman, J. submitted. Decadal timescale palaeo-ecology at the Trypillian megasite of Nebelivka, Ukraine. (Submitted to Vegetation History & Archaeobotany). Bailey, D. 2005. On the absence of burial ritual in Cucuteni–Tripolie communities. In V. Spinei, C.-M. Lazarovici, and D. Monah (eds), Scripta praehistorica. Miscellanea in honorem nonagenarii magistri Mircea Petrescu–Dîmboviţa oblata: 319–340. Iaşi, Trinitas. Bailey, D. 2013. Figurines, corporeality and the origins of the gendered body. In D. Bolger (ed.), A companion to gender prehistory: 244–264. Oxford, Wiley-Blackwell.. Burdo, N. B. 2008. Sakralni svit Tripolskoi civilizacije. Kiev: Nash Chas. Burdo, N., Videiko, M., Chapman, J. and Gaydarska, B. 2013. Houses in the archaeology of the Tripillia– Cucuteni groups. In D. Hofmann and J. Smyth (eds), Tracking the Neolithic house in Europe. Sedentism, architecture and practice: 95–116. New York, Springer. Chapman, J. 1989. ‘The early Balkan village’. Varia Archaeologica Hungarica 2: 33–53. Chapman, J. 2000. Fragmentation in archaeology: People, places and broken objects in the prehistory of South Eastern Europe. London, Routledge. Chapman, J. 2015. Burn or bury? Mortuary alternatives in the Neolithic and Chalcolithic of Central and Eastern Europe. In A. Diachenko,F. Menotti, S. Ryzhov, K. Bunyatyan and S. Kadrow (eds), The Cucuteni–Trypillia cultural complex and its neighbours. Essays in memory of Vlodomyr Kruts: 259–278. Lviv, Astrolyabia. Chapman, J. 2017. The standard Model, the Maximalists and the Minimalists: new interpretations of Trypillia mega-sites. Journal of World Prehistory 30(3):221–237. Chapman, J. and Gaydarska, B. 2007. Parts and wholes. Fragmentation in prehistoric context. Oxford, Oxbow Books. Chapman, J. and Gaydarska, B. 2016. Low-density urbanism: the case of the Trypillia group of Ukraine. In M. Fernández-Götz and D. Krausse (eds), Eurasia at the Dawn of History: Urbanization and Social Change: 81–105. Edinburgh, Cambridge University Press. Chapman, J., Videiko, M., Gaydarska, B., Burdo, N., Hale, D., Villis, R., Swann, N., Thomas, N., Edwards, P., Blair, A., Hayes, A., Nebbia, M. and Rud, V. 2014. The Planning of the Earliest European Proto-Towns: A New Geophysical Plan of the Trypillia Mega-Site of Nebelivka, Kirovograd Domain, Ukraine. Antiquity

Central to the new landscape is Lacan and Žižek’s concept of the ‘Big Other’ – those ideas which are sufficiently important to attract general consent yet ambiguous enough to avoid local schisms. We propose that the materialization of the ‘Big Other’ is seen in Cucuteni–Trypillia houses, figurines and decorated pottery – each of which persisted for almost two millennia through subtle transformations into local variations on the principal themes. There is a case that the central paradox of Trypillia exchange – the major logistical requirements for provisioning of the megasites are offset by an almost complete absence of the materialization of the requisite social differentiation for such logistical organization – can be explained by aspects of the ‘Big Other’. We propose three solutions for the Trypillia exchange paradox – the deposition of prestige metal objects in a hitherto undiscovered mortuary Trypillia zone; the materialisation of social differentiation through the ‘Big Other’, especially in the differentiated form and size of houses; and the scenario of mega-sites with much smaller, perhaps partly seasonal, populations. The Nebelivka research team is currently modeling these various explanations. Acknowledgements This chapter could not have been written without the Kyiv-Durham research team of the AHRC–funded project ‘Early urbanism in Europe?: the case of the Ukrainian Trypillia mega-sites’ (Grant No. AH/I025867/1), and in particular our partners, Drs. Mikhail Videiko and Natalia Burdo. We thank the National Geographic Society for their much appreciated financial support for the mega-structure excavation (Grant No. 2012/211). We are very grateful to the Institute of Archaeology, Kyiv; successive Governors of Kirovograd Domain and their staff; Durham University, especially Professors Chris Scarre and Chris Gerrard; Dan Monah for many hours 275

Between History and Archaeology Gallery: http://antiquity.ac.uk.ezphost.dur.ac.uk/ projgall/chapman339/. Chapman, J., Videiko, M. Yu., Hale, D., Gaydarska, B., Burdo, N., Rassmann, K., Mischka, C., Müller, J., Korvin-Piotrovskiy, A. and Kruts, V. 2014a. The second phase of the Trypillia mega-site methodological revolution – a new research agenda. European Journal of Archaeology 17 (3): 369–406. Dumitrescu, R. 2008. Neolithic codes – a different approach of Cucuteni woman (Para-archaeological and para-medical meditative essay). In: F. Coimbra and G. Dimitriadis (eds), Cognitive archaeology as symbolic archaeology. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 1737. Ellis, L. 1984. The Cucuteni–Tripolye Culture: Study in Technology and the Origins of Complex Society. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 217. Gheorghiu, D. 2005. The controlled fragmentation of anthropomorphic figurines. In Gh. Dumitroaia, J. Chapman, O. Weller, C. Preoteasa, R. Munteanu, D. Nicola and D. Monah (eds), Cucuteni. 120 years of research. Time to sum up: 137–144. Piatra Neamţ, Cucuteni Culture International Research Centre. Gheorghiu, D. 2010. Dragoş Gheorghiu. In D. Bailey, A, Cochrane and M. Zambelli (eds), 2010. Unearthed. A comparative study of Jōmon dogū and Neolithic figurines: 62. Norwich, Sainsbury Centre for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures. Gimbutas, M. 1982. Goddesses and Gods of old Europe. London, Thames and Hudson. Gudeman, S. 2001. The anthropology of economy. Oxford, Blackwell. Johnson, G. 1982. Organizational Structure and Scalar Stress. In C. Renfrew, M. J. Rowlands and B. SegravesWhallon (eds), Theory and explanation in archaeology: the Southampton Conference: 389–421. London, Academic Press. Johnston, S., Litkevych, V., Gaydarska, B., Voke, P., Nebbia, M. and Chapman, J., in press. The Nebelivka experimental house-construction and houseburning. (To appear in M. Spasić (ed.), Neolithic houses. Beograd, Gradski Muzej). Jordan, P. 2003. Material culture and sacred landscape. The anthropology of the Siberian Khanty. Walnut Creek, CA, AltaMira Press. Kohring, S. 2012. A scalar perspective to social complexity: complex relations and complex questions. In T. Kienlin and A. Zimmermann (eds), Beyond elites. Alternatives to hierarchical systems in modelling social formations: 327–338. Bonn, Rudolf Habelt. Korvin-Piotrovskiy, A., Hofmann, R., Rassmann, K., Videiko, M. and Brandtstätter, L. 2016. Pottery Kilns in Trypillian Settlements. Tracing the Division of Labour and the Social Organization of Copper Age Communities. In J. Müller, K. Rassmann and

M. Videiko (eds), Trypillia–Megasites and European Prehistory, 4100–3400 BCE: 221–52. Routledge, London. Kruts, V. 2003. Tripol’skie ploshchadki – rezul’tati ritual’nogo sozhenya domov. In A.G. KorvinPiotrovskiy (ed.), Tripil’ski poselenya-giganti. Materiali mizhnarodnoi konferentsii: 74–76. Kiev, Korvin–press. Kruts, V. 2012. The latest stage of development of the Tripolye culture. In F. Menotti and A.G. KorvinPiotrovskiy (eds), The Tripolye culture giantsettlements in Ukraine. Formation, development and decline: 230–253. Oxford, Oxbow Books. Marangou, C. 1996 Assembling, displaying and dissembling Neolithic and Eneolithic figurines and models. Journal of European Archaeology 4: 177–202. Monah, D. 1997. Plastica antropomorfă a culturii Cucuteni– Tripolie. Piatra Neamţ, Centrul de Cercetare a culturii Cucuteni. Monah, D. 2012. Plastica antropomorfă a culturii Cucuteni– Tripolie. Ediţia a doua. Piatra Neamţ, Centrul de Cercetare a culturii Cucuteni. Monah, D. and Monah, F. 1997. The last great Chalcolithic civilization of Old Europe. In C-M. Mantu, Gh. Dumitroaia and A. Tsaravopoulos (eds), Cucuteni. The last great Chalcolithic civilization of Europe: 15–95. Thessaloniki, Athena Printing House. Müller, J., Rassmann, K. and Videiko, M. (eds) 2016. Trypillia–Megasites and European Prehistory, 4100–3400 BCE. Leeds, Maneys. Peacock, D. 1982. Pottery in the Roman world. London, Longman. Popovici, D. N. 2010. Copper Age traditions North of the Danube river. In D.W. Anthony and J.Y. Chi (eds), The lost world of Old Europe. The Danube Valley, 5000 – 3500 BC: 91–111. New York, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World. Rassmann, K., Ohlrau, R., Hofmann, R., Mischka, C., Burdo, N. Videjko, M. Yu. and Müller, J. 2014. High precision Tripolye settlement plans, demographic estimates and settlement organization. Journal of Neolithic Archaeology 16: 96–134. Rassmann, K., Korvin-Piotrovskiy, A., Videiko, M. and Müller, J. 2016. The new challenge for site plans and geophysics: Revealing the settlement structure of giant settlements by means of geomagnetic survey. In J. Müller, K. Rassmann and M. Videiko (eds), Trypillia–Megasites and European Prehistory, 4100–3400 BCE: 29–54. Routledge, London. Ryzhov, S. 2005. The Tripolye BII–CI sites of the PruthDniester region. In Gh. Dumitroaia, J. Chapman, O. Weller, C. Preoteasa, R. Munteanu, D. Nicola and D. Monah (eds), Cucuteni. 120 years of research. Time to sum up: 193–208. Piatra Neamţ, Cucuteni Culture International Research Centre. Ryzhov, S. 2012. Relative Chronology of the GiantSettlement Period BII–CI. In: F. Menotti and A. Korvin-Piotrovskiy (eds), The Tripolye Culture Giant-

276

John Chapman and Bisserka Gaydarska: The Cucuteni – Trypillia ‘Big Other’ Settlements in Ukraine. Formation, Development and Decline: 79–115. Oxford, Oxbow Books. Shmaglij, N. M. and Videiko, M. Yu. 2002 - 03. Maidanetskoe - tripolski protogorod. Stratum Plus 2: 44–140. Stevanović, M. 1997. Production of architecture in the age of clay. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 16 (4): 334–395. Tringham, R. 2005. Weaving house life and death into places: a blueprint for a hypermedia narrative. In D. Bailey, A. Whittle and V. Cummings (eds), (Un) settling the Neolithic: 98–111. Oxford, Oxbow Books. Tsvek, E. 1994. Gončarnoie proizvodstvo plemen tripol’skoj kul’tury. In I.T. Chernyakiv (ed.), Remeslo epokhi eneolita-bronzi na Ukraine: 55–95. Kiev, Naukova Dumka. Tsvek, E. and Rassamakin, Yu. Ya. 2005. The interactions between the Eastern Tripolye culture and the Pontic steppe area: some aspects of the problem. In Gh. Dumitroaia, J. Chapman, O. Weller, C. Preoteasa, R. Munteanu, D. Nicola and D. Monah (eds), Cucuteni. 120 years of research. Time to sum up: 173–192 Piatra Neamţ, Cucuteni Culture International Research Centre.

van der Leeuw, S. 1977. Towards a study of the economics of pottery-making. In B. L. van Beek, R.W. Brandt, and W. Groenman-Van Waateringe (eds), Ex horreo: IPP 1951–1976: 68–76. Amsterdam, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Albert Egges van Giffen Instituut voor Prae- en Protohistorie. von Stern, E. 1909. Die ‘prämykenische’ Kultur in SüdRussland. (Die Ausgrabungen in Petreny, im Bielzer Kreis des Gouvernements Bessarabien: 1902–1903). Trudy XIII Arkheologicheskogo Soyezda v Ekaterinoslave 1905: 53–95. von Stern, E. 1927. Südrussland. In M. Ebert, M. (ed.), Reallexikon der Vorgeschichte. Volume 13: 32–50. Berlin, Walter de Gruyter. Videiko, M.Y. 2012. Comprehensive Study of the Large Settlements of the Tripolye Culture: 1971–2011. Stratum Plus 2012(2): 225–63. Watson, E. and Gaydarska, B. 2014. Little Cucuteni pots of hope: a challenge to the divine nature of figurines. Studii de Prehistorie 11: 1–10. Žižek, S. 2007. How to read Lacan. New York, W. W. Norton. Žižek, S. 2007a. Cogito, madness and religion: Derrida, Foucault and Lacan. http://www.lacan.com/zizforest. html

277

278

A Neolithic Child Burial from Ciemna Cave in Ojców National Park, Poland Paweł Valde-Nowak

Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University, 11 Gołębia St., 31–007 Cracow, Poland e-mail: [email protected] (corresponding author)

Damian Stefański

Archaeological Museum of Cracow, 3 Senacka St., 31–002 Cracow, Poland e-mail: [email protected]

Anita Szczepanek

Department of Anatomy, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 12 Kopernika St., 31–034 Cracow, Poland e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: This paper describes a newly discovered child burial found in course of a new research project in the main chamber of the Ciemna Cave. Anthropological investigation showed that the skeleton belongs to a fetus that died in the perinatal period. The body was buried in a shallow pit with no grave goods included. The radiocarbon date of the skeleton links it to the Neolithic settlement, most probably to the Baden Culture. Keywords: Child burial, Neolithic, Baden Culture, Ciemna Cave

Introduction

by Stefan J. Czarnowski (Czarnowski 1924), who explored almost all of the topmost sediments in ‘Ogrójec’ and ‘Tunel Wielki’. The materials of Czarnowski, those found by Stefan Krukowski, and the newest (obtained in the course of the present excavation) document a few subsequent phases of Holocene settlement in the cave system. The most numerous remains are linked to the Neolithic period (Żurowski 1931, 1933; Jażdżewski 1936; Kostrzewski 1939; Gardawski 1958; Kempisty 1970, 1973; Kulczycka-Leciejewiczowa 1970, 1979; Rook 1980; Godłowska et al. 1995; Valde-Nowak et al. 2014), although the artefacts which document the Roman Period (Mączyńska 1970; Woźniak 1970; 2006; Godłowski 1995) and the Middle Ages (Wojenka 2013) are also present. Additionally, a closely related Neolithic site was found above the Ciemna Cave (Lech and Partyka 2001a, 2001b).

The aim of this work is to elaborate on information previously mentioned about the Neolithic child burial (Ginter et al. 2015) that was found during a new research project carried out in the Ciemna Cave, Cracow district, since 2007 (Valde-Nowak et al. 2014). The Ciemna Cave is one of the most important Polish archaeological sites documenting human settlement in the southern part of the Cracow-Czestochowa Upland from the Middle Paleolithic to the Middle Ages. The site is located in Ojców National Park, on the left side of the Prądnik Stream Valley at Koronna Rock. The cave is cut from Upper Jurassic limestone rock. The present opening is situated 62m above the valley bottom, i.e. 372m above sea level. Ciemna Cave is one of the geologically oldest caves in the Ojców Upland (Madeyska 1977) and has one of the largest chambers of all the caves in the region (Gradziński et al. 2007). Ciemna Cave sensu largo is an extensive cave system which comprises: the main chamber (sector CK, acc. Valde-Nowak et al. 2014), a roofless part situated in front of the cave entrance (sector C acc. Krukowski 1939–1948), another roofless section called ‘Ogrójec’ (sector CO acc. Krukowski 1939–1948) and roofed sections: ‘Oborzysko Wielkie’ and ‘Tunnel’ (Fig. 1). Oborzysko Wielkie, Ogrójec and Tunnel used to form chambers that ran parallel to the hillside of the valley.

The burial The child burial was found in the main chamber of Ciemna Cave in 2014. This is an elongated, NE-oriented chamber (88m long, 23–10m wide, and about 8m high) which leads into a smaller, elongated SE-oriented chamber, and finally to a narrow NE-oriented, 60m long corridor (Gradziński et al. 2007). The burial was found in the south corner of the main chamber, close to the existing opening (c. 10m). As the filling of the pit did not differ from the Holocene layer, it was not documented until this layer was explored. At this level the pit was bipartite and had an irregular outline, c. 0.4m in diameter (Fig. 2). The skeleton was found in the bottom part. The body lay on its right side, in a fetal position, with the head directed to the west. As the cave sediment is composed of numerous boulders, the pit section was reconstructed by means of three-

The site has been explored several times since the beginning of 20th century. Although the most quoted research there is focused on the Middle Palaeolithic settlement, the findings from the topmost Holocene layer were reported by many archaeologists. The most significant finds of the Holocene settlement were made 279

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 1. Location and map of Ciemna Cave, Cracow dist. Drawn: D. Stefański.

Most of the skull bones are preserved (Fig. 4). The frontal bones are connected by a frontal suture – only the left part is complete. The left parietal bone is complete; the right one is partly destroyed and reconstructed. The squamous part of the left temporal bone is complete, the right is partially damaged. The temporal bones are represented also by the left tympanic ring, fragments of the right one, the petrous part of the left temporal bone with the malleus and the incus; as well as the petrous part of the right temporal bone. The sphenoid bone is represented by both the greater wings and the corpus with the lesser wings. The occipital bone is represented by both lateral parts, a fragment of the squamous part, as well as the basilar part. The upper maxillae is represented by the orbital surfaces, the alveolar processes with buds of the primary teeth, and the palatine processes. The mandible is represented by the alveolar parts with buds of the primary teeth. The vertebral column is represented by the corpuses of the cervical, thoracic, lumbar and sacral vertebrae and the corresponding arches with articular processes. Additionally, a part of the second cervical vertebra (dens axis) was found. Ribs are present: I–XII from the right and I–VII from the left. The upper limb bones are represented by the complete right scapula and the partially preserved left one, the clavicle bones, diaphysis of humeri, ulnae, radii, complete metacarpals, and 5 phalanges. The

dimensional measurements of the items documented from its filling (bones and potsherds). According to reconstruction, the feature was a shallow pit dug into the Holocene layer and partly into the Pleistocene bed (Fig. 3). The skeleton was covered with two visible levels of potsherds. The potsherds from the lower level are very fragmented and can be interpreted rather as an admixture rather than burial goods. These potsherds (c. 150 pieces) can be dated mostly to the Neolithic period and represent the Malice Culture – 3 pieces of vessel rims, and the Baden culture – a group of uncharacteristic fragments with specific treatment of the vessel surface. The upper level of potsherds constitutes a cultural palimpsest characteristic of the Holocene level in the main chamber. The skeleton Anthropological analysis of the skeleton was carried out according to methods developed for the study of prehistoric materials (Ubelaker 1989; White and Folkens 2005). Age at death was determined by the degree of bone ossification and the size of the various elements of the skeleton (Scheuer et al. 2000), as well as tooth development (AlQahtani et al. 2010). The length of the body was estimated by rib measurements using the multiple regression procedure recommended for use in fetus determination (Fazekas and Kósa 1978). 280

Paweł Valde-Nowak et al.: A Neolithic Child Burial from Ciemna Cave in Ojców National Park, Poland

Fig. 2. ‘Location of the skeleton’. Photo: D. Stefański.

the 40th week of fetal life (Tab. 1). The fetus was born dead, or death took place immediately after delivery. The length of the body, estimated by a rib measurement of 50.7cm, which places it between the 38th and 42nd week of pregnancy when compared to the contemporary population, with approximate crown-heel length between 46 to 54cm. According to Lionel Sharples Penrose (1961), the size of the fetus is only 38% determined by heredity, with the remaining percentage being determined by external factors (the most important being the socio-economic conditions of the mother’s life). The natal parameters are indirect indicators of the nutritional status of the mother, her physical activity, lifestyle, as well as the impact of

lower limb bones are represented by pelvis bones: ilia, ischia and pubis. The long bones are represented by the left and right diaphysis of the femurs, the left tibia and the left fibula, and also the distal and proximal epiphysis of the right fibula. The bones of the foot are represented by the metatarsal bones (2x), the proximal and the intermediate phalanges (11x), and the distal phalanges (3x). A detailed overview of the remaining elements of the skeleton bones in accordance to field documentation is shown in Table 1. The size of the bones and the degree of their morphological development allow a determination of the child’s age at the time of death at around 281

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 3. Reconstruction of the burial. Drawn: D. Stefański.

Table 1: List of preserved bones and their measurements with comparisons to the contemporary population. Comparative information (according to Fazekas and Kósa 1978)

Inventory Human remains No. 23611 23685 23686 23687 23688 23690 23691 23692 23693 23694

the left tibia (65mm length)

40th wk (65.2mm length)

the left fibula (62mm length)

40th wk (62mm length)

the left part of the frontal bone, frontal suture is visible (57mm length x 42mm width)

40th wk (54.8mm length)

the left parietal bone (66mm length)

40th wk (65.7mm length)

the right femur (72mm length, 20mm width at the distal epiphysis)

40th wk (74.4mm length; 19.9mm width at the distal epiphysis

the left femur (72mm length, 20mm width at the distal epiphysis)

left rib – Co7 (63mm length) left rib – Co6 (61mm length)

40th wk (74.4mm length; 19.9mm width at the distal epiphysis

   

left rib – Co5 (61mm length)

 

left rib – Co4 (54mm length)

 

the left clavicle (42mm length)

38th wk (42.6mm length)

282

Paweł Valde-Nowak et al.: A Neolithic Child Burial from Ciemna Cave in Ojców National Park, Poland

Comparative information (according to Fazekas and Kósa 1978)

Inventory Human remains No. 23695

left rib – Co2 (39mm length)

 

23697

left rib – Co1 (23mm length)

 

23696 23698 23699 23700

23701

23703 23709 23710 23711 23712 23713 23714 23717 23718 23719 23720 23721 23722 23723 23724 23725 23726 23727 23728 23729 23730 23732 23733 23734 23735

left rib – Co3 (49mm length)

 

fragment of the squamous part of the occipital bone the left tympanic ring (12mm in diameter)

fragment of the right rib, glued together with 23711

 

38th wk (12mm in diameter)  

the metatarsal bones (2x), the proximal and the intermediate phalanges (11x), the distal phalanges (3x),   fragments of the lumbar vertebrae: the corpuses (5x), arches with articular processes (3x) the right ischium (19mm length x 12mm width)

the right (16mm length) and the left pubis bones (16mm length)

40th wk (18.5mm length x 12.5mm width) 40th wk (16.6mm length)

the right ilium (34 length x 30mm width)

40th wk (34.5mm length x 30.4mm width)

the corpuses of the thoracic vertebrae (8x), the distal and proximal diaphysis of the fibula

 

the right radius (52mm length)

40th wk (51.8mm length)

the right rib – Co5 (60mm length), glued together with 23700   the right rib – Co7 (63mm length)

 

the left squamous part of the temporal bone (26mm length)

40th wk (25.4mm length)

a fragment of the right parietal bone

 

the right rib (damaged) – Co6?

a fragment of the right parietal bone

a fragment of the squamous part of the frontal bone, glued with 23722 a fragment of the squamous part of the occipital bone

the petrous part of the left temporal bone (38mm length x 17mm width), the malleus, the incus

       

40th wk (38.1mm length); 38th wk (17mm width); 36th wk (16.1mm width)

a fragment of the squamous part of the frontal bone with the   orbital surfaces, glued with 23719 a fragment of the squamous part of the occipital bone

 

a fragment of the squamous part of the occipital bone

 

the left ischium (19mm length x 12mm width)

the arch of the vertebrae, the metacarpal bones (3x), the phalanges (3x)

a fragment of the right parietal bone, the squamous part of the temporal bone fragments of the arches and the processes of the vertebrae (4x)

40th wk (18.5mm length x 12.5mm width)      

fragments of the arches and the processes of the vertebrae (6x)

 

the left maxilla with the buds of central incisors

 

a fragment of the squamous part of the occipital bone

 

the left greater wing of the sphenoid bone

 

the petrous part of the right temporal bone (38mm length x 16mm width) the corpus and the lesser wings of the sphenoid bone

283

40th wk (38.1mm length); 38th wk (17mm width); 36th wk (16.1mm width)  

Between History and Archaeology

Comparative information (according to Fazekas and Kósa 1978)

Inventory Human remains No. 23736 23737 23738 23740 23742 23743 23744 23745 23746 23747 23748 23749 23750 23751 23752 23754 23757

the right greater wing of the sphenoid bone

the corpuses (3x), the arches and the articular processes of the vertebrae (3x)

   

the corpuses (1x), the arches and the articular processes of the vertebrae (6x)

 

the right maxilla with the primary teeth buds

 

the left part of the mandible with the primary teeth buds

 

the right part of the mandible with the primary teeth buds

 

the right rib, damaged – Co10? the right rib, damaged – Co9?

   

the right rib – Co8 (59mm length)

 

the right rib, damaged – (Co4 53mm?)

 

the right rib, damaged

 

the right ulna (60mm length)

40th wk (59.3mm length)

the right clavicle (42mm length)

the right lateral part of the occipital bone (26mm length x 15mm width) the basilar part the occipital bone (11mm length x 14mm width) the left lateral part of the occipital bone (25mm length x 15mm width), the phalanx, fragments of the arches and articular processes of the cervical vertebrae (12x)

38th wk (42.6mm length) 40th wk (26.5mm length, 14mm width)   40th wk (26.5mm length x 14mm width)

tiny fragments of the skull, the right and the left part of the orbital surfaces of the maxilla, a fragment of the left scapula,   a fragments of the right tympanic ring small fragments of the skull, a damaged fragment of the left scapula, a dens of the a part (dens axis) of the second cervical vertebra, the corpuses (7) and the arches (12x) of the   vertebrae, the metacarpal bones (7x), the phalanx bone, the left ribs (4x) – Co8 (61mm length), Co9 (58mm length), Co10 (51mm length), damaged – Co11 the left humerus (62mm length, 16mm width at the distal epiphysis)

40th wk (64.9mm length, 16.8mm width at the distal epiphysis)

the left ulna (60mm length)

40th wk (59.3mm length)

the left ilium (34mm length x 29mm width)

40th wk (34.5mm length); 38th wk (28.5mm width)

the left radius (53mm length)

40th wk (51.8mm length)

23759

the right rib – Co–1 (23mm length)

 

23761

the right rib – Co3 (51mm length)

 

23758

23760 23762

23764

the right rib, broken – Co2

 

the right humerus (65mm length, 17mm width at the distal epiphysis) the right scapula: (30mm length x 27mm width, the ridge – 30mm length) the corpuses (3x) and the arch with the process of the vertebrae, a fragment of the rib

284

38th wk (61.3mm length, 15.7mm width at the distal epiphysis) 

38th wk (33.1mm length x 26.8mm width length, the ridge – 29.1mm)

Paweł Valde-Nowak et al.: A Neolithic Child Burial from Ciemna Cave in Ojców National Park, Poland external climatic factors on her body (GawlikowskaSroka et al. 2007). In temperate climates, autumn is the most favourable and has a positive effect on the pregnancy (Litwiejko-Pietryńczak 1996). On the basis of measurements and estimated body length of the fetus, it can be assumed that pregnancy proceeded well, and the death occurred in the perinatal period.

of human presence in the caves of the Cracow– Czestochowa Upland, the skeleton was subjected to radiocarbon dating. The collagen was gathered from a vertebra process. The radiocarbon data (Poz–67071, 4385 ± 35 BP, 2.6% N, 8.8% C, 2.5% coll) confirms the Neolithic date of the burial (Fig. 4) and links it with the Baden Culture, whose settlement in Lesser Poland has been precisely framed by a series of radiocarbon determinations (Zastawny 2015a). According to this outcome, the burial can be synchronized with the late classic phase of the Baden Culture which persisted there between 3100 and 2900 BC (Zastawny 2015b).

Radiocarbon determination Thanks to the National Science Centre grant (2013/11/D/ HS3/01877) which aims to research the phenomenon

Fig. 4. Preserved bones of the skeleton: a – model of skeleton with preserved bones marked, b-e – bones of the skull vault, f-j – left temporal bone, k – left and right maxilla, l – mandible, m-r – right upper limb, s-w – left lower limb. Photo: A. Szczepanek.

285

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 5. Calibration of the radiocarbon date. Graphic: D. Stefański.

Conclusion

position of children in society could have differed across prehistory, deliberate children’s graves have been previously documented since the upper Paleolithic period (Einwogerer et al. 2008)

The findings of human remains acquired during this new research proves the funeral role of the Ciemna Cave, as yet documented only by series of ambiguous human remains reported by Czarnowski from Oborzysko Wielkie (Czarnowski 1924). The presented child burial, although lacking in grave goods, can be conclusively linked with the Neolithic settlement, thanks to radiocarbon dating, and precisely to the Baden Culture. It is not clear whether the feature was a deliberate grave or if the body was buried in a settlement pit. In this last case it is also not known whether the fetus was respected and treated with care, or if it did not receive the general funeral practice proper for a recognised member of the community. The Baden Culture funeral practice in Lesser Poland (both graves and burials in settlement pits) have been documented: Zesławice site 21, Cracow district; Pleszów site 17, Cracow district (Godłowska 1978); Zagórze site 1, Wadowice district (Valde-Nowak 2008), and in all cases the corpses were handled carefully and grave goods were offered (Zastawny 2012). As none of the above-mentioned burials relate to a child, there is no certainty that the body of the fetus in the Ciemna Cave was a deliberate grave, buried with a conscious funeral act. However, since the body was oriented towards the west and because of the fetal position of the corpse (both signs which seem to point to the Baden Culture) the above hypothesis seems to be reliable. Although the

Acknowledgments The research reported in this paper was performed under grant No. UMO-2014/15/B/HS3/02219, ‘The Last Neanderthals in the Ciemna Cave’ obtained from the Polish National Science Centre. We would like to thank the Director and the Scientific Committee of the Ojców National Park for their support. Translated by the authors References AlQahtani, S. J., Hector, M. P. and Liversidge, H. M. 2010. Brief communication: The London atlas of human tooth development and eruption. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 142(3): 481–490. Czarnowski, S. J. 1924. Jaskinie i schroniska na Góry Koronnej na lewym brzegu Prądnika pod Ojcowem. Prace i Materiały Antropologiczno-Archeologiczne i Etnograficzne III: 3–26. Einwogerer, T., Handel, M., Neugebauer-Maresch, C., Simon, U. and Teschler-Nicola, M. 2008. The Gravettian Infant Burials from Krems-Wachtberg, Austria. In K. Bacvarov (ed.), Babies reborn – infant– 286

Paweł Valde-Nowak et al.: A Neolithic Child Burial from Ciemna Cave in Ojców National Park, Poland child burials in pre– and protohistory. Proceedings of the XV World Congress UISPP (Lisbon, 4–9 September 2006): 15–22. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 1835. Fazekas, I. G. and Kósa, F. 1978. Forensic Fetal Osteology. Budapest. Gardawski, A. 1958. Zagadnienie kultury ceramiki grzebykowej w Polsce. Wiadomości Archeologiczne 25: 287–313. Gawlikowska-Sroka, A., Tomczyk, B. and Czerwiński, F. 2007. Noworodek Szczeciński – Stan Rozwoju Fizycznego. Annales Academiae Medicae Stetinensis 53(3): 114–118. Ginter, B., Sobczyk, K., Stefański, D., Valde-Nowak, P. and Zając, M. 2015. Badania w Jaskini Ciemnej w roku 2014. Prądnik 24: 151–156. Godłowska, M. 1978. Plemiona kultury ceramiki promienistej. In W. Hensel and T. Wiślański (eds), Prahistoria ziem polskich II, Neolit: 301-317. WroclawWarszawa- Kraków-Gdańsk-Łódź, Ossolineum. Godłowska, M., Kozłowski, J. K., Kruk, J., Lech, J. and Rook, E. 1995. Młodsza epoka kamienia. In A. Matoga and S. Kołodziejski (eds), Natura i kultura w krajobrazie Jury. Pradzieje i średniowiecze: 49–84. Kraków, Zarząd Zespołu Parków Krajobrazowych. Godłowski, K. 1995. Okres lateński i rzymski. In A. Matoga and S. Kołodziejski (eds), Natura i kultura w krajobrazie Jury. Pradzieje i średniowiecze: 113–136. Kraków, Zarząd Zespołu Parków Krajobrazowych. Gradziński, M., Michalska, B., Wawryka, M. and Szelerewicz, M. 2007. Jaskinie Ojcowskiego Parku Narodowego. Dolina Prądnika, Góra Koronna, Góra Okopy. Ojców, Ojcowski Park Narodowy, Muzeum im. Prof. Władysława Szafera. Jażdżewski, K. 1936. Kultura pucharów lejkowatych w Polsce zachodniej i środkowej. Poznań. Polskie Towarzystwo Prehistoryczne. Kempisty, E. 1970. The Complex of Comb- and Pitmarked Pottery Cultures. In T. Wiślański (ed.), The Neolithic in Poland: 247–252. Wrocław–Warszawa– Kraków, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. Kempisty, E. 1973. Kultura ceramiki‚ grzebykowodołkowej’ na Mazowszu i Podlasiu. Wiadomości Archeologiczne 38: 3–76. Kostrzewski, J. 1939. Od mezolitu do okresu wędrówek ludów. In S. Krukowski, J. Kostrzewski and R. Jakimowicz (eds), Prehistoria Ziem Polskich. Encyklopedia Polska PAU (vol. IV, part 1, section V):118– 359. Kraków, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. Krukowski, S. 1939–1948. Paleolit. In S. Krukowski, J. Kostrzewski and R. Jakimowicz (eds), Prehistoria Ziem Polskich. Kraków. Encyklopedia Polska PAU (vol. IV). Kraków, Polska Akademia Umiejętności. Kulczycka-Leciejewiczowa, A. 1970. The Linear and Stroked Pottery Cultures. In T. Wiślański (ed.), The Neolithic in Poland: 14–75. Wrocław–Warszawa– Kraków, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich

Kulczycka-Leciejewiczowa, A. 1979. Pierwsze społeczeństwa rolnicze na ziemiach polskich. Kultury kręgu naddunajskiego. In W. Hensel and T. Wiślański (eds), Prahistoria ziem polskich. Volume 2 Neolit: 19–164. Wrocław. Lech, J. and Partyka, J. 2001a. Archeologiczne badania sondażowe nad Jaskinią Ciemną w 1998 roku. In J. Lech and J. Partyka (eds), Z archeologii Ukrainy i Jury Ojcowskiej: 353–376. Ojców, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Science. Lech, J. and Partyka, J. 2001b. Stanowisko archeologiczne nad Jaskinią Ciemną w świetle badań sondażowych w latach 1998 i 2000. In J. Partyka, J. (ed.), Badania naukowe w południowej części Wyżyny KrakowskoCzęstochowskiej. Materiały konferencyjne, referaty, postery, sesje terenowe. 10–11 maja 2001 Ojców: 407–412. Ojców, Ojcowski Park Narodowy. Litwiejko-Pietryńczak, E. 1996. Zmienność sezonowa a stan somatyczny noworodka. Przegląd Antropologiczny 59: 141–145. Mączyńska, M. 1970. Materiały z okresu wpływów rzymskich z Jaskini Ciemnej w Ojcowie, pow. Olkusz. Materiały Archeologiczne 11: 199–209. Madeyska, T. 1977. Zróżnicowanie wiekowe jaskiń i schronisk skalnych oraz ich osadów w dolinie Sąspowskiej koło Krakowa [The age differentiation of caves and their sediments of the Sąspowska Valley]. Kras i Speleologia 1: 71–77. Penrose, L. S. 1961. Genetics of Growth and Development of the Foetus. In L. S. Penrose and H. L. Brown (eds), Recent Advances in Human Genetics: 56–75. London, Indian Statistical Institute. Rook, E. 1980. Osadnictwo neolityczne w jaskiniach Wyżyn Krakowsko-Częstochowskiej. Materiały Archeologiczne 20: 5–130. Scheuer, L., Black, S. and Christie, A. 2000. Developmental Juvenile Osteology. San Diego–New York–Tokio, Elsevier. Ubelaker, D. H. 1989. Human skeletal remains. Excavation, analysis, interpretation. Washington, Taraxacum. Valde-Nowak, P. 2008. Isolated grave of the Baden Culture from the Polish Beskidy Mts., In M. Furholt, M. Szmyt and A. Zastawny (eds), The Baden Complex and the Outside World: 139–145. Bonn. Studien zum Archäologie in Ostmitteleuropa 4. Valde-Nowak, P., Alex, B., Ginter, B., Krajcarz, M. T., Madeyska, T., Miękina, B., Sobczyk, K., Stefański, D., Wojtal, P., Zając, M. and Zarzecka-Szubińska, K. 2014. Middle Paleolithic sequences of the Ciemna Cave (Prądnik Valley, Poland): The problem of synchronization. Quaternary International 326–327: 125–145. White, T. D. and Folkens, P. A. 2005. The Human Bone Manual. Burlington–San Diego–London, Academic Press. Wojenka, M. 2013. The heraldic mount from Ciemna Cave at Ojców. From studies in the medieval culture of chivalry. Acta Archaeologica Carpathica 48: 227–263. 287

Between History and Archaeology Woźniak, Z. 1970. Osadnictwo celtyckie w Polsce. Warszawa– Wrocław, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich Woźniak, Z. 2006. Jura Ojcowska w okresie lateńskim (przedrzymskim). In J. Lech and J. Partyka (eds), Jura Ojcowska w pradziejach i początkach państwa polskiego: 489–505. Ojców, Ojcowski Park Narodowy. Zastawny, A. 2012. Groby kultury badeńskiej w Małopolsce. Sborník prací Filozofické fakulty Brnĕnské univerzity. Rada archeologická (M) 17: 233–254. Zastawny, A. 2015a. Absolute chronology of the Baden culture in Lesser Poland – new radiocarbon dates. In M. Nowak and A. Zastawny (eds), The Baden culture around the Western Carpathians: 191–219. Kraków, Via archaeologica: źródła z badań wykopaliskowych na trasie autostrady A4 w Małopolsce.

Zastawny, A. 2015b. The Baden complex in Lesser Poland: horizons of cultural influences. In M. Nowak and A. Zastawny (eds), The Baden culture around the Western Carpathians:119–150. Kraków, Via archaeologica: źródła z badań wykopaliskowych na trasie autostrady A4 w Małopolsce. Żurowski, J. 1931. Wiadomości o istnieniu kultury prafińskiej w Ojcowie. Sprawozdania z Czynności i Posiedzeń PAU 36(5): 17. Żurowski, J. 1933. Problem kultury ceramiki promienistej w Polsce. Wiadomości Archeologiczne 12: 117–153.

288

The Settlement of Bodaki – a Tripolian-Culture Centre of Flint Exploitation in Volhynia Natalia N. Skakun

Experimental and Traceological Laboratory, Institute for the History of Material Culture RAS, 191186 18 Dvortsovaya emb., Saint Petersburg, Russia e-mail: [email protected]

Vera V. Terekhina

Department of Archaeology of Central Asia and Caucasus, Institute for the History of Material Culture RAS, 191186 18 Dvortsovaya emb., Saint Petersburg, Russia

e-mail: [email protected]

Boryаna Mateva

Historical Museum Isperikh, 7400 6 Tsar Osvoboditel St., Isperikh, Bulgaria e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: During the early metal periods, flint continued to be used widely in many regions of Europe as the main raw material for tools. The deposits of large Cretaceous flint nodules start being exploited at this time. Their mining was carried out in open pits as well as in mines and adits. Studies of Tripolian-culture sites in the northwest of Ukraine showed that workshop settlements focused on production and exploitation of these raw materials were situated near the Volhynian flint deposits. The settlement in Bodaki, Ternopol district, is one of these sites. A complex study of flint materials from this site has provided interesting results. Use-wear and planigraphy analyses showed that the pre-processing of raw materials was undertaken outside the settlement. Flint knapping was done in a special workshop and on an open working platform where the majority of tools found was connected with flint knapping. There were cores, spherical hammerstones, punches, retouchers and ridge blades. In dwellings, on the contrary, the majority of tools were connected with the processing and production of final products. These are scrapers and borers for processing skins, saws, burins, drills, knives for planing wood, bone and anthler, and knives for cutting meat. Other finds included tools used in agriculture, such as sickle inserts and grinding stones. These results testify that Tripolian-culture communities had specialized workshop settlements for flint processing, and at the same time, within the site, the complete cycle of economic activity, characteristic for the economy of this time, was carried out. In the Eneolithic period in Bulgaria, in the Dobrudja district, workshop settlements that completely provided flint products to settlements in others areas, for example the Black Sea area, were also registered. Specialized objects related to flint mining were examined in England, Belgium, France and Poland (Małecka-Kukawka 2011, 2014; Małecka-Kukawka and Werra 2011; Werra and Małecka-Kukawka 2017), but a lack of usewear analysis of the assemblages from those sites precludes presently the characterization of their economic features. Keywords: Eneolithic, Tripolian culture, flint deposits, tool functions, experiments

Articles and monographs have referred to sources of raw materials and separate workshops, and there are observations on the technology of tool production and tool typology, however, not much systematic work was done in this direction (Bogaevskiy 1937; Bibikov 1965, 1966; Passek 1950; Chernish 1951, 1967; Popova 1980, 2003; Konoplya 1982; Engovatova 1993; Skakun 2004; Tsvek 2005; Tsvek et al. 2012; etc.). Even the discovery of the outstanding Tripolian site of Bodaki (Tеrnopol district, north-western Ukraine), made by Aleksandr Сynkałowski before the Second World War, was not followed up with systematic excavation work, although some limited archaeological excavations yielded unusually numerous flint artifacts on the site (Сynkałowski 1969; Popova and Chernish 1967; Peleschishin 1990). This situation did not change until the end of the 20th century, when the complex study of this site began. The site is situated at Volhyn’, on the left bank of the Goryn’ River (Fig. 1), in the extreme northwest limits of the Tripolian culture in the Middle

In many archaeological cultures of the Eneolithic epoch in Eurasia flint continued to remain the most common raw material used for tools, despite the discovery of copper. Even on such front lines – from the point of view of social and economic development – as the Ancient East and different regions of Europe, flint tools were used everywhere. In many branches they were successfully competing with metal (Păunescu 1970; Gurina 1976; Balcer 1983; Mallet 1992; Kaczanowska et al. 1993; Rosen 1997; Pélegrin 2002; Skakun 2006; Lech 2008, 2011; Budziszewski 2006; Capote et al. 2011; Skakun et al. 2014; Bostyn and Giligny 2014, etc.). Unfortunately, the analysis of this group of archaeological materials has not always received sufficient attention. Flint artifacts were often regarded as archaic finds, associated with the preceding Neolithic period. It is impossible to tell that researchers of the Tripolian culture did not consider the facts with the production of flint products to a greater or lesser exten. 289

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 1. Map showing the location of Bodaki, Tеrnopol dist., and coeval settlements of the BII stage: 1 – Bodaki, Ternopol dist., Ukraine; 2 – Neszvisko, Ivano-Frankovsk dist., Ukraine; 3 – Kudrintsy, Ternopol dist., Ukraine; 4 – Polivanov Yar II, Chernovtsy dist., Ukraine; 5 – Mererşeuca-Cetăţuie III, Oknitsa dist., Moldova; 6 – Yablona, Glodyanskiy dist., Moldova; 7 – KukuteniCetăţuie, Yassy dist., Romania; 8 – Krinichki, Ivano-Frankovsk dist., Ukraine; 9 – Buchach, Ternopol dist., Ukraine; 10 – Gorodnitsa, Ternopol dist., Ukraine; 11 – Brynzeny VIII, Glodyanskiy dist., Moldova; 12 – Zaleschiki, Ternopol dist., Ukraine; 13 – Bil’che-Zolotoje, Ternopol dist., Ukraine; 14 – Nemirov, Vinnitsa dist., Ukraine; 15 – Rakovets, Ivano-Frankovsk dist., Ukraine; 16 – Zbruchanskoje, Ternopol dist., Ukraine. Drawn: E. G. Starkova.

290

Natalia N. Skakun et al.: The Settlement of Bodaki

Fig. 2. Schematical geological map of the Ternopol Region (after Gerenchuk ed. 1979): a – Sarmatian circle; b – Turonian circle; c – Cenomanian circle, lower chalk; d – Albian circle; e – Tartonsky circle, upper chalk; f – Lower Devon; g – Upper Silur. Drawn: V. V. Terekhina.

period of BII is dated 4th millennium BC (Skakaun 1996a, 2004, 2005).

with small trees and shrubs, were found there. During the excavations a fragment of the Tripolian pottery was found on the bottom of one of them. It is possible that these pits are the remains of a prehistoric flint mine. They are similar to pits from Krzemionki Opatowskie, Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski district (Poland; Krukowski 1939; Podkowinska 1962; Sałaciński and Michniak 1992; Bąbel 2014, 2015; Piotrowska et al. 2014).

The unusual appearance of this settlement at such a distance from the center of the culture was caused by the demand for the high-quality Volhynian flint abundant in this area. Several outcrops, with the flint occurring in Cretaceous layers close to the modern surface (Fig. 2), are present on the bank slope, about 1km west of the site (Fig. 9). A number of funnel-shaped pits (1.8–2m deep and 3–3.5m in diameter), overgrown

The areas where the primary flaking was carried out are situated beyond the settlement, close to its western 291

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 3. Spatial distribution of archaeological objects at the Bodaki settlement, Ternopol dist.: а – excavations; b – trenches; c – remains of pise buildings; d – excavated pit-dwellings and domestic pits; e – supposed pit-dwellings and domestic pits; f – excavated parts of the ditch; g – unexcavated parts of the ditch and objects of unknown function; h – on-site flint workshop. Drawn: V. A. Tarasov and N. N. Skakun.

had no traces of utilization. The workshop adjoined two pits containing large amounts of waste products: core trimming flakes, core platform rejuvenation flakes, chips from retouching, etc. It should be noted that irregular flint blades and flakes were too massive to be utilized, but they were perfectly suitable for pressure retouch use. These implements may represent retouch testing samples or training aids. The majority of the wedge-shaped unifacial cores were relatively large (20–12 × 15–10 × 8–6cm). Judging by the flake scars аnd rare finds of intact blades, their exploitation was aimed exclusively for the production of maximally long blades (not less than 15cm) with widths between 1.5–3cm (Fig. 5). The quality of these blades suggests that they were prepared by qualified flintknappers.

boundary, near the ravine. The lower levels and slopes in this area are rich in flint nodules. The nodules have diverse shapes (Fig. 12), with the largest reaching 50cm in length. The accumulations contain unworked flint pebbles, pebbles with traces of initial flaking, pre-cores, as well as numerous primary flakes and flakes retaining parts of pebble cortex. The settlement itself represents a complex of dwellings and household structures, surrounded on three sides by a horseshoe-shaped ditch (Fig. 3). A large (c. 20m2) sunglass-shaped semi-subterranean building in the central part of the settlement served as a workshop for preparing flint tools. Adjacent to one of its walls was a sub-rectangular hearth with well-calcined walls – a unique find at the settlement. The building had two occupation floors which yielded over 1500 flint objects, including 52 cores, 11 globular flint hammerstones, two antler punch (pressure retouchers), three retouchers on blade fragments (Fig. 4), large blades and their fragments, numerous flakes of various dimensions, including cortex pieces, as well as finished tools (endscrapers, burins, borers, perforators, a ‘dagger’-blade with retouch on its distal end). Traceological analysis has shown that the majority of tools found at the workshop, except those that were used for knapping,

The flint analysis from the Bodaki settlement complex indicates that the technology of knapping large flint nodules for the production of long, large, regular blades, demanded a good understanding of the physical properties of the raw material and the ability to apply specific knapping techniques (Skakun 2002). Reconstruction of methods for obtaining large flint blades, so characteristic for inventories of many early metal period sites in Eurasia, despite the large 292

Natalia N. Skakun et al.: The Settlement of Bodaki These blades, in terms of morphological and technological features, are similar to those from Dobrudjan flint from the Eneolithic sites of Bulgaria and Romania (Kodjadermen-Gumelnitsa-Karanovo VI, Varna cultures), and they are also close to items made from Donetsk flint found in the funeral complexes of early Novodanilovskaya-culture nomads on the left bank of the Dnieper (Skakun 1981, 1996b, 2006, 2008). Blades of the second group are large in size (width 2–2.8cm, length 10–15cm), but not so regular; they have more massive striking platforms and more protruding bulbs (Fig. 8: a–c). We carried out experimental works to identify the ways of knapping and these indicated that this type of blade (Fig. 8: a–c) could be produced with the help of an antler punch and wooden hammer, or by pressure flaker with copper or antler tip (Fig. 6: a–e). Experiments were carried out to reconstruct the knapping technology of Volhynian flint. Large nodules of this flint were used as raw materials and these were gathered from exposures near the Bodaki settlement (Fig. 9). Experimenters (modern flintknappers) carried out the primary treatment of nodules and shaped cores with the help of round flint hammerstones and antler punches, resembling those found in the archaeological workshop (Fig. 6: d), to produce blades similar in shape to the artifacts of the second group found at the site (Skakun and Plisson 2014). The results of the technological research indicate that various techniques of flint knapping were applied at Bodaki: almost perfect long blades of the first group were made by means of the lever (Fig. 6: a, b; 7: f), and less correct blades were made by means of pressure technique (Fig. 6: c–e).

Fig. 4. Flint artifacts from the workshop at Bodaki, Ternopol dist.: a) core; b) hammerstone; c) punch; d) use-wear traces from stone retoucher (×100). Photo: V. V. Terekhina.

One more feature related to flint processing at the site is an open working area, prepared in the eastern part of the settlement (Fig. 10). One part of the bank slope was intentionally leveled here by means of earth banking. Some large stones, which could support a pole construction with a light roof, were found in the area. The inventory contains more than 2000 flint objects. There are 36 cores and their fragments, 250 blades (44 of them intact, the rest represented by fragments), 1576 flakes of different sizes, including 691 items with pebble cortex and 137 tools. The rest of the artifacts are unidentifiable chips and fragments.

number of theoretical and experimental studies, needs additional research. This necessity is caused by the fact that results of separate experiments are often applied to all variants of large blades, without taking into consideration their substantial morphological differences, which indicate the application of different ways of knapping (Fig. 6). The morphological characteristics of the blades from Bodaki allow us to distinguish at least two groups among them (Fig. 7: a–e; 8: a–c). One, judging by fragments and intact items, had a very regular shape: straight profile, low thickness, triangular or trapezoidal cross section, parallel sides, small ellipsoidal, smooth or slightly worked striking platform, low bulb, with dimensions from 2.5–3cm in width and 18–25cm in length (Fig. 7: a–e). According to technologists (flintknappers), this type of blade was probably obtained by means of the lever: specialized strengthened pressure (Fig. 7: f; Pélegrin 1991, 2006; Girya 1997).

The artifacts/tools related to flintknapping that were found in the dwelling structures were much less numerous than in specialized workshops. For example, the study of the material from one of the dwellings has shown that the collection of 211 flint artifacts includes no waste and just two cores. At the same time 293

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 5. Flint blanks at Bodaki, Ternopol dist. Drawn: N. N. Skakun.

294

Natalia N. Skakun et al.: The Settlement of Bodaki

Fig. 6. Experimental flint knapping: a, b) experimenters Jose Heredia (Spain) and c) Serge Maury (France); d, e) experimental flint-working tools. Photo: A. Galvez and V. V. Terekhina.

there were 63 tools, most of which, as the traceological analysis showed, had use-wear traces after performing different functions (Fig. 11). A compact accumulation of 12 blades was also registered (stored in a pouch). The other finds are flakes.

dwelling structures. The numerous finds of cores, waste products, and tools without use/wear traces suggest that the inhabitants of Bodaki specialized in flint working, which was geared above all to the production of large blades and tools. These products were then disseminated both within the Tripolye-culture area and in the neighboring regions.

The results of archaeological investigations at Bodaki site show that the primary working of flint was carried out beyond the settlement, while core reduction and tool manufacture were mainly confined to the workshop and open working area, and less connected with the

Judging by the available archaeological evidence and the rich assortment of utilized tools found in both dwellings and household constructions, the economy of Bodaki 295

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 7. Flint blades from the Bodaki settlement, Ternopol dist.: a, b, c, d, e) regular blade from the Bodaki site; f) experimental regular blade. Drawn: N. N. Skakun. Photo: V. V. Terekhina.

included specialized flint production and all other kinds of activity characteristic of the Eneolithic period. This means that the inhabitants of the settlement were able to provide themselves with all they needed. The preliminary experimental-traceological studies, based on functional analyses of the artefact assemblages collected in dwelling and household complexes of the site, showed that the majority of tools were used for activities associated with agriculture (sickle inserts of Karanovo type, mattocks for ground-processing, graingrinding slabs) and activities which were typical for the economy of that period, i.e. treatment of wood, bone, antler and hides, weaving, preparation of mineralbased paint, and the production of pottery (Fig. 14). The pottery workshop excavated at Bodaki included a kiln and a workplace for making ceramics (Skakun and Starkova 2012). It is interesting to note that in addition to common features in terms of the organization of flint production of Tripolye and that of the Kodjadermen-GumelnitsaKaranovo VI culture (specialized centers of large blade and tool production existed near to some of the Dobrudja flint outcrops), there are also certain differences that may be seen in the character of product realization. Artifacts made of Volhynian flint have been found in many Tripolian settlements and on the sites of neighboring cultures as well, but they are not numerous. Their representation within the inventories

Fig. 8. Flint blades from the Bodaki settlement: a, b, c) irregular blades from the Bodaki site. Photo: V. V. Terekhina.

296

Natalia N. Skakun et al.: The Settlement of Bodaki is less numerous than tools made of local sorts of flint. Quite the contrary, the tool assemblages of most Bulgarian sites are dominated by artifacts imported from workshops located in Dobrudja, while tools made of local flint are few in number. At some sites of the Varna culture in the Black Sea region, Dobrudja flint artifacts make up c. 90% of the inventory (Skakun 1984, 2005). Excavations at Bodaki, apart from the discovery of workshops and dwelling complex, brought to light some interesting data concerning cults of the Eneolithic epoch. On the floor of one workshop an ochre spot was enclosed by a low clay wall, in the corners of which some heavily used hammered cores were found. On a working platform a small, burned clay site was cleared. Close to it were found blanks of flint tools painted with ochre. In one of the dwellings/households, on a floor, the interesting discovery was made of a compound model of a bull’s head: a large stone, the contours of which resembled a bull’s head, with curved pieces of boars’ tusks imitating horns; two large, unused endscrapers were placed between the horns. The entire ‘model’ was plentifully covered with ochre (Fig. 13). These observations allow us to review the existence of the rituals probably associated with flint processing, which may confirm opinions on various aspects of the mythology and beliefs of Tripolian tribes.

Fig. 9. Volhynian flint outcrops along the bank of the Horyn’ River, west of the Bodaki settlement, Ternopol dist. Photo: V. V. Terekhina.

Fig. 10. Open flint-working area at Bodaki, Ternopol dist. Photo: V. V. Terekhina. Photo: V.V. Terekhina and L. M. Yakovleva.

297

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 11. Microphoto of use-wear traces from various tools at Bodaki, Tеrnopol dist.: a) insert of sickle (×200); b) knife for reed (×200); c) knife for grass (×200); d) knife for meet; e) scraper for skin (×200); f) scraper for wood; g) saw for wood (×200); h) saw for antler (×200). Photo: V. V. Terekhina.

298

Natalia N. Skakun et al.: The Settlement of Bodaki

Fig. 12. Volhynian flint nodules. Photo: V. V. Terekhina. Photo: V.V. Terekhina and B. Mateva.

Thus, the appearance of specialized centers of flint working with a high technological level of stoneknapping, and the presence of workshops with skilled workers and the wide distribution of their products, enable us to think that, at the developed stage of the Tripolian culture, their flint industry stretched beyond mere household craft and became one of the brightest examples indicating the emergence of early forms of communal craftsmanship. The recent archaeological literature contains many examples of objects made of Volhynian flint and found on territories of other contemporaneous cultures in Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova. Analyses of the typology and functions of these artifacts, as well as searches for their production sites and routes of distribution, will comprise the next stage of studies on Eneolithic flint working. Translated by Dr Michael Zhilin Acknowledgements This study was supported by funds from project 16–06– 00546 of the Russian Fundamental Research Foundation.

Fig. 13. Compound model of ‘bull’s head’. Photo: V.V. Terekhina and L. M. Yakovleva.

299

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 14. Production activities in the economy of the Bodaki settlement, Ternopol dist.

References

Conference of the UISPP Commission on Flint Mining in Pre– and Protohistoric Times (Madrid, 14–17 October 2009). Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 2260. Chernish, E.K. 1951. Трипольские орудия труда с поселения Владимировка. Краткие сообщения Института истории материальной культуры (Kratkie soobsсhenija Instituta istorii material’noj kul’tury) 40: 85–95. [‘Tripolian Tools from Vladimirovka settlement’]. Chernish, E.K. 1967. Трипольские мастерские по обработке кремня. Исследования памятников каменного века. Краткие сообщения Института археологии, (Issledovanie pamyatnikov kamennogo veka, Kratkie soobschenija Instituta arkheologii) 111: 60–66. [‘Tripolian Flint Workshops’]. Сynkałowski, A. 1969. Osiedle kultury trypolskiej w Bodakach nad Horyniem. Wiadomosći Archeologiczne 34(2): 221–227. Engovatova, A.V. 1993. Кремневая индустрия Трипольской культуры (по материалам памятников Днестро-Днепровского междуречья). [‘Flint Industry of Tripolian Culture. Based on Materials of Interfluve of the Dniester River and Dnieper River’]. Moscow. Gerenchuk, K.I. (ed.). 1979. Природа Тернопільської області. [In Ukrainian; ‘Nature of the Ternopol Region’]. Lviv, Vyscha schkola. Girya, E.Y. 1997. Технологический анализ каменных индустрий. [‘Technological analysis of the stone industries’]. Saint Petersburg, IIMK RAN. Gurina, N.N. 1976. Древние кремнедобывающие шахты. [‘Ancient Flint Mines’]. Leningrad, Nauka. Kaczanowska, M., Kozłowski, J.K. and Šiška, S. 1993. Neolithic and Eneolithic chipped stone industries from Šarišské Michaľany, Eastern Slovakia. Linear Pottery, Bükk and Baden Cultures. Kraków, Jagellonian University, Institute of Archaeology.

Bąbel, J.T. 2015. ‘Krzemionki Opatowskie’. Monument prehistorii Europy. Kopalnie krzemienia pasiatego. Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Historical and Archaeological Museum in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. Balcer, B. 1983. Wytwórczość narzędzi krzemiennych w neolicie ziem Polski. Wrocław, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. Bibikov, S.N. 1965. Древние кремневые выработки на горе Белой в районе Каменец-Подольска. In Материалы сессии, посвященной итогам археологических и этнографических исследований в 1963 г. в СССР (Materiali sessii, posvyasсhennoy itogam arheologicheskikh i etnograficheskikh issledovaniy v 1963 g. v SSSR): 56–58. [‘Ancient Flint Mines in the Belaya Mountain near Kamenets-Podol’sk’]. Baku, Publishing house of Academy of Sciences Azerbaijan SSR. Bibikov, S.N. 1966. Древние кремневые выработки в Среднем Поднестровье. Sborník Národního muzea v Praze. Acta Musei Nationalis Pragae 20 (1/2): 3–7. [‘Ancient Flint Mines in Middle Transdniestria’]. Bogaevskiy, B.L. 1937. Орудия производства и домашние животные Триполья. [‘Tools and Domestic Animals of Tripol’e’]. Leningrad, State Social and Economic Publishing House. Bostyn, F. and Giligny, F. (eds). 2014. Lithic Raw Material Resources and Procurement in Pre– and Protohistoric Times. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 2656. Budziszewski, J. 2006. Flint economy in Chalcolithic societies of East – Central Europe. In G. Körlin and G. Weisgerber (eds), Stone age – Mining age: 315–327. Der Anschnitt 19. Bochum, Deutsches Bergbau-Museum. Capote, M., Consuegra, S., Diaz-del-Rio, P. and Terradas, X. (eds) 2011. Proceedings of the 2nd International 300

Natalia N. Skakun et al.: The Settlement of Bodaki Konoplya, V.M. 1982. Обробка кременю населенням Західної Волині за доби міді – ранньої бронзи. Археологія (Arkheologiya) 37: 17–31. [‘Flint processing of West Volhynian people in Copper Age – Early Bronze Age’]. Krukowski, S. 1939. Krzemionki Opatowskie. Warszawa, Wydawnictwo Muzeum Nauki Przemysłu. Lech, J. 2008. Mining and distribution of flint from Little Poland in the Lengyel, Polgár and related communities in the Middle/Late Neolithic – brief outline. In Z. Sulgostowska and A.J. Tomaszewski (eds), Man. Millennia. Environment. Studies in honour of Romuald Schild: 281–292. Warszawa, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Science. Lech, J. 2011. Danubian organization of flint mining in the southern part of the Polish Jura: a study from Sąspów near Cracow. In M. Capote, S. Consuegra, P. Diaz-del-Rio and X. Terradas (eds), Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of the UISPP Commission on Flint Mining in Pre– and Protohistoric Times (Madrid, 14–17 October 2009): 117–128. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 2260. Małecka-Kukawka, J. 2011. Problem of the flint tools from the Sąspów mine site in the light of use-wear analysis. In M. Capote, S. Consuegra, P. Díaz-del-Río, X. Terradas (eds), Proceedings of the 2th International Conference of the UISPP Commission on Flint Mining in Pre- and Protohistoric Times (Madrid, 14–17 October 2009): 139–147. British Archaeological Reports. International Series 2260. Oxford, Archaeopress. Małecka-Kukawka, J. 2014. Traseologia w studiach nad prehistorycznym górnictwem krzemienia przykłady z kopalń w Sąspowie (Neolit) i Wierzbicy ‚Zele’ (epoka brązu/wczesna epoka żelaza). In D. Piotrowska, W. Piotrowski, K. Kaptur and A. Jedynak (eds), Górnictwo z epoki kamienia: Krzemionki – Polska – Europa. W 90. Rocznicę odkrycia kopalni w Krzemionkach: [‘Stone Age mining: Krzemionki – Poland – Europe. On the 90th anniversary of Krzemionki mine discovery’]: 189-202. Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Muzeum Historyczno-Archeologiczne w Ostrowcu Świętokrzyskim Silex et Ferrum Vol. 1.. Małecka-Kukawka, J. and Werra, D.H. 2011. O możliwościach i ograniczeniach metody traseologicznej w badaniach masowych materiałów archeologicznych z kopalń krzemienia. Archeologia Polski 56(1–2): 135–164. Mallet, N. 1992. Le Grand-Pressigny: ses relations avec la civilisation Saône-Rhône. Bulletin des Amis du Musée du Grand-Pressigny, Supplément 2. Grand-Pressigny. Passek, T.S. 1950. Трипольские поселения на Днестре. Краткие сообщения Института истории материальной культуры (Kratkie soobschenija Instituta istorii material’noj kul’tury) 32: 40–56. [‘Tripolian Settlements on the Dniester River’].

Păunescu, A. 1970. Evolutia uneltelor şi armelor de piatră cioplità descoperite pe teritoriul României. Bucureşti, Academiei Republicii Socialiste România. [‘The evolution of implements and weapons of chipped stone in Rumania’]. Pélegrin, J. 1991. Aspects de la demarche experimentale en technologie lithique. In 25 ans d’études technologiques en préhistoire. Bilan et perspectives. Actes des XIe rencontres internationales d’archéologie et d’histoire d’Antibes, 18–19–20 oct. 1990: 57–63. Juan-lesPins, APDC. Pélegrin, J. 2002. La production des grandes lames de silex du Grand-Pressigny. In J. Guilaine (ed.), Matériaux, productions, circulations, du Néolithique à l’Âge du bronze: 125–141. Paris, Errance. Pélegrin, J. 2006. Long blade technology in the Old World: an experimental approach and some archaeological results. In J. Apel and K. Knutsson (eds), Skilled production and Social Reproduction: 37–68. Societs Archeologica Uppsaliensis. Stone Studies 2. Uppsala. Peleschishin, N.A. 1990. Трипольская культура Западной Волыни. In Археология Прикарпатья, Волыни и Закарпатья (Arkheologiya Prikarpat’ya, Volyni i Zakarpat’ya): 26–35. [‘Tripolian Culture of West Volhynia’]. Kiev, Naukova dumka. Piotrowska, D., Piotrowski, D., Kaptur, K. and Jedynak, A. (eds) 2014. Górnictwo z epoki kamienia: Krzemionki – Polska – Europa. W 90. Rocznicę odkrycia kopalni w Krzemionkac. [‘Stone Age mining: Krzemionki – Poland – Europe. On the 90th anniversary of Krzemionki mine discovery’]. Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Muzeum Historyczno-Archeologiczne w Ostrowcu Świętokrzyskim [Historical and Archaeological Museum in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski]. Silex et Ferrum Vol. 1. Podkowinska, Z. 1962. Village énéolithique de Cmielów, district Opatów, voïvodie de Kielce. Archaeologia Polona 4: 98–110. Popova, T.A. 1980. Кремнеобрабатывающее производство трипольских племен (по материалам Поливанова Яра). In Первобытная археология − поиски и находки (Pervobitnaya arkheologiya – poiski i nakhodki): 145–163. [‘Flint Production of Tripolian Tribes. On Materials of Polivanov Yar’]. Kiev, Naukova dumka. Popova, T.A. 2003. Орудия труда из поселения Раковец на севере Республики Молдова. In Петербургская трасологическая школа и изучение древних культур Евразии (Peterburgskaya trasologicheskaya shkola i izuchenie drevnikh kultur Evrazii): 241–253. [‘Tools from Settlement Rakovets, Northern Moldova’]. Saint Petersburg, IIMK RAN. Popova, T.A. and Chernish, E.K. 1967. Трипольское поселение у с. Бодаки. Записки Одесского археологического общества (Zapiski Odesskogo arkheologicheskogo obschestva) 35(2): 173–179. [‘Tripolian Settlement near Village Bodaki’]. 301

Between History and Archaeology Rosen, S.A. 1997. Lithic after the Stone age: a handbook of stone tools from the Levant. London – New Delhi, Altamira press. Sałaciński, S. and Michniak, R. 1992. Wyniki badań prowadzonych w północnej partii pola eksploatacyjnego w Krzemionkach. Materiały Krzemionkowskie. Studia nad gospodarką surowcami krzemiennymi w pradziejach, Vol. 1. Warszawa. Skakun, N.N. 1981. Эксперименты в экспедиции ‚Добруджа – 79’. Интердисциплинарни изследвания (Interdisciplinarni izsledvaniya) 7–8: 59–64. [‘Experiments in the Expedition ‘Dobrudjea – 79’’]. Skakun, N.N. 1984. Кремнеобрабатывающее производство в эпоху палеометалла Болгарии. In K.S. Kunchev, I.K. Nachev and N.T. Tcholakov (eds), IIIrd Seminar on petroarchaeology. Plovdiv, 27–30 august, 1984, Bulgaria: 83–92. [‘Flint Processing in Palaeometal Epoch of Bulgaria’]. Plovdiv. Skakun, N.N. 1996a. Le rôle et l’importance du silex le Chalcolithique de sud-est de l’Europe (sur la base du matériel provenant de fouilles du campement de Bodaki). In J. Millon (ed.), La Préhistoire au Quotidien: mélanges offerts à Pierre Bonenfant: 223–235. Grenoble, Jérôme Millon. Skakun, N.N. 1996b. К вопросу о кремнеобрабатывающем производстве эпохи энеолита в ЮгоВосточной Европе (по материалам Болгарии). Археологія (Arkheologiya) 3: 124–128. [‘On the Problem of Flint Processing in the Eneolithic Period of South-Eastern Europe (on Bulgarian Material)’]. Skakun, N.N. 2002. La production des grandes lames et outils en Ukraine au cours de la période énéolithique (culture de Tripolje): L’exemple du site de Bodaki. Cahier des thèmes transversaux archéologies et sciences de l’Antiquité 3: 69–74. Skakun, N.N. 2004. Предварительные результаты изучения материалов трипольского поселения Бодаки (кремнеобрабатывающие комплексы). In Орудия труда и системы жизнеобеспечения населения Евразии (по материалам эпох палеолита – бронзы). (Orudiya truda i sistemy jizneobespecheniya naseleniya Evrazii (po materialam epokh paleolita – bronzi): 57–79. [‘Preliminary Results of Studying the Materials of the Tripolian Settlement of Bodaki (Flint Processing Complex)’]. Saint Petersburg, Evropeyskiy dom. Skakun, N.N. 2005. Бодаки – один из центров кремнеобрабатывающего производства на Волыни. In N.N. Skakun, E.V. Tsvek, V.A. Kruts, B.I. Mateva, A.G. Korvin-Piotrovskiy, A. Samzun and L.M. Yakovleva (eds), Археологические исследования трипольского поселения Бодаки в 2005 г. (Arheologicheskie issledovaniya tripolskogo poseleniya Bodaki v 2005 g.): 64–79. [‘Bodaki is One of Volhynian Flint Production Centers’]. Kiev – Saint Petersburg. Skakun, N.N. 2006. Орудия труда и хозяйство древнеземледельческих племен Юго-Восточной Европы в эпоху энеолита (по материалам

культуры Варна) [Orudija truda i hozjajstvo drevnezemledel’cheskih plemen Ugo-Vostochnoj Evropy v epohu eneolita (po materialam kul’tury Varna)]. Труды института истории материальной культуры Российской академиии наук [Trudy Instituta istorii material’noy kul’tury Rossiyskoy akademii nauk] 21. [‘Tools and Economy of the Early Farming Tribes of Southeast Europe during the Eneolithic (on materials of Varna culture)’]. Saint Petersburg. Skakun, N.N. 2008. Les grandex lames de silex du mobilier funéraire des proto-éleveurs du sud de l’Europe orientale. Préhistoire Anthropologie Méditerranéennes 14: 103–118. Skakun, N. and Starkova, E. 2012. Особенности керамического комплекса трипольского поселения Бодаки. In U. Kurzątkowska, A. Zakościelna and J. Libera (eds), Badania archeologiczne w Polsce środkowowschodniej, zachodniej Białorusi i Ukrainie w roku 2011: streszczenia referatów XXVIII konferencji sprawozdawczej: 15–16. [‘Features of a ceramic complex of the Tripolian settlement of Bodaki’]. Lublin, Institute of Archaeology Maria Curie Skłodowska University. Skakun, N. N. and Plisson, H. 2014. Some Results of the Experimental-Traceological Expedition at Bodaki. Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 66: 83–90. Skakun, N.N., Samzun, A., Mateva, B. and Terekhina, V. 2014. Features of flint mining and processing during the Chalcolithic period in the Southeast of Europe (based on the materials of the Tripolian Bodaki settlement). In F. Bostyn and F. Giligny (eds), Lithic Raw Material Resources and Procurement in Pre– and Protohistoric Times: 93–105. Oxford, Archaeopress. British Archaeological Reports International Series 2656. Tsvek, E.V. 2005. Центры кремневой индустрии племен трипольской общности в Побужье и Поднестровье. In N.N. Skakun, E.V. Tsvek, V.A. Kruts, B.I. Mateva, A.G. Korvin-Piotrovskiy, A. Samzun and L.M. Yakovleva (eds), Археологические исследования трипольского поселения Бодаки в 2005 г. [Arheologicheskie issledovaniya tripolskogo poseleniya Bodaki v 2005 g.]: 80–96. [‘Centers of Flint Industry of Tripolian Community Tribals in Pobujie and Podnestrovie’]. Kiev – Saint Petersburg. Tsvek, E.V., Movchan, I.I. and Skakun, N.N. 2012. Eneolithic centers of flint processing on the territory of central Ukraine. In: J.-C. Marquet and C. Verjux (eds), Actes de la table-ronde international ‘L’Europe, déjà, à la fin des temps préhistoriques. Des grandes lames en silex dans toute l’Europe’ Tours (Indre-et-Loire, France), vendredi 7 September 2007. 38 supplément à la Revue Archéologique du Centre de la France: 109–119. Tours. Werra, D.H. and Małecka-Kukawka, J. 2017. Use-wear analysis applied to the flints from the Wierzbica ‘Zele’ mine (Poland). Anthropologie 55(1–2): 193–205. 302

Late Bronze Age Flint Assemblage from Open-pit Mine Reichwalde in Saxony, Germany Mirosław Masojć

University of Wrocław, Institute of Archaeology, Szewska 48, Wrocław, Poland e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: The article presents the Late Bronze Age flint assemblage from Hammerstadt 06 (HAS-06) – site situated in an open-pit mine Reichwalde (Tagebau Reichwalde) in Saxony, Germany. The material constitutes a good basis for comparison with Hallstatt flint assemblages known from Poland so it was compared with a little smaller collection from the remains of a stronghold from Lusatian culture in Wicina in Poland, situated ca. 40 km to the north-east from Reichwalde. Both sites are placed into a broader context of European Late Bronze Age flint knapping phenomenon. Keywords: Late Bronze Age flint knapping, Hammerstadt, Wicina

Introduction1

Masojć and Bech 2011; Masojć et al. 2013Goldhammer 2015; Masojć 2016). To simplify, it is characterised by the predominant use of the hard hammerstone, reduction of the exclusively flake core – mainly amorphous or multidirectional, without preparation. This type of reduction yielded massive, frequently cortical flakes with a considerable contribution of chunks from broken-up flint blocks. Blades occur only occasionally as an unintentional by-product. Many classes of formal tools were abandoned and replaced by extensively produced ad hoc tools and sharp-edged flakes commonly used without secondary modification. Identical homogeneity is seen in the areas situated further away from central Europe, e.g. in the Middle East (Rosen 1996).

It has been assumed that the end of the Bronze Age in Europe brought about the decline and collapse of flintworking both in terms of technology and typology. To an extent this was caused by the increase in the dynamics of circulation of metal products effectively replacing ‘obsolete’ stone tools. According to the researchers who subscribe to this view, availability of metal products hindered production of tools from stone, in principle restricting them only to the utilitarian sphere and depriving them of aesthetic and symbolic qualities (Humphrey 2004). The use of metal is claimed to be responsible for the fact that the knowledge of advanced flintworking techniques sank into oblivion. Stone was still used by the Late Bronze Age communities, but it degenerated into solely opportunistic, ad hoc forms. The range of formal tools was gradually reduced to the minimum, rendering flint products solely functional and utilitarian, while more technologically advanced metal products were attributed with symbolic significance (Edmonds 1995). However, there are examples proving that in the Late Bronze Age the use of flint still had extra-utilitarian significance (Oliva 2011; Masojć 2014; Lech et al. 2015).

Publications concerning flint assemblages from the Late Bronze Age are still rare. The German sources familiar to the author are occasional texts briefly discussing flint product from the Late Bronze Age or the Early Iron Age (Arora 1985, 1986; Bolus 1999). An extensive description of the flint assemblage from the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age from Rodenkirchen-Hahnenknooper Mühle is an exception (Goldhammer 2014). In this paper the assemblage from site Hammerstadt 06 will be presented. This material constitutes also a good basis for comparison with Halstatt flint assemblages known from Poland Zakrzów, Krapkowice district 41 (Bronowicki and Masojć 2008, 2010) and Wicina, Żary district (Masojć 2013).

The Late Bronze Age flintworking, while undergoing technological deterioration, became surprisingly uniform in most of Europe (Lech and Piotrowska 1997; van Gijn and Niekus 2001; Bronowicki and Masojć 2008, 2010; Högberg 2009; Ballin 2010; Eriksen 2010, in press;

Site Hammerstadt 06 (HAS–06), Görlitz district

The material from site Hammerstadt 06 (HAS-06) in Reichwalde, Görlitz district was analysed following the agreement from 2012 between the author and the Landesamt für Archäologie, Sachsen in Reichwalde represented by dr Regina Smolik as part of the Polish National Science Centre’s project in the programme 2012/05/B/ HS3/03829. I wish to thank dr Regina Smolik and the colleagues from the Landesamt für Archäologie, Dresden: dr Stefan Krabath, dr Carmen Liebermann and dr Harald Stäuble for making the flint material and the field records available for the analysis.

1 

The site is situated in an open-pit mine Reichwalde (Tagebau Reichwalde) in Saxony (Fig. 1). The excavations, supervised by Peter Schöneburg, were carried out in 2008. The author of the report on the excavations is Nadine Baumann (2009). Altogether 303

Between History and Archaeology

Fig. 1. Location of sites HAS–06 in Germany (black dot) and Wicina, Żary dist., in Poland (black square). Drawn: M. Masojć

depositional processes in the site (intentional burning of forests growing in the site’s area or accidental fires). However, small flint assemblages from the objects, totally burnt (e.g. object no. 1700 in trench 5 – 39 burnt flint artefacts), prove that the preservation status of the flint also results from the activities of the inhabitants of a Lusatian culture settlement.

1284 functionally diversified archaeological objects were excavated within seven trenches (Schnitt 1–7), whose area comprised ca. 1.3 hectare (Fig. 2 and 3). While occasional finds from the site are connected with the Neolithic Corded Ware culture, most objects and pottery sherds come from Lusatian culture of the Late Bronze Age (Ha A2 – Ha B2); a few finds also indicate at the earlier period (Br D, Ha A1).

The overall structure of the Lusatian culture flint assemblage reflects the specific technological nature of European flintworking from the Late Bronze Age. Nearly 6% of the assemblage is constituted by cores, which was caused by short-lived use of blocks and separation of individual flakes. Common absence of preparation resulted in quick abandonment of blocks and use of other in short production runs. Flint in the site was plentiful – numerous flint concretions were excavated within the trenches. Flintworking took place in the site, which is substantiated by numerous chips. Flakes were intentional products of core reduction. Sharpedged, characteristic flakes with spacious and cortical butt areas were used without a secondary modification. Some of them, as well as numerous chunks, were used as ad hoc, retouched tools. Nearly half of the assemblage is constituted by chunks, which resulted from breaking up of flint blocks. For the inhabitants of the settlement it did not matter whether flakes or sharp-edged chunks were used as ad hoc functional tools.

The flint assemblage from site HAS–06 includes 2482 artefacts and natural fragments of flint (Baumann 2009: 39–40). Preliminary inspection of the assemblage was carried out by dr Carmen Liebermann. The author analysed the assemblage of intentional product including 1615 artefacts. On the basis of their technological and typological features, 41 were determined as connected with earlier episodes of the site’s occupation – mainly from the Stone Age (Mesolithic and Neolithic). The remaining artefacts – 1574 – were connected with the settlement functioning in the site in the Late Bronze Age (Tab. 1). The artefacts were found mainly within the objects as well as from the surrounded excavated area. Only Baltic erratic flint was recorded in the site. A considerable part of the assemblage – 570 items (36% of the analysed collection) – bears evidence of burning. The author of the report does not explain such a considerable contribution of burnt artefacts. It may have resulted from post304

Mirosław Masojć: Late Bronze Age Flint Assemblage

Fig. 2. Site HAS-06. Excavated areas and archaeological features within the seven trenches (Schnitt 1-7). Drawn: Landesamt für Archäologie Sachsen.

Table 1. HAS-06. Overall structure of the Lusatian culture flint assemblage categories

∑

%

cores

91

5,8

tools

59

3,7

flakes

417

26,54

blades

1

0,06

chips (below 2 cm)

279

17,8

chunks

727

46,1

1574

100

total

Fig. 3. Site HAS-06 during the excavation. Photo: N. Baumann, Landesamt für Archäologie Sachsen.

The Lusatian culture flint products from site HAS– 06 were subject to dynamic technological analysis. Classification of flint products according to stages of their production, within sequences following each other in succession, on the one hand enables proving the completeness of the analysed assemblages, and on the other it verifies their homogeneity. This method

is commonly used in analysing flint assemblages from various ages (Schild 1980). It takes into consideration the place of flint products in the production cycle and includes categories of individual artefacts present in assemblages, from cores to tools, together with their types. 305

Between History and Archaeology Wicina 1, Żary district. Remains of a stronghold from Lusatian culture The flint assemblage from site HAS–06 was compared with a little smaller collection from the remains of a stronghold from Lusatian culture in Wicina in Poland (Fig. 4), situated ca. 40km to the north-east from Reichwalde (Tab. 2). It is a spacious defensive structure functioning from the mid–8th century till the mid–6th century (about 160–180 years). After 571 BC it was destroyed during an invasion of the nomadic tribe of Scythians, who murdered the inhabitants and burnt the stronghold (Jaszewska and Kałagate 2013). It is a homogenous site from Lusatian culture, whose layers provided ca. 200 flint artefacts (Masojć 2013).

Fig. 4. Wicina, site no 1, Żary dist. The view on the stronghold from the south. Photo: S. Kałagate.

Table 2. Dynamic picture of assemblages from HAS-06 and Wicina, Żary dist. HAS-06

Categories

Wicina

N

%

N

%

-

-

-

-

8

0,5

5

2,55

151

9,59

27

13,83

-

-

-

-

I. Raw material I.1. Pebbles, concretions

II. Early phase of coring

II.1. Initial core, pre-core

II.2. Cortical blanks

-

II.2.1 Cortex flake > 50% cortex

II.2.2 Cortex blade > 50% cortex

-

II.3. Preparation products II.3.1. Crested blades

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

II.3.1.1. Unifacial crested blade

2

0,12

4

2,04

II.3.2. Secondary crested blade

-

-

-

-

II.3.1.2. Bifacial crested blade

-

II.3.3. Other preparation products, fragments

-

2

9

0,57 7,11

2

1,02

III.1. Cores

-

-

-

-

III.1.1.1. flake cores

9

0,57

6

3,06

III.1.2.1. flake cores

2

0,12

1

0,5

III.1.3 Flake disc cores

-

-

-

-

II.4. Cortex chips

112

III. Advanced exploitation

III.1.1 Single-platform cores

-

III.1.1.2. blade cores

III.1.2 Cores of two equivalent flaking surfaces/striking platforms, including classic double-platform cores III.1.2.2. blade cores

-

-

-

-

-

1,02

-

1

-

-

-

0,5

-

III.1.3.1. non-prepared cores

4

0,24

2

1,02

III.1.4 Flake block-like cores with changing orientation

2

0,12

7

3,57

III.1.3.2. cores with prepared striking platforms

3

306

0,19

-

-

Mirosław Masojć: Late Bronze Age Flint Assemblage

HAS-06

Categories III.1.5 Flake amorphous cores, multidirectional III.1.6 Splintered cores

Wicina

N

%

N

%

18

1,14

14

7,16

-

-

-

3

0,19

98

6,22

16

8,16

4

0,24

5

2,55

III.2.3. flakes with removals on dorsal face shifted to the direction of flake’s removal by acute to right angle

12

0,76

8

4,08

III.2.5. Flakes/splintered blades

18

10

1,14

5

2,55

-

-

-

-

III.2. Blanks

-

III.2. Flakes (cortex