Prior analyses of Neolithic flaked stone assemblages in Britain have tended to focus on the relative abundance of different implement types as a basis for inferring the structure of settlement and subsistence patterns during this period, with dorsally retouched ‘scrapers’ dominating the retouched components of most assemblages. Here we investigate the relationship between scraper morphology and reduction intensity at the classic Early Neolithic site of Hurst Fen in Suffolk, England. We hypothesize that the morphological variability underpinning the distinction between formal scraper types at Hurst Fen is largely a product of increasing reduction intensity. To test this hypothesis, we apply a range of quantitative measures of reduction intensity to a sample of 175 complete scrapers from the site, including: Kuhn’s (1990) Geometric Index of Unifacial Reduction (GIUR), Hiscock and Attenbrow's (2002; 2005) retouch curvature and retouched zone indices, perimeter of retouch, and retouched edge angle. Correlation statistics and descriptive plots of the relationship between Kuhn’s GIUR and the remaining retouch characteristics reveal universally positive and statistically significant relationships, albeit with the correlation between the GIUR and retouched edge angle markedly weaker than for the other retouch characteristics. Collectively, the results of our analyses support the hypothesis that the extent to which scrapers were reduced throughout their respective use-lives was a critical factor in the creation of morphological and, by extension, typological variability in the Hurst Fen scraper assemblage. At the same time, our data suggest that Early Neolithic knappers at Hurst Fen habitually knapped and resharpened scrapers in such a manner that a relatively low edge angle of around 60˚ was continually reproduced, raising the possibility of preconceived ‘designs’ that were primarily expressed in the morphological features of retouched edges. We propose a model of scraper reduction that accounts for most of the differences in scraper morphology at Hurst Fen and evaluate the analytical utility of Clark’s hugely influential typological scheme in view of this. We also consider the implications of our findings for interpretations of morphological patterning in British Neolithic scraper assemblages more broadly.
At any one time in the Palaeolithic, children constituted the largest group of individuals in a given community. While not many objects ascribed to children are known from these remote periods, it is beyond doubt that children participated in many aspects of daily life, including knapping. These youngsters played a vital role in generating technological variation and in societal adaptation. We here focus on the role of children in Northern European Final Palaeolithic societies that experienced markedly different climatic regimes in order to better understand how youngsters and their playful, exploratory learning may have contributed to adaptation. Using a mixed-methods approach we study inexperienced knappers with emphasis on three distinct groups of flintwork: blades, cores, and projectile points. We apply 2D geometric morphometrics coupled with technological attributes, quantitative and qualitative analyses to interrogate the variability within these groups with the aim of tracing the possible work of children through notions of skill level and artefact scaling. The purpose of this analysis is to investigate (i) how we can identify the signatures of children knapping flint, and (ii) how children’s participation in flintwork varied between inventories from periods characterised by distinctly different climates. Finally, to better understand the role of children in innovation and adaptation, we discuss how children’s knapping relates to the generation of technological variability, innovation, and differences in adaptation. The combined analytical focus on blades, points and cores allow us to more securely identify evidence for children, allowing us to compare their contributions to cultural variability across the two time periods.
Traditionally, Acheulean assemblages are characterized by the presence of LCT (Large Cutting Tool) and particularly bifacial pieces. In this context, the existence of large flakes as blanks for those tools is the main criteria for a chrono-geographical approach of the variability inside this technocomplex. During the time span in which Acheulean occurs, a wide variety of systematized methods for blanks production were applied probably as a response to particular raw material constraints and even to cultural traditions or constraints. In the case of the Iberian Peninsula, the quarries and workshops recently excavated in the region of Madrid, demonstrate the complexity of the flaking and shaping strategies during the second part of the Middle Pleistocene. Particularly, examples as Charco Hondo 2 (located in Los Ahijones area) or Cantera Vieja (located in Los Berrocales) both located in Madrid, demonstrate the existence of specific giant core flake exploitation, and exploitation adaptation to the blanks. In this contribution, experiments based on archaeological materials from Charco Hondo 2, are produced and studied in order to understand the existence of particular strategies in the large flake production. Concepts as predetermination or just adaptation to particular raw material constrain (even the combination of both concepts) arise when experiments were produced. In any case, those tests provide us with an excellent tool for both quantitative and qualitative understanding of reductions sequences and human intentions.
This paper examines the recycling and reuse of Neolithic stone tools, with a focus on a modified shaft-hole axe fragment discovered at Wierzbie, southwestern Poland. The study involved technological and use-wear analysis, supported by 3D modelling, to trace the life cycle of this tool and its transformation into a grooved stone. Stone tool recycling in prehistoric times often involved practices like edge resharpening and the adaptation of damaged tools, reflecting a pragmatic approach to resource management. The modified axe from Wierzbie illustrates a shift in tool function, highlighting a broader trend of reusing Neolithic implements, particularly in Late and Final Neolithic and Early Bronze Age contexts. The tool's chronology was determined through detailed morpho-typological analysis and 3D model comparisons with complete Corded Ware culture (CWC) shaft-hole axes, confirming its origins within the CWC. The axe made from diabase was modified after it was damaged. The unusual nature of its modification suggests it was likely recycled during the Final Neolithic or Early Bronze Age, possibly linked to the Bell Beaker culture. This is supported by similar grooved stones used as shaft straighteners in Central Europe, particularly within Bell Beaker contexts. Microscopic analysis of the tool's surface reveals wear patterns consistent with its new function, including polishing and striation marks associated with shaping plant-derived material. The results of this study highlight the adaptive strategies employed by prehistoric communities to prolong the lifespan of tools and materials, influenced by cultural and economic factors. This study highlights the complex life cycle of stone tools, demonstrating that recycling was not merely a functional necessity but also a culturally ingrained practice that helped maintain valuable resources within specific social and economic spheres. Through this lens, the Wierzbie artefact offers important insights into the technological ingenuity and material culture of prehistoric societies in Central Europe.
As opposed to areas with a crystalline substratum, the Aquitaine Basin in southwestern France is a territory where flint and chert resources are abundant. The exploitation of those cryptocrystalline, silica materials prevailed in this region throughout prehistory, especially during the Upper Palaeolithic, but other rock types frequently account for a noticeable proportion of the archaeological record. In such context, the choice to rely partly on non-flint lithic materials cannot be seen as an alternative strategy to compensate for an absence of flint. However, poor documentation is currently available for discussing the economic role of these resources. We take here the example of Landry, an open-air site in the Isle Valley showing a single occupation level providing mobile art and characteristic Late Solutrean (24-23 ka cal. BP) flint productions. This site yielded non-flint lithic remains in considerable number, some of which related to flake production or macro-lithic implements. The documentation of this component was considered essential, both to understand the site in a more comprehensive way and to provide first insights into the economic role of such resources in the Late Solutrean. In order to explore several phases of the exploitation of non-flint lithic resources (thus leading to a comprehensive documentation of this component), we relied on a set of complementary methodologies classical for lithic analysis but adapted to the peculiarities of non-flint rocks according to recent developments of the field. Determination of raw material lithology and procurement areas was achieved through a petrographic analysis (macro and mesoscopic scales) coupled with a field survey. A technological analysis led to the identification of blank production methods and objectives. An observation of macroscopic use-wear traces coupled with an analysis of techno-functional units allowed a first approach of tool diversity, especially concerning non-manufactured tools. Edged tools were further investigated through a use-wear study (Low and High Power Analyses). Analysis of the planimetric distribution of non-flint lithic artefacts revealed the spatial organisation of related processes and activities. At Landry, non-flint raw materials relate to a wide petrographic spectrum (quartz-quartzite, dolerite, ignimbrite, etc.) originating from local alluvial deposits. Edged tools result from short flaking production sequences (unmodified flakes) or partial shaping (worked pebbles), while non-manufactured blanks (pebbles, fragments) constitutes a multi-purpose toolkit (percussion, friction, work surfaces, etc.). Blank production or selection occurred on the spot, as the need arose. By comparing these results with available data on the flint component, this study reveals the complementarity between a highly mobile flint toolkit (anticipating future needs) and a local expedient but diversified toolkit (for immediate requirements). This dichotomy goes beyond the flint versus non-flint duality. Despite some limitations, the approach presented in this paper gives a global and integrated vision of the processes related to non-flint lithic resources exploitation at the site, allowing comparison and combination with other available data (e.g., flint production) and preparing additional analyses.
This paper presents the results of a pilot study exploring the biographies of Skaill knives from the Neolithic site of Ness of Brodgar (UK). Skaill knives are large sandstone flakes made from beach cobbles. We present an experimental study in which we replicated and used Skaill knives. A selection of ten archaeological Skaill knives was subjected to a detailed technological and functional analysis. Functional analysis of the experimental and archaeological tools was conducted both with a low power stereomicroscope and a high-power metallographic microscope. 3D models of the archaeological Skaill knives were made to better understand and visualise technological features and use-wear traces. These observations allowed us to link the flaked cobbles, frequently found in Neolithic Orkney, to the chaîne opératoire of Skaill knives. Regarding the production process, we were able to demonstrate that it seems likely that at least some of the Skaill knives were produced using bipolar percussion. Contrary to what was hitherto assumed, it seems unlikely that the Skaill knives were produced by dashing the stones on rocks, as the archaeological evidence points towards a more controlled method of production. The experimental work generally resulted in little to no polish development, but macroscopic features such as edge rounding and edge removals frequently occurred. The archaeological Skaill knives displayed diverse use-wear traces. Certain zones displayed heavy unifacial rounding, which most likely resulted from a scraping motion on an abrasive material. Other zones displayed extensive edge removals, which could either be linked to butchering activities or to contact with harder materials. Morphologically, these traces appeared to be linked to different zones on the Skaill knives. The extensively rounded zones more commonly appeared on the short sides of Skaill knives, when cobbles were split lengthwise. The edge removals tended to occur on the long sides of Skaill knives which were split along the width of the cobble. Although specific contact materials could not be assigned, the study revealed interesting insights into the biographies of these tools.
Despite the existence of intense research focused on the characterisation of macro traces derived from the use of the knapping on anvil technique, little attention has been dedicated to the detection of micro technical traces and residues on blanks and cores produced by means of this knapping technique. Macro technical traces derived from the knapping on anvil technique were detected on stone artefacts from the Gash Group’s lithic assemblage (middle III - early II millennium BCE) at Mahal Teglinos (K1), located in the modern region of Kassala in Eastern Sudan. An experimental programme, was developed to localise macro and micro manufacturing traces and residues from this knapping technique, using pebbles and small cobbles of quartz, quartzite and chert to create a reference collection for the interpretation of archaeological material. The methodology, adopted for this study, involved the combined use of several microscopes for traceological and residue analyses. Stereo and 3D digital microscopes have been utilised to characterise macro technical traces and locate possible residues. The elemental chemical composition of the residues has been characterised trough scanning electron microscopy (SEM) using energy dispersive X-ray (EDS) and element maps. The association of macro and micro traces (evidence of polishing and striations) identified on the experimental materials enabled the comparison and detection of similar technical traces on some archaeological material, as there are cases in which similar macro traces may result from direct percussion knapping. Our experiment demonstrated that macro traces are present on nearly all stone artefact replicas, while residues develop more easily on stone artefacts with specific characteristics of the butt and counter-butt of flakes and striking and resting platform of cores. Micro-technical traces confirm that blanks and cores were produced using the knapping on anvil technique when macro traces characteristics of this knapping technique are present on stone artefacts within a lithic assemblage, while residues indicate the lithology of the used hammerstone and anvil.
This article focuses on the Late Mesolithic blade-and-trapeze industries of southeastern Europe, with a special emphasis on the Crvena Stijena and Odmut sites located in present-day Montenegro and dated to the mid-7th millennium BCE. These two sites are situated in distinct ecological niches; Crvena Stijena is within the Mediterranean climatic zone, while Odmut is positioned in the mountainous area of the central Balkans. A typo-technological comparison of these two lithic assemblages is conducted to determine whether these industries exhibit common characteristics in blade making, indicating shared cultural traditions, or whether they diverge significantly. Furthermore, they are compared with other known blade-and-trapeze industries from southeastern Europe (Žukovica - Island of Korčula, and Lepenski Vir) to ascertain the homogeneity of the Late Mesolithic in the region. Finally, their position within the larger European context is discussed through the question of their possible origin (Mediterranean or Black Sea). The results point to many similarities in blade production, implying that the Crvena Stijena and Odmut assemblages share the same traditions. Additionally, they demonstrate surprising parallels with southern Italian assemblages (Grotta dell'Uzzo, Latronico 3). Furthermore, typologically (notched blades, symmetric trapezes) and technologically (possible use of pressure flaking), the Montenegro assemblages are comparable to industries found in northern Africa and southern France. However, the resemblances are not confined to the Mediterranean. Montenegro assemblages also share common traits with potentially earlier industries situated on the Danube and around the Black Sea. In addition, some features (notched blades, trapezes, probable use of indirect percussion) links Montenegro industries with those of central-western Europe and the Alps. Unfortunately, the lack of sites and detailed technological studies, as well as the unevenness of primary data, poses a challenge in drawing conclusions about the presence of distinct technological traditions in the Late Mesolithic of southeastern Europe. Another unresolved issue pertains to the timing of the emergence of the blade-and-trapeze industries, specifically whether they precede 6700-6500 cal. BCE. In conclusion, considering that technological and genetic diversity suggest that Southeastern Europe during the 8th and 7th millennia was a vibrant region hosting diverse groups with different origins and traditions, rather than attributing the development of the blade-and-trapeze technocomplex to a single centre of origin, it is plausible to envision a complex interplay of factors contributing to its development.
This paper introduces a volume that brings together specialists in lithic studies to explore how this proxy can reveal different spatial patterns across a large European territory. It examines how diverse behaviours in various environmental and geographical areas can enhance our understanding of social processes during European neolithisation. Initially, we investigate the concept of borders and borderlines, proposing models based on the space considered as a border, the presence of sought-after resources within this space, the agents present, and the nature of interactions between these agents. Subsequently, we discuss the potential of lithic analysis for identifying social groups and different types of borders. Neolithic cultural entities have primarily been defined through typo-stylistic analysis of pottery, while lithics are underutilised in this context. Lithics, however, offer a valuable proxy for understanding the spatial distribution of these entities. Petrographic studies now allow us to precisely define lithic sources, and all actions carried out on these raw materials are readable. Lithics thus enable the tracking of raw material origins and the movement of these materials within a given area. Establishing these circulation networks is crucial for understanding the spaces occupied by prehistoric people and the nature of their interactions. This approach allows us to map and compare spatial groupings based on consumer and producer perspectives. We argue for the necessity of multi-proxy studies and modelling to gain new insights into spatial grouping patterns and their evolution, particularly by considering borderlines at the scale of social groups.
The study of the decorated ceramics of the Rubané or Linearbandkeramik (LBK) has long structured the construction of the chronological sequence of the Early Neolithic of northwestern Europe. Recent contributions make it possible to individualize regional stylistic groups. Examination of the different regional corpuses shows that, following the break-up of a common stylistic stage known as the Flomborn entity, the decorative elements of each region evolved differently giving rise to individualised entities that sometimes seem very homogeneous in terms of the style of decorations used (e.g., the Rhine-Meuse ensemble of the Middle Rubané). This contribution aims to compare the results obtained from the ceramic corpus with those of the lithic industry. It shows that out of a common base, regional differences emerged that are also quite significant, whether from the point of view of the procurement of raw materials, reduction process or tool typology. For example, the geographical networks of raw material circulation reveal preferential axes between certain regions (such as the northern and southern parts of the Ardennes Massif) or, on the contrary, border effects that must be compared and contrasted with the entities previously defined on the basis of decorated ceramics. The theoretical significance of these initial observations and the contribution that the techno-economic analysis of lithic industries can drive to the understanding of the relations between communities in the Early Neolithic of the Rhine-Meuse-Seine basins will be examined through network analysis.
This paper aims to contribute to the discussion on borders and boundaries from the perspective of lithics. European archaeological and historical research has seen numerous endeavours to create an overarching definition of borders of spatial, social, political, linguistic and religious kinds. This is particularly important in the context of the modern, strongly divided European nation states, and this situation has a strong impact on the archaeological concept of culture. Lithic materials are usually not associated with the concepts of culture and group, which was and often still is the coordinate system for prehistoric communities since the Neolithic. How can we look at prehistoric societies as social units and integrate lithic studies into the overarching archaeological narrative? As a first step, we should put these artificial borders aside and take into account as many variables that can interfere with human behaviour as possible. This paper tries to create a framework (referring to some case studies) at micro-, meso-, and macro-scales for structuring spatial, temporal, social, contextual and habitual variables based solely on lithic materials to demonstrate the importance of stone assemblages and litho-scapes in archaeological narratives. By looking at activities involving lithics, we become aware that borders are very diverse and variable, thus cannot be treated as part of a static system. On the contrary, different boundaries (instead of borders) need to be treated as continuously changing units that function in different ways at different scales. Thus, we should try to use a dynamic multiscalar approach in lithic research.
Research into the Neolithic period in Hungary (between 6000 and 4600 or 4500 BCE) began at the turning of the 19th and 20th century, and the cultural frameworks that we use today were coined relatively early. In the last hundred years, Hungarian prehistoric research has done much to delineate these cultures' spatial and temporal boundaries. On this basis, the territory of present-day Hungary can be divided into two major regions - one in the west and one in the east - and three major chronological phases. Although systematic research on Neolithic knapped stone tools in Hungary does not have a long history, the lessons of the last thirty years are sufficient to compare the experience with other elements of material culture and to draw further conclusions by integrating them at a higher level. It is generally agreed that the expedient nature of Neolithic stone tools does not allow for the kind of sophisticated typologies that we know from the Palaeolithic or Mesolithic. However, we are not necessarily lacking general phenomena that could be used to distinguish one region, period, or archaeological culture from another. These phenomena may be differences in the choice of raw materials, differences in typology sets, or technological changes, which are exhaustively discussed with numerous examples from the last decades in this paper. Utilizing Fernand Braudel’s tripartite system, we can reconstruct the processes that influenced the choice of raw material as relatively rapid and frequent changes in both areas, thus reflecting short-term cycles. Typological changes were much less frequent and had an impact in both the eastern and western parts of the region. However, if we look at the broadest period, only one detectable change can be observed, which is in the field of technology, and it occurred at the end of the Early Neolithic. For the rest of the Neolithic, we almost exclusively encounter debitage products and tools derived from indirect percussion applied to regional raw materials, largely using a prismatic or orthogonal core strategy.
The study of Levallois points is important as it combines themes relating to Levallois technology in general (such as cognitive evolution, standardisation, and cultural transmission) with discussions on the specific function of stone tools (for example, the notion of points as spear tips). Many Levantine Middle Palaeolithic assemblages feature a strong focus on Levallois point production. Traditionally, this phenomenon has been studied from a typological perspective, while more recent technological approaches have added layers of understanding, such as the recognition of the frequently recurrent Levallois character of point production in the area. Likewise, use-wear and residue analyses have led to changing perceptions of the function of Levallois points. Here we explore how two quantifiable aspects of Levallois points - cross-section angles and lateral angles - relate to the morphology of Levallois points. By combining experimental knapping with an analysis of Levallois points from Yabroud I, Syria, we show that the obliqueness of lateral preparatory removals has a significant impact on the morphology of Levallois points, particularly in terms of the feature of a Concorde-shaped profile. Likewise, we show that the lateral edge angle influences the length of the points produced. Not only does this study improve of our understanding of Levallois points, but it highlights the importance of angles in studying lithic technology. We emphasize that this study aims to investigate the impact of oblique preparatory removals on the morphology of Levallois points generally, through an initial case study of one assemblage, allowing future multivariate analysis of multiple assemblages to test our hypotheses.
Southern Bavaria marks a marginal area of the earliest Linear Pottery Culture in Central Europe. It is adjacent to the Southern Alpine Foreland, which represents an area for potential interaction with other cultural entities. Neolithic research in this region has largely focused on pottery analysis as a basis for answering chrono-cultural questions, leaving lithic analysis as a proxy for spatial processes at a lower resolution. For comparisons with the preceding Mesolithic however, the study of lithic finds is essential as they are the common denominator between the two periods. To confront this gap in the empirical data, a lithic assemblage from an earliest LBK site in the Isar valley of southern Bavaria was studied with a special focus on raw material analysis and typo-technological aspects of the Knappable Siliceous Sedimentary Rocks (henceforth, KSSR). The objective was to generate high-resolution raw material data obtained by sorting and determination of sedimentary microfacies. Results show that the main raw material components originate from two different regions of Bavaria, the Ortenburg district and the Donau-Altmühl region. Additionally, they reveal bridges across the Alps and into Switzerland, which supports the idea that clear-cut archaeological borders were in fact more permeable and that long-distance importation occurred from non-LBK regions. This opens up a discussion about the agents and processes of long-distance raw material transport, relations between cultural entities as well as the mobility of the earliest LBK itself across its archaeological distribution. Set in a diachronic perspective, it is shown that Southern Bavaria can be viewed as a transitional zone during the earliest phase of the LBK, with mobility occurring for different motives.
Pioneer farming groups arrived in the Iberian Peninsula in the first half of the eighth-millennium cal. BP. Since then, the spread of new populations continued, and the highly diverse material culture of the Neolithic has been interpreted as a reflection of multiple origins and as the regionalisation that followed. In the past few decades, the study of different lithic tools has served to explore cultural Neolithic patterns. In particular, changes in harvesting technology have provided helpful information about the diffusion of Neolithic groups, proposing possible transfers in technology or even cultural adaptation to agricultural changes as explanatory factors for subsequent shifts. Here, we investigate how the initial diversity in harvesting technology changes or remains over time and in different regions according to crop harvesting preferences. Also, we test whether the diversity of harvesting tool dynamics is related to technological factors. Thus, we characterise the crops, blade production, and harvesting tools associated with different areas from 7600 to 6400 cal. BP on a large and refined chrono-cultural scale. As a result, we confirm that using one sickle type is independent of the crop harvested, and at least until the Middle Neolithic, we observe that it does not limit the incorporation of the new agricultural system into the region. By including glossy and no glossy blade measurements in the analysis, we discard the effects of technological limitations as an obstacle for replicating the parallel type in those contexts where it is not documented. Moreover, we found significant differences between the coefficients of variation in blade samples inserted differently, likely influenced by the hafting system. Whenever possible, we discuss how this adapts to blade production. Incorporating a filter in selecting the sample in favour of dated assemblages made it possible to situate these patterns on a comparative scale of two hundred years through the entire time framework.
The chipped stone assemblages of early farmers in the south of the Eastern Europe take several forms. 1) They can have a developed laminar component, with production wastes underrepresented, with a high percentage of retouched items (mostly blades with lateral retouch and endscrapers on blades), an exploitation of a high-quality long-distance imported raw material. These assemblages usually are numerically small. 2) Others demonstrate a “simplified” technical set (wide use of hard-hammer), many wastes of production, relatively low percentage of formal tools, most retouched tools on flakes (mostly retouched flakes and endscrapers on flakes), an exploitation of medium quality local chert. These assemblages are relatively larger in numbers. The latter complexes are often explained via the interaction with a local hunter-gatherer population. An alternative explanation can be sought via the notion of social organisation of flintworking. The early farmers were able to develop a complex system of flintworking based on intra- and inter- communal specialization and constant exchange of blanks and tools. The complexes of the first type result from an inclusion of a settlement into its exchange network. The complexes of the second type represent domestic production of households, satisfying its needs on its own, being excluded from its exchange network. So, early farmers’ flintknapping existed in two modes: “domestic” and “exchange”. “Exchange” mode is a common way of chipped stone tools production in early farming societies. “Domestic” mode is common in “borderline situation” under conditions of on-going Neolithisation of new terrain. Every early farming lithic assemblage can be treated as composed of products of these two modes to varying degree.
Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) inhabit mainly cold-water streams in their Western North American range. Multiple anthropogenic stressors, including climate change, have caused population declines and range reduction, leading to classification of bull trout as threatened. Characterizing how fish respond to increasing temperature can identify key thresholds beyond which fish health is impacted, that are useful for developing species recovery strategies. Juvenile bull trout were acclimated to a range of relevant temperatures (6–21 °C), after which mRNA transcripts involved in responding to thermal stress were measured using high-throughput qPCR, and their upper thermal tolerance (critical thermal maximum, CTmax) was determined. Beyond 18 °C appears to be a critical sublethal threshold for juvenile bull trout: capacity to increase CTmax through acclimation was lost, growth and survival decreased, and transcriptional data suggest widespread activation of cellular stress and growth suppression. Below 18 °C, transcriptional data suggest subtler metabolic adjustments in response to acclimation temperature, preceding changes in whole-animal performance. Altogether, these data provide insight into thermal responses in bull trout, and their capacity to cope with climate change-related warming.
The late-Republican military camp at Hermeskeil (Rhineland-Palatinate) is one of the few known archaeological sites from the Gallic Wars and can be linked directly to the historical record given in Caesar’s De Bello Gallico. Among the numerous finds are fragments of several badly preserved querns whose provenances can provide valuable information regarding the dating of the camp. The Hermeskeil querns are made from an unusual variety of rock types compared to material from contemporary settlements in the region. In order to determine the provenances, modal mineralogy, whole rock geochemical compositions as well as mineral chemical compositions were analysed on all fragments found until 2017. Besides vesicular lavas, the querns were made of sedimentary rocks, pebble-rich carbonates and arkoses, as well as acidic lava and plutonic rock. One volcanic rock fragment of a legionary quern is produced from lavas from Cap d’Agde in southern France. Several other querns of the Late La Tène type have their origin in Mayen in the Eifel. The plutonic rock is vaugnerite, a rare rock of granodioritic composition, which can be traced via the oppidum of Bibracte to quarries in the northern Morvan. The rhyolite comes from La Salle in eastern France. Except from the querns made of vesicular lava from the Eifel, none of these materials are known from any contemporary archaeological site in the Hunsrück area. What is more, all of them were discovered far away from their regular areas of distribution. Therefore, these querns directly reflect military supply structures as well as troop movements, because during Caesar’s campaigns damaged pieces had to be replaced by locally available products. In a time when the Roman military could not yet rely on a well-functioning supply-infrastructure this category of finds bears the potential to provide important information in connecting the Hermeskeil site with written sources. It becomes possible to prove a use of the camp during Caesar’s campaign in 51 BCE, because it was not before 52 BCE that the Roman army had moved within the distribution area of all the querns represented in Hermeskeil. Provenance studies are therefore a valuable supplement for our fragmentary picture of the Gallic War, which to date is almost completely based on historical sources.
Assemblages of worked rock crystal (pure hyaline quartz) in British and Irish prehistoric contexts are scarce. As a result, the published record contains little in the way of detailed accounts of the technological process and reduction strategies for this material, in contrast to a number of sites in continental Europe. This paper presents the analysis of a new assemblage of rock crystal from Dorstone Hill, Herefordshire, dating to the Early Neolithic. This analysis focuses primarily on the methods of crystal reduction, and identifies a systematic approach to it that demonstrates that Neolithic knappers at this site had an inherent understanding of the specific material characteristics of rock crystal. However, comparison of the reduction strategy employed at Dorstone Hill with European materials demonstrates that rock crystal can be worked in a number of different ways, and that the sequence at Dorstone represents an approach that was not just dictated by the material properties. Furthermore, the absence of utilised pieces or formal tools made from rock crystal, leads us to suggest that the act of working the exotic material was significant, as opposed to its tool-making potential. We conclude by outlining future avenues for British and Irish rock crystal research, and reinforce the importance of technological analysis of rarer and lesser published materials
Eccentrics are associated with fundamentally important concepts in ancient Maya cosmology and religion. As their name implies, eccentrics are irregularly shaped, non-utilitarian, special function artifacts. Knapped from chert and obsidian, they vary in size, take many forms, and can be expediently made or masterfully crafted. In this study, we focus on eccentrics from Central Belize, specifically those from Ballcourt 2 at Xunantunich, as well as examples from caves the Roaring Creek Valley, including Actun Chapat, Actun Tunichil Mucnal, Actun Uayazba Kab, Actun Yaxteel Ahau, Je’reftheel, and Midnight Terror. To understand the uses of eccentrics in the ancient Maya world, we examine them in terms of their archaeological contexts (e.g., caches, burials, caves), dating, lithic raw material types and sources, production techniques, and meanings. This information is used to reconstruct the role of eccentrics in understanding the animate world of the Maya, as well as the embodiment of ancient Maya mythology and cosmology in these ceremonial items. The symbolism with which these artifacts are imbued is examined in relation to numerology and correspondences between Maya iconography and epigraphy. These analyses demonstrate that eccentrics play a significant role in the enactment of ancient Maya mythology and cosmology and embody critically important concepts for Maya success and survival in a natural world entangled in the supernatural. As such, they also served as inalienable possessions offered as gifts to supernatural forces and entities in times of need or crisis. Eccentrics embody and reflect the ideas of kingship, sacrifice, natural phenomena (specifically rain and lightning), celestial bodies (such as the sun, moon, and eclipses), maize, zoomorphic denizens of the Maya underworld (including centipedes, serpents, and scorpions), as well as representations of deities, especially K’awiil - the embodiment of lightning. Moreover, the geomorphic designs and numbers of eccentrics, which occur particularly in sets of seven, nine, and thirteen, represent locations and gateways in ancient Maya cosmological understanding of the structural universe. Significantly, the eccentrics of Xunantunich and Central Belizean caves are consistent with the use of this class of artifacts in a pan-Maya belief system.
