Period: Paleolithic (up until c. 3900 BC)

Project title: Exploiting the efficiency of non-flint raw materials in prehistoric lithic production II

Year: 2004

Abstract:

In Denmark, which is very rich in flint, Stone Age flint tools are a common find. Elsewhere in Europe flint can, however, be in short supply and the Stone Age people were forced to use other raw materials for their tools – as locally available stone e.g. quartz and quartzite. These types of stone have only been sparsely examined. Therefore only little is known about these raw materials. From three different aspects the aim of the experiment is to investigate the different working techniques and the abilities of the different types of stone. The experiment is a part of an experimental series.

Project part I: 

Project title: The German Palaeolithic Quartzite

Researcher: Farina Sternke, Ph.D., Dublin, Irland

E-mail: f.sternke(at)soton.ac.uk

Abstract:

Experiments last year showed that it is possible to produce the same tools in quartzite as it is in flint, tough the quartzite has to be of good quality, fresh and unpatinated. The quality of stones found on the surface will normally not be good enough. This means that some degree of quarring for quartzite must have been organized. The purpose of the experiment this year was to compare the abilities of quartzite from two different places in Central Germany, where quartzite was used in prehistory. It is “paleozoic quartzitic sandstone” from Saxony- Anhalt and “tertiary quartzitic sandstone” from Hessia. By using different knapping techniques a collection of waste products was build up. The collection is compared with original material. The paleozoic quartzite was more difficult to work than the tertiary quartzite because it was harder. On the other hand the quality of the tertiary quartzite varied much more than the paleozoic quartzite.

Project part II:

Project title: The non-flint raw materials in Mesolithic South western Norway

Researcher: Lotte Eigeland, Oslo, Norway

E-mail: lotte(at)superheroes.as

Abstract:

The common raw materials used in Norway were quartzite, diabas, basalt, different types of quartz and rock crystal. Last year experiments were done with coarse-grained quartzite from inland sites in Norway. This year non-flint raw material from the coast sites of Norway was included in the experiment. Only little research has been done on similarities and differences between the technological traditions in the two geographical zones. In the experiment axes were produced of basalt and diabas and different working techniques was tried out on quartz and rock crystal. The aim was to gain further knowledge of how the waste products from the different knapping techniques looked. A collection of the waste products are at the moment compared with archaeological material from both inland and coast settlements.

Project part III:

Project title: The hammer stone project

Researcher: Elin Hansen, Oslo University, Norway

E-mail: elinhan(at)hotmail.com

Abstract:

Archaeologists have gained an extensive knowledge about stone technology through knapping- and reconstruction experiments. However the tool which is used to do the reconstructions - the hammerstone - has been ignored as a research object. The experiments last year showed that different raw materials have different effect on the hammer stones. The quartzite is very hard and wears down the hammer stone very quickly compared to flint. As a result of this knowledge the experiment this year had focus on the hammer stones. The wear after 1 week of knapping experiments was documented. This is a way to gain general knowledge of how the flint knapper chooses different stones for different purposes (depending on e.g. size, form, raw material). The results show that the wear of the hammer stones is not only dependant on the raw material knapped but also on the raw material of the hammer stone it self. Stones of fine-grained quartzite are preferred by modern flint knappers in the experiment. A great variation of wear is observed on the hammer stones.

Reference number: HAF 05/04

Project title: Exploring the use and usefulness of non-flint raw materials in prehistoric lithic production

E-mail: f.sternke(at)soton.ac.uk eller lotte(at)superheroes.as

Year: 2003

Abstract:

Tools struck from fine-grained dark flint are a familiar find from the Mesolithic in Denmark, where flint is abundant. Over the years many investigations have been carried out regarding the production and use of tools made of flint, as it is a very high quality raw material. Elsewhere flint is not so common and here use has been made instead of quartz and quartzite for stone tools. This project has the aim of investigating the production and use of tools of flint, quartz and quartzite, respectively, in order to achieve a better understanding of stone technology and the qualities of the different materials. The starting point is to investigate whether the choice of quartz and quartzite instead of flint is necessarily a question of necessity. In practice the tools of quartz and quartzite could have been completely on a par with tools made of flint.

Reference number: HAF 11/03