V AN G IJN FLINT IN FOCUS Lithic Biographies in the Neolithic and FLINT Bronze Age FLINT IN FOCUS The biographies of fl int objects reveal their various and changing roles in prehistoric IN life. Using raw material sourcing, technological analysis, experimental archaeology, FOCUS microwear and residue studies Annelou van Gijn tells the story of fl int from the Early Neolithic to its virtual demise in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age. She incorpo- rates data from settlements, burials and hoards from the region of the present-day Netherlands. This richly illustrated book shows the way fl int functioned in daily life, how simple domestic tools became ritualised, how fl int was used to negotiate change and how the biography of fl int objects was related to personhood. Annelou van Gijn is professor of Material Culture and Artefact Studies at the Uni- Age and Bronze in the Neolithic Lithic Biographies versities of Leiden and Groningen. She is particularly interested in the cultural bio- graphy of artefacts, especially of stone and bone tools, as well as ornaments, and uses microscopy to study traces of manufacture and use. She is the author of books and numerous articles on the Neolithic of the Netherlands, lithic studies and microwear analysis. “ e book we have been waiting for. Flint in Focus puts the uses of stone at the heart of a biographical approach to Neolithic and Bronze Age lithics. With a wealth of insights on the practical and social signifi cance of stone and stoneworking, this groundbreaking study is a model of integrated research.” Mark Edmonds (University of York) “Expert, thorough and readable. Prehistorians everywhere will fi nd it relevant and insightful, and anyone interested in stone tools will fi nd it highly accessible.” John Whittaker (Grinnell College) Sidestone ISBNSidestone 978-90-8890-033-4 Press ISBN: 978-90-8890-033-4 NNELOU VAN G IJN 9 789088 900334 omslag_VanGijn_v4_15mmrug.indd 1 25-10-2013 13:58:18 This is an Open Access publication. Visit our website for more OA publication, to read any of our books for free online, or to buy them in print or PDF. www.sidestone.com Check out some of our latest publications: FLINT IN FOCUS Sidestone Press FLINT IN FOCUS Lithic Biographies in the Neolithic and Bronze Age A NNELOU V A N G IJN © 2010 A.L. van Gijn Published by Sidestone Press, Leiden www.sidestone.com ISBN 978-90-8890-033-4 Photographs cover: dagger (Buinen) and arrowheads (Angelsloo) by Q. Bourgeois; microscope lenses by K. Wentink Cover design: K. Wentink, Sidestone Press Lay-out: P.C. van Woerdekom, Sidestone Press Contents List of tables and figures XI Symbols used in the figures XV Acknowledgements XVII Preface XXI 1 Introduction 1 1.1 The scope of the study 1 1.2 The materiality of flint 3 1.3 The concept of function and ‘the use’ of use-wear analysis 5 1.4 Spatial and chronological framework 7 1.5 Research objectives 7 1.6 Structure of the book 9 2 The biography of flint tools: methods of study 11 2.1 Introduction 11 2.2 The ‘conception’ of the tool: determining the raw material 13 2.2.1 Introduction 13 2.2.2 Flint sources within the territory of the Netherlands 14 2.2.3 Imported flint from Belgium and France 18 2.2.4 The choice and procurement of raw material: social implications 21 2.3 The ‘birth’ of the tool: technological and typo-morphological analysis 23 2.3.1 Technological properties 23 2.3.2 Typo-morphology 25 2.4 The ‘life’ of the object: functional analysis 27 2.4.1 Introduction 27 2.4.2 The methods of use-wear and residue analysis 27 2.4.3 Experiments 30 2.4.4 Problems of interpretation 31 2.5 Contextualizing the data 34 3 Introducing the databases: selection, chronology and source criticism 35 3.1 Selection 35 3.2 The databases 37 3.3 Representativity 40 3.3.1 Introduction 40 v 3.3.2 Flint tools and the technological system 41 3.3.3 Taphonomical processes affecting flint surfaces 42 3.3.4 Sites studied: chronological context and coverage 46 3.4 Conclusion 49 4 Flint and food 51 4.1 Introduction 51 4.1.1 Food as a social issue 51 4.1.2 Flint and its role in food getting technology 52 4.1.3 Differentiating subsistence from craft tools 53 4.2 Hunting 54 4.2.1 Introduction and experimentation 54 4.2.2 The archaeological evidence for hunting with flint points in the wetlands 56 4.2.3 The archaeological evidence for hunting with flint points in the Pleistocene uplands 59 4.2.4 Flint points and hunting 60 4.3 Fishing 61 4.4 Butchering 63 4.5 The collection of wild plants 63 4.6 Harvesting and processing of cereals 66 4.6.1 Introduction and experimentation 66 4.6.2 The sickles of the farmers in the uplands 69 4.6.3 Sickles in the wetlands 71 4.7 Food preparation 72 4.8 Conclusions 73 5 Flint and craft 75 5.1 Introduction 75 5.1.1 Crafts: some pertinent issues 75 5.1.2 Toolkits 77 5.2 Hide processing 78 5.2.1 Introduction 78 5.2.2 Hide processing stages 79 5.2.3 Archaeological visibility 81 5.2.4 Hide working in the Dutch Neolithic and Bronze Age 81 5.3 Plant-based crafts 84 5.3.1 Introduction 84 5.3.2 Processing fibres from plants and bast 85 5.3.3 Cordage and basketry 88 5.3.4 Wickerwork 89 5.3.5 The role of flint tools in plant-based craft activities in the Neolithic and Bronze Age 89 vi 5.4 Wood working 91 5.4.1 Introduction 91 5.4.2 Wood working traces in the Dutch Neolithic and Bronze Age 93 5.4.3 The importance of wood working 95 5.5 Bone and antler tool manufacturing 97 5.5.1 Introduction 97 5.5.2 Bone tool production techniques 97 5.5.3 Antler tool production techniques 98 5.5.4 Bone and antler working traces on archaeological flint tools through time 99 5.5.5 Conclusion 100 5.6 Ornament making 100 5.6.1 The significance of ornaments 100 5.6.2 The role of flint in ornament making 102 5.7 Making and maintaining stone tools by means of flint 103 5.8 Well-defined but mysterious activities 105 5.9 Craft traditions through time 106 6 Flint and identity 109 6.1 Introduction 109 6.1.1 Identity and personhood 109 6.1.2 Flint, style and the expression of identity 111 6.1.3 Flint tools as part of the habitus 112 6.2 Two identities: the LBK and contemporary Late Mesolithic hunter-gatherers 113 6.2.1 Introduction 113 6.2.2 The LBK 114 6.2.3 Late Mesolithic flint 116 6.2.4 Identity issues and the relationship between the LBK and the Late Mesolithic hunter-gatherers 117 6.3 Contacts intensify: Rössen and Early Swifterbant 120 6.3.1 Rössen 120 6.3.2 The earlier Swifterbant culture 121 6.4 Becoming agriculturalists: Michelsberg, ‘Classic’ Swifterbant and Hazendonk 121 6.4.1 Michelsberg 121 6.4.2 ‘Classic’ Swifterbant: the northern group 122 6.4.3 ‘Classic’ Swifterbant: the southern group 123 6.4.4 The Hazendonk-group 125 6.4.5 Identity issues and the relationship between the Michelsberg culture and contemporary wetland groups 127 vii 6.5 Different flints for different contexts: TRB, Vlaardingen and Stein 128 6.5.1 Introduction 128 6.5.2 The TRB culture 128 6.5.3 Vlaardingen and Stein 136 6.5.4 Identity and the relationships between TRB, Vlaardingen and Stein 138 6.6 Conveying special kinds of personhood: the Single Grave culture 140 6.6.1 Settlement flint 140 6.6.2 The role of flint in the Single Grave burial package 141 6.6.3 Single Grave personhood 148 6.7 The domestication of flint: the Bell Beaker Culture 149 6.7.1 Introduction 149 6.7.2 Settlement flint 150 6.7.3 Flint in Bell Beaker funerary context 151 6.8 Two flint technologies: the Bronze Age 153 6.8.1 Introduction 153 6.8.2 Settlement flint 154 6.8.3 Flint in Bronze Age funerary context 155 6.9 Conclusions 156 6.9.1 The representation of collective identity 156 6.9.2 Gender 158 6.9.3 Burials and personhood 159 7 The ritualisation of flint 161 7.1 Introduction 161 7.2 Theoretical background 163 7.2.1 Skills, craft and the supernatural 163 7.2.2 The magic of exotic raw materials 165 7.2.3 The aesthetic qualities of stone 167 7.3 Recurrent themes 169 7.3.1 The lore of far-away places 169 7.3.2 Growing crops: an activity surrounded with taboos and rituals 170 7.3.3 The destruction of objects and the importance of fire 171 7.3.4 Martiality 172 7.4 The special biographies of agricultural implements 173 7.5 The prolific use of flint in TRB ritual life 174 7.5.1 Introduction 174 7.5.2 Ritual activities related to the megaliths 175 7.5.3 The special deposition of oversized axes 177 7.5.4. An abundance of ritual activities 183 7.6 Continuity and change: the ideological significance of exotic flint for Single Grave communities 184 7.6.1 Axe depositons 184 7.6.2 The French daggers 186 viii 7.7 The significance of northern flint 189 7.7.1 The Scandinavian daggers 189 7.7.2 The Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age sickles 193 7.8 Conclusion 195 8 Flint in the age of metal 199 8.1 Introduction 199 8.2 The introduction of metals 201 8.3 Domestic flint in the age of metal 202 8.3.1 Studies of Bronze and Iron Age settlement flint 202 8.3.2 Number of artefacts in domestic context 203 8.3.3 The range of tool types in domestic context 204 8.3.4 The use of flint 205 8.3.5 The replacement of domestic flint tools by metal ones 208 8.4 Flint in burials and special depositions 209 8.5 The different impact of copper, bronze and iron on flint technology 213 8.7 The significance of flint after the Stone Age 215 9 The meaning of flint 219 9.1 The usefulness of flint 219 9.2 The dichotomisation of flint technology 219 9.3 Interaction networks and the importance of long-distance imports 224 9.4 From a farmer to a warrior identity 226 9.5 Flint and ritual 228 9.6 Metal and the demise of flint 230 9.7 Flint studies for the future 232 Appendix: Catalogue 235 References 251 Acknowledgements of the sources of illustrations 285 ix List of tables and figures Tables 3.1 Overview of the settlement flint that was studied for traces of use, the data of which lie at the basis of this book.