Grey zones of production: Discussing the technology of tools at the Lojanik quarry in west-central Serbia

Abstract

Flaked stone artefacts found on the quarry Lojanik in west-central Serbia are good examples of how the function of non-diagnostic pieces could be determined through technological and use-wear analysis. In this study, we present the examples of surface clusters and artefacts from stratigraphic layers. Our attention is focused on the prevailing category of fragmented raw materials in the initial phase of knapping, preforms, debris, shattered pieces of anthropogenic origin and an immense number of artefacts and geofacts.
 The study of mines and quarries, as well as distribution of the raw materials that come from the central Balkans is an understudied phenomenon. Flaked stone artefacts found on the outcrops of the Lojanik hilltop is a good example of how we can apply technological, petrological and use-wear analysis on this type of site. Keeping in mind the loose context of the finds, as well as the lack of any datable material, this issue has to be approached with a lot of caution, since the locality itself seems to show human presence during Palaeolithic, Neolithic and Chalcolithic. The main focus of the study was put on the prevailing categories linked to the initial extraction of raw material on the site, as well as initial steps of shaping the raw material into cores. Samples were collected from several outcrops and so-called workshops from two localities of the hilltop: Lojanik 1 and Lojanik 2. The focal points of interest are categories that include waste, shatter, technical or shaping flakes. Worked pieces of raw material are now in the central position, and the study of these pieces have opened new grounds for this and similar occurrences - the study of so-called “grey zones” of production.

The Becoming of a Prehistoric Landscape: Palaeolithic Occupations and Geomorphological Processes at Lojanik (Serbia)

“…6500 to 1000 years BC), but some artefacts showed Middle Palaeolithic traits. The recent discovery of clear Levallois elements (cores and preferential products) in some of the different sites of Lojanik confirms that the site was exploited as early as the Middle Palaeolithic era [17]. As we mentioned previously, this Levallois component is a very rare occurrence in the central Balkans, making Lojanik a key raw material industrial complex for the comprehension of raw material extraction strategies and their evolution from the Middle Palaeolithic to Chalcolithic.…”

“…In Lojanik 2, the discovery of Levallois cores and artefacts during previous studies has indicated that this area was occupied since the Middle Palaeolithic era [17]. However, artefacts identified in 2022, such as a bidirectional narrow-faced blade core (Figure 8), in combination with previously unearthed material from past studies, such as burins and bidirectional blade cores (Figure 9), caused us to question this attribution.…”

“…Recent research has demonstrated that a division of the space had been implemented in some localities, with distinct extraction, workshop, and discard zones [25]. In 2017, the discovery of a Levallois recurrent centripetal core opened new perspectives of interpretation and demonstrated the significance of the Lojanik complex, since Levallois elements are very scarce in the Central Balkans Palaeolithic record [17]. Our 2022 field study was organised to better understand the status of this Levallois component and the earliest Palaeolithic occupations of the site.…”

“…The Lojanik complex is an open-air locality of west-central Serbia on the right bank of the Ibar river, 200 km south of Belgrade (Figure 1), where numerous lithic raw material outcrops have been identified over an area of twelve hectares [16,17]. The outcrops were exploited during later Prehistory (Neolithic and Chalcolithic, which date in the region from ca.…”

Sustainable Tourism near the City—A Case Study of Stolovi Mountain, Serbia

“…In addition, in the northern foothills of Stolovi, Kraljevo is located, which is a city of more than fifty thousand people, who live and work in it and its surroundings. In addition to Kraljevo, there are well-known tourist attractions in different locations in the Stolovi foothills [87]. The most famous are Mataruška Spa, a hydrological-balneological site [88]; Žiča, one of the most important sacred buildings of the Serbian Orthodox Church, dating back to the 13th century [89]; Maglič, one of the most famous medieval fortifications in Serbia [90]; and the geological phenomenon called the Stone Forest [87].…”