Lithic Resources in the Early Prehistory of the Alps*

Abstract

Rocks, which are ubiquitous in archaeological sites as chipped or polished tools, were important factors in the prehistoric Alpine economic system. Archaeometric characterization and identification of source areas open the path to a more detailed understanding of the production and diffusion mechanisms behind Alpine lithic industries. An overview of the situation from the eastern to the western Alps in the Mesolithic, the Neolithic and the Copper Age illustrates current debates and issues.

Solving Stone Age puzzles: From artefacts and sites towards archaeological interpretations

“…The complex of traces of settlement of Mesolithic hunters in the Alps is particularly noticeable there. Some of them are associated with hunting ibexes and chamois, others are associated with the exploitation of the local deposits of siliceous rocks, radiolarites (Kompatscher, Kompatscher 2005) and rock crystal (Leitner 2002;Della Casa 2005). These traces are located at an altitude of more than 2,000 meters above sea level (Reitmaier et al 2016;Kompatscher et al 2016).…”