Prehistoric exploitation and workshop area at Brno – Stránská skála

Abstract

Stránská skála represents a globally important geological and archaeological site known also as a rich source of Jurassic cherts, which were exploited to varying degrees throughout much of Moravian prehistory. Over the last decade, research into the exploitation and workshop area at Stránská skála, especially with a focus on understanding these activities from the Late Neolithic to the beginning of the Bronze Age. This book presents the results of the first research seasons of the project. It outlines the development of the chipped industry from the workshop area, both in terms of the variability of the local chert as a raw material and in terms of technological, typological, chronological, socio-economic and gender aspects. Attention is also paid to the reconstruction of distribution networks of Stránská skála-type chert in individual periods of prehistory and the first indications concerning the localisation and nature of post-Paleolithic chert exploitation at Stránská skála are also presented, which are set in the context of similarly dated mining and workshop complexes in Central Europe.