Raw materials for Neolithic ground tools from the extraction fields at Bílý Kámen Hill, Central Bohemia

Abstract

The assemblage of ground tools and their fragments from the site of Bílý Kámen Hill near the town of Sázava (Czech Republic, Central Bohemia) is one of the largest chronologically uniform collections in Central Europe. Based on the dominant representation of bored axe-hammers, we date it to the late phase of the Stroked Pottery culture (SBK; 5100/5000–4500/4400 cal BC). Their connection to the extraction of local marble and the production of prestigious bracelets raises many questions. The material composition of the assemblage could be the key to understanding the origin of the artefacts. In this article, we examined 912 samples using optical and electron microscopy methods. This points to the dominant representation of amphibole-rich Jizera Mountains-type metabasites. Other rocks are represented only in small quantities and raw materials of local origin are probably missing in the assemblage. It is thus comparable to assemblages from contemporaneous settlement sites, although we do not yet know of stable occupation in the vicinity of the site, nor do we even anticipate its existence.