Significance of experimental works in research of functions of ancient tools (after materials of the settlement Bodaki of Tripolye culture)

Skakun, N.A.; Terekhina, Vera

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2016.01.030

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…On a more general level, use-wear studies on Cucuteni finds are at their beginning, with only two published papers on the finds from Fetești – La Schit (Boghian et al, 2012) and Fulgeriș (Vornicu, 2015) sites. Although the situation is slightly better for the eastern Trypillian area, see Skakun and Terekhina (2017) for a recent overview, we still lack the necessary information that would allow us to construct a detailed diachronic view connecting the bioarchaeological information with changes in the archaeological inventory related to agricultural activities. However, this study challenges the general current of opinion, which regards the Cucutenian subsistence strategies as a homogeneous block based on cereals cultivation and cattle husbandry, and builds a more nuanced picture.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Middle Holocene subsistence east of the Romanian Carpathians: Bioarchaeological data from the Chalcolithic site of Poduri-Dealul Ghindaru

et al. 2018

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The paper analyzes the archaeobotanical and archaeozoological remains originating from the middle Holocene (i.e. Chalcolithic site of Poduri- Dealul Ghindaru, in Eastern Romania, Bacău County). Poduri- Dealul Ghindaru site is the only tell settlement known in the area of existence of the Cucuteni culture, with inhabitation levels from Neolithic to the Bronze Age. In order to better understand the diet components of the prehistoric inhabitation belonging to the Cucuteni A and Cucuteni B phases, we follow evidence from archaeozoology, carpology, and palynology. For the carpological taxa, we calculate their ubiquity, diversity, and edibility score. The two sets of taxa are then compared in their similarity. Palynological data record the presence of cereal grains in all samples. We present the archaeozoological taxa with their quantification values and we calculate for the Cucuteni A and B phases, and in comparison with the Bronze Age sample, their richness, Shannon–Weaver diversity index and equitability. A correspondence analysis is carried out in order to compare the exploitation strategies for the three assemblages. For the archaeobotanical data, we find that the Cucuteni A phase is dominated by anthropogenic activity indicators and a heavy reliance on cereals. The Cucuteni B phase seems to be characterized by a restriction of human activity. The archaeozoological data highlight a preference for large mammals (cattle, dear, boar) during Cucuteni A and BA and smaller mammals during Cucuteni B (sheep/goat, pig, hare). We conclude that although the subsistence strategies remain similar, the dietary components change during the Cucuteni A and B phases, probably in response to environmental changes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Middle Holocene subsistence east of the Romanian Carpathians: Bioarchaeological data from the Chalcolithic site of Poduri-Dealul Ghindaru

et al. 2018

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“…We have limited archaeological evidence (mostly recovered in the north eastern Europe) of backed tools mounted in bone shafts (Nuzhniy, 1989;Skakun & Terekhina, 2016); 2. The standardisation in the morphometry of backed tools is very high, denoting a careful ballistic research; 3.…”

Section: Methodological Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hunting High and Low: Gravettian Hunting Weapons from Southern Italy to the Russian Plain

Borgia

2017

Open Archaeology

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Abstract:The current paper aims at describing and analysing the backed tools found in two Early Gravettian sites separated geographically from each other: Grotta Paglicci (layer 23-22) in Italy, and Kostenki 8 (layer II) in Russia. A similarity between the lithic assemblages of the two sites, and other cultural aspects, has been reported by authors over many decades. The analysis of the backed tools has created the opportunity to apply the same methodological approach to verify the resemblance and potential causes for the similarity, and also to address broader considerations on Gravettian hunting strategies and the modalities and timing of the spread of new techniques, whether related to physical movement of people or assimilation of ideas. The perception is that, during the Gravettian period, shared symbolic behaviours and subsistence strategies linked people living in completely different environments with completely different resources, from the temperate regions of southern Italy, to the very cold Russian plains. This point of view cannot be questioned, but it tends to flatten an articulated palimpsest of human generations and to underestimate the very low demographic density of Prehistoric Europe.

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“…Large stone slabs corresponding to archaeological specimens in terms of raw material, shape and size were selected for the lower grinding stones, and small elongated or rounded river pebbles were selected for manos (Figures 7 and 8). The experiments were described and recorded in accordance with the protocol developed in the Experimental-Traceological Laboratory of the Leningrad Regional Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (Institute for the History of Material Culture RAS (Korobkowa 1999: 15;Skakun & Terekhina 2017).…”

Section: Experimental Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rogachev identified some unmodified stone tools from the archaeological sites of the Kostenkovsko-Borshchevskaya group as grinding stones for processing vegetation (Rogachev 1973). Since these tools represent the main evidence of the processing and use of plants in the Upper Paleolithic, their study requires an integrated approach, including archaeological methods, natural science analysis and replicative experiments (Skakun & Terekhina 2017;Skakun et al 2020a;2020b). Studies of the biogenic residues from working parts of tools are especially important for verifying traceological analysis and attribution (Adams et al 2009;Longo 2016;Longo & Skakun 2017;Longo et al 2019;Skakun et al 2020a;2020b;Torrence & Barton 2006: 5-200).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional use of large stone tool from the Upper Paleolithic site of Kamennaya Balka II (the Northern Azov Sea region, Russia)

Skakun

Longo

Terekhina

et al. 2021

JLS

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The assemblages of many Paleolithic sites on the Russian Plain contain large pebbles of various types of stone, which, due to the natural and unmodified forms, rarely become objects of special study. Some of them retain their natural shape, others are slightly artificially modified. In the course of our research, artifacts from several Paleolithic sites in Russia and the Republic of Moldova were subjected to a comprehensive study. Technical-morphological and experimental-traceological studies made it possible to characterize the methods of their manufacture and use. Among the items studied, there is a trapezoidal slab retrieved in the lower layer of the Late Paleolithic stratified site Kamennaya Balka II (the Northern Azov Sea region, Russia). On its surface, use-wear traces were found, which are characteristic of wear traces on tools used to grind plant materials. To verify the results of the traceological analysis, a series of experiments was performed. The wear traces on the working part of the experimental tool turned out to be similar to those found on the original one. The functional identification of the slab from Kamennaya Balka II as a tool for processing plants was also confirmed by the discovery on the working surface of mineralized starch grains. This comprehensive study of an unmodified stone artifact from the Kamennaya Balka II site and its identification as the lower grinding stone indicates the presence of complex foraging strategies among the economic activities of the inhabitants of the site and their successful adaptation to the natural environment in this region.

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Significance of experimental works in research of functions of ancient tools (after materials of the settlement Bodaki of Tripolye culture)

Cited by 7 publications

References 17 publications

Middle Holocene subsistence east of the Romanian Carpathians: Bioarchaeological data from the Chalcolithic site of Poduri-Dealul Ghindaru

Middle Holocene subsistence east of the Romanian Carpathians: Bioarchaeological data from the Chalcolithic site of Poduri-Dealul Ghindaru

Hunting High and Low: Gravettian Hunting Weapons from Southern Italy to the Russian Plain

Functional use of large stone tool from the Upper Paleolithic site of Kamennaya Balka II (the Northern Azov Sea region, Russia)

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