The role of artificial contact materials in experimental use-wear studies: A controlled proxy to understand use-wear polish formation
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The Galovo site in Slavonski Brod and the Dužine site in Zadubravlje, both from the early phase of the Starčevo culture, lie 15 kilometres apart (Minichreiter 1992, 29), and overlap chronologically in the period from 6 100 to 5 000 cal. BCE (Krajcar Bronić 2011, 183). We can infer from the geographic and chronological factors that there was interaction between the populations of the two sites. The Starčevo culture was the first Neolithic phenomenon in the Brodska Posavina region (Težak-Gregl 1998), such that we can assume that there were manifest lifestyle changes in relation to the Mesolithic period that preceded it. Functional analysis of knapped lithics was performed with the aim of reconstructing activities related to this location and period. Functional analysis was first performed by Semenov in Russia in the 1930s, from where it spread to the rest of Europe and the United States of America in the 1960s (Anderson et al. 2005). Keeley and Newcomer (1977) contributed to the further development of the method, performing blind tests involving the examination of experimental material with the aim of determining the accuracy of the analysis. Keeley introduced the Keeley method, which focuses on the surfaces and edges of tools as indicative points for the formation of use-wear traces (Setzer 2004). In 1985 Vaughan published his Use-wear analysis of flaked stone tools, in which he presented a detailed reference collection. There has been a recent effort to introduce damage metrics (Setzer 2004), and functional analysis is increasingly frequent. AWRANA, an association of archaeologists active in functional analysis, was established in 2015. The analysis of the function of knapped lithics from the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod and the Dužine site in Zadubravlje was performed macroscopically under loupes with up to 20× magnification, and microscopically under magnifications ranging from 200× to 400× as required. The selected samples were imaged using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Recovered archaeological artefacts were examined macroscopically in the process of isolating finds for microscopic analysis. All use-wear traces were compared against samples in a reference collection created on chert consistent with the raw material of a part of the tools from the selected sites. The reference collection is comprised of samples used to work wood, fresh and naturally tanned hides, bone, and horn, and to cut cereal crops, herbaceous plants, and flesh, and to perform butchery work removing skin, flesh, and tendons from bone and cartilage. During use the materials were cut, sawn, scraped, scored, perforated and bored. Five discernible polish formation phases were identified in the process of analysing finds exhibiting sickle gloss (Martić Štefan 2023), corresponding to the three phases described by Vaughan (1985). This finer discrimination was prompted by the observation in the course of experimentation, and on the archaeological material, that the smooth pitted polish phase could be further broken down into three sub-phases of development identifiable as sickle gloss. Use-wear traces were identified at the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod and the Dužine site in Zadubravlje, created in the process of working plants having both high and low silica content, and in meat processing and butchering. Also observed was damage formed in the process of fabricating items of leather, and in the working of dry and hard materials such as wood, bone and horn. Artefacts exhibiting sickle gloss stand out. Their significance lies primarily in the connection to agriculture. Small blades are dominant at Starčevo culture sites in the broader area of distribution (Garašanin 1979: 123). The artefacts recovered at the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod include blades or fragments of blades with and without truncation, with a single trapeze constituting an exception (Martić Štefan 2023). Of the two artefacts recovered at the Dužine site in Zadubravlje only the size of the bladelet is not consistent with most of the above described finds, while the other find is a flake exhibiting use-wear traces on three edges (Martić Štefan 2023). The diagonal distribution of the polish, and fine chipping on the edge opposite the working edge, point to the conclusion that sickles from the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod were from among the Group 1 composite sickles of the Riedschachen type according to Pétrequin et al. (2006, 109–112). Similar blades were found at the early phase Starčevo culture sites Lepenski Vid and Padina (Petrović et al. 2022), and we see analogies at the Govrelo and Vrbjanska Čuka sites (Mazzucco et al. 2022, 6–9). The inhabitants of the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod, and likely those of the Dužine site in Zadubravlje, used composite sickles to cut silica-rich plants, which is also indicated by the find of cereals at the Dužine site in Zadubravlje (Minichreiter 1992c, 31, 51). As the Starčevo culture—at these sites and further abroad—corresponds in all other segments to Childe's (1958) Neolithic package it is very likely that sickle gloss on tools from these sites formed as the result of the cutting of domesticated cereal crops (Martić Štefan 2023). In terms of the chronology, this culture marks the first Neolithic phenomenon in the Brodsko Posavlje region, but corresponds with the Middle Neolithic in the broader sense, which further supports the presence of domesticated cereals in this area. Other activities that can be posited on the basis of the use-wear traces identified on finds from structures at these two sites are leather working, food preparation, i.e., butchery, the cutting of plants, and the working of hard materials such as bone, horn, and wood. Hide processing is certainly most clearly evident in the context of work activity pit house SU 291/292 at the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod, as is food preparation in pit house dwelling 10 at the Dužine site in Zadubravlje. Use-wear traces on knapped lithics from these two structures corroborate hypotheses developed on the basis of finds of bone awls and pins in the case of pit house SU 291/292, or ceramic bowls in which bones were found in pit house dwelling 10. Based on the entirety of the finds, and the identification of use-wear traces on knapped lithics, the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod and the Dužine site in Zadubravlje are typical Neolithic sites. The recovered artefacts in both dwelling and work activity pit houses point to working spaces in which primarily dry and hard materials were processed. A number of structures are notable. Dwelling pit house SU 153/154 at the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod yielded the find of a flake with traces of leather working and two blades exhibiting sickle gloss. Butchery was likely performed in work activity pit house SU 205/206 at the same site, while work activity pit house SU 291/292 was a leather workshop. Notable at the Dužine site in Zadubravlje is pit house dwelling 10 where numerous activities were likely performed, such as food processing, including butchery. At the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod use-wear traces were identified on finds recovered from two grave pits, SU 2012/2013 and SU 2242/2243, where finds exhibiting sickle gloss are predominant. Although no features were identified at the Dužine site in Zadubravlje with human bone burials, the described pit 22 stands out among the structures at both sites. The mixed use-wear traces on finds recovered from pit 22 open more new questions than they provide answers for in relation to the function of this feature, located in the immediate vicinity of pit house dwelling 10. The knapped lithic artefacts recovered at the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod and the Dužine site in Zadubravlje exhibit use-wear traces similar to those seen on knapped lithics from the culturally corresponding Lepenski Vir and Padina sites (Petrović et al. 2022). Lithic tools from both sites were used to work hard and dry materials such as bone, horn, and wood. The working of stone of lesser hardness using knapped lithics was observed at great scale at the Lepenski Vir and Padina sites (Petrović et al. 2022), which was not seen at the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod and the Dužine site in Zadubravlje. At these sites lithic tools were used for butchering, to work animal hides, and—at some of the sites—possibly for fibre processing (Petrović et al. 2022). Tools were used to cut plants having both high and low silica content; the distribution of sickle gloss on blades recovered at the Lepenski Vir and Padina sites, however, is not consistent with the distribution of sickle gloss at the sites in the Brodsko Posavlje region (Petrović et al. 2022). The commonalities of everyday activities shared by these sites are significant given that the results of the functional analysis shows a connection that places them at the dawn of the Neolithisation of these areas. Also notable from the sphere of the Starčevo culture are blades exhibiting sickle gloss from the Govrelo and Vrbjanska Čuka Anzabegovo-Vršnik culture sites in North Macedonia (Mazzucco et al. 2022, 6–9), which are consistent with blades exhibiting sickle gloss from the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod. Sickle gloss observed on the blades found at these sites is distributed diagonally across the body of the sickle, indicative of a more or less curved composite sickle with diagonally set teeth, which is consistent with Group 1 composite sickles of the Riedschachen type according to Pétrequin et al. (2006). Similar sickles have been identified at sites in Bulgaria, for example the Tell Karanovo site (Gurova & Bonsall 2014), which corresponds with the Čavdar-Kremikovci-Karanovo culture group of the Starčevo cultural complex (Težak-Gregl 1998, 63). Developing a map of the distribution of the various sickle types in the broader European space will allow us to follow the influences at play in the adoption and early development of agriculture (Ibáñez et al. 2005). The results of the functional analysis show that the early Starčevo culture population at the investigated sites took part in the initial stages of the Neolithic revolution in the area of their distribution. The use-wear traces identified on finds from the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod and the Dužine site in Zadubravlje are largely consistent with use-wear traces seen at other sites of the Starčevo cultural sphere. This is evident both from the cited examples—which point to commonalities in the types of activities performed within settlements, and from the typology of sickles that appear with the development of agriculture within this cultural complex. From what we currently know the everyday activities at the Dužine site in Zadubravlje and the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod were consistent with the activities that took place at other early Neolithic sites in the broader area.
The Galovo site in Slavonski Brod and the Dužine site in Zadubravlje, both from the early phase of the Starčevo culture, lie 15 kilometres apart (Minichreiter 1992, 29), and overlap chronologically in the period from 6 100 to 5 000 cal. BCE (Krajcar Bronić 2011, 183). We can infer from the geographic and chronological factors that there was interaction between the populations of the two sites. The Starčevo culture was the first Neolithic phenomenon in the Brodska Posavina region (Težak-Gregl 1998), such that we can assume that there were manifest lifestyle changes in relation to the Mesolithic period that preceded it. Functional analysis of knapped lithics was performed with the aim of reconstructing activities related to this location and period. Functional analysis was first performed by Semenov in Russia in the 1930s, from where it spread to the rest of Europe and the United States of America in the 1960s (Anderson et al. 2005). Keeley and Newcomer (1977) contributed to the further development of the method, performing blind tests involving the examination of experimental material with the aim of determining the accuracy of the analysis. Keeley introduced the Keeley method, which focuses on the surfaces and edges of tools as indicative points for the formation of use-wear traces (Setzer 2004). In 1985 Vaughan published his Use-wear analysis of flaked stone tools, in which he presented a detailed reference collection. There has been a recent effort to introduce damage metrics (Setzer 2004), and functional analysis is increasingly frequent. AWRANA, an association of archaeologists active in functional analysis, was established in 2015. The analysis of the function of knapped lithics from the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod and the Dužine site in Zadubravlje was performed macroscopically under loupes with up to 20× magnification, and microscopically under magnifications ranging from 200× to 400× as required. The selected samples were imaged using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Recovered archaeological artefacts were examined macroscopically in the process of isolating finds for microscopic analysis. All use-wear traces were compared against samples in a reference collection created on chert consistent with the raw material of a part of the tools from the selected sites. The reference collection is comprised of samples used to work wood, fresh and naturally tanned hides, bone, and horn, and to cut cereal crops, herbaceous plants, and flesh, and to perform butchery work removing skin, flesh, and tendons from bone and cartilage. During use the materials were cut, sawn, scraped, scored, perforated and bored. Five discernible polish formation phases were identified in the process of analysing finds exhibiting sickle gloss (Martić Štefan 2023), corresponding to the three phases described by Vaughan (1985). This finer discrimination was prompted by the observation in the course of experimentation, and on the archaeological material, that the smooth pitted polish phase could be further broken down into three sub-phases of development identifiable as sickle gloss. Use-wear traces were identified at the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod and the Dužine site in Zadubravlje, created in the process of working plants having both high and low silica content, and in meat processing and butchering. Also observed was damage formed in the process of fabricating items of leather, and in the working of dry and hard materials such as wood, bone and horn. Artefacts exhibiting sickle gloss stand out. Their significance lies primarily in the connection to agriculture. Small blades are dominant at Starčevo culture sites in the broader area of distribution (Garašanin 1979: 123). The artefacts recovered at the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod include blades or fragments of blades with and without truncation, with a single trapeze constituting an exception (Martić Štefan 2023). Of the two artefacts recovered at the Dužine site in Zadubravlje only the size of the bladelet is not consistent with most of the above described finds, while the other find is a flake exhibiting use-wear traces on three edges (Martić Štefan 2023). The diagonal distribution of the polish, and fine chipping on the edge opposite the working edge, point to the conclusion that sickles from the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod were from among the Group 1 composite sickles of the Riedschachen type according to Pétrequin et al. (2006, 109–112). Similar blades were found at the early phase Starčevo culture sites Lepenski Vid and Padina (Petrović et al. 2022), and we see analogies at the Govrelo and Vrbjanska Čuka sites (Mazzucco et al. 2022, 6–9). The inhabitants of the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod, and likely those of the Dužine site in Zadubravlje, used composite sickles to cut silica-rich plants, which is also indicated by the find of cereals at the Dužine site in Zadubravlje (Minichreiter 1992c, 31, 51). As the Starčevo culture—at these sites and further abroad—corresponds in all other segments to Childe's (1958) Neolithic package it is very likely that sickle gloss on tools from these sites formed as the result of the cutting of domesticated cereal crops (Martić Štefan 2023). In terms of the chronology, this culture marks the first Neolithic phenomenon in the Brodsko Posavlje region, but corresponds with the Middle Neolithic in the broader sense, which further supports the presence of domesticated cereals in this area. Other activities that can be posited on the basis of the use-wear traces identified on finds from structures at these two sites are leather working, food preparation, i.e., butchery, the cutting of plants, and the working of hard materials such as bone, horn, and wood. Hide processing is certainly most clearly evident in the context of work activity pit house SU 291/292 at the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod, as is food preparation in pit house dwelling 10 at the Dužine site in Zadubravlje. Use-wear traces on knapped lithics from these two structures corroborate hypotheses developed on the basis of finds of bone awls and pins in the case of pit house SU 291/292, or ceramic bowls in which bones were found in pit house dwelling 10. Based on the entirety of the finds, and the identification of use-wear traces on knapped lithics, the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod and the Dužine site in Zadubravlje are typical Neolithic sites. The recovered artefacts in both dwelling and work activity pit houses point to working spaces in which primarily dry and hard materials were processed. A number of structures are notable. Dwelling pit house SU 153/154 at the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod yielded the find of a flake with traces of leather working and two blades exhibiting sickle gloss. Butchery was likely performed in work activity pit house SU 205/206 at the same site, while work activity pit house SU 291/292 was a leather workshop. Notable at the Dužine site in Zadubravlje is pit house dwelling 10 where numerous activities were likely performed, such as food processing, including butchery. At the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod use-wear traces were identified on finds recovered from two grave pits, SU 2012/2013 and SU 2242/2243, where finds exhibiting sickle gloss are predominant. Although no features were identified at the Dužine site in Zadubravlje with human bone burials, the described pit 22 stands out among the structures at both sites. The mixed use-wear traces on finds recovered from pit 22 open more new questions than they provide answers for in relation to the function of this feature, located in the immediate vicinity of pit house dwelling 10. The knapped lithic artefacts recovered at the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod and the Dužine site in Zadubravlje exhibit use-wear traces similar to those seen on knapped lithics from the culturally corresponding Lepenski Vir and Padina sites (Petrović et al. 2022). Lithic tools from both sites were used to work hard and dry materials such as bone, horn, and wood. The working of stone of lesser hardness using knapped lithics was observed at great scale at the Lepenski Vir and Padina sites (Petrović et al. 2022), which was not seen at the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod and the Dužine site in Zadubravlje. At these sites lithic tools were used for butchering, to work animal hides, and—at some of the sites—possibly for fibre processing (Petrović et al. 2022). Tools were used to cut plants having both high and low silica content; the distribution of sickle gloss on blades recovered at the Lepenski Vir and Padina sites, however, is not consistent with the distribution of sickle gloss at the sites in the Brodsko Posavlje region (Petrović et al. 2022). The commonalities of everyday activities shared by these sites are significant given that the results of the functional analysis shows a connection that places them at the dawn of the Neolithisation of these areas. Also notable from the sphere of the Starčevo culture are blades exhibiting sickle gloss from the Govrelo and Vrbjanska Čuka Anzabegovo-Vršnik culture sites in North Macedonia (Mazzucco et al. 2022, 6–9), which are consistent with blades exhibiting sickle gloss from the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod. Sickle gloss observed on the blades found at these sites is distributed diagonally across the body of the sickle, indicative of a more or less curved composite sickle with diagonally set teeth, which is consistent with Group 1 composite sickles of the Riedschachen type according to Pétrequin et al. (2006). Similar sickles have been identified at sites in Bulgaria, for example the Tell Karanovo site (Gurova & Bonsall 2014), which corresponds with the Čavdar-Kremikovci-Karanovo culture group of the Starčevo cultural complex (Težak-Gregl 1998, 63). Developing a map of the distribution of the various sickle types in the broader European space will allow us to follow the influences at play in the adoption and early development of agriculture (Ibáñez et al. 2005). The results of the functional analysis show that the early Starčevo culture population at the investigated sites took part in the initial stages of the Neolithic revolution in the area of their distribution. The use-wear traces identified on finds from the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod and the Dužine site in Zadubravlje are largely consistent with use-wear traces seen at other sites of the Starčevo cultural sphere. This is evident both from the cited examples—which point to commonalities in the types of activities performed within settlements, and from the typology of sickles that appear with the development of agriculture within this cultural complex. From what we currently know the everyday activities at the Dužine site in Zadubravlje and the Galovo site in Slavonski Brod were consistent with the activities that took place at other early Neolithic sites in the broader area.
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