Izvorni znanstveni članak
Polished stone tools of the Čepin-Ovčara/Turkish cemetery sites
Dragana Rajković
; Muzej Slavonije Osijek, Osijek, Hrvatska
Sažetak
In the course of the ten-year research of the Sopot culture settlement on site Čepin- Ovčara/Turkish cemetary, a great amount of stone finds were collected that together with ceramic finds, make the most numerous movable inventory.
Most finds from this site are tools made by chipping techniques (cores, flakes, blades, bladelets, endscrapers, drills, arrows). Some fragments of grindstones, stone palettes, whetstones, spreaders etc.) that were found, were made of unpolished rough tools. The tools made by grinding technique were various types of axes, adzes, chisels, hammers, picks, perforated tools, stone rings and polished globule. In this paper stone polished tools collected in all campaigns of systematic research from 1997 until 2006 have been analyzed and together with other Sopot finds make the Neolithic collection of the Prehistory subdepartment of the Museum of Slavonia in Osijek. A total of 99 items of polished stone tools classified into 23 stratigraphic units has been analysed. The typology of D. Antonović has been applied in the tool analysis which refers to polished stone tools of the most important Starčevo sites in Serbia.
The bulk of tools comprises fragments whose typological affiliation can only be assumed. It is mostly about cutting edge and top fragments and it is to emphasize that the bulk of tools is second-hand tools which lost their original shape completely. Apart from typological approach, the tools have been examined also from the mineralogical-petrographic aspect in order to achieve a better insight into raw material selection of the Neolithic population. Petrographic analysis confirmed presence of 16 rock sorts, some of which have been represented with only one sample. Sandstone is the most frequently used raw material followed by chevron, granite, basalt. Diversity in using stone raw materials has also been noted at this site but by choice it does not stand out from the neighbouring Sopot sites.
Absence of a clear archaeological context is a great disadvantage in examining this material, thus we do not know the exact position within the Sopot settlement or their relation to different settlement’s objects or other artifacts.
In spite of that certain data can be read. This primarily refers to frequent secondary usage of the one and the same tool. This fact indicates to the conclusion that stone as raw material was precious for the inhabitants of this site and they would throw it away only after they had used up all its potential. This can be seen in reprocessed wedges.
As for the making of tools we can assume that these were made within the settlements. This is supported by the finds of stone palettes and grindstones that were used to make the tools. The question arises if there was a division of labour in production in Neolithic settlements i.e. division according to the profession or if throughout the Neolithic each individual produced and made all that was necessary for individual existence. Supplying stones and knowledge of particular sort of stones, time and skill necessary to process it as well as the making of necessary items leads to an assumption that there was a division of labour at least of primitive kind to certain production groups, separation of individuals who spent most of their time in producing the mentioned items and supplying other goods that they did not manage to produce through surplus.
By introduction of new materials the importance of stone material decreases but leaves its trace in formation of metal tools existing today still in a slightly different form.
Ključne riječi
Hrčak ID:
206919
URI
Datum izdavanja:
20.12.2011.
Posjeta: 816 *