{"title":"An experimental approach to the study of amber processing in the Neolithic: technical analysis of the Siliņupe amber assemblage, 4\n th\n mill. BC, Latvia","authors":"Agnese Čakare","doi":"10.1515/pz-2023-2037","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"\n Amber appears in the archaeological material of the Eastern Baltic region in the Middle Neolithic and continues in intensive use until the end of the Neolithic. Four major amber-working centres are known in the Eastern Baltic, the least studied of which is the settlement of Siliņupe (4th mill. BC). Not yet widely applied in research on Stone Age amber technologies, but very promising, is an analytical approach combining experimental archaeology and traceology to study processing choices made in specific production stages (i. e., individual technological elements), revealing that fine-grained sandstone was favoured for surface grinding, while flint tools were most widely used for shaping and surface treatment, distinguishing three techniques, namely shaving, scraping and pressure flaking, each identifiable by characteristic features. The study suggests that amber and flint processing were largely intertwined, as pressure flaking along with indirect percussion (used for splitting amber) derive from flint processing, and in the case of pressure flaking, required specific know-how.","PeriodicalId":44421,"journal":{"name":"Praehistorische Zeitschrift","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Praehistorische Zeitschrift","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1515/pz-2023-2037","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ANTHROPOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Amber appears in the archaeological material of the Eastern Baltic region in the Middle Neolithic and continues in intensive use until the end of the Neolithic. Four major amber-working centres are known in the Eastern Baltic, the least studied of which is the settlement of Siliņupe (4th mill. BC). Not yet widely applied in research on Stone Age amber technologies, but very promising, is an analytical approach combining experimental archaeology and traceology to study processing choices made in specific production stages (i. e., individual technological elements), revealing that fine-grained sandstone was favoured for surface grinding, while flint tools were most widely used for shaping and surface treatment, distinguishing three techniques, namely shaving, scraping and pressure flaking, each identifiable by characteristic features. The study suggests that amber and flint processing were largely intertwined, as pressure flaking along with indirect percussion (used for splitting amber) derive from flint processing, and in the case of pressure flaking, required specific know-how.
期刊介绍:
The Praehistorische Zeitschrift is regarded as one of the most renowned German publications in the area of Prehistory and Ancient History. In keeping with its traditional mission, it presents detailed accounts of the most recent research conducted in Europe. The geographical emphasis is placed on Eastern, South-Eastern and Northern Central Europe. A comprehensive review section deals with recent German and international monographs from the field of prehistoric archaeology. Contributions are published in German, English or French, with a brief abstract in the other two languages; if necessary, a summary is provided in the author"s native language.