The prehistoric bone tool assemblage from Grivac (central Serbia)

The eponymous site of Starčevo culture, Starčevo – Grad in south Pannonia, excavated in the first half of 20th century, represents one of the most important sites for Early and Middle Neolithic in South-East Europe. However, many aspects of its rich portable material are still unpublished, including bone industry. In this paper will be presented 250 objects from osseous materials, collected during almost 100 years of research. Raw materials choice, techniques of manufacture, characteristic forms and traces of use were analyzed. From raw materials, bones were dominant, although antlers were far from being insignificant. Boar’s tusks and mollusc also occurr, although in small numbers. The analysis of traces of manufacture helped in reconstructing the „chaîne opéraotire“, but also showed that there are some manufacture techniques typical for Early and Middle Neolithic. The existence of workshop or working place in the settlement was indirectly confirmed by the presence of manufacture debris. Most common objects were awls, needles, projectile points, scrarpers,burnishers, punches, hammers, but also some specific tool types occurred, such as Early/Middle Neolithic spatulas-spoons, and some types of decorative objects. Usewear traces, when preserved, suggest most of the tools were linked with processing of organic materals (leather, hide, plant materials, wood). Objects made from Spondylus, although only few were found, demonstrate that Starčevo was on the trading route of prestige goods.

26th EAA Virtual Annual Meeting, 2020

Studies of technology in general, and in particular bone technology were for a long time a neglected topic in the south-eastern European prehistoric archaeology. This began to change in past two decades, when several studies focused on lithic and bone technology in the Neolithic appeared, that included not only typological analyses, but also paid attention to the raw material selection, manufacturing procedures and use wear traces. In this paper will be provided an overview of the current results regarding the bone industries in the Late Neolithic, with focus on two large Vinča culture sites, Vinča-Belo Brdo in the vicinity of Belgrade, and Pločnik near Prokuplje. Industries at both sites show careful selection of raw material, with important ratio of antlers, which were systematically collected and used. Manufacturing techniques revealed high standardization and even suggest the possibility of early stages of specialization. Typological repertoire also revealed some of the culture-specific techno-types, but also some differences that could be regional and/or linked with economy – such as presence of hooks and harpoons at Vinča-Belo Brdo. Pločnik is also the site with early evidence of copper metallurgy, and the large amount of carefully made bone objects show that this was still an important raw material, despite the emergence of new technologies. Overall, bone technology also shows high level of standardisation and the presence of skilful craftspersons. Unfortunately, it was not possible to locate possible working / activity areas where bone and antler objects were produced, although the presence of manufacture debris shows this production was local.

2011

One of the less known aspects of Neolithic technology is bone industry. In this paper objects made of osseous materials from several Early and Middle Neolithic sites were analyzed – raw material selection, manufacturing techniques, forms offinal products and their possible use. The results revealed an industry with organized raw material selection and with uniform manufacture and types. Most of these artefacts were used for working with organic materials, such as hides or wood. Careful shaping and long use of some of these objects may suggest special meaning attributed to them. The same technological and stylistic traits were observed related to both Mesolithic and Neolithic bone industries in the region.

14TH MEETING OF THE WORKED BONE RESEARCH GROUP, 2021

The site of Vinča-Belo Brdo is the eponymous site for the Vinča culture, phenomenon that marked Late Neolithic in the south-eastern Europe. The site was discovered in early 20th century and excavated intensively through several research campaigns. The researches carried out in the period before the World War II by Miloje Vasić revealed over 9 m thick cultural layer and impressive architectural remains and portable material. Vinča is in every aspect unusual Vinča culture site – it has the longest stratigraphic sequence, and portable finds include numerous unique objects, such as zoomorphic vessels, figurines, significant number of objects made from exotic and rare raw materials, etc. Excavations carried out in the first half of the 20th century also yielded very rich assemblage of osseous artefacts, up today the largest assemblage collected from any Vinča culture site, comprising approximately 1000 items. Although sample bias is present (highly fragmented tools are missing, most likely they were not collected at all), this assemblage provided important information on technology of production, typological repertoire, as well as regarding diachronic aspects – traditions and innovations. While some of the techno-types were widespread on other Vinča culture sites, some seem to be specific for Vinča-Belo Brdo, suggesting specific traits of the economy of the communities that inhabited this site during the Late Neolithic.

Abstract: The Iron Gates area (Serbia and Romania) is well known for its extraordinary Mesolithic finds, first discovered almost fifty years ago, which initiated still ongoing debate on the relations between foragers and farmers and the very origin of Neolithic communities in this region. The questions regarding relative and absolute chronology and social relations have received the most attention, while some aspects of the material culture are still not analysed in detail, especially when it comes to the sites on the right (Serbian) bank of the Danube. Most sites are situated in the Upper and Lower Gorge, and the only site with an excavated Mesolithic sequence downstream from the Gorge is Kula near Mihajlovac. In this paper a small collection of about fifty bone and antler artefacts from Kula is analysed. This is the first analysis of the material from the right bank of Danube to be focused on the bone industry only. The analysis incorporates the questions of raw material choice, technique of manufacture and typological classification. Antler was the dominant raw material, but also large and medium-sized ungulate bones were used for making pointed tools, projectile tips, chisels, wedges, percussion tools, hafts and sleeves. They were made at the site and most were used for hunting and woodworking. Decorative or non-utilitarian objects were not discovered. The limited tool-type range, along with other archaeological evidence, suggests that Mesolithic settlement at Kula may have had a different character from those in the Upper Gorge.

Roxana Dobrescu, Adina Boroneanţ, Adrian Doboş (eds.) Scripta praehistorica : miscellanea in honorem Mariae Bitiri dicata, Târgovişte : Cetatea de scaun, (Materiale şi Cercetări Arheologice, serie nouă, Supplementum I / Institutul de Arheologie „Vasile Parvan”), 2021

The rescue excavations in Batasevo in central Serbia showed that it was a multi-layer site, on which occupation traces dated from the Early Neolithic, and then from the Bronze Age and the Roman period to the Middle Ages. The most valuable findings and data in the Early Neolithic settlement were provided by the excavations in Makedonska Street, in trenches 2/06, 1/07 and 2/07 where an Early Neolithic layer 1-1.5 m thick was discovered. According to the archaeological material (stone tools, pottery and cult items, objects made of bone, fauna) and dug-in features and houses, it is very certain that during the Early Neolithic period Batasevo was a well-developed settlement, whose inhabitants, aside from husbandry and agriculture, also took part in the production of items made of stone, bone, pottery etc. Ground and abrasive stone tools, according to the choice of the raw materials, manner of making and consumption, repairing and recycling of tools, completely reflects the Early Neolithic technology of production and manner of tool use observed elsewhere in the territory of the Central Balkans. The only remarkable trait is the great fragmentation of the tools, already mentioned, which has been noted so far only at the site of Aria Babi in the Iron Gates, as well as the existence of specialised grindstones for processing stone tools. On the basis of the small area researched so far (35 m1 2), it is not possible to conclude if there was a specialisation of production of certain groups of artefacts, since no workshop was discovered. Cuvinte cheie: industrie litică şlefuită, tehnologie preistorică, reciclare, consum, neolitic timpuriu, cultura Starcevo, Serbia Rezumat: Cercetările arheologice preventive de la Batasevo în centrul Serbiei au indicat prezenţa unui sit pluri-stratificat, cu urme de locuire pornind din neoliticul timpuriu până în epoca bronzului şi apoi din perioada romană până în evul mediu. Cele mai importante descoperiri şi informaţii atribuite neoliticului timpuriu provin din strada Makedosnka, secţiunile 2/06, 1/07 şi 2/07, unde a fost descoperit un nivel neolitic timpuriu de 1-1,5 m grosime. Materialul arheologic (piese de piatră, ceramică şi obiecte de cult realizate din os, precum şi resturi faunistice) şi complexele şi structurile de locuire sugerează că pe durata neoliticului timpuriu Batasevo era o aşezare bine dezvoltată ai cărei locuitori se ocupau alături de creşterea animalelor şi agricultură, şi de producţia de obiecte de piatră, os, ceramică etc. Piesele aparţinând industriei pietrei şlefuite, împreună cu materiile prime folosite, modul de producere şi de consum, repararea şi reciclarea lor, oferă o imagine completă a tehnologiei neolitice timpurii şi a modului de utilizare a uneltelor, asemănătoare cu cea observată în alte părţi din zona de centru a Balcanilor. Singurele caracteristici remarcabile sunt gradul mare de fragmentare al uneltelor (observat şi la Aria Babi, Porţile de Fier) şi existenţa unor piese de piatră specializate pentru producerea uneltelor de piatră. Dată fiind aria relativ mică investigată până acum (35m2) nu putem vorbi despre specializarea producţiei pentru un anumit tip de piese, întrucât nu a fost descoperit nici un atelier. 10 The classification of raw materials used in Batasevo was made by Prof. Vladica Cvetkovic and Prof. Kristina Saric, Faculty of Mining and Geology, University of Belgrade, and it consisted of a macroscopic analysis of the entire material and a microscopic examination of 10 samples (Cvetkovic,

2021

The study of bone tools is one of the branches that take the first true steps in Georgia today. This explains the fact that the bone tools discovered on this territory are fragmentarily studied. Therefore, I faced the problem of terminology and typology even for well-studied Shomu- Shulaveri Culture. This research is an attempt to eradicate this problem of lacking the basic aspects around bone tools assemblage. Here, in this thesis, I will present the typology of bone tools which is the main core of my research and it was implemented based on the largest collection of Khramis Didi Gora site. The proposed typology encompasses several aspects like examining the raw materials, technology and techniques, and use wear. These research issues have formed the main idea of the thesis and provided some striking results. Particularly, several basic types of bone tools were identified in the typology – edged tools, cutting tools, pointed tools, diverse tools, and waste/preform/undetermined tools, which in turn indicates that the assemblage is represented by the diversity of the materials where the total number of the tools was 1766. This demonstrates the importance and richness of this collection and the site itself. Use-wear analyses revealed a functional variety of bone tools where that were used for agricultural activities, building work, textile and leather processing, wood and stone industry. I believe this research provides new and important information for the study of Shomu-Shulaveri Culture, as well as the study of bone tools in the Caucasus and neighbouring regions in general.

Cuadernos de Prehistoria y Arqueología de la Universidad de Granada, 2019

Osseous raw materials were important raw material in the Early and Middle Neolithic Starčevo culture of the South-East Europe; they were widely used for production of everyday tools (awls, needles, scrapers, burnishers, chisels, hammers, etc.), other utilitarian objects (such as handles), weapons (projectile points) and ornaments (pendants, beads, buckles). In this paper will be presented the analysis of technological choices (raw material selection and manufacturing techniques). Raw material selection shows the predominance of bones at most of the sites, but with some exceptions, such as high ratio of antlers in the Iron Gates region. Mollusc shells are not numerous, yet present at several sites. Raw material selection was relatively strict, while the manufacturing techniques show high level of technological knowledge and familiarity with raw material. They also display some chronological-cultural specific traits, such as use of abrasion only for the production of metapodial awls, making or large perforations, etc.

Archaeologia Austriaca , 2022

The excavations at Svinjarička Čuka in the South Morava Valley in Serbia are presented with new primary data from the field and related material and scientific analyses. Newly recovered architectural remains from the classical Starčevo period revealed a variety of domestic features, so far belonging to an earlier and later occupation phase at the river terrace dating between 5700/5600 and 5500 BC. Details of the stratigraphy and certain materials are presented for selected domestic contexts, including one potential ‘Starčevo house’. Archaeological and scientific analyses are discussed and contextualised within the Neolithisation process in the chapters on new radiocarbon data and their Bayesian modelling, pottery studies, chipped stones and their raw material analyses, grinding kits, animal remains, archaeobotanical results and charcoal analysis. The later occupation at the site is presented with new results for the Middle and Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age, including domestic contexts, radiocarbon data and materials.