WEAR

Stone tools such as axes/adzes and grinding stones are essential innovative elements enabling the spreading of the Neolithic way of living from Western Asia to central Europe. The invention of these tools was vital to establish settled life and agriculture, facilitating the clearing of the land, woodworking, the construction of buildings, and the processing of food such as cereals and pulses. Previous studies oftentimes interpret traces resulting from these functions as unambiguous and therefore rather focus on morphological and contextual analyses than use-wear. In this project, we consider the multifunctional character of the two basic tool categories under investigation, axes/adzes and grinding stones, as a key element, which shows significant variation within areas touched by the Neolithisation. The principle goal of this project is to compare regional adaptation strategies to the Neolithic lifeway through the investigation of the use of tools to modify the landscape into a suitable environment for farming, and the analyses of local dietary strategies involving food processing tools. To achieve these tasks, we will analyse the raw materials, use traces, working techniques, use intensities and the complete life cycles of the stone tools. The results will allow us to determine end products, foodscapes and the ranges of tool use by comparing two regions with different environmental settings and population dynamics during the Central Europe Neolithic: the Middle Elbe-Saale region and SW Germany, which have some of the largest collections of tools. To practically reconstruct the entire lifecycle of the tools, we will produce experimental series of selected tool types recognised within the archaeological assemblages from the same raw materials the archaeological objects were made from. Subsequently, these replicas will be used on different materials, with different motions and for different tasks to produce complete series of worn tools from an unused to an exhausted stage. Each use stage will be recorded and the change of shapes visualised by the application of Geometric Morphometrics to create 3D models and digital microscopy to document the mechanical deformation of the surface. The aim is to create an open access reference collection of use stages and a software tool for functional analysis by automatic pattern recognition. The complete reconstruction of the life cycles of particular stone tools will produce statistically reliable parameters for a determination of their function based on quantitative data. The central idea is to understand an object as an assemblage composed of multiple stages of use, which are reflected in sequences of successive changes of shapes and wear. Through simulations of complete biographies of replicas of representative types in long-term experiments, the parameters and consequently the functional interpretation can be objectified, measured and modelled for a larger number of tools in different use stages, which is not possible employing traditional analytical approaches.