Domestic activities at the Linear Pottery site of Elsloo (Netherlands): a look from under the microscoop

Use-wear analysis of a sample of flint tools from the site of Elsloo, situated in the Graetheide cluster (NL), has shed light on the domestic activities carried out within the settlement. It was shown that hide processing predominates. The extent and character of the wear on the hide working implements indi- cates that different processing stages took place, including dehairing and currying. It is suggested that the quality of the end product, the processed hide, must have been very high. Other craft activities are woodworking and the task responsible for ‘polish 23', possibly flax processing. A large number of sickle blades were found as well, displaying a considerable variation in polish attributes. A possible explana- tion is that different crops were harvested with the same sickle. Spatial analysis of the demonstrated acti- vities has suggested that hide processing was concentrated in one area, possibly supporting the hypothe- sis that in addition to a domestic mode of production, a loose mode of production was practiced as well

Domestic activities at the Linear Pottery site of Elsloo (Netherlands): a look from under the microscoop

Use-wear analysis of a sample of flint tools from the site of Elsloo, situated in the Graetheide cluster (NL), has shed light on the domestic activities carried out within the settlement. It was shown that hide processing predominates. The extent and character of the wear on the hide working implements indi-cates that different processing stages took place, including dehairing and currying. It is suggested that the quality of the end product, the processed hide, must have been very high. Other craft activities are woodworking and the task responsible for ‘polish 23’, possibly flax processing. A large number of sickle blades were found as well, displaying a considerable variation in polish attributes. A possible explana-tion is that different crops were harvested with the same sickle. Spatial analysis of the demonstrated acti-vities has suggested that hide processing was concentrated in one area, possibly supporting the hypothe-sis that in addition to a domestic mode of production, a loose mode of production was practiced as well

Use-wear 2012: International Conference on Use-Wear Analysis

Resoconto di Use-wear 2012: International Conference on Use-Wear Analysis (Faro. 10-12 ottobre 2012)

Microliths use in western mediterranean during VI-V Millenium BC

Geometric microliths have been often considered as an important cultural and chronological marker for the study of lithic assemblages, especially for European Mesolithic and Neolithic. However, systematic studies on microlith function are still lacking. In this paper we present a synthesis of microwear analysis realized on a number of sites, in Western Mediterranean, dated between the VI-V millennium. Our objective is to investigate the significance and the recurrence of those instruments within a spectrum of different contexts. Results indicate that, within a global tendency for microliths use as hunting weapons, there is a certain degree of variability on the basis of environmental, economical and cultural factors that strongly influence their production and mode of use

Conociendo la función del utillaje lítico tallado: veinticinco años de análisis traceológicos aplicados a contextos neolíticos del noreste de la Península Ibérica

This paper deals with the functionality of the flaked stone assemblages from several Neolithic sites of the NE of the Iberian Peninsula. The chronological framework ranges from the mid-6th to the mid-4th millennium cal. BCE, which corresponds to the Early and Middle Neolithic. This long period ranges from the arrival of the first farming communities in the Iberian Peninsula, around 5600-5500 cal. BCE, to 3600-3500 cal. BCE, two millennia later, when Neolithic communities had stably occupied most of the available territory, from the mountainous areas of the Pyrenees to the coastal areas of the Mediterranean. In this context, the NE of the Iberian Peninsula is one of the areas where a major number of use-wear analyses have been carried out, especially for what concerns the Neolithic period. This is mainly due to the interest shown by the directors of the excavations and by the Spanish use-wear specialists as well; both participated and cooperated in order to enlarge the number of contexts studied, making the NE of the Iberian Peninsula one of the areas of Europe with the largest number of ‘functional studies’. As a result, today we have a reliable picture of the type of lithic tools used by the first farming groups, how they were used, and which needs they were satisfying. The methodology employed for this type of analysis is today broadly shared by most use-wear specialists. A stereoscopic microscope is used together with a reflected-light microscope for the analysis of the archaeological specimens. Afterwards, the observed use-wear traces are compared with the traces from experimental tools. This study primarily made use of the tools preserved at the ‘Traceoteque’ of the Institución Milà y Fontanals of the CSIC of Barcelona. This paper presents the results obtained for the different types of analysed sites and the relative lithic assemblages. In this way, tools from different contexts are compared: open-air sites, caves and rock-shelters, pit-sites, burials, and mining sites. Such a diversity of contexts allowed for the exploration of the existence of recurrences and differences in the functionality of the lithic tools from one site to another. The results obtained have also provided information on some aspects related to the economic processes carried out at the different sites, caves, rock-shelters and open-air contexts. It has been possible to gain fresh data on the types of tasks carried out and their relative importance for each site, their relation with the geographical and environmental context and the natural resources available there. In addition, analysing tools recovered from burials – mainly individual inhumations – provided information on the relationships between the buried individuals and the working tools, in particular exploring the relationships between sex and age patterns and the types of tools deposited as goods. In conclusion, use-wear analysis allowed for the exploration of a variety of issues; from technical aspects related to the production and management of the lithic resources to social aspects related to the subsistence activities and the individuals that carried them out

Mesolithic frequentation at Cividate Camuno-Via Palazzo (Brescia-Italy)

Researches carried out between 1987 and 1995 during the restoration of a Roman domus in Via Palazzo, in the old town centre of Cividate Camuno, in Valle Camonica (Brescia - Italy), discovered the presence of underlying prehistoric levels dating back to the Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Middle-Late Neolithic and Bell Beaker culture. The authors present the results of the typological study and use-wear analysis of the Sauveterrian lithic assemblage (SU 282)

Harvesting tools and the spread of the Neolithic into the Central-Western Mediterranean area

This paper discusses the current state of research on harvesting technologies of the first farming communities of the central and western Mediterranean area between ca. 6000–5900 cal BC and 4800–4700 cal BC. New data obtained from the analysis of almost 40 sites from the Italian Peninsula is compared with data previously collected from the Iberian Peninsula and southern France. Results indicate the existence of at least two different harvesting traditions, one characterized by curved sickles used for harvesting at a low or middle height; the other characterized by reaping knives with parallel hafted blades, probably mainly used for ear harvesting. Processes of innovation and change have been highlighted, suggesting that harvesting techniques changed and evolved through time. Besides, the mechanism and pace of diffusion of curved sickles have been explored, too

Studio trasversale sulle variabili di stress lavoro-correlato nei medici in formazione specialistica del maggiore Policlinico Universitario della Sicilia

Introduzione: Il rischio stress lavoro-correlato è uno degli obiettivi della valutazione e prevenzione dei rischi occupazionali negli operatori sanitari (O.S.). I medici in formazione specialistica (MIFS) rappresentano una tipologia di OS sovrapponibile ai dirigenti medici in termini di esposizione lavorativa e quindi di insorgenza di sindromi da stress lavoro-correlato. Obiettivi: Obiettivo dello studio è valutare un set di fattori di rischio stress lavoro-correlato nei MIFS del principale Policlinico Universitario della Sicilia, sottoposti a sorveglianza sanitaria. Materiali e Metodi: Studio trasversale condotto mediante questionario anonimo ed autosomministrato. Risultati: Il 45% dei MIFS di area clinica ed il 37% di area chirurgica usufruiscono del giorno di riposo compensativo a fronte del 92% dell’area dei servizi (p<0,001). Il sistema di rendicontazione delle presenze/monte orario è presente nell’80% delle scuole dell’area dei servizi, nel 60% di quelle di area medica e nel 50% di quelle di area chirurgica (p<0,001). I MIFS delle scuole dell’area chirurgica dichiarano di usufruire delle pause lavorative (41%) con frequenza minore rispetto ai MIFS dell’area medica (60%) e dell’area dei servizi (74%) (p<0,001). I MIFS sia di area medica (47%) che di area chirurgica (47%) risultano essere più esposti a stress lavoro-correlato (p<0,001) rispetto ai MIFS dell’area dei servizi (29%). Conclusioni: Il lavoro documenta un maggiore rischio di stress lavoro-correlato nei MIFS di area chirurgica rispetto alle altre aree professionali indagate. Appare necessario strutturare degli specifici programmi formativi finalizzati alla gestione dell’esposizione al rischio di stress lavoro-correlato per i MIFS, incentrandoli sia sulla persona che sull’ambiente di lavoro.Background: Among health care workers (HCWs), assessment and prevention of work-related stress in the workplace is one of the main goal. Post-graduate medical residents (MRs) are a group of HCWs comparable to medical doctors in terms of occupational exposure and of work-related stress syndromes occurrence. Objectives: To assess the risk of the exposition to work-related stress among MRs attending the major University Hospital of Sicily. Methods: Cross-sectional survey through an anonymous and self-administered questionnaire. Results: 45% of clinical MRs and 37% of surgical MRs have access to compensatory rest days against 92% of MRs of the services area (p <0.001). A work attendance detection system for MRs is available in 80% of the postgraduate medical schools of the services area, in 60% of the clinical postgraduate schools and in 50% of the surgical postgraduate schools (p <0.001). MRs of postgraduate surgical schools declare to have access to work breaks (41%) with less frequency compared to clinical (60%) and services MRs (74%) (p <0.001). Both clinical (47%) and surgical MRs (47%) result to be more exposed to work-related stress than MRs of the services area (27%) (p <0.001). Conclusions: The survey documents an exposure excess of work-related stress for all the considered variables in MRs of surgical area. It is strongly suggested to provide for specific training programs aimed to manage the MRs risk exposure to work-related stress, focusing both on the workers and the work environment

Harvest time: Crop-reaping technologies and the Neolithisation of the Central Mediterranean

Neolithic societies were defined by the development of agricultural economies not only because part of their diet was obtained from cultivated plants, but also because crophusbandry practices strongly affected people’s lifestyles in a variety of ways. It is therefore unsurprising that the development and diffusion of agriculture can be studied from diverse perspectives and with different approaches, by analysing, for example, the macro- and micro-botanical remains of fruits and grains for morphometric and taxonomic variation (Colledge &amp; Conolly 2007) and genetic history (Mascher et al. 2016). Conversely, agriculture can be indirectly assessed through its impact on the environment and subsequent landscape modifications (Zanchetta et al. 2013; Mercuri 2014). Yet another approach explores crop-husbandry practices as reflected in changing technology. New agricultural tasks required the adaptation of existing technologies and the adoption of new tools and practices, including querns, millstones and other grain-grinding equipment, as well as artefacts and structures for grain storage, cooking and processing. The most evident innovation in flaked stone technology associated with the Neolithisation phenomenon concerns the so-called ‘glossy blades’. Early experimental and use-wear studies of these blades fed debate about the mechanisms responsible for polish formation (Anderson 1982; Unger-Hamilton 1984). More recently, however, renewed attention towards these tools and their technological, functional and geographic variability (Ibáñez et al. 2008; Maeda et al. 2016) has considered their significance in relation to economic organisation, cultural boundaries and processes of technological innovation