Producción y uso de las grandes hojas de sílex durante el Calcolítico del Noreste de Bulgaria

The Chalcolithic sites of Bulgaria are characterized by a large number of tools from Dobrudjian flint. Results of studying of flint items the main blank for which was the long blade, existence of workshops, a wide circulation of the same products in different regions of the country testify to high technological level of processing of flint raw materials, professionalism of craftsmen and specialization of flint production in economy of this time. Archaeological materials were studied by means of technical- morphological and experimental-traceological methods and ethnographic data were also used.Los yacimientos calcolíticos de Bulgaria se caracterizan por presentar una gran cantidad de piezas de sílex de Dobrudjian. Los resultados del estudio de los artefactos de sílex, materia sobre la que se elaboraron las grandes hojas, la existencia de talleres, y de una amplia circulación de los mismos productos en diferentes regiones del país dan testimonio del alto nivel tecnológico del procesado de las materias primas silíceas, de la capacidad de los artesanos y de la especialización de la producción de artefactos sílex en la economía de esa época. Los materiales arqueológicos se han estudiado mediante métodos tecno-morfológicos y experimental-traceológicos, y también se tuvieron en cuenta datos etnográficos

Manufacturing technology of stone miniature columns from the Bronze Age site Gonur Depe (southern Turkmenistan)

Archaeological cultures of the Bronze Age, despite the widespread use of metal, also used stone raw materials for the manufacture of tools, household, and sacred items. A lot of stone products had a complicated shape and meticulous finishing, but the technology of their manufacture is still not always clear. This fully applies to the materials of the Bronze Age of southern Turkmenistan where long-term settlements of the proto-urban type are being studied. These include Gonur Depe (2500-1500 BCE) - the administrative and religious centre of ancient Margiana (Sarianidi 2005). Among its materials are stone miniature columns of “unknown” purpose in the shape of a chess rook, which are usually found in sacral complexes. This paper deals with the technology of producing these objects (half of the collection of intact items was investigated) and is part of a collective work on a comprehensive study of large stone cult objects from Gonur Depe. The raw materials for studied miniature columns were gypsum, limestone, marbled limestone, marbled onyx, onyx, talcochlorite, and polymictic breccia. For the first time the authors made an attempt to consider the issues of miniature columns manufacturing technology. Thanks to the use-wear study of their surfaces, it became possible to reveal numerous technological traces invisible to the naked eye. The data obtained made it possible to characterize all stages of the miniature columns manufacturing technology, which indicates a high level of development of the stone-processing industry in the settlements of the Bronze Age of Turkmenistan

Análisis de huellas de uso y de residuos de los instrumentos de piedra usados por los primeros agricultores en el yacimiento Klerk-5 de Primorye (Rusia). Resultados preliminares

The research of the tools for processing plants is of great importance for finding out when gathering and farming begins in many regions of Eurasia. In the territory of East Asia the migration of farmers’ communities of Zaisanovski cultural tradition is traced from North-East China at first to Central Primorye of the Russia’s Far East, and after that to the coastal parts of this region, where the traditional occupation of the population was primarily fishing and hunting marine mammals (about 5300-4600 BP). The traceological analysis involving the experimental data allowed to figure out that some stone tiles, their fragments and pebbles from the Klerk 5 settlement, based on the coast of the Sea of Japan, had been used as grinding stones for processing plants. The results of the traceological analysis were confirmed by the detection of starch residues on the working surfaces of these tools. These facts indicate that the migration of farmers from the continental regions to the coastal part of Russian Far East contributed to the development of farming, previously unknown in this territory.La investigación de los instrumentos para el procesado de plantas es de gran importancia para descubrir cuándo comenzó la recolección y la agricultura en muchas regiones de Eurasia. En el territorio de Asia Oriental, la migración de las comunidades campesinas de la tradición cultural Zaisanovski procede del noreste de China hacia Primorye Central del Lejano Oriente de Rusia primeramente, y después alcanza las partes costeras de esta región, donde la ocupación tradicional de la población era principalmente la pesca y la caza de mamíferos marinos (en torno a 5300-4600 BP). El análisis traceológico, que incorporó datos experimentales, permitió descubrir que algunas losas de piedra, sus fragmentos y guijarros del asentamiento Klerk 5, ubicado en la costa del Mar de Japón, se habían utilizado como molinos para el procesado de plantas. Los resultados del análisis traceológico se confirmaron mediante la detección de residuos de almidón en las superficies de trabajo de estos útiles. Estos hechos indican que la migración de los agricultores de las regiones continentales a la parte costera del Lejano Oriente ruso contribuyó al desarrollo de la agricultura, anteriormente desconocida en este territorio

Functional use of large stone tool from the Upper Paleolithic site of Kamennaya Balka II (the Northern Azov Sea region, Russia)

The assemblages of many Paleolithic sites on the Russian Plain contain large pebbles of various types of stone, which, due to the natural and unmodified forms, rarely become objects of special study. Some of them retain their natural shape, others are slightly artificially modified. In the course of our research, artifacts from several Paleolithic sites in Russia and the Republic of Moldova were subjected to a comprehensive study. Technical-morphological and experimental-traceological studies made it possible to characterize the methods of their manufacture and use. Among the items studied, there is a trapezoidal slab retrieved in the lower layer of the Late Paleolithic stratified site Kamennaya Balka II (the Northern Azov Sea region, Russia). On its surface, use-wear traces were found, which are characteristic of wear traces on tools used to grind plant materials. To verify the results of the traceological analysis, a series of experiments was performed. The wear traces on the working part of the experimental tool turned out to be similar to those found on the original one. The functional identification of the slab from Kamennaya Balka II as a tool for processing plants was also confirmed by the discovery on the working surface of mineralized starch grains. This comprehensive study of an unmodified stone artifact from the Kamennaya Balka II site and its identification as the lower grinding stone indicates the presence of complex foraging strategies among the economic activities of the inhabitants of the site and their successful adaptation to the natural environment in this region

Główne etapy historii badań zachodniego obszaru kultury trypolskiej

The history of archaeological research on the Trypillian sites in the western regions of Ukraine can be subdivided into four stages, each of which is marked by certain achievements. The first explorations resulted in the discovery of new archaeological objects, which gave rise to the discussion about the interpretation of constructions and functions of the settlements. The questions related to chronology, periodization, and excavation methodology were discussed as well. However, this activity was irregular and spontaneous, and the materials of many sites were scattered over different museums of Europe. The later stages of research gave very important data about the material and sacral components of the Trypillian culture, as well as its development, ways of adaptation to natural conditions, relative chronology of the sites, and their distribution. In the last years, the systematic excavations conducted at the reference site of Bodaki shed an important light on the economic basics of Trypillia. They also gave new materials for reconstructing the connections between the north-western and central areas of the culture, and its connections with the coeval farming-herding cultures of Europe

The Importance of Experimental-Traсeologic Research for Studying of Ancient Osseous Products

Osseous raw materials were widely used in the economic life of diff erent historical epochs in order to make various tools; ornaments; household and military items. Experimental-traceological studies are of great importance for the study of these materials. As a result of many years activity of specialized expeditions organized by the Leningrad Branch of Institute of Archaeology of the USSR Academy of Sciences / Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences it has been developed a methodology for the integrated study of items from the antler; horn and bone; which included analysis of the features of the preliminary treatment of osseous raw materials; the technology of processing and using various tools and other products; the identifi cation of signs of their utilization; and the characteristics of the main types of stone and metal bone processing tools. The continuation of these studies; undertaken in connection with the accumulation of new sources; allows us to detail the features of the ancient osseous processing industr