Analysis of ground stone technology from the Neolithic of Greece rarely goes beyond
incomplete descriptive accounts to focus on the activities performed with these tools
and the contexts of their use. Ground stone products are seen as mundane static objects
devoid of meaning and lacking significance. The aim of this thesis is to move away
from incomplete accounts of ground stone technology and static typologies. Drawing
upon the concepts of the chaine operatoire and 'object biographies' this thesis
investigates ground stone technology as a social practice focusing on the life-cycle of
artefacts from raw material selection to final deposition. The underlying premise is that
a contextual approach can contribute to understanding the ways in which the
production, consumption and discard of ground stone artefacts were structured within
different forms and scales of social practice and the manner in which these differences
articulated different meanings and social understandings. The aims of the thesis were
materialised through the study of the rich ground stone assemblage from the LN
settlement of Makriyalos, Greece.
The analysis of the chaine operatoire of the Makriyalos ground stone assemblage
revealed diverse technological choices expressed throughout the cycle of production and
use. Established traditions existed according to which specific materials were
considered to be appropriate for the production of different objects. Furthermore,
detailed analysis suggests that the resulting objects were far from mundane artefacts but
were instead active media for expressing choices informed by cultural understandings of
appropriateness.
Building upon analysis of the chaine operatoire, spatial analysis of the Makriyalos
assemblage indicated distinct depositional patterns of different categories of ground
stone within and between the two phases of Makriyalos. This analysis offers significant
insights into the way(s) these implements were incorporated into the social life of
Makriyalos. Ultimately, the thesis demonstrates that ground stone artefacts were
actively employed in the creation and negotiation of varied and distinct identities
(individual vs. communal) that could be transformed through different contexts of
practice
