Production and use: Beyond stone tools. Example of house 32, Lepenski Vir (Serbia)

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Share More Related research Behind the scenes. Introduction to the human activities in the Iron Gates region. Preliminary use-wear analysis of chipped stone artefacts from Lepenski Vir and Padina (Serbia) Conference Paper Full-text available November 2019 Download View more Description Lepenski Vir, located in the Iron Gates region (SE Serbia), is a well-known site for its monumental sculptures and numerous trapezoidal houses dated to the Mesolithic/Early Neolithic period, c. 6200-5900 cal BC. Absolute dates indicate that prehistoric communities have been inhabiting the site in wider chronological span, c. 9400-7600 cal BC, but they hadn´t left extensive material remains. Detailed raw material and techno-typological analysis of knapped stone industry were undertaken by Kozłowski and Kozłowski (1984). However, recent revisions of Lepenski Vir material and documentation have required a new examination of the chipped stone artefacts and the implementation of advanced methods. New analysis included a vast study of the techniques used for knapping, as well as crossing the raw material and technotypological data with the contexts of the artefact origin and the use-wear analysis. The results drew attention to houses 32, 35 and 36 regarding the quantity and technological characteristics of grey flint artifacts. Our attention here is drawn to explore the activities performed in the house 32, where the only one retouched artefact – a perforator was uncovered while other stone remains indicate that grey flint was knapped while blanks of Balkan and grey flint with white spots were stored and used. Use-wear analysis of the proposed sample consisted both from artefacts coming from ashplace but also from house floor was conducted and indicates variety of used materials and activities, and also implies the presence of thermal stress on some of the artefacts. Interesting is that some of the tools have traces of a complex nature, e.g. they were used for divergent activities in different periods, indicating the character of the house 32 itself. There is presence of activity on mineral material and working on large fish, which was a very important part of human diet of prehistoric communities of Lepenski Vir.