Deborah Olausson

Testing for the presence of thermal pretreatment of flint in the mesolithic and neolithic of Sweden

Abstract Through ethnographic accounts, the method of heat treatment of silica materials to improve the flaking qualities is shown to have been known almost worldwide. Some mesolithic and neolithic flint artifacts from southern Sweden were examined in order to determine if they too were heat treated. From several methods proving or indicating thermal alteration of flint, analysis using scanning electron microscopy was chosen. Two samples were taken from each artifact, one being examined unaltered, the other being heat treated. No two samples from the same artifact had the same kind of surface appearance. Thus these analyses prove that the artifacts examined had not been heat treated.

Different Strokes for Different Folks. Possible Reasons for Variation in Quality of Knapping

The article describes the results of a survey of contemporary flintknappers. the aim of the survey was to investigate whether it was possible to identify inherent qualities in knappers which would indicate that some individuals possess an inherent ability or talent for knapping. Control over such individuals would provide a means of enhancing ones status through well-made knapped objects. It is argued that most members of a stone age society would have been capable of ordinary knapping. However, there are elements of natural aptitude whch enabled certain individuals to excel at flintknapping so that they were able to create objects of exceptions size and beaury.

Starting From Scratch: The History Of Edge-Wear Research From 1838 To 1978

Since this review was completed (March 19781 the excellent and thought-provoking papers from the Lithic UseWear Conference at Simon Fraser University have been published (Hayden 1979). Because the papers are so comprehensive and often revolutionary , I have judged that including them here would have necessitated considerable revision. Therefore , / have decided to leave the history as it was as of 1978.

Experiments to Investigate the Effects of Heat Treatment on Use-Wear on Flint tools

A series of twenty controlled experiments was undertaken to determine if heat treatment alters the speed, intensity, or appearance of wear on the edges of flint tools. Four hypotheses were tested with the following results: Heat-treated tools wore more quickly and with more severity than tools which had not been heated. When used in the same fashion and on the same materials, heat-treated flakes showed longer microflake removals from use than did non-heat-treated tools. Flake scars from microflaking due to use had a shiny surface on flints which had been heat-treated, while such surfaces were matt on unheated materials. The results suggest that these effects should be taken into consideration when studies of use-wear are undertaken.

Knapping Skill and Craft Specialization in Late Neolithic Flint Daggers

ABSTRACT The Late Neolithic flint daggers of Scandinavia have long fascinated contemporary flintknappers, due to the beauty of some specimens and the presumed skill required to make them. Examination of populations of daggers in museum collections reveals differences in knapping quality. Such differences are commonly ascribed to variations in skill levels on the part of their makers, and high skill is often assumed to indicate craft specialization. The results of a systematic examination of over 500 flint daggers from southern Sweden suggest that no coherent population of daggers was made by specialists to serve as prestige items or for economic gain. Nor do calculations of dagger output support an interpretation of craft specialist production. Rather, it is suggested that the finest daggers were made by artisans who wished to challenge their own embodied flintknapping skills. In pushing the limits of their craft, their motivation was personal, rather than economic.

Flint Seminar, Södra Sallerup

On May n, 1001, 15 archaeologists and flintknappers from Scandinavia and northern Germany gathered for a flint seminar in SOdra Sallerup, Sweden. The organizers were Prof. Debonili Olausson of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Lund and Anders Hogberg, a doctoral student who is associated with the Department of Antiquities in Malmo and the University of Lund. Our primary aims for the seminar were twofold.