Final Report Summary - CRAFTS (Crafting networks in early farming societies: tracing the residues of Neolithic activities through the study of stone artefacts)
Project CRAFTS investigates the role of technology in the development of social networks in early farming societies through an interdisciplinary research strategy that integrates stone technology and functional analysis with a wide range of other inorganic and organic materials (e.g. plants, animal bones, pottery, shells). The project addresses a key research question in the study of many different societies: how do changing strategies and technologies of production constrain and shape social relations? The Neolithic period, a crucial phase in human history characterised by diverse technological and social changes, presents an excellent context to explore this issue. A crucial step in understanding the technological and social networks that structured the life of Neolithic communities is to establish the nature, range and social context of craft and food-processing activities taking place at the study sites. This is established primarily through the application of microwear analysis on ground stone objects. Microwear analysis is an analytical technique that involves the identification of microscopic wear traces (at up to 300x magnification) on the surface of tools produced by manufacture and use.
Research objectives
The analysis focuses on three key archaeological sites from the Central Anatolian (ca. 7400- 6000 BC) and the Aegean Neolithic (ca. 7000-3100 BC) that provide variation in terms of chronology, structuring conditions, environmental trajectories and social contexts. The settlements have been selected on the basis of: a) the quality and range of the stone artefacts and other materials that increase the potential of microwear analysis; b) the excellent quality of contextual information; and c) the large corpus of data generated by multidisciplinary research on the study sites.
The sites chosen are:
Çatalhöyük Central Anatolia, Turkey: a very rare example of a well-preserved Neolithic settlement that provides important evidence of the transition from settled villages to urban aggregated settlements.
Knossos, Crete, Greece: The settlement mound of Knossos, located under the Bronze Age Palace, represents one of the earliest and longest-lived farming settlements in Europe. Knossos has played a prominent role in archaeological discourses about the spread of farming in Europe. It was occupied continuously throughout the Neolithic period.
Makriyalos, Northern Greece: a large Neolithic settlement that dates to the Late Neolithic period (ca. 5200-4500 BC) and belongs to the extended type of settlements with horizontally shifting pattern of habitation -the so-called ‘flat-extended settlements’.
The main research objectives (RO) of this project are as follows:
RO.1. To provide scientific evidence for the range of activities undertaken in Neolithic settlements.
RO.2. To investigate the relationship between tool form and function.
RO.3. To establish the spatial and temporal variability of these activities. Spatial analysis will examine the location (e.g. within households or in external spaces of communal character) and nature (domestic vs. specialised and/or communal control of production and consumption) of activities within settlement areas. This will reveal the potential for social interaction afforded to these communities through technological practices and will allow us to investigate the role of household- and community-based practices in creating and sustaining technological and social networks.
RO.4. To investigate cross-craft interactions in different Neolithic settlements in order to explore how the interactions afforded by technological processes may have contributed to the sharing of technological knowledge, toolkits, materials and techniques among different social groups, and in effect to the creation of learning networks.
RO.5. To develop a theoretical and methodological framework for studying technological systems, which will be highly applicable in a wide range of archaeological contexts in Europe.
Work carried out
During October 2013 – September 2015 the microwear analysis of the ground stone assemblages from the three sites under investigation, Çatalhöyük, Makriyalos and Knossos, was conducted. This phase of the project was accomplished through the use of microscopes and casts of high resolution impression material (dental silicone) which can replicate accurately the micro-topography of a tool surface and the micro-polish. Different types of stone objects from all three sites have been sampled for microwear analysis. Following this, the analysis of collected data and the study of silicone casts in consultation with the experimental reference collections located at the Laboratory for Artefact Studies commenced. In addition, the fellow conducted a series of experimental studies, which included the production of bone tools with flint and ground stone tools, hide processing, as well as experiments replicating the production of shell ornaments using mainly grinding tools. The results of the microwear analysis are further considered in relation to the large corpus of bioarchaeological and artefactual data generated by multidisciplinary research at the three study sites.
In collaboration with Prof. Marco Madella (Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona, Spain) and the microbotanical remains team at Çatalhöyük the fellow developed an integrated approach to the analysis of stone assemblages combining residue analysis (both starch and phytoliths) and microwear analysis of ground stone tools. This collaboration addresses questions about subsistence practices and food processing techniques employed by the Neolithic community at Çatalhöyük.
Project results
Results so far indicate the multitude of activities performed by the ground stone implements at the early farming communities under investigation. The assemblages from all three archaeological sites suggest that a wide range of activities were performed ranging from the processing of plants to the production of stone axes, shell ornaments and bone tools, to name a few. For instance, at Çatalhöyük, microwear analysis suggests that stone axes and adzes were used for shaping the wood involved in building construction, but also in the production of wooden bowls and other implements. There are also indications that some of the small axes have been used for skin processing. Grinding tools were incorporated not only in food processing activities, but also in the production of bone tools, stone axes and ornaments, in the processing of pigments used for wall paintings, and clays for house construction activities, and in the smoothing and burnishing of plastered surfaces. Moreover, insights into cereal processing activities were offered through the integrated analysis of microwear traces and microbotanical residues on grinding tools. While the dehusking of hulled cereals was commonly practiced within different houses at Çatalhöyük, grinding tools and stone pestles found on-site do not seem to have been involved in the dehusking process. This suggests that other dehusking techniques were used at this site. Significant insights are also gained with regards the production of pottery at Çatalhöyük and Knossos. The presence of stone tools that seem to have been used during the different stages of pottery production supports the hypothesis for the local production of pottery at both sites. In the case of Knossos, the original suggestion that during the earliest phases of the settlement pottery was imported and not locally produced is strongly supported by the microwear analysis of the ground stone assemblage. Overall, ground stone tools played an important role in the functioning of the subsistence economy, but they were also instrumental for different craft activities.
From a methodological point of view, project CRAFTS contributes to wider discussions about the identification of activity areas and in situ activities within prehistoric houses, a key topic of discussion in archaeological discourse. To date, the identification of activity areas in domestic buildings has been based on typological classifications, the presence and spatial distribution of certain artefact categories, mainly pottery assemblages. Results reached so far offer cautionary tales about inferences made based on simplistic contextual and spatial associations between objects within particular contexts. At Çatalhöyük, objects were found deposited on the floors of the buildings just before the abandonment of the structure. Detailed technological and microwear analysis suggests that these deposits do not represent in situ activity areas; instead, there is strong evidence to suggest that these objects were intentionally placed on the floor as part of ritual activities associated with the closure and deliberate abandonment of houses by their occupants.
More broadly, project CRAFTS offers a more detailed view on how daily life was organised at different early farming societies. By adopting a microscale approach it provides an enriched view of the day to day dealings of Neolithic communities and highlights the complexity of the social relationships as these were reflected through the practice of different crafts. Embedded in the social and economic life of Neolithic communities grinding activities were among the daily practices that contributed to the socialization of Neolithic communities. These daily activities of a seemingly mundane character became powerful mechanisms of communication, an arena of social interaction that enabled the social reproduction of Neolithic communities on a daily basis.
Project webpage:
www.archaeology.leiden.edu/research/science-based-archaeology/research/crafting-networks-in-early-farming-societies.html
Contact details:
Dr Christina Tsoraki
Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University
Laboratory for Material Culture Studies
Einsteinweg 2
2333 CC Leiden
The Netherlands
Tel. 0031715271601
Research objectives
The analysis focuses on three key archaeological sites from the Central Anatolian (ca. 7400- 6000 BC) and the Aegean Neolithic (ca. 7000-3100 BC) that provide variation in terms of chronology, structuring conditions, environmental trajectories and social contexts. The settlements have been selected on the basis of: a) the quality and range of the stone artefacts and other materials that increase the potential of microwear analysis; b) the excellent quality of contextual information; and c) the large corpus of data generated by multidisciplinary research on the study sites.
The sites chosen are:
Çatalhöyük Central Anatolia, Turkey: a very rare example of a well-preserved Neolithic settlement that provides important evidence of the transition from settled villages to urban aggregated settlements.
Knossos, Crete, Greece: The settlement mound of Knossos, located under the Bronze Age Palace, represents one of the earliest and longest-lived farming settlements in Europe. Knossos has played a prominent role in archaeological discourses about the spread of farming in Europe. It was occupied continuously throughout the Neolithic period.
Makriyalos, Northern Greece: a large Neolithic settlement that dates to the Late Neolithic period (ca. 5200-4500 BC) and belongs to the extended type of settlements with horizontally shifting pattern of habitation -the so-called ‘flat-extended settlements’.
The main research objectives (RO) of this project are as follows:
RO.1. To provide scientific evidence for the range of activities undertaken in Neolithic settlements.
RO.2. To investigate the relationship between tool form and function.
RO.3. To establish the spatial and temporal variability of these activities. Spatial analysis will examine the location (e.g. within households or in external spaces of communal character) and nature (domestic vs. specialised and/or communal control of production and consumption) of activities within settlement areas. This will reveal the potential for social interaction afforded to these communities through technological practices and will allow us to investigate the role of household- and community-based practices in creating and sustaining technological and social networks.
RO.4. To investigate cross-craft interactions in different Neolithic settlements in order to explore how the interactions afforded by technological processes may have contributed to the sharing of technological knowledge, toolkits, materials and techniques among different social groups, and in effect to the creation of learning networks.
RO.5. To develop a theoretical and methodological framework for studying technological systems, which will be highly applicable in a wide range of archaeological contexts in Europe.
Work carried out
During October 2013 – September 2015 the microwear analysis of the ground stone assemblages from the three sites under investigation, Çatalhöyük, Makriyalos and Knossos, was conducted. This phase of the project was accomplished through the use of microscopes and casts of high resolution impression material (dental silicone) which can replicate accurately the micro-topography of a tool surface and the micro-polish. Different types of stone objects from all three sites have been sampled for microwear analysis. Following this, the analysis of collected data and the study of silicone casts in consultation with the experimental reference collections located at the Laboratory for Artefact Studies commenced. In addition, the fellow conducted a series of experimental studies, which included the production of bone tools with flint and ground stone tools, hide processing, as well as experiments replicating the production of shell ornaments using mainly grinding tools. The results of the microwear analysis are further considered in relation to the large corpus of bioarchaeological and artefactual data generated by multidisciplinary research at the three study sites.
In collaboration with Prof. Marco Madella (Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona, Spain) and the microbotanical remains team at Çatalhöyük the fellow developed an integrated approach to the analysis of stone assemblages combining residue analysis (both starch and phytoliths) and microwear analysis of ground stone tools. This collaboration addresses questions about subsistence practices and food processing techniques employed by the Neolithic community at Çatalhöyük.
Project results
Results so far indicate the multitude of activities performed by the ground stone implements at the early farming communities under investigation. The assemblages from all three archaeological sites suggest that a wide range of activities were performed ranging from the processing of plants to the production of stone axes, shell ornaments and bone tools, to name a few. For instance, at Çatalhöyük, microwear analysis suggests that stone axes and adzes were used for shaping the wood involved in building construction, but also in the production of wooden bowls and other implements. There are also indications that some of the small axes have been used for skin processing. Grinding tools were incorporated not only in food processing activities, but also in the production of bone tools, stone axes and ornaments, in the processing of pigments used for wall paintings, and clays for house construction activities, and in the smoothing and burnishing of plastered surfaces. Moreover, insights into cereal processing activities were offered through the integrated analysis of microwear traces and microbotanical residues on grinding tools. While the dehusking of hulled cereals was commonly practiced within different houses at Çatalhöyük, grinding tools and stone pestles found on-site do not seem to have been involved in the dehusking process. This suggests that other dehusking techniques were used at this site. Significant insights are also gained with regards the production of pottery at Çatalhöyük and Knossos. The presence of stone tools that seem to have been used during the different stages of pottery production supports the hypothesis for the local production of pottery at both sites. In the case of Knossos, the original suggestion that during the earliest phases of the settlement pottery was imported and not locally produced is strongly supported by the microwear analysis of the ground stone assemblage. Overall, ground stone tools played an important role in the functioning of the subsistence economy, but they were also instrumental for different craft activities.
From a methodological point of view, project CRAFTS contributes to wider discussions about the identification of activity areas and in situ activities within prehistoric houses, a key topic of discussion in archaeological discourse. To date, the identification of activity areas in domestic buildings has been based on typological classifications, the presence and spatial distribution of certain artefact categories, mainly pottery assemblages. Results reached so far offer cautionary tales about inferences made based on simplistic contextual and spatial associations between objects within particular contexts. At Çatalhöyük, objects were found deposited on the floors of the buildings just before the abandonment of the structure. Detailed technological and microwear analysis suggests that these deposits do not represent in situ activity areas; instead, there is strong evidence to suggest that these objects were intentionally placed on the floor as part of ritual activities associated with the closure and deliberate abandonment of houses by their occupants.
More broadly, project CRAFTS offers a more detailed view on how daily life was organised at different early farming societies. By adopting a microscale approach it provides an enriched view of the day to day dealings of Neolithic communities and highlights the complexity of the social relationships as these were reflected through the practice of different crafts. Embedded in the social and economic life of Neolithic communities grinding activities were among the daily practices that contributed to the socialization of Neolithic communities. These daily activities of a seemingly mundane character became powerful mechanisms of communication, an arena of social interaction that enabled the social reproduction of Neolithic communities on a daily basis.
Project webpage:
www.archaeology.leiden.edu/research/science-based-archaeology/research/crafting-networks-in-early-farming-societies.html
Contact details:
Dr Christina Tsoraki
Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University
Laboratory for Material Culture Studies
Einsteinweg 2
2333 CC Leiden
The Netherlands
Tel. 0031715271601