De kern van Zeijen (Dr.): vuursteenbewerkers groot en klein

Samenvatting

The cores of Zeijen (province of Drenthe): experienced and apprentice flintknappers. At the Creswellian site of Zeijen in the northern Netherlands a substantial number of blade cores were found: a total of 103. These were studied by the first author, in order to determine whether different levels in flint-knapping skill could be distinguished. This study demonstrates that at least three flintknappers had been active at the site: beginning knappers (6 cores), advanced learners (23 cores) and experienced knappers (37 cores). At least five cores were first used by an experienced knapper and then by a beginner for practising his skills. The remaining 32 cores could not be attributed to any particular level. Most probably, the apprentice flintknappers were older children. Also at several other sites, interpreted as ‘base camps’, two or three levels in flintknapping skill could be distinguished. Therefore, this is presumably a fairly normal pattern for relatively large and non-specialised sites, where groups of hunter/gatherers camped out for some length of time.