Artikelen

'VUUR-STENEN' IN HET LATE PALEOLITHICUM

Auteurs

  • Lykke Johansen
  • Dick Stapert

Samenvatting

Many finds of flints with one or several rounded ends, often accompanied by pyrites, are known from the Neolithic and the Bronze Age, espec­ially from graves. These flints and pyrites were used in combination for kindling fire. In this article some flints with rounded ends from five Late Palaeolithic sites are deseribed. Four sites of the Late Hamburgian (Oldeholtwolde and Sassenhein in the northern Netherlands, Søl­bjerg 2 and 3 on the Danish island of Lolland), and a site of the Late Ahrensburgian (Grams­bergen in the eastern Netherlands) produced one to nine such tools. These are mostly sturdy blades (e.g. core preparation blades); in some cases borer-like tools were used for this pur­pose. Since no engraved stones are known from these sites, the use of these tools as strike-a-lights seems probable. One of the pieces from Oldeholtwolde was studied by a scan­ning electron microscope. Two small particles containing sulphur and iron (one also has cop­per) were detected within the rounded part, which could be pyrite dust, though a mineralo­gical determination was not performed. 

Gepubliceerd

1995-12-15

Nummer

Sectie

Artikelen