515 E.g. Strathern 1970; Best 1974; Steensberg 1980; Pétrequin – Pétrequin 1993.

516 E.g. Strathern 1970; Séfériadès 1992a; Beugnier 1997; Greenfeld – Kolska Horwitz 2012; Masclans et al. 2017.

Figs. V.2.12–15 12. Small celt PM0333 (serpentinite): one face and sections; 13. Small celt PM0692 (gabbro): one face and sections; 14. Small celt PM0771 (serpentinite): one face and sections; 15. Small celt PM0675 (serpentinite or possibly jadeitite): one face and sections (photos: A. Stroulia, drawings: R. Exarhou)

small and larger tools at Franchthi Cave (2, 3) and Alepotrypa Cave (1). In these (and probably other Greek Neolithic) communities, specifc rules governed the curation of diferent-sized tools.

The procurement of two main raw materials and their transformation into small and larger tools through diferent manufacturing sequences characterise both the Middle Neolithic and the Late Neolithic components of the PMZ assemblage. Overall, this is a conservative industry and thus not unlike others in the Neolithic Aegean that show no signifcant variation through time; see Sesklo (2), Dimini (2), Servia (1), Franchthi Cave (2, 3), and Knossos (6).517 For an exception, see Sitagroi (1).

517 See also Perlès 2001, 236–237; Georgiadis 2017.

Figs. V.2.16–20 16. Larger celt PM0741 (gabbro): one face, one side and transverse section; 17. Larger celt PM0706 (gabbro): one face, one side, and transverse section; 18. Recycled larger celt PM0716 (gabbro): one face and ends; 19. Larger celt PM0722 (serpentinite): faces and edge; 20. Recycled larger celt PM0766 (gabbro): one face, one side, and one end (photos: A. Stroulia, drawings: R. Exarhou)

Changes did occur in the PMZ celt industry, however only after the end of the Neolithic. One of them has to do with tool size. Bronze Age specimens are, for the most part, fragmentary, but, judging from their thickness, were more massive than their Neolithic counterparts. The second change refers to the introduction of perforated specimens – often called hammer, bored, shafthole, or battle axes.518 Of the three found, two derive from Bronze Age strata, while the third was collected on the surface of the site.

Perforated celts may not have been used at PMZ during the Neolithic, but a few specimens dated to this period are known from Sitagroi (1, 2), Kremasti-Koilada (3), Varemenoi Goulon (1),

518 See Prinz 1988; Voytek 1990; Elster 2003a; Klimscha 2011; Turek 2011.

Koronia (1), and Makriyalos (3).519 Despite their scarcity, they argue against earlier claims that this artefact type represents a Bronze Age innovation in the Aegean.520 Signifcantly, none of the above sites is found in the southern part of the country, reinforcing the impression of cultural and technological diferences between the north and the south during the Neolithic period.521

I close this section with a discussion of the PMZ celts' horizontal and vertical distribution. Fairly secure contextual information is available for all specimens. The vast majority (n=27 or 82%) were recovered from the fll between foors. Both complete and fragmentary specimens were found in such layers. Fourteen date to the Middle Neolithic, eight to the Late Neolithic, and one to the Middle Neolithic/Late Neolithic.

Five celts were excavated on foor surfaces. Four – one small and three of larger size – are complete. Two of the larger specimens (PM0716 and PM0722) were found on F26, a Middle Neolithic foor with one thermal structure and a pit (BSPh Ve). The third (PM0741, Fig. V.2.16) was found on F27, a Middle Neolithic foor with two thermal structures and two postholes (BSPh Vd). Neither of these foors is associated with a wall. Both probably belong to outdoor spaces. The small specimen (PM0479) was found on F21, a Late Neolithic foor that belongs to what was probably an outdoor space with one thermal structure, several shallow pits, and (on one side) a post-framed wall (BSPh VIIc).

Finally, a small complete specimen (PM0783) was found in thermal structure TS 33. This is associated with the Middle Neolithic foor F32 that appears to belong to the interior of a building (BSPh IVa). For some unknown reason, this tool ended its biography by being thrown into an oven.

Since the vast majority of celts were recovered from fll between foors, it is impossible to assess diachronic trends regarding contexts of use. For the same reason, the vertical distribution cannot be used to assess the intensity of celt use in diferent phases. That said, I fnd the complete absence of such tools from the earliest portion of the Neolithic deposit (BPh I–III) intriguing. This part is roughly 1.85m thick (from the sterile layer to c. 8.15m below surface) and for the most part includes no foors. It is easy to explain the absence of celts by the general lack of foors and simply assume that such tools were not discarded in this area because they were not used there.

### V.2.4. Percussive Tools

This group comprises twenty-eight specimens used in an active difused percussive mode (Tab. V.2.4). Twenty-four (86%) are dated to the Middle Neolithic, three (11%) to the Late Neolithic, and one to the Middle Neolithic/Late Neolithic (3%). Twenty specimens (71%) are complete, eight (29%) are fragmentary. No refts were identifed.

Two main lithologies are represented in this group: quartz and gabbro. Most specimens (n=14 or 50%) are quartz, while eight (29%) are gabbro. Marble, gneiss, and schist were used only occasionally – for a total of six specimens (21%). All materials were procured locally in the form of waterworn cobbles and pebbles.

The excavations uncovered two complete unmodifed quartz cobbles. They may have been picked to serve as percussive tools. However, given that such cobbles are very common in the felds around the tell and beyond, it is also possible that they were brought to the site randomly as part of a mass of construction material. One unmodifed gabbro cobble could also have been

519 A few more specimens were found at Sesklo (1), Dimini (1), Visviki Magoula (1), and Heliotopos (1). Whether they date to the Neolithic or the Bronze Age is, however, uncertain.

520 See Tsountas 1908, 320; Moundrea-Agrafoti 1981, 169; Moundrea-Agrafoti 1992, 175; Elster 2003a. It is worth noting that, while their numbers increased in the Bronze Age, even then perforated celts remained rare, see Treuil 1983, 176–177.

521 See also Stroulia 2018b.

Tab. V.2.4 Percussive tools (A. Stroulia)

brought deliberately or randomly. This specimen, nevertheless, is surrounded by an extra layer of uncertainty since gabbro was used for both percussive tools and celts (see above). For these reasons, I assigned all three specimens to the group of miscellanea (see below).

The two main lithologies were apparently intended for two diferent types of tools. As a rule, quartz specimens are small and have a roughly globular shape (Figs. V.2.21–23). Both characteristics are illustrated in the average length (7.3cm), width (6.2cm), and thickness (5.4cm) of the ten complete specimens. All quartz tools are a posteriori; cobbles and pebbles were utilised without prior modifcation. Their use was not comprehensive. Only parts of the surface were involved in percussion. In a couple of cases, the battered areas are crossed by ridges – an indication of angled (or combined angled and perpendicular) contact with the worked material. PM0643 (Fig. V.2.21)

Figs. V.2.21–23 21. Percussive tool PM0643 (quartz): one view and section; 22. Percussive tool PM0697 (quartz): faces and one section; 23. Percussive tool PM0710 (quartz): faces and one side (middle) (photos: A. Stroulia, drawings: R. Exarhou)

is an exception: it was utilised with its entire surface, indeed, intensively enough to acquire a roughly spherical shape. This is the smallest quartz specimen (5.0 × 4.9 × 4.6cm) and appears to be exhausted. PM0710 (Fig. V.2.23) is the largest (10.0 × 9.5 × 8.5cm) and was not used much. Both specimens could serve to argue that the generally small size of quartz tools is the result of intense use. I would refrain from such an interpretation, however: some specimens exhibit substantial unutilised areas indicating that the pieces collected as raw material were not much larger (Fig. V.2.22).

With its high toughness and resistance to splitting, quartz is a particularly suitable material for percussive tasks522 and was used in this way at other sites; see Stavroupoli (1), Sitagroi (3), Koronia (1), and Heliotopos (1). Quartz percussive tools are known ethnographically from Nigeria, Sudan, Egypt, Kenya, etc., where they are used for resharpening the work faces of grinding tools.523 This may have been the main function of the PMZ specimens too. To be sure, these tools appear suitable for percussive tasks in the context of fashioning grinding tools, celts, and other objects, but the general absence of roughouts, manufacturing debris, and unmodifed raw materials argues against this hypothesis.

Like their quartz counterparts, gabbro percussive tools are also generally small, as evidenced by the average length (7.0cm), width (4.8cm), and thickness (3.5cm) of the six complete specimens.

522 See Dickson 1981, 37–38; Dixon 2003a.

523 Schön – Holter 1990; Haaland 1995, 169; David 1998; Shoemaker et al. 2017.

They tend to be more elongated, however, as shown in the average length/width ratio (1.55). Gabbro specimens are roughly cylindrical or conical (rather than globular) and thus have the general form of pestles (Figs. V.2.24–26). Two complete specimens, PM0466 and PM0895 (Fig. V.2.26), have low length/width ratios: 1.01 and 1.18, respectively. They appear to be exhausted.

With two a posteriori exceptions, gabbro tools were deliberately shaped – another signifcant diference with regard to quartz specimens. More specifcally, their body was pecked and then ground. There is no evidence that the ends were subjected to a similar (or any) process of manufacture. However, the shaping of the body certainly determined the plan and size of the ends; the latter are generally circular/elliptical with a diameter ranging from c. 3.5cm to 6cm.

While manufacture involved the gabbro tools' body, use primarily involved their ends. Thus, these tools not only had a general pestle form but also a pestle function. In almost all cases, both ends were used in an active percussive mode and developed a (more or less) convex shape with a rough regular texture. Sometimes they are crossed by a diagonal ridge, the result of angled

Figs. V.2.24–27 24. Percussive tool PM0791 (gabbro): one face and ends; 25. Percussive tool PM0532 (gabbro): one face, one side, and ends; 26. Percussive tool PM0895 (gabbro): one face, one side, and ends; 27. Percussive tool PM0656 (marble): one view and section (photos: A. Stroulia, drawing: R. Exarhou)

(or combined angled and perpendicular) contact with the processed material (Figs. V.2.24–26). Both the shape and the use wear indicate that the ends were employed in conjunction with small mortar-like implements. Since no such objects have been excavated, they were probably made of wood. Gabbro percussive tools and wooden mortar-like objects may have served to process small quantities of substances such as spices and condiments.524 The use wear of gabbro percussive tools is quite specialised and, indeed, similar to that developed on the proximal ends of larger gabbro celts in the context of recycling (see above). Over ffteen specimens of both tool types were excavated in Middle Neolithic and Late Neolithic strata, an indication that the associated tasks span the two phases and were fairly common.

The ends of two gabbro percussive tools display secondary active percussive wear (PM0631, not illustrated, and PM0895, Fig. V.2.26). This consists of a fattish or concave rough irregular area that interrupted the convex shape and rough regular wear described above. The secondary wear was not produced in conjunction with mortar-like objects.

Of the percussive tools from materials other than quartz or gabbro, the most interesting is PM0656 (Fig. V.2.27). This marble specimen has a spherical shape that resulted from intense use of its entire surface. This is the smallest complete percussive tool. Measuring only c. 4cm in diameter, it must be exhausted.

Regarding the context of recovery, more or less secure information is available for almost all percussive tools (n=27 or 96%). The majority (n=20 or 71%) were found in fll between foors. Most of these specimens are complete and all but three date to the Middle Neolithic. Only three specimens – all fragments – were found on foor surfaces. Two are Middle Neolithic and one is Late Neolithic. Two complete tools (PM0871 and PM0895) were excavated in the Middle Neolithic sediments overlying the ditch and lacking architectural features (BPh II). Two others (PM0860 and PM0869) were found on a strongly inclined Middle Neolithic surface located next to a series of postholes that probably represents one of the walls of an unexcavated building (BSPh IIIa).

Finally, a note on the vertical distribution. Only 11% of the percussive tools belong to the Late Neolithic compared to 86% assigned to the Middle Neolithic. Given the small size of the sample, it is not possible to tell whether this substantial diference is a refection of changes in the intensity of use of these tools from one phase to the other.

### V.2.5. Specimens with Narrow Grooves

This group comprises three complete roughly planoconvex specimens from relatively soft materials: schist, chlorite schist, and serpentinite (Tab. V.2.5; Figs. V.2.28–30). Ranging from c. 10.0cm to 11.0cm in length, from 6.5cm to 9.5cm in width, and from 1.5cm to 4.5cm in thickness, these specimens are small enough to have been hand-held during use. The convex face of two specimens is crossed by one narrow groove from one end to the other, while that of the third is crossed by two grooves (PM0747). The grooves are 7.5–10.5cm in length, 0.9–0.10cm in maximum width, and 0.3–0.4cm in maximum depth. They have U or V cross sections and carry longitudinal striations.

It is tempting to consider these specimens' four narrow grooves as part of an incomplete process of dividing raw material through sawing. It is further tempting to hypothesise that the purpose of sawing was to produce blanks for celts. However, for reasons having to do with raw material, size, numbers, and sheer logic, I consider both hypotheses unlikely: i) schist and chlorite schist are not among the materials used for celts at PMZ. Serpentinite is. However, the celts fashioned out of serpentinite are typically small, not exceeding 5cm and 2cm in length and thickness, respectively. These are very unlike the c. 10cm-long and c. 4cm-thick specimens that would result

524 Similar pestle-like implements were excavated at Alepotrypa Cave (1). They were probably used in conjunction with the uncovered small stone mortars. Variations on pestle-like tools are known from elsewhere, e.g. Franchthi Cave (2), Dispilio (3), Kremasti-Koilada (5), Koronia (1), and Avgi (2).

Tab. V.2.5 Tools with narrow grooves (A. Stroulia)

Figs. V.2.28–30 28. Specimen with two narrow grooves PM0747 (chlorite schist): work face and transverse section; 29. Specimen with one narrow groove PM0763 (schist): work face and transverse section; 30. Specimen with one narrow groove PM0555 (serpentinite): work face and transverse section (photos: A. Stroulia, drawings: R. Exarhou)

from the hypothesised sawing of serpentinite grooved specimen PM0555 (Fig. V.2.30). ii) If the grooves represented sawing that took place in the process of celt manufacture, one would expect to fnd a number of celts with evidence of sawing. Yet, only one was found (see above). iii) Finally, I fnd it hard to believe that three pieces of raw material started being sawn, four grooves were formed, between three and seven blanks were planned, yet in no case was the process of division completed. On this basis, I would argue that the grooves are not associated with sawing. They were probably involved in other tasks – e.g. shaft-straightening or polishing and sharpening bone or wooden tools.525 Specimens with narrow grooves that are not related to sawing have been identifed at Prodromos (1), Heliotopos (1), Stavroupoli (1), Makriyalos (3), Makri (1), Franchthi Cave (3), and Alepotrypa Cave (1). In some cases, the grooves represent a secondary use that occurred in the context of recycling.

Two of the PMZ specimens date to the Middle Neolithic and derive from sediment between foors (BSPh Va and Vb). The third (PM0555) was found on the surface of the Late Neolithic foor F22 that belongs to a likely indoor space with a thermal structure and two postholes (BSPh VIIb).

525 See Solecki – Solecki 1970; Moundrea 1975, 95–96; Christensen – Valla 1999.

The fact that these artefacts appear in both the Middle Neolithic and the Late Neolithic shows that the associated tasks took place in both phases.

### V.2.6. Miscellanea

This group comprises ffteen specimens of various materials that I was not able to include in any of the roughly homogeneous groups presented above. I divided these items into the following three subgroups (Tab. V.2.6).

Subgroup 1 includes three specimens with no obvious traces of manufacture or use. PM0956 and PM0999 consist of complete quartz pebbles/cobbles. They may have been collected to serve as percussive tools (see above). However, given that such material is very common in the area around the tell, it is also possible that they entered the site accidentally as part of a mass of construction material. A similar uncertainty surrounds PM0713, a fragmentary gabbro cobble. Moreover, even if this cobble had been collected as raw material, it is unclear if it was intended for a celt or a percussive tool, since gabbro was used for both (see above). All three specimens derive from Middle Neolithic strata. PM0956 was found in the sediments overlying the ditch that contain no architectural features (BPh II), while the other two specimens were recovered from fll between foors (BSPh Vb and Ve).

Tab. V.2.6 Miscellanea (divided into three subgroups) (A. Stroulia)

Figs. V.2.31–33 31. Miscellanea specimen PM0508 (fint): one face and sections; 32. Miscellanea specimen PM0680 (limestone): one face and one side (right); 33. Miscellanea specimen PM0995 (marble): one face and transverse section (photos: A. Stroulia, drawings: R. Exarhou)

Subgroup 2 includes nine a posteriori tools of various sizes and shapes. They consist of waterrolled limestone, marble, and fint pebbles and cobbles used in an abrasive and/or percussive mode. Seven specimens bear exclusive active abrasive wear or active abrasive wear with additional active percussive wear. I provide here descriptions of the four specimens that are complete: 1) PM0508 (Fig. V.2.31) is the only fint specimen in the entire macrolithic assemblage. This is a tiny blocky pebble with roughly parallel striations on both faces and one end. Given its size, this tool must have afected a small surface and been hard to hold. 2) PM0680 (Fig. V.2.32) is a small limestone pebble with a semicircular plan and a well-smoothed surface. The most intense wear is found on one of the sides which is fattened and crossed by roughly parallel striations. 3) PM0995 (Fig. V.2.33), a marble tool of roughly square plan and planoconvex sections, was used abrasively with all its surfaces but in two diferent manners. The faces were used horizontally, whereas the sides and ends were used at an angle. In addition, one of the ends was used heavily in a percussive manner. 4) PM0459 is limestone and has an ovate plan and planoconvex sections. This is the largest specimen in this subgroup and can be held comfortably. One of its faces was used abrasively, becoming fattened and well-smoothed as a result. Its ends, on the other hand, were battered in the context of percussion. It is plausible that the abrasive wear of the above specimens was produced in the context of various burnishing tasks.

The remaining two specimens in subgroup 2 consist of small fattish marble pebbles (PM0446 and PM0537). Parts of their periphery are chipped – perhaps the result of a specialised percussive use.

Five of the specimens of subgroup 2 are Middle Neolithic, while four are Late Neolithic. Three specimens were excavated on foor surfaces. Only one of them is complete (PM0995). It was

Figs. V.2.34–36 34. Miscellanea specimen PM0455 (marble): one view and transverse section; 35. Miscellanea specimen PM0538 (marble): one face and section; 36. Miscellanea specimen PM0345 (serpentinite): one face and sections (photos: A. Stroulia, drawings: R. Exarhou)

found on the Middle Neolithic foor F24 that belongs to a (semi-)outdoor space with two parallel thin clay walls and a thermal structure (BSPh VIb). The remaining six specimens were recovered from fll between foors.

Subgroup 3 comprises three unique manufactured objects. At least two and possibly all three do not consist of tools. All derive from Late Neolithic strata. PM0455 (Fig. V.2.34) is a fragmentary marble artefact found in sediment between two foors (BSPh VIIc). It is narrow, tapering from one end to the other – a shape acquired through grinding. The largest end is broken. The smallest is damaged but was probably originally pointed. This end may have been used in a certain fne task that eventually caused the damage. Alternatively, this end was never utilised and therefore PM0455 does not represent a tool. Artefacts of similar shape and manufacture (but not always of marble) are known from Franchthi Cave (3), Nea Nikomedeia (1), and Heliotopos (1).

PM0538 (Fig. V.2.35) is a fragmentary spherical marble object with an incipient shaft hole. It represents an unfnished version of the perforated objects known as maceheads. The hole has a maximum diameter of 1.3cm and is 0.9cm deep. Its concave bottom and nearly vertical walls indicate the use of a solid, roughly cylindrical drill. The latter may have consisted of a wooden rod,526 since no stone drill of this shape was excavated at PMZ.527 The manufacturing process was apparently cut short by breakage, but included an initial stage of shaping through pecking, a second drilling stage, and probably a fnishing grinding stage that never happened. This specimen was found on the surface of the Late Neolithic foor F22, which represents a probable indoor

526 The use of wooden rods as drills was hypothesised for Minoan vases on the basis of both archaeological and experimental evidence, see Morero et al. 2008.

527 A few cylindrical/conical drills (mostly of sandstone) were recovered at Makriyalos (3).

space with a thermal structure and two postholes (BSPh VIIb). It is easy to assume that this is the area where this specimen started being fashioned and was discarded after an accidental fracture, but, given the absence of refts and the widespread evidence of redeposition of other artefacts (e.g. grinding/abrading tools and faked stone tools),528 I would refrain from such a conclusion.

Similar perforated objects are known from a number of Thessalian and other Aegean sites: Sesklo (1), Dimini (1), Visviki Magoula (1), Makrychori (1), Rachmani (2), Palioskala (1), Mandra (1), Knossos (1, 2), Nea Nikomedeia (1), Sitagroi (1, 2), Makri (1), Servia (1), Dikili Tash (1), Zas Cave (1), Makriyalos (3), Megalo Nisi Galanis (1, 2), Alepotrypa Cave (1), Sarakenos Cave (1), Piges Koromilias Cave (1), Avgi (2), Koromilia (1), Franchthi Cave (4), Kremasti-Koilada (5), Sosandra (1), Koronia (1), Mikro Nisi Akrinis (2), and Varemenoi Goulon (2). Regarding its manufacture, PM0538 is similar to examples made with a solid drill (see Makriyalos and Alepotrypa Cave), but diferent from others made with a hollow drill (see Megalo Nisi Galanis, Varemenoi Goulon, and Servia). Regarding the raw material, shape, date, and frequency, this specimen follows general trends. 'Maceheads' are made in a variety of materials and shapes, of which marble and the sphere are the most common. Most date to the later Neolithic phases529 (for Early Neolithic and Middle Neolithic exceptions, see Sitagroi, Servia, Nea Nikomedeia, Knossos, Sosandra, and Sesklo). Moreover, the number per site is usually very small (for exceptions, see Mandra, Makrychori, Knossos, Makriyalos, and Megalo Nisi Galanis).530 The general scarcity of these artefacts could raise the suspicion that they were produced at a few sites from which they were exported, but the unfnished specimens or drill cores found at PMZ, Alepotrypa Cave, Dikili Tash, Servia, Knossos, and Megalo Nisi Galanis indicate that most, if not all, are local creations.

Generally speaking, 'maceheads' have been interpreted as weights, weapons, gaming pieces, or symbols of authority ('sceptres').531 Systematic arguments for or against these hypotheses are lacking for Neolithic Greece, underscoring the need for a comprehensive study of these artefacts and their contexts.

PM0345 (Fig. V.2.36) dates to the Late Neolithic and was found in sediment between foors. This nearly complete, partially ground serpentinite specimen is very small, thin, and fat. Before the narrower end was broken of, it had a triangular or trapezoidal plan and a general celt shape. Given its thinness and lack of an acute edge, however, I doubt that this specimen was meant to serve as a celt. Instead, I consider the curved broken edge as possible evidence that this object was fractured during drilling and was thus meant to be suspended.532 Small stone artefacts with a general celt form and an actual or incipient hole on the narrower end are known from a few other Greek Neolithic sites, over half of which are caves: Franchthi Cave (3), Kitsos Cave (3), Tharrounia/Skoteini Cave (2), Drakaina Cave (6), Kremasti-Koilada (6), Knossos (7), and Berbati-Limnes Survey Findspot 39 (1). These were probably personal objects, worn as pendants, necklace elements, wrist/ear-pendants, or sewn onto clothing.533 They could also have served as amulets.534 Such artefacts constitute evidence of the symbolic dimensions of celts and their shape, a hypothesis reinforced by four ceramic 'axes' found at Achilleion (1), Nea Nikomedeia (3), and Franchthi Cave (3).

Leaving aside the items of subgroup 1 which are not artefacts, the vertical distribution of miscellanea is characterised by an unexpectedly high number of Late Neolithic specimens. If not random, this perhaps points to the addition of new items in the artefactual inventory of the site during this phase.

528 See Perlès – Papagiannaki, this volume, 200.

529 See also Moundrea-Agrafoti 1996.

530 The excavations of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age strata at Palioskala yielded over 40 specimens. How many are Neolithic is not clear. The same uncertainty surrounds the specimens from Visviki Magoula (1) and Kouphovouno (1).

531 Pyke 1993, 105; Edmonds 1995, 108–111; Elster 2003a; Runnels et al. 2009; Rosenberg 2010; Sutton 2014.

532 The possibility that this object was made by grinding a thin celt fragment (or fake) should not be ruled out, however.

533 See Skeates 1995; Tsoraki 2007.

534 Sampson – Sugaya 1988/1989.

### V.2.7. Conclusions

The PMZ Neolithic macrolithic assemblage comprises 133 specimens. Ninety fve (71%) are dated to the Middle Neolithic and 35 (26%) are dated to the Late Neolithic, while 3 (2%) are assigned to the Middle Neolithic/Late Neolithic. The sample is admittedly small, but the percentages of Middle Neolithic and Late Neolithic specimens roughly match the volumes of excavated Middle Neolithic and Late Neolithic deposits (62% and 23%, respectively).535

I divided the assemblage into fve groups: 1) grinding and abrading tools; 2) celts; 3) percussive tools; 4) specimens with narrow grooves; 5) miscellanea. The frst four groups are relatively homogeneous; the ffth is heterogeneous, since it includes all specimens that do not ft in the other four groups. Groups vary in size, but all are generally small. The largest (grinding/abrading tools) comprises 54 specimens, while the smallest (specimens with narrow grooves) comprises only three.

Most specimens (56%) are fragmentary. However, only the group of grinding/abrading tools has a high percentage of fragments (83%). The latter account for 60% of all broken macrolithics. In the other three homogeneous groups, complete specimens make up the majority (55% of the celts, 71% of the percussive tools, and 100% of the specimens with narrow grooves).

High rates of fragmentation are common among Aegean Neolithic grinding tools; see Makriyalos (3), Dispilio (2, 4, 5), Franchthi Cave (1, 3), Kleitos (1, 2, 4), Kremasti-Koilada (1, 2, 3, 4), Alepotrypa Cave (1), Stavroupoli (1), Makri (1), Tsoungiza (1), Sarakenos Cave (1), and Megalo Nisi Galanis (1, 2). In several assemblages – Makriyalos, Kremasti-Koilada, Franchthi Cave, Kleitos, Megalo Nisi Galanis, and Dispilio – these rates cannot be attributed solely to accidents, raising the suspicion of deliberate destruction. I have no reason to suspect that grinding tools were subjected to such treatment at PMZ. In this case, I am more inclined to see the high percentage of fragments as the result of a tendency to remove intact tools before abandoning a foor and covering it with a new one. The alternative hypothesis – the excavated foors represent not the areas where grinding/abrading tools were utilised but rather those where their fragments were discarded – is also plausible.

All raw materials used in the PMZ macrolithic industry were collected at secondary sources, with the exception of serpentinite, which may have been procured at a primary source. Moreover, all raw materials are local, with the exception of sandstone, which appears to have been collected at (micro)regional sources. Given the local origin of almost all utilised lithologies, expeditions with the exclusive purpose of raw material acquisition may have been largely unnecessary. I assume that, as a rule, the procurement of raw materials was embedded within farming, herding, fshing, clay digging, fuel gathering, and other practices that took place in the site's vicinity on a regular basis.

The lithologies utilised in the context of the four homogeneous groups are quite specifc. Gneiss, sandstone, and schist were the primary materials for grinding/abrading tools; gabbro and serpentinite were the materials of choice for celts; while quartz and gabbro were the main ones for percussive tools. Last, three diferent materials of comparable hardness (schist, chlorite schist, and serpentinite) were employed for the three specimens with narrow grooves. Apparently certain specialisations by raw material exist within groups as well. Serpentinite and gabbro were chosen for small and larger celts, respectively, while quartz and gabbro were used for globular and elongated percussive tools, respectively. These broad patterns in raw material utilisation and specialisation characterise both the Middle Neolithic and the Late Neolithic, an indication of continuity between the two phases. If my understanding is correct, the inhabitants of PMZ operated within deeply embedded traditions as they followed similar rules in making similar tools generation after generation.

535 Christos Batzelas, personal communication.

There is nothing unusual about the use of local or regional raw materials in the PMZ macrolithic assemblage. The exploitation of such sources was quite common in the macrolithic industries of the Neolithic Aegean. The use of specifc materials for specifc tool types appears fairly typical as well, as I can tell on the basis of the assemblages I have personally studied as well as others; Franchthi Cave (3), Alepotrypa Cave (1), Kremasti-Koilada (3, 4, 5), Megalo Nisi Galanis (1, 2), Varemenoi Goulon (1, 2), Pontokomi-Souloukia (1, 2), Koronia (1), Sesklo (2), Dimini (2), and Avgi (1, 2). As for the rather static character of the PMZ assemblage, it fts the impression of conservativism conveyed by Aegean Neolithic macrolithic industries in general.536

At PMZ, as in other Greek sites, some of the raw materials were put straight to use, without prior modifcation, but most went through a manufacturing process. There are approximately 30 a posteriori specimens (23%). They are not distributed evenly among the fve groups. All quartz percussive tools, all specimens with narrow grooves, and most of the miscellanea are a posteriori. The grinding/abrading tools, on the other hand, include one possible a posteriori case, while the celts include none.

Ninety-eight specimens (74%) were produced through one or more of the following fve techniques: pecking, grinding, faking, sawing, and splitting. Pecking was the most common at PMZ, as it was in Aegean macrolithic industries in general. Grinding was used for all celts, all gabbro percussive tools, as well as a couple of miscellanea. Flaking was employed for several grinding/ abrading tools and one celt. Splitting and sawing are the rarest techniques, represented by two grinding/abrading tools and one celt, respectively. I should note here that splitting as a manufacturing technique has been documented in only one other assemblage: that of Varemenoi Goulon (1). In this case, nevertheless, splitting was involved in the manufacture of celts, not grinding/ abrading tools. Neither the required skills nor the volume of output supports a case for craft specialisation in macrolithic production at PMZ. All adults were likely able to produce such tools, though, on the basis of the ethnographic record, gender restrictions probably applied.

Regarding the whereabouts of macrolithic production, the scarcity of unfnished specimens as well as the absence of manufacturing debris and unworked raw materials securely intended for macrolithics indicate that the excavated areas did not serve as production loci on a regular basis, if at all.  Spanning both the Middle Neolithic and the Late Neolithic, this pattern in the use of space can be taken as another sign of continuity between the two phases. Were macrolithics fashioned at other parts of the site or outside the settlement altogether? This question cannot be answered with the available data, but it is worth noting that, with a handful of exceptions, Greek sites yielded very limited or no evidence of macrolithic manufacture.

In terms of form and size, the PMZ assemblage includes nothing that is out of the ordinary in the context of the Aegean macrolithic industry. Comparable tools have been found at other sites. Although not subjected to use-wear or residue analysis, the PMZ macrolithics appear suitable for a variety of tasks, such as the processing of food and other substances, tree felling and woodworking, and the manufacture and maintenance of tools and other objects.

Fairly secure information on the contexts of recovery is available for the vast majority of macrolithics (close to 95%). Most specimens (over 65%) were found in sediment between foors and thus not in situ. Complete and fragmentary specimens from all fve groups were excavated in such sediments. Notably, most faked stone tools derive from similar contexts.537

A total of nineteen macrolithics (14%) were found on foor surfaces. The six complete specimens – four celts, one specimen with a narrow groove, and one miscellanea – derive from four foors that belong to outdoor or semi-outdoor spaces (F21, F24, F26, and F27) and a ffth that likely belongs to an indoor space (F22). Three of the foors are dated to the Middle Neolithic: F24, F26, and F27. The other two are Late Neolithic: F21 and F22. Regarding the specimens found in

536 See Moundrea-Agrafoti 1992; Perlès 1992; Perlès 2001, 236; Stroulia 2010; Stroulia 2018a.

537 Perlès – Papagiannaki, this volume, 200.

outdoor or semi-outdoor areas, it is impossible to say whether they were actually used in these spaces. They may have been, but it is equally plausible that they were discarded in the open area of a yard after being used indoors or that they ended up there when the remains of nearby buildings were levelled.

Eight specimens (6%) were incorporated into structures (six in thermal structures, two in postholes). All consist of grinding/abrading tools. Seven are fragmentary, while the eighth is complete but (most likely) exhausted. These specimens attest to a practice of recycling broken or exhausted tools into building material. That both Middle Neolithic and Late Neolithic specimens were thus treated represents another element of continuity, although, it must be noted that there is an apparent variation in both the intensity of the practice and the targeted structures from one phase to another.

One fragmentary grinding/abrading tool was excavated in a pit associated with the Middle Neolithic foor F26 that appears to belong to an outdoor space. One specimen was found in the Middle Neolithic ditch at the bottom of the stratigraphic sequence, while eleven derive from Middle Neolithic sediments overlying the ditch and lacking architectural features. Most of these twelve specimens are fragmentary and consist of grinding/abrading tools. Since no foors are associated with the ditch and the overlying sediments, I assume that the included macrolithics had been used in an unexcavated part of the site before ending their biography in the area of Trench A.

The horizontal distribution of macrolithics provides virtually no secure information regarding the contexts of use and only piecemeal information on the contexts of discard. Yet, along with the horizontal distribution of faked tools,538 it underscores the less than straightforward processes that followed the breakage or abandonment of stone tools and the large extent to which material remains were reworked throughout the site's occupation.

A few notes regarding the macrolithic vertical distribution: with one exception, all building phases and subphases are represented in the macrolithic material. The exception is the latest building phase – Late Neolithic BPh IX – which yielded no such specimens. The reasons for this absence are unclear, but it is noteworthy that no faked stone tools are associated with this building phase either.539

As mentioned above, the ratio of Middle Neolithic and Late Neolithic macrolithics is generally consistent with the ratio of the excavated Middle Neolithic and Late Neolithic sediments. There is an exception to this rule, however. The group of miscellanea shows more Late Neolithic specimens than expected – a possible indication of a diversifcation of material culture in the later phase of the site's occupation.

Finally, a substantial percentage of macrolithics (9%) were recovered from the ditch and the overlying sediments that lack architectural remains. Their presence in these foorless sediments implies the existence of another occupation area outside the excavated space. It was this area that must have served as the context of use for these tools. Signifcantly, no celts derive from the ditch and the overlying deposits. Nor were such tools recovered from the following building phase (BPh III), which does include foors and/or activity areas. Why celts are absent from the earliest component of the site occupation I cannot tell. This is one of the many questions that my study has inevitably left unanswered.

I end by going back to the beginning. This chapter ofered a systematic analysis of a Thessalian macrolithic industry and made comparisons with other Aegean Neolithic materials. Due to an almost complete lack of detailed publications, however, substantial comparisons with other Thessalian assemblages have not been possible. It is my hope that more thorough studies will follow and that we will soon be able to discuss Thessalian macrolithics meaningfully, not only in their broader Aegean context but in their regional context as well.

538 Perlès – Papagiannaki, this volume, 200.

539 Perlès – Papagiannaki, this volume, 251.

### **V.3. Bone Tools**

### *Rozalia Christidou*

### V.3.1. Introduction

Bone artefacts from the excavation of Stratigraphic Trench A near the centre of the mound of PMZ were described in the report on the faunal assemblages by Cornelia Becker.540 The Neolithic specimens numbered eighteen and comprised twelve cutting-edge and pointed tools, four complete and broken bones with smoothed surfaces, a pin and a pendant. The latter two objects, one cutting-edge and three pointed tools and two smoothed bones were assigned to the Middle Neolithic. The remaining ten specimens were dated to the Late Neolithic. All of these artefacts were separated from the unworked bone assemblages during the zooarchaeological study. Including an additional twenty-six items, recorded during the excavation but not analysed, adjusted the Neolithic bone artefact collection to forty-four specimens in total. The present chapter examines nineteen unpublished stratifed bone artefacts from the Neolithic levels of the abovementioned trench, which were dated on the basis of the new phasing data.541 For the most part they derive from the Middle Neolithic deposits (Appendix, Tab. V.3.A1). Twelve are from BPh/ BSPh II, IIIa–c, IVa–b and Va, which have been associated with Ceramic Horizons 1 and 2 and Lithic Phase 1, corresponding to the Early Middle Neolithic. There are no bone artefacts from BSPh Vb–d. BSPh Ve has two and BSPh VIa and VIb each have one specimen. The pottery from these contexts belongs to Ceramic Horizons 3 and 4, dated to the middle and later parts of the Middle Neolithic. The chipped stone artefacts are from Lithic Phases 1 and 2, which revealed strong similarities and continuities in tool types, production and use. BPh VII–IX cover Ceramic Horizons 5 and 6 and Lithic Phases 3–5 and are dated to the end of the Middle Neolithic and the beginning of the Late Neolithic. From this part of the sequence come three bone artefacts, one from BSPh VIIa, one from BSPh VIIc and one from BPh VIII. Despite diferent rates of change in the composition and technology of the pottery and lithic assemblages, an in situ, gradual transition from the Middle to the Late Neolithic was observed. BPh VIII and IX are described as typical of the latter period.

Sixteen bone artefacts were recognised during the excavation and three were retrieved from the faunal material. A bone fragment damaged by animal chewing, PM0769, cannot be securely classifed as an artefact.542 The cut marks preserved on its surface represent modifcation during the butchering process or food consumption rather than manufacturing activities. At the time of writing, no count of bone artefacts from PMZ can be considered as defnitive. About one hundred two items were not labelled according to their excavation unit. Apart from a few exceptions identifed based on published photographs and drawings, these objects could not be associated with any deposit or chronological horizon. Bone 167, illustrated in fgure 19c of Becker's article and dated to the Late Neolithic,543 shows fattening and thinning of the anterior and posterior surfaces of a sheep metatarsal and is used here for comparative purposes.

This work complements Becker's publication, which focused on the raw materials and morphological traits of the bone artefacts. It is based on anatomical, morphometric, technological and preservation data. By combining the raw materials with the nature, degree and distribution of the damage on the objects, successive modifcations of the bones were examined. Artefact manufacturing, use and resharpening are described in the following pages. Fracture characteristics

540 Becker 1991, 37–45.

541 Toufexis – Batzelas, this volume, 86; Perlès – Papagiannaki, this volume, 208, 224, 230, 237 and 251.

542 It is not included in the artefact counts in Toufexis – Batzelas, this volume, 147, Tab. III.1, 166, Tab. III.2.

543 Becker 1991, 42.

Fig. V.3.1 Pointed tools: (1) PM0468; (2) PM0658; (3) PM0700; (4) PM0717; (5) PM0767; (6) PM0798 (R. Christidou)

were assessed following Paola Villa and Eric Mahieu.544 Skeletal and taxonomic identifcations were made using osteological manuals545 and the comparative faunal collection of the Wiener Laboratory of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. The morphological features and dimensions of the artefacts were recorded and analysed following established standards.546 Manufacturing, use and natural modifcations were observed using stereoscopic microscopes at magnifcations of 5× to 60× and metallurgical microscopes at magnifcations of 100× and 200×.547

Nearly all of the artefacts are tools grouped on the basis of the shapes of their active ends. Artefact names widely used in the literature, e.g. awl, needle and smoother, are retained here. The terminology applied to bone orientation is followed for specimens which are hardly modifed by

544 Villa – Mahieu 1991.

545 Schmid 1972; Barone 1986; Hillson 1992.

546 See in particular Stordeur 1977; Stordeur 1978; Camps-Fabrer – Stordeur 1979; Stordeur 1985; Choyke 1998.

547 For a relatively recent review of analytical techniques see Legrand – Sidéra 2007.

manufacture. In all other cases, the nomenclature devised for bone tools548 is used to describe their components and views. There are terms that are common to both descriptive systems but do not have the same meaning. For a tool, proximal refers to a part nearer to the base or the base itself; it points downward on the drawings (see Fig. V.3.1). The opposite of proximal is distal. The surface that shows the greatest amount of modifcation of the original bone is called inferior and has a left and a right half. The opposite of inferior is superior.

The organisation of the presentation roughly follows that of Becker and facilitates comparisons. The Middle and Late Neolithic groups are examined together because they are small, especially for the latter period. This and the aforementioned shortcomings in artefact recording rendered the outcome of a systematic examination of the abundance and distribution of the material with regard to the spaces excavated uncertain. It is, however, noteworthy that, when the total of sixty-three Neolithic bone objects is compared to ⁓119m³ of total volume of sediment excavated from this period, low artefact density becomes apparent. A similar observation was made about the chipped stone artefacts. Below, spatial data are considered in relation to the nature and state of preservation of the bone objects. Preservation also helps assess anatomical, morphological and technological information. Comparisons with particular tools, raw materials and manufacturing techniques from other Neolithic sites in Thessaly and neighbouring regions are made.

Fig. V.3.2 Pointed tools: (1) PM0661; (2) PM0854; (3) PM0617; (4) PM0835 (R. Christidou)

548 This terminology has already been employed to describe Neolithic bone tools from Thessaly, see in particular Moundrea-Agrafoti 1980a; Moundrea-Agrafoti 1981.

### V.3.2. Major Groups and State of Preservation of the Bone Artefacts

At least thirteen of the nineteen artefacts are pointed tools. Seven of thirteen (PM0468, PM0658, PM0700, PM0717, PM0767, PM0798 and PM0800; Fig. V.3.1) were sharply pointed at one end and represent awls; another two (PM0661 and PM0854; Figs. V.3.2.1–2), which are broken and lack the proximal end, are also classifed as awls on the basis of morphological and technological data. Two pointed tools (PM0617 and PM0835; Figs. V.3.2.3–4) with tapered proximal parts are termed bipoints and the body of a medium, i.e. sheep-sized, mammal rib, which was perforated and used without further modifcation (PM0865; Fig. V.3.3), a needle. PM0805 (Fig. V.3.4.1) is a point fragment damaged by animal chewing. It is unclear whether it is the distal or proximal end of a pointed tool. Two tool fragments (PM0810 and PM0928; Figs. V.3.4.2–3) that lack the active ends are possibly from pointed tools. If this were the case, PM0928 would be an awl. There are also two cutting-edge tools (PM0414 and PM0785; Figs. V.3.5.1–2) and a body fragment of cattle rib (PM0930; Fig. V.3.5.3), which was abraded through use. The latter object is a central fragment of a tool, which is damaged by animal chewing at both ends. Its original form cannot be reconstructed. It is described as a smoother solely on the basis of use wear. A single artefact (PM0929; Fig. V.3.6) represents reduction waste.

Four objects (PM0700, PM0767, PM0798 and PM0865) are complete. PM0785 is essentially complete, but it bears the negative of a recently removed large fake (length: 54mm, greatest width: 7.2mm) on the superior face. Another fve artefacts (PM0414, PM0468, PM0800, PM0805 and PM0835) display recent fractures. Nearly all of the fragments of PM0468 were recovered; a single piece is missing.  Twelve splinters and three enamel chips were counted; other fragments were severely crushed. The tooth could not be mended. Ten objects (PM0464, PM0617, PM0661, PM0658, PM0717, PM0928, PM0810, PM0930, PM0854 and PM0929) present old fractures. Four of them are pointed tools featuring oblique (PM0468 and PM0617) and hinged fractures (PM0658 and PM0717) at distances of less than 10mm from the distal tip (cf. Appendix, Tab. V.3.A3). Such fractures occur on awls before discard, but there is no evidence to suggest here that they represent use damage. PM0929 is a nearly complete metatarsal from a red deer and exhibits multiple weathering fractures and cracks (see Fig. V.3.7.1). This damage afects the preserved portion of the distal metaphysis of the bone, which was chewed (Fig. V.3.7.2). As mentioned above, chewing animals had also destroyed PM0930. PM0854 and PM0928 display transverse rough broken surfaces. The broken ends of PM0661 and PM0810 are jagged. Such occurrences are mostly related to dehydrating or dried bone broken before or after deposition.549 A hinged fracture was recorded at the broken distal extremity of PM0810.

The complete objects have diferent forms, raw materials and sizes, suggesting that none of these variables alone infuenced completeness. Length having been the dimension mostly afected by fragmentation, it is used here to examine artefact size (Fig. V.3.8.1). The longest complete specimens are the 170mm-long rib body used as a needle and a goat tibia fragment with complete shaft circumference, shaped into a cutting-edge tool, PM0785, which is about 129.7mm long. The recently broken cutting-edge implement PM0414, made from a fragment similar to PM0785, would be long too; it is 91mm in length. Both the lengths and the blanks of the cutting-edge tools accord with data reported by Becker, who observed that the implements of this kind from the Neolithic and Bronze Age levels of PMZ were most often made from caprine tibiae, radii and metapodials broken across the shaft and measured 100–180mm in length.550 The smoother fragment is also long; it probably refects the large size of the original rib. With the exception of specimen PM0468, which is 107.8mm long, the lengths of the complete and nearly complete pointed tools termed awls and bipoints range between 49.7mm and 68.8mm. All of these tools were made from

549 For rough surfaces see, e.g., Johnson 1985, 176; Shipman 1993 [1981], fg. 7.2 bottom; Outram 2002, 54.

550 Becker 1991, 38.

linear fragments of long bones of mammals of medium (PM0468, PM0617, PM0658, PM0717, PM0798) or perhaps larger sizes (PM0700 and PM0798). The plot of greatest width versus thickness of these artefacts (Fig. V.3.8.2) shows that dimensional variations are present but limited overall. Among the fragmented specimens is PM0835, which was recently broken. It is a proximal fragment of a bipoint with attached partial shaft and measures 100.9mm in length. Its maximum width and thickness, preserved near the midpoint of the fragment, are 5.8mm and 3.7mm, respectively. From this height, the tool tapers again toward the broken end. It would be a relatively long, slender form of tool. To judge from the evidence above, the causes of the old breaks recorded on the artefacts are unclear, except for a couple of well-defned cases of weathering and gnawing damage (PM0929 and PM0930). Weathering was not uncommon, but no straightforward relationship could be identifed between this kind of damage and tool breakage in general. PM0929 was severely weathered and deep cracks tore the bone, as noted above. The other weathered artefacts were less altered and seem to have fared better; perhaps they were buried more rapidly. On these objects, the damage consisted of fne longitudinal cracks and sometimes loss

Fig. V.3.4 Unclassifed partial bone tools: (1) PM0805; (2) PM0810; (3) PM0928. The photograph of specimen 2 shows use-worn oblique grinding striations (25×). These marks are macroscopic. Sketch in rectangle used to show fracture profle of the same specimen. Dashed line used to indicate thick crust on specimen 3. Sketched outlines are only provided for this specimen; dimensions are approximate. Oblique and transverse lines on the drawings indicate grinding (R. Christidou)

of portions of the outer bone surface. The areas damaged varied. On fve specimens (PM0661, PM0717, PM0798, PM0835 and PM0930), more than 50% of the tool surface was afected; on two (PM0617 and PM0767), the percentage is lower (about 40% and 17%, respectively); while on another two (PM0414 and PM928), encrustations prevent such observations.

In addition to weathering, chewing and encrustations, burning, root etching, natural abrasion, faking and cracking were recorded as post-discard damage of the bone artefacts. Modern damage in the form of surface removals and cleaning tool marks was also observed, but was never extensive. A single object, PM0468, was burnt. Corrosion by plant roots was present on about half of the artefacts. The etch marks were both light-coloured (and therefore recent) and stained; recent and old damage often coexisted on the same object (PM0414, PM0785, PM0810, PM0854 and PM0865). At any site where archaeological surfaces remain exposed for the best part of the year, root etching damages the bones lying near the surface. The pits and channels formed by the roots quickly become coloured. It is therefore difcult to associate plant damage exclusively with prehistoric times. Considering edge abrasion, it was recorded on broken edges of four specimens.

Fig. V.3.5 Cutting-edge tools and smoother: (1) PM0414; (2) PM0785; (3) PM0930. Dashed line used to indicate weathered surface on specimen 3 (R. Christidou)

Fig. V.3.6 Reduction waste: PM0929. Outline of bisected metatarsal (left) reconstructed from fragments (middle). Dimensions are approximate. Shallow medullary grooves (right) cut to guide motion for quartering the bone. Their location is indicated by rectangle (a). Rectangles (b) and (c) locate details shown in Fig. V.3.7 (R. Christidou)

In one case (PM0929), it was related to weathering. Otherwise, it was light. Cracking and local exfoliation often arose from weathering, which, together with crusting, were the major causes of surface destruction. Carbonate and manganese deposition appear pervasive. In only one instance (PM0928) were concretions thick (Fig. V.3.4.3). Manganese deposits, usually forming thin layers on the tool surfaces, could perhaps be related to the high levels of humidity at the site. Crusts often covered more than 50% of the artefact surfaces. On seven objects (PM0658, PM0717, PM0798, PM0805, PM0835, PM0854 and PM0930), up to 75% of the bone surface was afected; on another fve (PM0414, PM0468, PM0700, PM0928 and PM0929), the extent of the damage was greater. In these cases, it was not always possible to evaluate the areas of the tools previously modifed by other processes including polishing through use. By contrast, manganese coatings seldom prevented the observation of bone shape modifcations (see Fig. V.3.7).

Burning is consistent with the discovery of PM0468 in BSPh VIIc, which has yielded burnt remains. The bone was not calcined. It was probably simply lying or buried near a place where fre was burning. Its position in a fll (SU 152) beneath the virtual foor F20 of BPh VIII and above the house foor F21 of BSPh VIIc does not establish a direct relationship with the use or destruction of a given structure and, in any case, the architectural features sampled from the latter phase are quite restricted in extent and fragmentary. Two of the three chewed specimens, PM0805 and PM0930, come from BSPh IIIc and IIIb, respectively, which represent dump and activity areas, probably open and semi-open, accessible to chewing animals. PM0930 was weathered as well; the entire caudal edge and the internal smooth surface of the rib had degenerated; they are rough and crossed by narrow cracks.551 An additional two weathered artefacts, PM0798 and PM0835, come from the same levels. BPh VIII, BSPh Ve and BSPh Va, which would also correspond to non-built-up space, yielded three weathered objects, PM0414, PM0717 and PM0767. As noted above, PM0929, from BPh II, for which architectural evidence was totally lacking, was seriously weathered. Nearly all of its fragments were recovered and it is not unreasonable to assume that degradation took place on the spot. This, the great length of the artefact and the complete state of the medium-sized rib body PM0865 that comes from the same building phase could suggest that the area remained fairly undisturbed by human activities during the formation of the deposit or later. The remaining three weathered objects, PM0617, PM0661 and PM0928, come from BSPh VIIa, VIb and IVa, where house interiors as well as outdoor space were excavated. PM0928, more damaged than the other two specimens, comes from the exterior space north of the house in BSPh IVa. PM0617 and PM0661 are two of the three bone artefacts that could be associated with house foors; the third specimen is PM0785. They come from Floors F23, F24 and F31, respectively. Since levelling for rebuilding occurred at the settlement, some degree of exposure to bone-damaging factors could be expected.

### V.3.3. Raw Materials and Tool Blanks

This chapter examines in further detail the raw materials and the blanks of the tools.  Of ffteen long bones, all represented by fragments, seven could be assigned to a skeletal element and to a species or broader taxonomic group.  Three bones (PM0700, PM0835 and PM0929) are metapodials. PM0929 is a red deer metatarsal. Of the other two, at least one, PM0835, comes from a small ruminant, as suggested by the thickness of the compact bone (Appendix Tab. V.3.A2). Eight specimens (PM0468, PM0617, PM0661, PM0658, PM0717, PM0767, PM0798 and PM0805) are

551 Cf. stage 3 of weathering as defned in Behrensmeyer 1978, 151, fg. 2.

552 It could be from a long bone or a mandible, or even an edge of scapula with thick cortical wall.

Fig. V.3.7 PM0929: post-discard damage. (1) Cracking and removal of surface bone as a result of weathering (20×). For image location see rectangle (b) in Fig. V.3.6. (2) Chewing marks (10×). For image location see rectangle (c) in Fig. V.3.6. Note also the thin dark-coloured crust (R. Christidou)

Fig. V.3.8 (1) Comparison of artefact lengths (measurements in millimetres). Specimens PM0800 and PM0929 are excluded from comparison because of extreme fragmentation. PM0785 is analysed as a complete specimen since faking afects the superior face away from the extremities. Diamond: complete; blank square: nearly complete; triangle: old fragment; blank circle: recent fragment. (2) Greatest width/thickness of complete and nearly complete pointed tools (measurements in millimetres) (R. Christidou)

fragments of long bone shafts, which could not be identifed to the element level.553 Most of them represent mammals of medium sizes such as caprines and pigs. For PM0700 and PM0805, assignment to a body-size class is uncertain as a result of thorough shaping. These data accord with the results of the study of the Neolithic animal bone assemblages and suggest local production. Small ruminants, specifcally sheep and goats, predominate in the identifed bones, which are mostly from medium-sized mammals.554 Domestic pig is well represented in this size group, which also includes some roe deer and dog. Regarding the large mammals, domestic cattle in the Middle Neolithic were rather large in stature;555 wild individuals have also been recognised. The greatest width of the smoother, which is dated to this period, is 40.4mm indicating a large individual. Working of the red deer metatarsal is in accordance with the transport and deposition of parts of the hind and fore limbs of this animal within the settlement during the same period.556 No fallow deer were recognised. The evidence available for this species from Neolithic Thessaly is remarkably limited.557 Their absence would mean there would be no intermediate between the small and the large ruminants in the worked bone collection. With regard to the age of the individuals from which the worked elements originate, there is no evidence for use of young bone other than the

553 PM0468 could be from a tibia, but the identifcation is uncertain.

554 Becker 1991, 19–20; Becker 2000, 8–9. See also Halstead, this volume, 585, Tab. VIII.1.

555 Becker 2000, 12.

556 Becker 2000, 11, 21, appendix, tab. 6.

557 Becker 2000, 17 with references. Cf. Yannouli – Trantalidou 1999, 251.

porous surfaces of PM0717 and PM0835. This criterion does not sufce for aging, but some further observations should be made for PM0835. This bipoint was made from a halved metapodial of a small ruminant and terminates in the distal metaphysis of the bone. As a rule, tools made from such blanks retained the halved distal or proximal articular end at the base. When the distal end was not fused, it was sometimes removed, accidentally or deliberately. The absence of epiphysis from PM0835 could suggest use of a bone from a juvenile and detachment prior to or during the manufacturing process (see also below, Chapter V.3.5).

The pig incisor and the fbula shaft could be used directly to shape the implements. The proximal part of the fbula tool is missing. The portion preserved is located within the central third of the bone. In the pig, the fbular shaft is compact, long, straight and slender, suitable for producing pointed tools. Evidence available from various Neolithic sites of Thessaly and neighbouring regions indicates occasional use of this bone as well as small ruminant ulnae for awls. The naturally tapering forms of the ulnae were also convenient for awl shaping.558 With regard to PMZ, intense fragmentation of the limb bones of the domestic animals for food was observed in the Neolithic period, especially the Middle Neolithic.559 This could partly explain the use of fragments of other long bones, which also provide a wide range of sizes and forms of fragments for various uses.560 The tibia fragments from which the two cutting-edge tools were made could have been produced during butchery and then recovered for artisanal purposes. For the active end of both tools, breaks in the proximal third of the bone were exploited. PM0414 was based on a fracture with a curved outline. The unworked part of the fracture surface is smooth-textured, suggesting green bone breakage.561 On PM0785, the morphological characteristics of the broken end were obliterated during the shaping process. Below the broken ends, the diaphyses were kept complete on both tools.

Except the fbula, the incisor and the medium-sized mammal rib shaft, which was broken near the costal angle, the other pointed objects were linear fragments of long bone shafts. There were two ways of acquiring longitudinal fragments: by splitting and by grooving the bones. Four artefacts (PM0468, PM0617, PM0717 and PM0798) were splinters; three of them (PM0468, PM0617 and PM0717) had twisted profles. The tapering end of splinter PM0468 was shaped into a sharp point; the proximal part of the tool was approximately half the shaft diameter of the bone. PM0468 is the largest splinter among the four measured (see also Fig. V.3.8). The other three represent roughly a quarter or less than a quarter of the diameters of the diaphyses from which they came. PM0717 and PM0798 also retained a portion of metaphysis at the proximal end. PM0617 is a fragment of a natural ridge of a diaphysis, where the compact bone was thick-walled. In this case, the tapering end was shaped into a blunt point, which was used as the base of the tool. Splinter lengths are tricky to evaluate. The confrmed splinters number only four. Moreover, they were modifed through use; PM0617 and PM0717 were resharpened and somewhat shortened. It can, however, be stated that the lengths of the four specimens are consistent with those of splinters produced from shattered long bones of sheep-sized mammals, which are usually smaller than 100mm.562

PM0929 is the medial half of the red deer metatarsal mentioned above. It has yielded evidence of reduction using longitudinal grooving with a stone edge. First, approximately half of the thickness of the bone wall was worn down by grooving the anterior fusion line of the metatarsal. At an earlier stage of the work, this side of the bone had been lightly scraped, perhaps for removing any residue of the periosteum. The posterior edge of the half does not preserve grooving marks. Weathering damage could perhaps explain this absence. However, it is possible

558 For Neolithic examples of use of pig fbulae and small ruminant ulnae, in the Aegean see, e.g., Leroy-Prost 1981, 247; Moundrea-Agrafoti 1981; Wijnen 1981, 43; Stratouli 1993, 498; Isaakidou 2003, 236–237.

559 Becker 1991, 34–35. For the Middle Neolithic see Becker 2000, 11.

560 Otherwise, the same fractures were reproduced for making tools.

561 E.g. Lyman 1994, 320 with references. Cf. above, 345 (n. 543).

562 Christidou 1999.

that the toolmaker's fnal decision was to simply crack this side of the bone. Whatever the case, the metatarsal was split since the anterior groove had not reached the medullary side of the bone wall and another longitudinal groove was prepared on this side in order to bisect the half and produce two quarters. This action was not completed: the depth grooved varies, but overall it is much shallower than that on the outer anterior side. Basically, only cuts that were going to guide the shaping of the groove along which the half would be divided were incised. They are discontinuous, long or relatively short, curving or sinuous at some points (Fig. V.3.6). There are also superfcial incisions, oblique or nearly parallel to the deepest cuts. Deviations from the main grooving direction and secondary cuts indicate difculties to be expected since the work concerned the deepest part of the marrow cavity of the bone. They are also related to intermittent movements used in the beginning of the shaping of the groove as noted above. On PM0929, the medullary grooving was approximately 215mm long. The anterior groove was preserved along a length of 190mm.

The surfaces of PM0661, PM00658, PM0700, PM0767, PM0928, PM0805 and PM0835 are thoroughly shaped or damaged and cannot be used to describe blanks in detail. More precisely, encrustations on PM0658 and PM0928, exfoliation on PM0661 and chewing on PM0805 obscure such details. PM0700, PM0767 and PM835 show a high degree of modifcation of the blanks during the shaping process. However, a number of specifc observations can be made. PM0928 and PM0700 indicate quartering of a tibia and a metapodial, respectively. A portion of epiphysis, distal for the tibia and proximal for the metapodial, remained attached to the blanks. Specimen PM0928 is located in the craniomedial quarter of the bone; PM0700 is too modifed to distinguish between metacarpal and metatarsal, but it is possible that the tool was made from a posterior edge where the cortical bone of the metapodial is thick. PM0658 also retained a portion of metaphysis at the base. On the left side of the fragment, the bone thickens and suggests exploitation of a ridge or similar formation on which the active end of the tool was located. The proximal end of PM0767 clearly curves outward and preserves a small portion of medullary cavity, but the rest of the artefact suggests use of a thickened area of the bone shaft such as a crest or other ridge. PM0805, like splinter PM0617, is a fragment of ridge.

The choice of fragments of tibiae, particularly from the distal two thirds of the bone, metapodials and naturally thick portions of compact bone from natural ridges would suggest the use of blanks with inherent resistance to mechanical loading.563 The longitudinal fragments produced by breaking or by grooving had rectilinear vertical cross sections, curving slightly near the metaphysis or epiphysis portions attached to some pieces, including the proximal part of PM0767 described above. Some splinters had twisted forms. Such fragments often taper toward one end564 and are therefore suitable for shaping pointed tools. This was specifcally the case for PM0468 and PM0617.

The quartering of the small ruminant tibia is peculiar. By contrast, the use of fragments with complete shaft diameters from the same animal group, caprines in particular, is a recurrent feature of the Neolithic bone industries from Thessaly.565 It is also observed in varying frequencies and at diferent locations in adjacent regions.566 The halving of caprine metapodials is very familiar. The metapodial halves and quarters of ruminants including fallow and red deer had patterned

563 See Currey 1984. Specifcally, data on bone density are a prime concern in studies of bone survivorship. See the synthesis in Lyman 1994, 234–258. Cf. Lam et al. 2003; Lam – Pearson 2004; Stiner 2004 inter al. The physical qualities including the mechanical properties of the various bones also concern bone technology. See, e.g., Mac-Gregor – Currey 1983; Scheinsohn – Ferretti 1995; and a discussion by Alice Choyke (2013).

564 See, e.g., examples presented in Johnson 1985 and Peretto 1996.

565 E.g. Moundrea-Agrafoti 1980b, fg. II.7; Batziou 1981, 114, fgs. 16–17; Moundrea-Agrafoti 1981; Moundrea-Agrafoti 1988, 41–42; Winn – Shimabuku 1989b, 262, fgs. 9.3.3, 9.3.5, 9.5.1; Stratouli 1998.

566 E.g. Leroy-Prost 1981, 244, 249, 251, 255; Stratouli 1993, 497, 512; Christidou 1999; Christidou 2012, 228, tab. 3. At Makriyalos, located immediately north of Thessaly, caprine tibiae represent an important category of raw materials, but tool blanks are not described, see Isaakidou 2003, 236, fg. 24.2.

uses; they also reveal local variations in technology, environment and economy.567 As a rule, their production involved grooving or a combination of grooving and snapping. The smaller blanks, obtained from caprines, were about 80–120mm.568 Based on the data available for Neolithic sheep and goats from PMZ, a length in the order of 80–100mm could be expected.569 Indirect evidence for procurement of longer specimens comes from PM0835, which is a proximal fragment of tool with attached partial shaft and measures 100.9mm in length. The blank could be from a caprine or a roe deer. PM0700 is complete and measures 67mm in length. It was thoroughly shaped and reworked; the size of the ruminant that yielded the raw material is indeterminate and the length of this blank cannot be discussed further. Considering the red deer metatarsal, the absence of fnished products made from this bone (unless PM0700 was from a red deer) must be noted. Other sites show that awls and sometimes cutting-edge tools could be manufactured from quarters which far exceeded 150mm in length, a measure compatible with the length of the grooves on the example from PMZ. The blanks from this bone would be large. Finally, splinter utilisation was reported from Prodromos in western Thessaly.570 Eastern Thessaly has provided good evidence for their use for making awls.571 They were chosen more frequently than other blanks in the Early Neolithic at Sesklo and in the Late Neolithic at Dimini. Large and narrow ones are mentioned. However, detailed descriptions of splinter forms and locations on the bone shafts are lacking.

In conclusion, medium-sized mammals, particularly caprines and pigs, are recognisable sources of long bones used to make pointed and cutting-edge tools. Toolmakers were selective with respect to metapodials and tibiae from which halves and quarters were obtained. This is also refected in the reduction of the red deer metatarsal, which specifcally represents the body parts of the game brought into the settlement. Toolmakers also responded to the size and shape variations of broken elements and exploited green bone fractures for diferent tools. The two ribs suggest ease of procurement and use since they were hardly modifed.

### V.3.4. Tool Shaping and Resharpening

Often, the entire length of the blank was shaped (Tab. V.3.1; cf. Appendix, Tab. V.3.A4). Otherwise, working was limited to the distal end of the tool (PM0414, PM0800 and PM0854) and in one case the base (needle PM0865). On PM0785, shaping marks extended from the active end down to the midpoint of the shaft or farther away, but did not cover the entire tool. The distal articular surface of the tibia on which the tool was based was also worked. Central fragment PM0810 is from a thoroughly shaped tool shaft; the original length worked cannot be determined. PM0930 does not bear any shaping modifcation, nor was it reworked. Shaping techniques were examined for sixteen tools. Scraping and grinding were employed in combination for the majority of these specimens. Grinding was also used to resharpen four active ends (PM0617, PM0700, PM0717 and PM0785), for one of these (PM0717) along with scraping.

Scraping consisted in moving repeatedly a stone cutting edge in a straight line parallel to the bone grain. In one case (PM0717), relatively thick shavings were removed by pushing the scraper downward and then forward. Semicircular strokes were used to perforate the needle. As regards grinding, the movement was usually perpendicular or oblique to the bone grain. In only two instances was it longitudinal. It was used to rejuvenate the working edge of PM0785 and to fatten Bone 167. As a rule, fne abrasives were chosen.572 For three specimens (PM0785, PM0810 and PM0835), grinding was performed with coarse-grained materials.

567 Christidou 2001; Christidou 2005; Christidou 2011a.

568 As at PMZ, the measurements reported from other sites give an approximate idea of the size of the tools. Tool shaping and damage as well as unworked bone fragmentation hamper accurate estimates.

569 Becker 1991, 23, tab. 6.

570 Moundrea-Agrafoti 1980b, 494.

571 Moundrea-Agrafoti 1981.

572 Both fne- and coarse-grained grinding tools are represented in the macrolithic collection, see Stroulia, this volume, 315.

Tab. V.3.1 Bone tool shaped parts and shaping techniques (R. Christidou)

Transverse and sometimes oblique grinding using fne abrasives helped to wear bone away carefully and obtain the desired profles. Such work followed the scraping of PM0617, PM0658, PM0700, PM0717 and PM0767 and determined the outlines of the tools. The entire surface of PM0700, PM0717 and PM0767 was scraped. On PM0617 and PM0658, relatively small lengths, 25.7mm and 13.2mm, respectively, were scraped on the outer side of the cortical wall of the bones in order to sharpen the points (Appendix, Tab. V.3.A4). On PM0658, scraping was limited to the outer margins of the lateral sides. The lengths ground for these fve tools range between 7mm and 31.3mm. PM0617 is a bipoint with a deliberately blunted proximal tip.  It is covered with manganese and the technique used to fatten it cannot be recognised. Scraping and transverse grinding were applied to the proximal point, which is approximately half the tool length. Grinding specifcally served to reduce the thickness of the blank from the split side of the splinter, particularly the right edge of the medullary cavity, and to create a smooth transition between the distal and proximal points. The asymmetry observed between the right and left sides of the tool was the result of the twisted form of the blank. Grinding also reduced the lateral edges and, close to the point, the superior side. Narrow facets were formed during the grinding. They were convex in cross section. Thus, the transitions between intersecting planes appear smooth. With few exceptions, this is a constant feature of the ground surfaces of the tools examined from PMZ. It also characterises the 'pencil' point of PM0767, which was fashioned using transverse grinding. The thickness of the blank of this tool was also reduced by grinding transversely the right edge of the medullary cavity, which is preserved along a length of only 8mm above the tool's base. The proximal half of PM0658 is covered with a thin layer of manganese, which makes it possible to observe the narrow facets cut along the lateral edges during the shaping. The distal part of the tool shows transverse grinding of the lateral edges to complete tapering.

Oblique grinding was applied on the edges of the medullary cavity preserved on a large part of PM0717. To maintain the virtual smooth plane thus created, a proximal facet (A on Fig. V.3.1.4) was cut to reduce the right edge, which rose and turned in the direction of the cavity since the blank had a helical shape. Working in an oblique direction assures uniformity of the ground profles.573 It clearly served this purpose on the smoothed split surface of PM0717, which measured 31mm in length but could be longer since the distal point that interrupts it was cut in order to resharpen the tool. Oblique grinding was also observed on two areas of the medullary side of the bone fragment used to make PM0700. Figure V.3.1.3 illustrates a wide and slightly convex inferior facet, named A, and, proximal to A, plane B that extends over both edges of the marrow cavity. The two areas represent two diferent operations. Area A is related to resharpening. It is interrupted distally by numerous narrow elongated facets cut using transverse grinding around the circumference of the tool in order to form the pencil point in the second and fnal stage of the resharpening. Area A interrupts area B, which corresponds to the fnal smoothing of the edges of the marrow cavity during the shaping of the original tool. The length smoothed could, then, be longer than that preserved after the tool was reworked.574 Transverse grinding was also applied locally on the outer side of the lateral edges of the bone fragment in order to create regular profles. These corrections are observed on the proximal part of the right edge (C on Fig. V.3.1.3) and the central part of the opposite one (D on Fig. V.3.1.3).

Grinding with a coarse abrasive played a major role in manufacturing PM0835. It was employed to thin both the anterior and posterior sides of the metapodial half and reduce it to approximately a quarter of the bone. The stick thus created had fat sides, which were subsequently scraped to taper the proximal part of the tool. This scraping is poorly preserved as a result of weathering damage. The facets cut are slanted to the superior and inferior sides of the tool. The edges of the medullary cavity were smoothed during the scraping. The original fattening is preserved along 77.5mm on the left face and 44.5mm on the opposite face. Above the midpoint of the tool fragment, grinding had also been used to taper the blank and shape the active end. A similar operation could be observed on the left and right sides of the portion of distal epiphysis retained as the base of PM0928. The tool shaft portion now preserved shows scraping. Because of the presence of heavy crusts covering most of the object, it is impossible to fnd out whether scraping preceded grinding or vice versa. For the same reason, the grain of the abrasive used cannot be described.

Coarse abrasives are efcient at removing quickly large amounts of material. Combined with oblique movements at PMZ, they probably helped control the degree of wear and the regularity of the profles cut. Bone 167 was, however, ground longitudinally (Fig. V.3.9). It shows extreme thinning and fattening of the posterior face of the metapodial. The marks of this operation are interrupted by the breakage through the metaphysis of the bone, indicating that a larger length was ground, possibly the entire posterior face. On the opposite side, the same kind of treatment was abandoned quickly; only the highest points of the relief of the bone were worn. Neolithic sites in Thessaly yield examples of bifacial thinning and fattening of caprine metapodials prior to bisection by grooving.575 The same sites also provide evidence, albeit rare, for application of the so-called '*débitage par usure*'.576 The specifc objective of the grinding of Bone 167 cannot be deduced, but, when it is compared to PM0835, which was thinned after reduction, it shows that there was no single process for reducing the thickness of the small ruminant metapodial halves and that the order of the actions performed could vary.577

573 Personal communication from Gérard Déraprahamian cited in Christidou 1999.

574 Partial or complete fattening by grinding the split surface of the awls made from long bones was often observed in northern Aegean Late and Final Neolithic sites, see Christidou 1999; Christidou 2001, 43. The axis of symmetry thus created guided the tapering of the lateral sides of the tools. For PM0700, partial fattening by grinding followed the scraping of the cut surface.

575 See in particular the descriptions in Moundrea-Agrafoti 1981.

576 Poplin 1974, 89–91.

577 Extreme variability in the application of the manufacturing processes related to small ruminant metapodials characterises the bone industries of the Late Neolithic from the northeast part of the Aegean, see Christidou 1999; Christidou 2011a, 126, 130. Variability in the order and types of actions is only random up to a point. It is also related to the production of diferent sizes and shapes of tools, mainly awls.

Oblique rough grinding was applied to fatten the wide sides of the tool shaft (or a portion of it) from which PM0810 derived. The narrow left side was worked with a fne-grained material. The right side does not bear evidence of shaping; it is heavily polished and smoothed as a result of use wear. This surface most probably corresponds to the outer, i.e. cortical, side of the original bone.

PM0468 and PM0805 were extensively ground. The former was fashioned exclusively using this technique. Not only the split side and the point but also the outer surface of the bone and possibly the base (now too damaged to reveal shaping marks) were worked. The outer grinding, mostly transverse, rectifed profles. The point formed rounded obtuse angles with the tool's shaft at a distance of 20.5–25mm from the tip. Flat and sometimes concave facets with clear-cut, sharp edges were ground around the circumference of the point. The dimensions of the blank and its shaping diferentiate this tool from the rest of the pointed forms. PM0805 was scraped prior to grinding. The entire circumference, as observed above the chewed point, was ground. However, this work was mostly concentrated on thinning and fattening the medullary side of the fragment and on rounding and tapering the lateral edges toward the point. The direction of grinding varied between these areas; transverse movements were mostly used along the edges. Clear-cut facets with sharp edges were formed on the inferior and lateral sides.

The shaft of the tibia fragment PM0785 was scraped after the cranial face was ground. Marks of this grinding are now observed on an area about 40mm long and 10mm wide along the lateral margin of this face. The uppermost limit of the ground surface is located at a distance of about 30mm from the active end of the tool. This surface is slightly concave and rough, indicating crude reduction of the area where the cranial face curves outward and the tibia thickens. The scraping that followed this operation extends to cover about half the length of the caudal and the lateral sides of the specimen; it is even more extensive on the other two sides. It was employed to shape straight profles on the bone's medial and lateral sides and to gradually thin the cranial and caudal sides toward the broken end. The fracture angle most probably determined the convex bevel, which was formed during the cranial scraping. On the opposite face, between approximately 3mm and 17.5mm from the distal end, the bone surface was further fattened using transverse grinding. The grinding striations on this area are narrower than the inferior ones and barely visible at low magnifcation as a result of use wear. Grinding was also employed to reduce the natural relief of the articular surface. The highest points of this surface, located on the cranial edge, were chiefy altered; the plane ground forms an obtuse angle with the cranial face of the bone. The external caudal margin of the articular surface was also ground transversely.

The base and part of the shaft of PM0414 are missing. The aim of the work on the distal part was to sharpen the tapering broken end of the tibia. The fracture surface extends for a distance of about 56mm below the distal tip of the tool; approximately 35mm were scraped. The opposite face was also scraped to thin and sharpen the active edge; the length worked cannot be measured because of the manganese deposit on this side of the specimen. The left side of the active part of the tool was scraped to taper toward the distal tip of the tool, which is a convex edge. This side was thicker than the right side as a result of the spiral fracture of the bone: the preserved part of the caudal side of the bone curves up in a lateral direction; the left side of the distal end of the tool is located on this area of the bone. The medial wall was nearly completely removed and a relatively thin edge was formed.

The point fashioned on the fbula shaft PM0854 indicates a similar process. Starting from a distance of about 44mm from the apex of the point, scraping was applied on the circumference of the shaft to reduce its thickness and form the point. Several narrow facets were cut deeper along the left and right edges, which clearly converge toward the apex. The greatest scraped length recorded on these facets is 24mm. The right edge was more intensively worked because the thickness of the bone was greater on this side. Wavy striations and occasional transverse cuts and ripples also evince energetic scraping. Such marks are not common on the other scraped sides. Although the lengths scraped for PM0798 were longer, the shaping of the splinter was also fairly simple. It involved reduction of bone along the lateral sides and smoothing of the edges of the medullary cavity. The superior side of the tool is weathered and shaping cannot be recognised. The proximal tip has a rounded profle, but it does not preserve shaping traces either.

Incisor PM0800 and rib PM0865 show minimal modifcation. A single facet, about 10mm long, was abraded in order to sharpen the naturally tapering end of the tooth root. PM0865 shows three transverse round holes near the broken end of the rib. Two holes have an axis running in a craniocaudal direction. Of these, one was fnished and the other, opened from the caudal side, stopped at a depth of about 2.4mm, i.e. less than halfway between this side and the cranial edge. The third perforation, cut from the internal side of the rib, was also unfnished. Its depth is approximately 4.7mm, i.e. slightly greater than halfway into the bone's cancellous interior. The fnished hole is an opening measuring approximately 3.5mm in length and 3mm in width. The perforation was biconical and therefore the rim diameters are larger. The length of the opening on the cranial side is about 6mm long and 5mm wide; on the caudal side the lengths measured are 5mm and 4.5mm, respectively. The cranial cone is somewhat deeper than the caudal one. The unfnished perforations are also conical. The rim diameter of the caudal hole is about 4mm; that of the ventral hole measures 6mm in length and 5mm craniocaudally. All of the measurements reported here are approximate because the perforations are partially covered with manganese deposits. Moreover, their rims present more or less complex outlines as a result of the natural relief of the bone, which is broader on the external and furrowed on the caudal side by the costal groove (see also Fig. V.3.3). The perforations were made with a hand-held tool. This is inferred by the changing profles of the perforation walls and the overlapping groups of curving striations, which indicate variations in cutting angles and incomplete tool rotation (cf. Figs. V.3.2.1–2). Angle variations are also responsible for rims that fare locally. The proximal margin of the fnished hole is located at a distance of 17.5mm from the proximal end of the rib fragment. The distance is 23mm for the proximal rim of the unfnished perforation cut on the same side of the bone and only 6mm for the ventral hole. The reason why the drilling of two holes was abandoned before completion is unknown.

In conclusion, shaping played an essential role in the production of the majority of tools. Scraping, whether employed in the initial or the fnal stage of shaping, or even as the only shaping technique, did not alter the blanks drastically. In fact, bone reduction by scraping is slow578 allowing for control of the modifcations made. Grinding at an angle to the bone grain was efcient at yielding local modifcations and corrections of the profles of the tools. Variations in abrasives were also acknowledged, and coarse abrasives were exploited when the need for removal of large amounts of bone arose. There is no evidence of care being taken to obtain a uniform fnish of the tool surfaces.

### V.3.5. Tool Types and Morphometric Features

The perforated rib body, or needle, and the pig incisor with worked root end are 'ad hoc' tools.579 The smoother from cattle rib cannot be considered to be such a tool. Transverse fragments of rib shafts were worked and used in a similar way in the Bronze Age at PMZ.580 Fragmentation may have obliterated shaping modifcations on the Neolithic specimen. The other PMZ tools examined are associated with more or less well-known tool types and forms (Tab. V.3.2). Despite the limited number of pointed tools examined, typological and dimensional variability is observed.581

578 Olsen 1984.

579 Occasionally, bones that were not regularly chosen for tools were used for their convenient natural forms and sizes. Such an example comes from Achilleion, Thessaly; it is a calcaneum of a pig: Winn – Shimabuku 1989b, 262, fg. 9.3.4. Pig incisors, especially those of juveniles with the root naturally worn at a bevel, are sometimes collected as tools. There is no such wear on PM0800.

580 They are referred to as spatulas in Becker 1991, 43, fg. 22. Such tools, which were shaped, were recently analysed for manufacturing and use wear: Christidou 2016. Similar implements are found in other sites of the same period: e.g. Christidou 2010, 773, fg. 9; they also occur in Neolithic sites (e.g. Dikili Tash, northeast Greece, personal observation). Moreover, the central parts of some scrapers made from transverse fragments of rib shafts show secondary zones of use for smoothing.

581 The morphological and dimensional variability of the Neolithic and Bronze Age pointed tools of PMZ is stressed by Becker 1991, 39.

Fig.  Oblique lines on the sketch locate grinding marks on the anterior side of the bone (not presented in scale). The photograph shows striations of longitudinal grinding and exposure of cancellous tissue on the posterior face (50×) (R. Christidou)

The fbula and the incisor represent tools on whole bones. There are two variants of pointed tools made from longitudinally cut metapodials: a quarter, with a portion of the proximal epiphysis retained as the base of the tool, and a half, ground fat and thinned. The latter option was observed on specimen PM0835. If the distal epiphysis of this metapodial was unfused and detached (see above, Chapter V.3.3), the tapering of the metaphyseal area would be an alternative to that observed on several halved distal condyles in other Neolithic sites.582 The tibia quarter with the attached portion of distal epiphysis can be compared to metapodial quarters, but the fattening of the lateral sides of the tibia specimen is a modality primarily associated with the treatment of metapodials before or after bisection.

The awls on linear fragments of long bone shafts were made in a simple manner. Their bases were only smoothed; they are plain. Three of these tools (PM0468, PM0717 and PM0798) are fragments derived from broken bones. PM0617 and PM0805 are in the same style; PM0617 is a splinter. Its greatest width is 7.2mm, placing the artefact among the narrowest measured (Fig. V.3.8.2; Appendix, Tab. V.3.A3). It is also relatively short. At a rough estimate, its length would be 60mm. PM0805 is a fragment; the original length of the tool cannot be estimated. It measures 7.6mm at its greatest width. Since the shaping of the majority of linear fragments did not reduce them dramatically, it is not unreasonable to assume that the original greatest width of PM0805 would not be signifcantly larger. However, this proposition is tentative because of the fragmentary nature of the object. Moreover, chewing damage does not permit distinction between a distal and a proximal point. Simple bipointed forms made from linear fragments of long bones from medium-sized or large mammals and deer antler occur sporadically in the Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in the wider Aegean region.583 Large numbers are only reported from Dispilio in north-

582 E.g. Christidou 2011a, fg. 3.2.

583 E.g. Cave of Cyclope, Neolithic (and mainly Mesolithic): Moundrea-Agrafoti 2003, 138, fgs. 10.5.5–8; Kastanas, Bronze Age: Hochstetter 1987, 62, pl. 32.7; Nichoria, Bronze Age: Blitzer 1992, 754, pl. 12.240; Prodromos,

Tab. V.3.2 Bone tool types. The objects of undetermined type are listed in the second part of the table (R. Christidou)

\*Ad hoc tools

west Greece. Tool forms are not standard and morphological details (e.g., fattened point, blunt or acute proximal tip, shouldering) vary even in the same locality.

The measurements of the active ends of pointed tools (Fig. V.3.10.1) indicate that the fbula point (PM0854) is distinctly slender, while that of the metapodial quarter (PM0700) is sturdy. For the rest of the implements, the widths and thicknesses at a distance of 10mm from the apex are about the same. Only the needle and the largest splinter awl, PM0468, are larger. Measurements at a distance of 30mm from the tip (Fig. V.3.10.2) basically refect blank forms. PM0468 is broken at this height; its width would be less than 13mm and larger than 11.6mm, which places the specimen close to PM0717 and PM0798. Except for the basal area, the shaft and point of PM0767 are solid and thick, probably refecting their position on a bone ridge or crest (see above, Chapter V.3.3). This tool also bears a shallow concavity, about 20mm long, which was ground in the middle of the right edge. This feature marks the transition from the proximal compressed area to the point.

The blank represented by a long bone shaft fragment with complete diameter is a basic criterion for classifying cutting-edge and pointed tools from Neolithic Thessaly and neighbouring areas. The amount of shaping of the cutting-edge tools made from tibia fragments that retained the distal epiphysis varied, but tool lengths were generally important, probably as a result of the use of fractures located within the proximal third of the bone.584 The specimens from PMZ are also long (see above, Chapter V.3.2). Although PM0785 shows grinding of the distal epiphysis and the cranial side of the shaft, this should not be linked with the shaping process of distal tibiae, which combined cranial fattening with the smoothing at various degrees of the natural prominences of the articular end. This process is represented in the northeast Aegean region and in more eastern areas.585 The active ends of the tools from PMZ are diferent from each other. PM0414 displays

Neolithic: Moundrea-Agrafoti 1980b, fg. II.4. Bipoints are numerous at the Neolithic lake settlement of Dispilio: Stratouli 2002, 167.

584 See in particular Moundrea-Agrafoti 1981.

585 E.g. Christidou 2011b, 303–304; Christidou 2012, 230; Azeri 2015. The double-bevelled base of a specimen from Attica is peculiar: Leroy-Prost 1981, 249–250.

Fig. V.3.10 Points: (1) Width/thickness measured at a distance of 10mm from the apex. Four tools are excluded from comparison: PM0617 and PM0658 because the length of the broken point is not calculated (Appendix, Tab. V.3.A3), PM0800 because it is shattered and PM0835 because it is a proximal fragment. (2) Width/thickness measured at a distance of 30mm from the apex. To the fve tools excluded from comparison in Fig. V.3.8.1 is here added PM0468 because it is broken and its form and dimensions at 30mm from the distal tip are not reconstructed (R. Christidou)

a convex cutting edge about 6mm long. The middle of the tip was damaged through use. The edge angle is 81–92º; a rough estimate of the original angle is 44º. The active edge of PM0785 is oblique and slightly concave as a result of use and resharpening. Rounding is pronounced and the angles measured along the edge are 95–103º. The resharpened angle would be in the order of 51º. The bevels formed on the split side of the bones measure approximately 30mm for PM0414 and 14mm for PM0785. The bevel of PM0414 is straight; that of PM0785 is convex. Such diferences reveal the potential ofered by the proximal and midshaft fractures of the tibiae of small ruminants for manufacturing tools. The evidence from Neolithic sites in Thessaly shows that they were also exploited for awls.

### V.3.6. Tool Use

Except for PM0800, which was broken into minute pieces, and PM0661 and PM0928, which presented extensive post-discard alterations, the other tools were examined for use marks (Appendix, Tab. V.3.A5). All of them were used. The four resharpened tools (PM0617, PM0700, PM0717 and PM0785) were used again. Below, use data are presented for each of the three major tool categories.586 PM0810 is compared to the pointed tools.

586 For comparisons see, e.g., Christidou 1999; Griftts 2001; Christidou – Legrand 2005; Legrand 2005; Maigrot 2005; van Gijn 2005; Stordeur – Christidou 2008.

### *Pointed Tools*

PM0468 was singled out mainly on the basis of the dimensions of the blank. The use action also separates it from other pointed implements. Well-formed distal as well as proximal damage points to an intermediate tool used to punch holes into a soft animal material like leather.587 Numerous striations observed under 100× and 200× magnifcations on the point run predominantly in a longitudinal or slightly oblique direction and are associated with the smoothing of the surface on the crests that separate the facets ground during the shaping of the tool (Figs. V.3.11, V.3.12.1). The manufacturing striations have been obliterated from these areas of the tool relief, which were more exposed to the wear than the interior of the facets, where the grinding striations are present but appear worn down and polished. Overall, the polish invades the low spots of the surface relief, rounding and smoothing irregularities. In addition to the longitudinal striations, the polished relief displays transverse and oblique ones as well as pits. Most of these abrasion features have a polished appearance. Polish streaks and striations with smooth glossy bottoms occur intermittently. The widths of the striations are mostly small, ≤3μm. Specimens measuring up to 6–7μm in width appear as well. The pits are for the most part circular with small diameters. This state of surface is observed within an area extending down to about 4.7mm from the broken tip. From this height down to approximately 9mm, the wear reduces. Polished manufacturing marks gradually appear on the crests (Fig. V.3.12.2). As one moves toward the tool's interior, the deepest points of the surface appear hardly worn or unaltered. The polished areas are incompletely smoothed or rough. Longitudinal and diagonal striations, isolated or grouped, persist; transverse striations as well as pits are also present. Between 9mm and 12.5mm from the distal break, rounding, smoothing and polishing are observed on the highest surface relief; evidence of preferential striation orientation is poor.

The base of the tool has an irregular profle as a result of cracking, which produced a wide Vshaped fracture, and faking of the medullary side of the extremity. The portion of edge preserved at the left angle of this end is a smooth shiny facet with a couple of polished pits and few striations or polished cracks. This wear is consistent with percussion with a soft hammer such as a piece of wood. Light-to-moderate rounding and polish on the edge of the broken area suggest continuation of tool use for a small amount of time after the damage described above. As has already been mentioned (Chapter V.3.2), it is unclear whether the distal break represents use damage. Whatever the case, the oblique fracture would not have rendered the awl useless. Base damage seems the more likely cause.

The awl's shaft exhibits hand wear (Fig. V.3.13). This wear is best developed on the proximal half of the shaft, particularly the edges and the convexities, where the grinding striations are completely or incompletely worn down and their edges muted.588 Several aspects of the hand wear are comparable to that of the active end, since the nature of the contact material was the same. However, mark associations show a diferent situation. Invasiveness in depressions and the smoothing out of irregularities are here linked with a high degree of fne abrasion features, i.e. pits and striations. They are polished or dark. The polished relief is rounded or fattish.

Four tools (PM0617, PM0658, PM0700 and PM0717) suggest use of a rotating movement for perforating a similar animal material. The points are partially preserved on three of them (PM0617, PM0658 and PM0717), but PM0658 clearly shows polish following the contours of the original surface, which are rounded and homogenised (Fig. V.3.14.1). The polish is associated with numerous multidirectional narrow (≤2μm) and occasionally wider (up to 7µm) striations, which are also polished. Small use pits are infrequent. They are more common at a distance of about 1–2mm from the broken tip, where polished lower areas preserving roughness appear. The wear fades as one moves toward the interior of the tool. Incompletely smoothed plateaus appear

587 For this particular action see Christidou – Legrand 2005, 391, fg. 13; see also Legrand 2005.

588 E.g. Stordeur – Christidou 2008, 474, fgs. 19.2–4.

Fig. V.3.11 PM0468: point, superior highest relief (ridge). Grinding marks obliterated from the ridge, preserved on the slopes (arrow). Upper and lower images captured at 100× and 200× magnifcations, respectively (R. Christidou)

(Fig. V.3.14.2) and gradually become extensive; use striations are sparser. Farther away, the smoothing reduces further and at about 10mm from the distal extremity it disappears; polish and striations afect the upper relief, which is rough in texture (Fig. V.3.14.3). The scraped topography is well preserved. There is no limit to the polished zone, which is interrupted by extensive crusts at a distance of about 21mm from the distal end.

PM0617 exhibits polishing and rounding of the crests and striations created during the resharpening of the distal end. Invasiveness in depressions and an abundance of use striations, which include straight and curving specimens with smooth glossy bottoms, are observed (Fig. V.3.15.1). The striations measure 1–10µm in width and run in various directions. Their lengths also vary. They are more or less polished, especially the fnest of them, which are superfcial. Scattered superfcial small round pits are also present. The plateaus appear smoothed, completely or incompletely, depending on the position (crest or facet interior), rounded or fattish. Between approximately 4mm and 10mm away from the distal break, the polish begins to withdraw from the deepest zones of the surface. Otherwise, the overall aspect of the surface is similar to that previously described. Below this zone, the striations become less marked; small widths predominate. These features blend with a worn surface comparable to that observed on the shaft of PM0468. On the central and proximal parts of the tool, rounding, smoothing and polishing (Fig. V.3.15.2) are observed. They are also perceptible with the naked eye. The wear suggests prehension rather than hafting of the bipoint.589

Down to about 4mm from the distal break, the point of PM0717 is polished all over and the intersections of the facets cut during the resharpening exhibit strong rounding. Under magnifcation, these edges appear heavily striated (Fig. V.3.15.3). The striations are mainly narrow, in the

589 Cf. Rots 2005, 65.

Fig. V.3.12 PM0468: point, inferior central facet above the medullary cavity. (1) Grinding marks severely worn. They are best preserved away from the broken tip, above the dark fake negative (left), which represents post-discard damage (arrows). (2) Grinding marks nearly completely worn down on facet intersection (middle); narrow use striations running in various directions. Images captured at 100× magnifcation (R. Christidou)

order of 2μm. Larger specimens measure 3–6µm. They are longitudinal and diagonal or transverse. Small pits occur on the smoothed plateaus. The striations formed during the resharpening are very worn. Overall, the polish follows the upper and lower components of the topography. Between 4mm and 9mm, the wear gradually withdraws from the lowest spots. The rounding of profles persists. Fine abrasion marks are common; the directions of the striations vary. The shaft and the base of the tool show rounding and homogenisation of the original surface contours (Fig. V.3.15.4). The polish is associated with scattered small pits and fne striations running in variable directions. This wear is comparable to moderate hand wear.

The distal tip of the reworked point of PM0700 was preserved. It had been slightly damaged by two tiny scale removals (≤0.5mm) on the left margin. It is not possible to say whether this damage was produced during the resharpening or at the beginning of the last use of the point. The scars and the apex, which was roughened, possibly by compression, during the frst stage of the

Fig. V.3.13 PM0468: inferior proximal shaft. Advanced prehension wear. Upper and lower images captured at 100× and 200× magnifcations, respectively (R. Christidou)

formation of the use-wear, were subsequently polished and worn down. The angle of the point is 95º and shows that the sharpness was completely lost. Down to about 2.5mm from the tip, the upper relief of the point is rounded and the manufacturing marks obliterated or severely worn down or even unrecognisable. The entire surface is polished (Fig. V.3.16.1). This includes abundant use abrasion marks, basically striations and tiny pits. The striations are fne or well marked, long and short, multidirectional. Their widths range between 1µm and 5µm. Occasionally larger specimens occur. Invasive polish and abrasion marks characterise the lower wear zone too (Fig. V.3.16.2). This zone reaches to about 5mm from the distal extremity of the tool. Polishing, scratching and rounding continue down to about 10mm from this tip. However, smoothing gradually becomes restricted to the uppermost relief of the tool (Figs. V.3.16.3–4). It is incomplete on the interior of the facets. The wear extends to a distance of about 15.8–18.2mm from the distal tip.

Wear that is not consistent with the distal pattern or with hand damage was observed on the shaft of PM0700 (Fig. V.3.16.5). Its main characteristics are the smoothing of plateaus, scattered striations and pits with rough bottoms, the complete or incomplete polishing of these features and the low degree of wear in recessed zones. The deepest areas are unpolished; some are from

Fig. V.3.14 PM0658: point, inferior side. (1) Polishing and rounding following the surface contours near the distal break located farther to the right. The polishing of the depressed area on the left is superfcial. (2) Image captured immediately below image 1. Similar wear. Incompletely smoothed plateaus are visible. Unpolished pits in the middle (arrow) represent post-discard damage. (3) Scraped topography unmodifed, light polishing and striations. Images 1 and 2 captured at 200× magnifcation, image 3 captured at 100× magnifcation (R. Christidou)

Fig. V.3.15 (1) PM0617: point, middle of superior face. The arrow indicates polished streaks and shallow striations with fat polished bottoms. (2) PM0617: left edge of the marrow cavity, shaped facet. Outer edge of the facet rounded and polished (cf. Fig. V.3.13). Cracking postdates use. The arrow indicates a worn grinding striation on the interior of the facet. (3) PM0717: point, superior face. Wear following surface contours near the distal break (right). (4) PM0717: base margin, superior side. Flaky outer surface of the metaphysis portion preserved on the tool. Images captured at 200× magnifcation (R. Christidou)

Fig. V.3.16 PM0700: (1–4) Point, superior highest relief (ridge). Gradual wear pattern. (5) Left edge of the marrow cavity, shaped facet. Undetermined wear on the outer edge and the interior of the facet. Images 1–4 captured at 200× magnifcation, image 5 captured at 100× magnifcation (R. Christidou)

Fig. V.3.17 PM0805: superior highest relief (crest rounded by manufacture). Irregular ground topography unmodifed, polishing and rounding of plateaus and ridges (cf. Fig. V.3.15.4). Images captured at 200× magnifcation (R. Christidou)

post-discard damage and should be ignored. The striations are long and short, narrow and large, transverse or oblique. This wear, which could suggest contact with a relatively rigid material, is difcult to interpret since the tool in places shows smoothing and invasive polish. This situation may be the result of prolonged tool use and possible use change.

The pointed fragment PM0805 also reveals contact with skin or a similar material (Fig. V.3.17). However, it is difcult to decide whether the polish is related to the use of an active end (cf. Fig. V.3.15.4). Wear observations were limited to areas near the central break, which were not severely damaged and feature polish that follows surface contours and is associated with rounding, scattered small round pits and short narrow striations running in various directions. The initial topography is preserved; the grinding marks are deep and large.

The wear features of PM0767 diferentiate it from the tools described above. The distal tip exhibits a hinged fracture. Its contour is completely rounded. Under magnifcation, the topography preserves no recognisable features of transverse grinding, which was employed to sharpen the point. Long rough straight striations, for the most part longitudinal and oblique (Fig. V.3.18.1), cover the surface. Their widths mostly range between 2µm and 7µm. The upper relief is fairly homogeneous, polished, fattish or slightly rounded. It is incompletely smoothed or rough as a result of the presence of small pits and tiny striations, which are polished. Otherwise, invasiveness in depressions is little developed. Proximal to this area, manufacturing striations appear gradually (Figs. V.3.18.2–3). They are interrupted by longitudinal and oblique striations. The plateaus show the same features as described above. The rough-bottomed striations are usually long; they become randomly spaced and oriented. The wear features become thinner and superfcial as one moves along the tool shaft down to approximately 15mm from the base (cf. Fig. V.3.18.4). The point was probably used for weaving with an abrasive and/or rigid material of vegetal origin.

The abrasion features on PM0854 are less intense and suggest a soft vegetal material. The distal tip of the tool was roughened (i.e. crushed). It became polished and rounded later. A 90º tip angle was measured and an original of 63º calculated. Therefore, the aim of point shaping was not tip sharpness but the tapering of the naturally slender fbula shaft in order to facilitate the insertion of the tool into the worked material. The wear extends down to approximately 40mm from the tip. The initial topography is preserved, except for a length of 2–3mm around the tip where there are no typical marks from the scraping which was employed to shape the point. The surface is polished and homogenised (Figs. V.3.19.1–2). There are individual irregularly spaced rough-bottomed pits and longitudinal and oblique rough-bottomed striations measuring between 2µm and 6µm in width. Some pits are larger, up to 10–12µm. The polish afects their edges and in several instances their interior partially or completely. There are also transverse or slightly oblique striations, which are comparatively short and more or less polished. Below the limit of 2–3mm, worn scraped features appear (Figs. V.3.19.3–4, V.3.20.1–2); they are best preserved below 4.8mm. Scratching is widespread; transverse and oblique striations of various lengths are common. At a distance of about 11mm from the tip, the banded aspect of the scraped surface is perceptible despite the polishing and scratching of the upper relief. Further away from the distal end, large areas of the low spots of the surface appear hardly worn or unpolished. At a distance of about 15mm from the distal tip, the polish becomes thin; the scratching reduces and is superfcial. Below 41mm, the tool surface displays weak polish (Fig. V.3.20.3), which is not classifed.

The entire length of the blunt curved needle (PM0865) exhibits use wear from a material of vegetal origin. The naturally bulging distal end of the rib shaft is totally polished (Fig. V.3.21.1); the topography is irregular as a result of diferences in the extent, form and orientation of the depressions. Well-formed striations are, however, frequently transverse, straight, narrow (1–2µm), superfcial, long, continuous or discontinuous. The upper relief is homogeneous, rounded or fattish but not completely smoothed. Below the end, the polish begins to thin out and to concentrate on the upper relief (Fig. V.3.21.2). Striations, isolated or grouped, dark or polished, fne or relatively large (3–6µm), short or relatively long, run in various directions. They are roughbottomed, like the pits, which are common. The plateaus, fat and extensive, have a homogeneous appearance. The fbrous aspect of the bone surface becomes perceptible. This is best observed at

Fig. V.3.18 PM0767: inferior side. (1) Point, high central ridge. Striated used surface. (2–3) Ground topography preserved, upper relief altered. (4) Scraped topography preserved, upper relief altered. Images captured at 200× magnifcation (R. Christidou)

Fig. V.3.19 PM0854: point, inferior side along the facet of the right side of the point. (1) Homogenisation. The large deep concavity in the middle probably belongs to the initial, scraped, topography. It was perhaps the result of an accidental surface removal. (2) Distal (i.e. right) to the concavity shown in image 1. (3) Remnants of the deep scraped valleys (arrow) preserved on the facet of the right edge of the point. (4) Original valleys preserved on the facet captured in image 3. Image 1 captured at 100× magnifcation, images 2–4 captured at 200× magnifcation (R. Christidou)

Fig. V.3.20 PM0854: point, inferior side. (1) Scraped relief altered, polished. (2) Scraped topography, superfcial wear. (3) Natural surface, weak polish. Images 1–2 captured at 200× magnifcation, image 3 captured at 100× magnifcation (R. Christidou)

distances greater than 20mm from the distal end. All the way down to the proximal third of the rib shaft, the variations observed are basically fuctuations in the quantity of striations, which are abundant in places (compare Figs. V.3.21.3, V.3.22.1–2). They are mostly transverse or diagonal. They are up to 6µm wide; larger specimens, up to 10µm, are uncommon. On the proximal third of the bone shaft, the abrasion features diminish. The polish is extensive and the upper natural relief smoothed; natural depressions are well preserved and extensive, with little or no polish at all. The profles are fattish or slightly rounded. The wear features again become more intense at the level of the hole and the base, in a way similar to the distal end (Fig. V.3.22.3).

The hole was used to hold a thread. Overall, the edges were rounded and polished (Fig. V.3.23), faceted in some places. Faceting is seen on the very edge or its inner slope and may represent remnants of shaping marks or use microfaking. There are scattered pits and frequent short striations, perpendicular or slightly oblique to the edge, isolated or grouped, usually polished. The wear sweeps over the edge and afects the upper relief of the outer bone surface. It fades quickly. In some areas, there are variations in polishing and rounding. The caudal hole was cut through the costal groove; its edge, when observed on the high zones of the bone relief, is narrow and clearly shows a high degree of wear (see especially Fig. V.3.23.3).

Polish observation was limited to a length of about 40mm from the central break of specimen PM0835 (Fig. V.3.24). On the rest of the tool surface, weathering caused loss of polish. The length analysed shows extensive polishing and an appearance of plateaus comparable to that of tools used to work with vegetal materials.

The morphometric and use characteristics of PM0810 suggest a slim form of tool with a sharp, possibly pointed, or blunt distal end. The object displays macroscopic gloss and edge rounding as well as severe smoothing down of grinding marks (cf. Fig. V.3.4.2). These marks are rough furrows in the interior of the facets shaped; they were obliterated from the edges, which show fne longitudinal cracks blunted through wear development. Under 100× and 200× magnifcations (Fig. V.3.25), numerous use striations are visible. They are multidirectional, unevenly spaced, continuous or discontinuous. Their widths range between 1µm and 12µm; their texture is rough. Together with rough-bottomed rounded and irregular pits of various sizes, they represent irregularities on the broad polished plateaus, which are otherwise homogeneous and fat or slightly rounded. Intrusive polish is observed, but it concerns mainly superfcial pits and striations and does not spread deeply into the lower-relief zones. The alteration and obliteration of the roughness from the sides of the sunken areas are localised too. The overall appearance and individual features of the wear can be compared with that caused from vegetal materials. The morphometric characteristics do not help estimate the distance of the fragment from the active end of the original tool and therefore also not the degree of penetration of the tool shaft into the worked material.

A rotating movement could be inferred for PM0798 (Fig. V.3.26), but a pattern of wear development was difcult to establish because of extensive weathering damage. The material worked would be soft, of animal or vegetal origin.

In sum, animal and vegetal tissues were worked with the pointed tools. The frst category of worked material is comparable to (and probably represents) skin. Five awls were associated with this material category and had functioned as perforators. It was not possible to interpret similar wear preserved on fragment PM0805. Of the fve awls, one (PM0468) was employed as an intermediate tool. It was probably abandoned because of extreme base damage. The other specimens (PM0617, PM0658, PM0717 and PM0700) suggest a rotary motion. All but one (PM0700) lack the distal tip. The complete point exhibits strong rounding that would constrain tool function. On the other tools, the wear is fairly well formed on the point portions preserved, suggesting that the tips would be even more worn. The complete specimen indicates a used point length of about 18mm. On the three broken points, the distal wear measured between 9mm and 21mm in length. All of the tools used with a rotary motion are short. The complete specimen is 67mm long; PM0717 has a calculated length of 56.9mm. The lengths missing from PM0617 and PM0658 would be greater than 5mm, possibly in the order of 8–10mm, i.e. too long to be securely reconstructed. If this order is accepted, then the widths and thicknesses measured below the broken ends, 3.2 × 2.7mm for PM0617 and 3.6 × 2.9mm for PM0658, are comparable to those measured at a distance of 10mm from the apex of PM0717, 3.8 × 3.5mm (Fig. V.3.10.1). In this case, the wear observed would be associated with rather short implements and small points. PM0700 was comparatively thick (4.5 × 4.5mm). There was no attempt to rework the tool, which had already been resharpened.

Four pointed tools including the blunt curved needle (PM0767, PM0835, PM0854 and PM0865) and the central fragment PM0810 were associated with vegetal materials. Two (PM0854 and PM0865) indicate contact with rather soft materials. Overall, the wear on these tools is extensive.

Fig. V.3.21 PM0865: external side. (1) Distal tip to external face transition. Complete polishing. (2) Individual striations and smoothing of the upper natural relief. (3) Frequent transverse striations. Images captured at 200× magnifcation (R. Christidou)

Fig. V.3.22 PM0865: external side. (1) Spot 4 on the drawing of Fig. V.3.21. (2) Spot 5 on the drawing of Fig. V.3.21. (3) Spot 6 on the drawing of Fig. V.3.21. Note superfcial polishing and smoothing on image 2. Images captured at 200× magnifcation (R. Christidou)

The blunting of sharp tips, probably in the frst stage of use, did not stop the work. The needle was never sharpened. In fact, it was the long, curved body of the bone that had been exploited as a tool. The tools were worn but there is no damage detected that could explain their abandonment. The cause of fracture of PM0854 is unknown. The sizes, forms and raw materials of the tools associated with vegetal materials vary. The shortest was abraded through use; striation orientations suggest a simple use motion, but PM0854 and PM0865 are linked with more complex actions.

Fig. V.3.23 PM0865: caudal side of the fnished hole. Edge rounding and polishing. The arrow indicates a groove cut during the perforation. Images captured at 200× magnifcation (R. Christidou)

### *Cutting-Edge Tools*

Both specimens indicate transverse use actions, i.e. movements perpendicular to the working edges. The wear and tear on these edges point to worked materials of diferent hardness and different origin, vegetal for PM0414 and animal for PM0785. As mentioned above (Chapter V.3.5), in both cases use had modifed the angles of the distal (i.e. active) edges considerably.

The main characteristics of the use marks on the active end of PM0414 were studied despite the presence of crusts. These characteristics are the deformation of the middle part of the active edge as a result of faking and the polishing of the faked zone and the scraped inferior and superior sides of the tool. Flaking is bifacial and consists of scaled removals no longer than 1mm,

Fig. V.3.24 PM0835: (1–2) left edge of the marrow cavity, facet scraped to fatten. Rough polished plateaus, deep original valleys preserved. Note also the fat discontinuous polished streaks in image 2. (3–4) Superior left ridge rounded. Images 1 and 3 captured at 100× magnifcation, images 2 and 4 captured at 200× magnifcation (R. Christidou)

except for a superior 3.3mm-long and relatively deep triangular negative with an asymmetric V-shaped cross section. The portion of edge altered by the removals is 3mm in length and has a slightly concave irregular outline. The superior margin of the edge is rounded, with a radius of about 1.3mm. Rounding is unobtrusive on the opposite side. The border and slopes of the triangular scar are glossy. The distal edge and the ridges at the intersections of the fake scars are also polished. The right half of the inferior faked zone has a compressed appearance. Polishing of the inferior face was observed all the way down to approximately 9mm from the edge. On the opposite face, crusted to a great extent, the length examined was about 3mm.

Smoothing and use striations developed on the inferior face (Figs. V.3.27.1–2). Maximum smoothing is observed on extensive plateaus that start within the faked zone, are fat or rounded and bear longitudinal narrow (<2μm) striations, continuous or discontinuous, as well as sporadic

Fig. V.3.25 PM0810: ground topography preserved, altered upper relief. Upper and lower images captured at 100× and 200× magnifcations, respectively (R. Christidou)

small pits and transverse or oblique striations. These marks appear polished. The longitudinal striations are smoothed down in the most distal zone. This efect fades as one moves away from the edge. The polish spreads toward recessed zones, which include longitudinal valleys with poorly defned borders. These latter marks are remnants of scraping striations with their distal ends erased or blurred as a result of the use wear. Overall, low relief zones are not smoothed; the deepest ones appear slightly or not worn. This state of surface reaches to about 2mm in length in the middle of the worn face. Its limit is irregular. Within this limit and proximal to it, the networks of longitudinal use striations on smooth plateaus tend to shrink and occupy the highest surface relief. The limits of these formations are located at various distances ranging between roughly 3mm and 4mm from the working edge. Otherwise, scraping striations are apparent and deepen as one moves away from the distal tip (see especially Fig. V.3.27.2). The raised areas of the scraped topography are polished, completely or incompletely smoothed, fat or rounded, and show scattered superfcial narrow striations and small pits. The striations are multidirectional, dark or polished and usually short. Lower-relief zones are slightly or not worn. Polish and abrasion features gradually