During the Mesolithic period hunter-gatherers in Northwest Europe mainly relied on blades for the... more During the Mesolithic period hunter-gatherers in Northwest Europe mainly relied on blades for the manufacture of flint tools. However, there are barely any technological studies available on the nature and development of blade technology in the Northern Netherlands. In response to this situation, the Mesolithic flint assemblages of ‘Leeuwarden-Hempens/N31’ and ‘Groningen-Meerstad’ were analysed using technological and morphological attributes and qualitative descriptions of a sample of blades and cores. The goal of the analysis was to determine which flaking techniques were used and how the results could be explained in view of the broader geographical and cultural context of the North-western European Mesolithic. The analysis results generally fit into suggestions and conclusions of previous research. The blade technology of the Meerstad site (± 7815 - 7495 cal. BC) was aimed at producing irregular blades using a direct percussion technique, probably involving soft stone hammers. The assemblage of Hempens (± 7100 – 5400 cal. BC) contained a number of extremely regular blades and cores that indicate the use of pressure and indirect percussion. The observed technological variation between the two sites can mainly be attributed to the introduction of new blade production concepts around the Boreal - Atlantic transition period, a process which occurred in Northern Germany and Southern Scandinavia around the same time.
During the Mesolithic period hunter-gatherers in Northwest Europe mainly relied on blades for the... more During the Mesolithic period hunter-gatherers in Northwest Europe mainly relied on blades for the manufacture of flint tools. However, there are barely any technological studies available on the nature and development of blade technology in the Northern Netherlands. In response to this situation, the Mesolithic flint assemblages of ‘Leeuwarden-Hempens/N31’ and ‘Groningen-Meerstad’ were analysed using technological and morphological attributes and qualitative descriptions of a sample of blades and cores. The goal of the analysis was to determine which flaking techniques were used and how the results could be explained in view of the broader geographical and cultural context of the North-western European Mesolithic. The analysis results generally fit into suggestions and conclusions of previous research. The blade technology of the Meerstad site (± 7815 - 7495 cal. BC) was aimed at producing irregular blades using a direct percussion technique, probably involving soft stone hammers. The assemblage of Hempens (± 7100 – 5400 cal. BC) contained a number of extremely regular blades and cores that indicate the use of pressure and indirect percussion. The observed technological variation between the two sites can mainly be attributed to the introduction of new blade production concepts around the Boreal - Atlantic transition period, a process which occurred in Northern Germany and Southern Scandinavia around the same time.
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Theses by Yoshua Csonka