Hellevoetsluis – Ossenhoek. A use-wear analysis

The Vlaardingen (VL) period poses many interpretational challenges. That does not result from a poor array of data. On the contrary, good preservation conditions in many sites offer a wealth of information. That information, (artefacts, settlement configurations etc) can be subject to divergent interpretations though, and a clear picture of subsistence and habitation mode or inter-site relations is lacking. Even more obscure is the relationship between the VL group and other groups or ‘cultures’ of the upland area, in what is nowadays the Netherlands and other neighboring regions. Consequently every new excavation, such as the one of Hellevoetsluis-Ossenhoek (hereafter Hellevoetsluis), can provide invaluable information. Use-wear analysis has been shown to possess considerable potential in contributing to discussion on the aforementioned issues in the Dutch Delta (cf. Van Gijn 1998, 2008a). This thesis has a dual aim: the first is to analyze the position of the VL group within the...Show moreThe Vlaardingen (VL) period poses many interpretational challenges. That does not result from a poor array of data. On the contrary, good preservation conditions in many sites offer a wealth of information. That information, (artefacts, settlement configurations etc) can be subject to divergent interpretations though, and a clear picture of subsistence and habitation mode or inter-site relations is lacking. Even more obscure is the relationship between the VL group and other groups or ‘cultures’ of the upland area, in what is nowadays the Netherlands and other neighboring regions. Consequently every new excavation, such as the one of Hellevoetsluis-Ossenhoek (hereafter Hellevoetsluis), can provide invaluable information. Use-wear analysis has been shown to possess considerable potential in contributing to discussion on the aforementioned issues in the Dutch Delta (cf. Van Gijn 1998, 2008a). This thesis has a dual aim: the first is to analyze the position of the VL group within the process of ‘neolithization’. In that way a series of questions (habitation mode, subsistence strategies and cultural aspects) can take a more refined shape or addressed to some degree if possible. The second is to use the use-wear results from the site of Hellevoetsluis, in order to evaluate the results of the preceding discussion in a constructive manner. In addition, some new assumptions or questions might become part of the discussion in this second data-laden part. The structure of this thesis is as follows: a comprehensive discussion of the state and potential of use-wear studies will precede, in order to outline the main interpretative tool. After a brief description of the general characteristics of the VL group, a detailed discussion of the neolithization process in the Lower Rhine Basin. This discussion will subsequently be narrowed down on a presentation of the chipped stone industries of the VL group and the use-wear analyses conducted so far, so that a framework for the discussion of more refined questions can be set up. The presentation of the use wear results will occupy the final part, along with a discussion of the inferences in comparison to the theoretical problematic presented in the previous chapters.Show less

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Hellevoetsluis – Ossenhoek. A use-wear analysis