During an excavation in West Frisia, around the Westfrisiawg, many Bronze Age sites were found, containing a wealth of information about this region in the period. Among the finds were pound...Show moreDuring an excavation in West Frisia, around the Westfrisiawg, many Bronze Age sites were found, containing a wealth of information about this region in the period. Among the finds were pound/polishing ground stones showing use-wear traces of hide processing, likely done during leather making. In which step of the process these stones were used was still unclear however. Firstly the landscape, vegetation and fauna are discussed to get an idea of the region. Subsequently the sites where the finds were made are elaborated upon, showing life in the period. Both the house plans and settlement are discussed, as well as separate artifact categories that were found. The rest of the thesis is concerned with experimental archaeology, using similar pound/polishing stones to assess the practicality, prehistoric alternatives and macroscopic recognition of these pound/polishing stones. These ground stones are used to tan a cow hide to turn it into a fur. In three steps of this process the stones are used, with membraning, rubbing the fat tanning mixture (dressing) in, and lastly in the softening and stretching step. After this use-wear analysis is done, and the problems with the experiment are discussed, such as the age of the skin being too old, along with two out of the three pound/polishing stones not being useful, as they were more destructive than expected and wanted, especially while softening. The questions about practicality, usefulness and macroscopic recognition of these stones are answered.Show less
Minimally modified bone tools have been a difficult subject inside the complicated topic of bone tools. Being problematic to recognise and characterise it has been the subject of several...Show moreMinimally modified bone tools have been a difficult subject inside the complicated topic of bone tools. Being problematic to recognise and characterise it has been the subject of several experimental studies. Two studies knapping larger faunal bone remains Mateo-Lomba, Fernández-Marchena, Ollé and Cáceres (2020) and Hind Saadek-Kooros (1972) were taken as references for this paper. This research is an extension of these studies. By knapping Capreolus capreolus metapodials with a hammer stone on an anvil for marrow removal bone fragments are created. 37 Usable fragments were created. These fragments are analysed by looking at possible use and the need for modifications for them to be categorised as certain bone tools. The fragments are compared to two Neolithic excavations, Schipluiden and Hardinxveld-Giessendam De Bruin, and through morphology given possible tool typing. The typing existed out of pins, needles, awls, chisels, blanks, spatulas, blacks, a scraper and a possible hide working tool. Three-quarters still needed modifications before being able to be used as tools. About 24% had the right shape to be used immediately, the biggest amount of these were awls. There were some fragments which also only needed light reshaping before use. This result showed that modifications are not necessarily needed when creating minimally modified bone tools.Show less
