PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Despite their ubiquity, Mesolithic lithic tools given as funerary offerings have rarely been studied in detail. Whereas personal ornaments (e.g. beads, pendants) are commonly interpreted as markers of social identity and status, archaeologists have struggled to understand the stone tools, commonly regarded as \"utilitarian\" items. As a result, this class of grave goods has not received the same level of attention, leaving a significant gap in our understanding of Mesolithic mortuary behaviours. Our research challenges long-lasting perceptions of lithic tools as strictly utilitarian objects and draws on studies of one of the most substantial stone axe funerary collections from one of the largest Stone Age cemeteries in Europe-Zvejnieki, Latvia. Evidence suggests the selection of unused axes as grave offerings, while unusual wear traces on an axe found in a female grave (no 57) raises questions about its use in the burial rites. Using a multi-proxy approach, we compare life histories of axes placed in burials to those recovered from contemporary, nearby settlement contexts. Finally, a strong correlation between axes and women and children at Zvejnieki challenges gendered stereotypes of stone tools, historically regarded as possessions of the adult male members of Stone Age societies.
摘要：
尽管它们无处不在，很少对作为陪葬品的中石器时代岩性工具进行详细研究。而个人装饰品(如珠子，吊坠)通常被解释为社会身份和地位的标志，考古学家一直在努力了解石器，通常被认为是“功利主义”项目。因此,这类坟墓没有得到同样的重视，在我们对中石器时代太平间行为的理解上留下了很大的差距。我们的研究挑战了对石器工具作为严格的功利主义对象的持久看法，并借鉴了欧洲最大的石器时代墓地之一-Zvejnieki的最大量的石斧葬礼收藏之一的研究，拉脱维亚。证据表明，选择未使用的斧头作为坟墓，虽然在女性坟墓（57号）中发现的斧头上的异常磨损痕迹引起了人们对其在葬礼中使用的疑问。使用多代理方法，我们将放置在墓葬中的斧头的生活史与从当代发现的斧头的生活史进行比较，附近的定居点环境。最后,Zvejnieki的斧头与妇女和儿童之间的强烈相关性挑战了性别对石器的刻板印象，历史上被视为石器时代社会成年男性成员的财产。
