Core ax
Core axes are flint implements that were mainly in use in northwestern Europe during the Mesolithic and (with a decreasing tendency) the Early Neolithic .
Manufacturing
As the name implies, core axes are core devices , that is, they were carved out of a flint bulb by means of targeted blows. Larger pieces were first cut off from the tuber in order to obtain the raw shape. This was then brought into its final form with ever finer strokes.
use
Archaeological finds show that core axes were shanked across, that is, the cutting edge ran across the handle like an adze . This shaft and signs of use indicate that they were used to work with wood.
distribution
The oldest core axes from Denmark come from the Mesolithic Maglemose culture . Later in the Mesolithic, they were gradually replaced by disc axes. They can only be found sporadically in the inventories of the early Neolithic beaker culture . During excavations at the early Neolithic site of Siggeneben-Süd, 55 disk axes, but only five core axes, were found.
literature
- Joachim Hahn : Recognition and determination of stone and bone artifacts. Introduction to artifact morphology. Tübingen 1991 (Archaeologica Venatoria 10).