Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, Čika Ljubina 18-20, Belgrade, 11000, Serbia.
Department of Cultures, University of Helsinki, Unioninkatu 38F, 00014, Helsinki, Finland.
Sci Rep. 2024 Jul 13;14(1):16219. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-66854-9.
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.
尽管中石器时代的石器在丧葬习俗中很常见，但很少有对其进行详细研究。而个人饰品（如珠子、吊坠）通常被解释为社会身份和地位的标志，考古学家则一直在努力理解这些被普遍视为“实用”物品的石器工具。因此，这类随葬品并未受到同等重视，这使得我们对中石器时代丧葬行为的理解存在很大的空白。我们的研究挑战了石器工具严格作为实用物品的长期观念，并借鉴了对拉脱维亚泽夫涅基（Zvejnieki）欧洲最大石器时代墓地之一的一个规模最大的石斧丧葬收藏的研究。有证据表明，人们选择未使用过的斧头作为随葬品，而在一个女性墓穴（57 号墓）中发现的斧头有不寻常的磨损痕迹，这引发了对其在丧葬仪式中用途的疑问。我们采用了多代理方法，将葬入墓穴的斧头的使用历史与从同期附近的定居点发现的斧头进行了比较。最后，泽夫涅基的斧头与女性和儿童之间存在很强的相关性，这挑战了石器工具的性别刻板印象，这些工具在历史上被视为石器时代社会成年男性的财产。
