Post by kaima on Sept 25, 2021 8:41:18 GMT -7
NEOLITYCZNY SIEKIEROMŁOT
Neolit przyniósł doniosłe zmiany w gospodarce oraz życiu społecznym ludności mezolitycznej. Młodsza epoka kamienia spowodowała rozwój…
NEOLITICAL AXE
Prehistory of the Polish Lands
NEOLITIC HAMMER
The Neolithic brought significant changes in the economy and social life of the Mesolithic people. The Younger Stone Age led to the development of farming and agriculture, the improvement of the methods of obtaining food and the production of by-products (e.g. textiles), and the invention of pottery and weaving. The social changes taking place during the "Neolithic Revolution" were equally important. Improving the quality of life, expansion into new areas, establishment of permanent settlements and cities (eg Jericho, Çatalhöyük) together with the factors mentioned above caused a rapid demographic growth, which together with the formation of a hierarchical society led to the emergence of conflicts, often solved by force.
Among the many weapons used in the Neolithic, the ax was the most respected. It is a universal tool that can be used both for work and for combat. The cult of axes and hatchets is manifested in archaeological sources by the presence of miniature images of these tools at sites. Due to their size, construction, or the method or material from which they were made, they could not be used for work. They were made of various materials, e.g. clay, bone or stone. They were probably used as talismans and hung around necks or were used in rituals.
The main raw materials from which Neolithic axes and axes were made were stone and flint. The axes were made of honed stone (serpentine was a popular material) and were characterized by massiveness. They had a drilled hole on which a handle was attached. The axes were made of flint, they were less massive and sharper than the axes. The method of mounting on the spar was also different. The axes did not have a hole and were attached with a rope and organic adhesives on a split handle.
The names of the archaeological epochs can be confusing. The term "Stone Age" suggests that Neolithic tools were made exclusively of this material. This is not true. One of the raw materials - though rare - used to make tools in the Neolithic period was copper. From archaeological sources, we know examples of the use of copper in the production of, among others, axes and axes. Copper metallurgy developed simultaneously in several centers in Europe (eg in Cyprus, the Balkans or Ireland). During the production process, mainly copper ore (e.g. malachite or azurite) was used, and so-called native copper, i.e. the pure form of this element. After melting the raw material in furnaces, it was often formed into characteristic, trapezoidal bars, the so-called fines that may have been tender. Copper is a very malleable material, so it was cold-forged, but there were also various techniques for casting in molds.
The uniqueness of the occurrence of copper objects in Neolithic archaeological sites is due to the low distribution of this raw material, as well as the fact that knowledge about the smelting and processing of this material was available only to a few. In combination with the unique, eye-catching appearance, items made of this metal were treated as "elite" in the Neolithic age.
The collection of the Museum in Nysa includes a copper hammer from the Neolithic period, found in Karłowice Małe. The item is dated to the 5th / 4th millennium BC. The ax-hammer (length - 15.5 cm; maximum width - 5.5 cm; hole diameter - 3 cm) clearly narrows from the area of the blade towards the head and has a strongly marked sleeve at the hole for the handle (an object made of copper, a mold casting and cold forging or after heating in a fire). The uniqueness of the presence of this type of items suggests that it was an insignia of power, an object that testified to the power and influence of a given person. Perhaps the axhammer found belonged to a leader, warrior chief or priest. It was surely only a symbolic, parade-like item, as copper is too soft a material for battle axes or work-based axes to fulfill their functions. Similar artifacts are discovered in the megalithic tombs (the so-called Kujawy tombs) of the Funnel Beaker Culture, in which people who were very important to individual communities were buried. Unfortunately, we do not know the context of the discovery of the Dwarf Hammer. It was found during agricultural work carried out in 2003 or 2004 and turned over for scrap metal purchases. A local history enthusiast, Janus Skop found the object and handed it over to the Provincial Conservator of Monuments in Opole, who then entrusted it to the Museum in Nysa. Technologically, the artifact was made by casting in a mold and then cold forging or after heating in a fire.
In 2015, the Institute of Archeology of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków, in cooperation with the Museum in Nysa, carried out specialist analyzes and conservation
Neolit przyniósł doniosłe zmiany w gospodarce oraz życiu społecznym ludności mezolitycznej. Młodsza epoka kamienia spowodowała rozwój…
NEOLITICAL AXE
Prehistory of the Polish Lands
NEOLITIC HAMMER
The Neolithic brought significant changes in the economy and social life of the Mesolithic people. The Younger Stone Age led to the development of farming and agriculture, the improvement of the methods of obtaining food and the production of by-products (e.g. textiles), and the invention of pottery and weaving. The social changes taking place during the "Neolithic Revolution" were equally important. Improving the quality of life, expansion into new areas, establishment of permanent settlements and cities (eg Jericho, Çatalhöyük) together with the factors mentioned above caused a rapid demographic growth, which together with the formation of a hierarchical society led to the emergence of conflicts, often solved by force.
Among the many weapons used in the Neolithic, the ax was the most respected. It is a universal tool that can be used both for work and for combat. The cult of axes and hatchets is manifested in archaeological sources by the presence of miniature images of these tools at sites. Due to their size, construction, or the method or material from which they were made, they could not be used for work. They were made of various materials, e.g. clay, bone or stone. They were probably used as talismans and hung around necks or were used in rituals.
The main raw materials from which Neolithic axes and axes were made were stone and flint. The axes were made of honed stone (serpentine was a popular material) and were characterized by massiveness. They had a drilled hole on which a handle was attached. The axes were made of flint, they were less massive and sharper than the axes. The method of mounting on the spar was also different. The axes did not have a hole and were attached with a rope and organic adhesives on a split handle.
The names of the archaeological epochs can be confusing. The term "Stone Age" suggests that Neolithic tools were made exclusively of this material. This is not true. One of the raw materials - though rare - used to make tools in the Neolithic period was copper. From archaeological sources, we know examples of the use of copper in the production of, among others, axes and axes. Copper metallurgy developed simultaneously in several centers in Europe (eg in Cyprus, the Balkans or Ireland). During the production process, mainly copper ore (e.g. malachite or azurite) was used, and so-called native copper, i.e. the pure form of this element. After melting the raw material in furnaces, it was often formed into characteristic, trapezoidal bars, the so-called fines that may have been tender. Copper is a very malleable material, so it was cold-forged, but there were also various techniques for casting in molds.
The uniqueness of the occurrence of copper objects in Neolithic archaeological sites is due to the low distribution of this raw material, as well as the fact that knowledge about the smelting and processing of this material was available only to a few. In combination with the unique, eye-catching appearance, items made of this metal were treated as "elite" in the Neolithic age.
The collection of the Museum in Nysa includes a copper hammer from the Neolithic period, found in Karłowice Małe. The item is dated to the 5th / 4th millennium BC. The ax-hammer (length - 15.5 cm; maximum width - 5.5 cm; hole diameter - 3 cm) clearly narrows from the area of the blade towards the head and has a strongly marked sleeve at the hole for the handle (an object made of copper, a mold casting and cold forging or after heating in a fire). The uniqueness of the presence of this type of items suggests that it was an insignia of power, an object that testified to the power and influence of a given person. Perhaps the axhammer found belonged to a leader, warrior chief or priest. It was surely only a symbolic, parade-like item, as copper is too soft a material for battle axes or work-based axes to fulfill their functions. Similar artifacts are discovered in the megalithic tombs (the so-called Kujawy tombs) of the Funnel Beaker Culture, in which people who were very important to individual communities were buried. Unfortunately, we do not know the context of the discovery of the Dwarf Hammer. It was found during agricultural work carried out in 2003 or 2004 and turned over for scrap metal purchases. A local history enthusiast, Janus Skop found the object and handed it over to the Provincial Conservator of Monuments in Opole, who then entrusted it to the Museum in Nysa. Technologically, the artifact was made by casting in a mold and then cold forging or after heating in a fire.
In 2015, the Institute of Archeology of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków, in cooperation with the Museum in Nysa, carried out specialist analyzes and conservation