Practical, Visual, or Ritual? Ground Flint Arrowheads from Bell Beaker Features in North-Eastern Poland

Bibliographic Data

ID7175799
AuthorsKatarzyna Januszek (0000-0001-7355-3827, University of Warsaw, corresponding author), Aleksandra Cetwińska (0000-0002-6131-9889, University of Warsaw), D Manasterski (0000-0002-0246-4795, University of Warsaw)
Year2022
Volume25
Issue4
Pages419-439
Publication date2022-03-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEuropean Journal of Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1461-9571 • E-ISSN: 1741-2722
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/eaa.2022.6
OpenAlexW4214854943
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited12

At Supraśl 3 in north-eastern Poland, four Bell Beaker features contained small quantities of burnt and highly fragmented human and animal bones and various, mostly fragmented, artefacts. These assemblages included twenty-four flint arrowheads, most of which bore traces of grinding, though not all were ground to the same extent. A comprehensive macroscopic and microscopic analysis was undertaken to determine the process of shaping these arrowheads and the possible reasons for grinding them, especially as no local flint working was recorded at the site. The authors suggest that the grinding of arrowheads reflects both practical and ritual concerns, possibly originating in emulation of techniques used by the Rzucewo culture and signalling contacts with the wider Bell Beaker milieu

Archaeology · Beaker · Emulation · Geography · Grinding · Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies · Engineering · Historical and Archaeological Studies · History · Image Processing and 3D Reconstruction · Mechanical Engineering

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