Small Drills, Big Questions—Investigating Late Neolithic Dickenbännli Drills Through Experimentation, Technology, Traceology and Residue Analysis

Bibliographic Data

ID7473397
AuthorsH Huber (0000-0002-6929-9341), Claus-Joachim Kind (0000-0002-6692-4754, State Administration of Cultural Heritage), Patrick Schmidt (0000-0001-6556-2088, University of Tübingen), Yvonne Tafelmaier (0000-0003-0651-4435, State Administration of Cultural Heritage), Flavia Venditti (0000-0002-5728-349X, University of Tübingen, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume33
Issue3
Publication date2026-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Archaeological Method and Theory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1072-5369 • E-ISSN: 1573-7764
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s10816-026-09768-2
OpenAlexW7131360516
LanguageEN
References cited28

The manufacture of limestone beads using so-called Dickenbännli drills has been proposed to be part of a large-scale societal development: specialization of labor and the resulting emergence of social stratification. These small lithic drills are abundant at many Middle and Late Neolithic sites in Southern Germany and Northern Switzerland, frequently co-occurring with limestone beads. However, the use of the drills for bead manufacture is mostly assumed rather than demonstrated. Furthermore, there is little experimental, technological and traceological evidence to support the hypothesis of a specialized production, except for the site of Hornstaad-Hörnle, where the argument is based on spatial distribution and manufacturing skill. The Late Neolithic assemblage of Kohlhau-Abri, which includes both drills and disc bead fragments, serves as a case study to reconstruct the manufacturing process of drills and limestone beads and evaluate their interconnection, ultimately examining the technical skills involved. This was achieved through explorative and controlled experiments, coupled with traceological and residue analysis of both drills and beads. Our use wear results show that the drills were used, likely to work limestone. Raman spectroscopy of a white residue found at the tip of one of the drills indicates calcite, the primary component of limestone. Neither the experimental nor the archaeological evidence suggests a necessity for specialists in bead manufacturing. Our study highlights how the application of multiple analytical approaches can provide us with complementary lines of evidence, and how such a holistic approach enables us to tackle not only small-scale but also large-scale questions

Assemblage (archaeology · Bead · Experimental archaeology · Manufacturing process · Residue (chemistry · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology