From polishing to burning: deciphering a middle neolithic hoard from beringen brouwershuis (belgium) through functional analysis. Decipher the Beringen Brouwershuis Middle Neolithic hoard in Belgium. Functional analysis of lithic artefacts reveals detailed life cycles, use-wear, and hoarding practices of these unique stone tools.
The Koersel “Beringen Brouwershuis” hoard, distinguished by its well-documented and radiocarbon-dated context, offers a unique opportunity to explore the hoarding practices of the Middle Neolithic period in the Campine region of Belgium. As one of the few excavated hoards from this period, it provides rare contextual information about these hoarding practices. This study aims to provide new insights into the life cycles of buried lithic artefacts through a detailed functional and contextual analysis. By employing macro- and microscopic analytical methods, we examined residues and use-wear traces on 17 artefacts, including six polished axes, seven endscrapers, and four smaller tool fragments. The detailed functional analysis of these stone tools confirmed that they were hafted, used, and resharpened before being deposited. Moreover, it enabled the reconstruction of a unique biography for each individual artefact, demonstrating that each had a distinct life encompassing own set of lifecycles stages.
This study presents a compelling and detailed functional analysis of the Koersel "Beringen Brouwershuis" hoard, offering valuable insights into Middle Neolithic hoarding practices in the Campine region of Belgium. The unique context of this well-documented and radiocarbon-dated assemblage, coupled with its rarity as an excavated hoard from this period, positions the research as a significant contribution to our understanding of this less-explored aspect of Neolithic material culture. The authors' rigorous methodology, employing both macro- and microscopic analytical methods to examine residues and use-wear traces on 17 distinct artifacts, establishes a strong foundation for their interpretations, demonstrating a commitment to meticulous material culture study. The research effectively deciphers the life histories of the lithic artifacts, comprising polished axes, endscrapers, and smaller tool fragments. A key finding is the confirmation that these tools were not only hafted and used but also underwent phases of resharpening prior to their eventual deposition. More profoundly, the study successfully reconstructs individual biographies for each artifact, revealing distinct lifecycles and stages of use. This detailed approach provides a nuanced perspective on the deliberate nature of hoarding and the value ascribed to these implements by Middle Neolithic communities, enriching our understanding of tool maintenance and curated deposition. By illuminating the intricate biographies of these stone tools, the paper significantly advances our comprehension of artifact life cycles and the cultural practices surrounding their eventual burial. It prompts important questions about the motivations behind such curated hoards and the social significance of these materials. While the abstract strongly emphasizes the "polishing" and usage phases, the intriguing promise of "burning" highlighted in the title is not explicitly addressed within the abstract's summary of findings. The full paper would benefit from elaborating on whether any of the artifacts showed evidence of thermal alteration, thereby fully explaining the arc "From Polishing to Burning" and offering a more complete picture of the tools' ultimate fate and their potential ritualistic end-of-life treatment. This would further enhance the paper's contribution to understanding the full spectrum of artifact biographies and the symbolic dimensions of Middle Neolithic depositional practices.
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By Sciaria
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By Sciaria
By Sciaria
By Sciaria
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