Odysseas Kakavakis, Jérôme Robitaille

The Lithic Assemblage of Varemeni Goulon (Kozani District, Northern Greece): Raw Material Exploitation, Tool Production, and Microwear Analysis

Introduction

The lithic assemblage of varemeni goulon (kozani district, northern greece): raw material exploitation, tool production, and microwear analysis. Study Varemeni Goulon's Neolithic lithic assemblage. Analyze raw material exploitation, tool production, and microwear to identify tool functions and prehistoric community contacts.

Abstract

The present study: a) provides a comprehensive account of the assemblage of the Varemeni Goulon Neolithic site regarding raw material exploitation and tool production strategies, b) explores the tools’ functions through a detailed microwear analysis. Employing the chaîne opératoire approach allows us to determine the sequence of operations from raw material procurement to tool production, use, and discard. Traceology provides answers about the functions of the tools and the materials they were used on, highlighting otherwise undetectable aspects of their complex biographies. Microwear analysis at Varemeni Goulon demonstrates a range of stone tool functions, including cereal harvesting, reed and vegetal matter processing, bone and hide working, and the application of ochre in hide processing. This offers the opportunity to test the conventional lithic typology against the functional tool categories. No provenance analysis of the raw materials has been conducted. Nevertheless, the macroscopic identification of supra-regional raw materials in the assemblage denotes the external contacts of the prehistoric community and the social networks with which local people engaged.  

Review

This study presents a robust and detailed analysis of the Varemeni Goulon Neolithic lithic assemblage, offering significant insights into the prehistoric community's technological choices and daily activities. The application of the chaîne opératoire approach effectively reconstructs the entire sequence from raw material procurement to tool discard, providing a comprehensive understanding of tool production strategies. A major strength lies in the integration of microwear analysis, which allows for an in-depth exploration of tool functions, thereby moving beyond mere morphological classification to uncover the practical biographies of these artifacts. This dual methodological approach promises a nuanced interpretation of the assemblage, contributing substantially to our understanding of Neolithic material culture in Northern Greece. The detailed traceological investigation yields a rich tapestry of functional insights, revealing a diverse range of activities performed with stone tools at Varemeni Goulon. Findings such as cereal harvesting, processing of various vegetal materials, bone and hide working, and particularly the application of ochre in hide preparation, vividly reconstruct aspects of Neolithic subsistence and craft production. The study's ability to test conventional lithic typology against these empirically derived functional categories is a commendable aspect, offering a critical re-evaluation of how we classify and interpret prehistoric tools. By highlighting these otherwise undetectable functional nuances, the research effectively brings to light the "complex biographies" of the tools, enriching our understanding of their role within the community. While the study provides compelling evidence for external contacts through the macroscopic identification of supra-regional raw materials, the explicit acknowledgement of the absence of provenance analysis represents a notable limitation. This reliance on macroscopic identification, while valuable, could be strengthened by future geochemical or petrographic analyses to definitively trace the origins of these materials and solidify inferences about social networks. Despite this, the current work lays an excellent foundation, offering a highly valuable contribution to Neolithic studies in the region. Its thorough methodological application and the detailed functional interpretations make it an important piece of scholarship for understanding the technological and economic landscape of prehistoric Varemeni Goulon.

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