Flexible Stones

Ground Stone Tools from Franchthi Cave, Fascicle 14, Excavations at Franchthi Cave, Greece

Anna Stroulia

Publication Year: 2010

<P>Despite their ubiquitous presence among prehistoric remains in Greece, ground stone tools have yet to attract the same kind of attention as have other categories of archaeological material, such as pottery or lithics. Flexible Stones provides a detailed analysis of the material discovered during the excavations at Franchthi Cave, Peloponnese, Greece. Approximately 500 tools, the raw material used for their manufacture, as well as the byproducts of such manufacture were found. Most of this collection comes from the Neolithic component of the site -- including a small number of Palaeolithic and Mesolithic cases -- with a large number of the studied tools indicating multiple uses. Anna Stroulia sees the multifunctional character of these tools as a conscious choice that reflects a flexible attitude of tool makers and users toward tools and raw materials. A CD-Rom with 209 additional plates is included.</P>

Published by: Indiana University Press

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My involvement with ground stone tools started long before I had anything to do with the Franchthi project. It was an August afternoon of 1987 in one of the storerooms of the Kozani Archaeological Museum. I was an undergraduate student at Aristotle University at Thessaloniki participating in the Kitrini Limni archaeological project. Mihalis ...

CHAPTER ONE. Introduction: Introduction to the Site and Assemblage

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pp. 1-12

The site of Franchthi Cave is located on the tip of a limestone headland on the northern side of Kiladha Bay in the southern Argolid, northeastern Peloponnese (Fig. 1). Excavations carried out between 1967 and 1976 under the direction of Thomas W. Jacobsen revealed a rare, long, and complex sequence of human occupation spanning the Upper Palaeolithic ...

CHAPTER TWO. The Pre-Neolithic Material

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pp. 13-26

This is the first publication of a Pre-Neolithic ground stone tool assemblage from a Greek site and my hope is that its detailed nature will provoke an interest in this kind of material. The Franchthi sample consists of 26 specimens from the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods. None of them was excavated on Paralia. All come from stratified deposits inside ...

CHAPTER THREE. The Neolithic Material (1): Introduction to the Neolithic Period

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pp. 27-60

The vast majority of the Franchthi ground stone tools and related material, a total of 486 specimens (93%), derive (or probably derive) from the Neolithic period. All Neolithic phases and two of the interphases, and almost all trenches of both the cave and Paralia are represented in this material. The following brief introduction to the Franchthi ...

CHAPTER FOUR. The Neolithic Material (2): Active Tools

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pp. 61-124

Active tools comprise the vast majority of Neolithic ground stone tools at Franchthi, a total of 374 (77%). These tools functioned primarily, although not exclusively, in an active mode, or, in other words, they moved over another passive component or surface during use. They were used in an abrasive or percussive manner. ...

CHAPTER FIVE. Summary and Conclusions

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pp. 125-134

The excavations at the site of Franchthi Cave yielded a total of 522 ground stone tools and related manufacturing remains and raw material. Two hundred and fifty-nine, or about half, of the specimens are complete or almost complete; 261 specimens are fragmentary. The remaining two specimens represent roughouts and are, thus, ...

REFERENCES

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pp. 135-148

APPENDIX A. List of all Franchiti ground stone tools and related specimens by trench and unit

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pp. 149-158

APPENDIX B. List of all Franchthi ground stone tools dated to specific pre-Neolithic periods and interphases, or specific Neolithic phases and interphases

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pp. 159-164

APPENDIX C. Master List

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pp. 165-174

FIGURES

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pp. 175-212

INDEX

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pp. 213-223

E-ISBN-13: 9780253001429
E-ISBN-10: 0253001420
Print-ISBN-13: 9780253221780

Page Count: 242
Illustrations: 30 b&w illus., 2 maps
Publication Year: 2010

Series Title: Excavations at Franchthi Cave, Greece

Flexible Stones

Cover

Title Page, Copyright Page

CONTENTS

TABLES

FIGURES

PLATES

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

CHAPTER ONE. Introduction: Introduction to the Site and Assemblage