Field Trials in Neolithic Woodworking – (Re)Learning to Use Early Neolithic Stone Adzes

Abstract

Excavations of several Early Neolithic wells with excellent preservation of the wooden lining in the past years have made clear that Stone Age woodworking already attained a very high level of perfection. This poses the question how it was possible to execute this type of work with the means available at that time. To find an answer we started an ongoing series of experiments with replicas of Neolithic stone and bone tools, to understand prehistoric craftsmanship, integrating all available archaeological evidence. Besides flawless tools, the key to success lies in rediscovering the way to handle them and a serious amount of experience.

Keywords

• stone working
• axe
• experimental archaeology
• neolithic
• germany