Uncommon practice of re-use of Bronze Age stone axes

Abstract

This article examines the typological features of some Bronze Age stone axes with obvious signs of re-use, discovered in the area between the Carpathians and the Dniester. For these objects, two ways of re-use are known: the use of damaged axes as rubbing stones / hammer stones or re-perforation of the worn-out specimens. The authors of the article present nine artifacts discovered in settlements and cemeteries or as a result of chance finds. Most of the specimens were made of volcanic rocks; some have preserved decorative elements. The re-use of such items was determined by economic and technological reasons. Some communities of the Bronze Age were forced to re-use damaged stone axes due to a lack of high-quality raw materials. The fact that axes with traces of re-use are also found in cemeteries may indicate the symbolic significance that these objects acquired when they were put next to the dead.

Keywords

• Bronze Age
• stone axes
• re-use
• settlements
• graves