The Essence of Stone: Making Axes during the Late Mesolithic in Södertörn in East Central Sweden

Abstract

Greenstone axes produced during the Late Mesolithic in east central Sweden are notoriously dissimilar. Each axe appears to have been given its own special charac- teristics. These axes were not made into a certain shape by following a technological template. In this article, the authors present the interpretation that people believed the form of an axe was already present in the stone se- lected for work. Making axes was about releasing es- sential forms from stones. The essence of stone effec- tively determined the appearance the axe was destined to have. This is the reason that axes in the region have such variable appearances.

Keywords

• technology studies
• tool production
• greenstone axes
• pecked axes
• polished axes