Plant processing in the Late Mesolithic Poland: in search for function of the mysterious ‘curved knives’

Abstract

Studies on the treatment and use of plants in the Mesolithic are difficult due to the small number of sources. However, they are important because it was one of the basic branches of the economy of the early Holocene community. This article presents the results of use-wear and experimental studies aimed at the interpretation of the function of the so-called curved knives. These tools are associated with the treatment of silica plants, but their actual function is not fully understood. The research was based on a collection of 66 products of this type from five sites in central Poland and is one of the first published research on tools of this kind from this part of Europe. As a result of microscopic analysis, eight types of curved knives were distinguished. In order to identify the plant species, the knives were used on an experimental programme based on the results of palynological studies carried out at site 6 in Ludowice, an economically specialised site. As a result of the traceological analyses, a number of correlations between artefacts and experimental tools have been identified that can provide an important step towards interpreting the actual function of the curved knives. At the same time, the large discrepancies in the traces resulting from the processing of different species of silica plants were documented and the probable use of many of their species in the European Mesolithic was suggested.

Comprendiendo los campamentos pequeños de cazadores-recolectores mediante el análisis funcional y espacial. Tres casos de estudio del Mesolítico de Polonia

“…Analyses of microwear on flint artefacts from the Rotterdam-Yangtzehaven site (Niekus et al 2015) showed that a large number of tools were used to work wood, bark, and plants with a high silica content. While tools were probably used to make wood and bark artefacts, in the case of plants, as demonstrated by experiments (Osipowicz 2019), it is hard to determine whether a tool was used to make artefacts, or simply to gather and prepare the plant for consumption. Similar observations also refer to artefacts with evidence of working in wood and processing plants recorded in the Mesolithic assemblage from Smolno Wielkie 2 (western Poland), analysed in its functional aspect (Winiarska-Kabacińska 2019).…”

Tracking Hunter-Gatherer Impact on Vegetation in Last Interglacial and Holocene Europe: Proxies and Challenges

“…Regarding other niche construction activities, we suggest that plant manipulation and control of animal presence were common activities for Neanderthals and Mesolithic populations, because charred plant microfossils, stone tools with evidence of plant manipulation (e.g. from the Middle Paleolithic site of Payre in France; Hardy & Moncel, 2011;Osipowicz, 2019), plant microremains from dental calculus (e.g. Cristiani et al, 2016;Henry et al, 2011Henry et al, , 2014 and large numbers of animal bones accumulated through butchering activities were identified within both Middle Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites.…”

“…Solheim et al, 2018), and some only on plants (e.g. Osipowicz, 2019). Evidence of surface transformation (e.g.…”

A closer look at an eroded dune landscape: first functional insights into the Federmessergruppen site of Lommel-Maatheide

“…Despite numerous experiments (e.g. (Caspar et al 2005;Hurcombe 2008;Jensen 1994;Osipowicz 2019;Vaughan 1985) it remains difficult to ascertain the exact nature of plant processing activities because the range of variation is not yet fully understood and traces from working different kinds of plant materials may appear quite similar. On the contrary, hide scraping and antler working are considered common activities on Federmesser sites (e.g.…”