Hammering the past

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Dimić, V. B. (2019). Hammering the past: The experimental (re)construction and usage of prehistoric mining hammerstones from the Prljuša-Mali Šturac site, Rudnik Mountain, (69), 85-112. Retrieved from http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/Article.aspx?ID=0350-02411969085D
Details
Title

Hammering the past

Subtitle

The experimental (re)construction and usage of prehistoric mining hammerstones from the Prljuša-Mali Šturac site, Rudnik Mountain

Author

Vidan, B, Dimić

Journal

Starinar

Volume
Issue

69

Start page

85

End page

112

ISSN
ISBN
DOI
URL

http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/Article.aspx?ID=0350-02411969085D

Date

2019-2020/02/28/22:56:28

Abstract

The locality of Prljuša-Mali Šturac on Rudnik Mountain is one of the richest prehistoric mining sites in Europe, taking into account the number of recorded, collected and analysed mining hammerstones. The reasonably estimated number of these tools of 2,000 and more clearly depicts the intensity of prehistoric mining activities at this locality as well as the conspicuousness of the mining potential which this mountain possessed. During the archaeological research conducted so far, 688 hammerstones have been collected and analysed (of which 478 are from recent excavation campaigns), thus producing results based on which hypotheses were made regarding their manufacture and use. Consequently, in the summer of 2017, an experimental (re)construction was undertaken on three basic types of these tools, as a complementary segment to a set of functional and typological analyses. The goal of the experimental research was to enable and gather as much as possible data that would serve as a comparative filter for testing previously set hypotheses and research questions related to the manufacture and usage modes of this category of mining tools. The mining hammerstones made for the purpose of this experiment proved to be extensively efficient in practice. The obtained results enabled a more complete understanding of the prehistoric mining technology on this site, but also raised some new questions. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 177020: Archaeology of Serbia - cultural identity, integration factors, technological processes and the role of the Central Balkans in the development of European prehistory]

Keywords

copper mining technology, experimental (re)construction, mining hammerstones, Prljuša - Mali Šturac, production and use