Introduction
Over a century ago, scholars established that chocolate flint played an extremely important role as a source material for the Late Palaeolithic and Late Mesolithic communities that once inhabited the territories of Mazovia and central Poland (Krukowski, Reference Krukowski1920, Reference Krukowski1922), prompting them to search for outcrops of this raw material. The intensive exploratory research carried out in the interwar period resulted in the discovery of numerous excavation and mining sites such as Wierzbica, Orońsko, Polany, and Iłża (Krukowski, Reference Krukowski1923, Reference Krukowski, Krukowski and Kostrzewski1939; Samsonowicz, Reference Samsonowicz1923), which, in turn, sparked an interest in the development of flint mining in Poland. Among the findings made by archaeologists before World War II was the discovery of the Tomaszów II and Tomaszów I mining sites in 1935 by Stefan Krukowski (Schild, Reference Schild, Bostyn, Lech, Saville and Werra2023).
The site of Tomaszów II is located in south-eastern Poland, on the northern edge of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Figure 1.1). It is situated on an eroded dune complex approximately 500 m from the shafts of the mine that gave its name to the Tomaszów site. This mine is one of several documented and archaeologically investigated sites of chocolate flint mining in the Świętokrzyskie region (Figure 1.2). In 1973–74, three trenches were excavated at the Tomaszów II site. In Trench 2, which is the main focus of this article, archaeologists recorded an area of 206 m2 (Figure 2) and recovered a total of over 21,000 flints, the vast majority of which belonged to the remains of workshops associated with the Mesolithic communities of the Janisławice culture (Figure 3). The 14C date obtained from a charcoal sample taken from the remains of a campfire was 6555±45 bp (Gr-7051) (Figure 4).
Figure 1. Tomaszów, Mazovian voivodeship. 1: Location of the site Tomaszów. 2: The Tomaszów mine in the context of other chocolate flint mining sites (after Schild et al., Reference Schild, Królik and Marczak1985: 14). Reproduced by permission of H. Królik.
Figure 2. Plan of Trench 2 at Tomaszów II (after Schild et al., Reference Schild, Królik and Marczak1985: fig. 107). Reproduced by permission of H. Królik.
Figure 3. Tomaszów II, Trench 2. Refitting of chocolate flint from the Tomaszów mine (photograph: M. Osiadacz; drawing: E. Gumińska).
Figure 4. Calibration diagram of 14C date - Tomaszów II, Trench 2.
Methods and Materials
The aim of this preliminary study was to assess the preservation potential of residues on stone tools from Tomaszów II and thus to evaluate the likely presence of organic residues at Late Mesolithic sites located in sandy areas, where environmental conditions do not favour the survival of organic material. The degree of such survival was unknown and hence we undertook such a study within a project funded by the National Science Centre of Poland. We thought that the intensive manipulation of these lithic artefacts (i.e. cleaning, labelling, processing, and treatment since the pre-war excavations) and the general absence of organic materials at these sites were likely to result in a relatively low survival of organic residues, in particular on artefacts kept in museum collections (Croft et al., Reference Croft, Monnier, Radini, Little and Milner2016; Pedergnana et al., Reference Pedergnana, Asryan, Fernández-Marchena and Ollé2016; Cnuts & Rots, Reference Cnuts, Rots and Brugal2017; Cnuts, Reference Cnuts2021). Lithic artefacts in such conditions are generally not considered suitable for residue analysis; recent studies have, however, shown that certain residue types may still survive despite unfavourable conditions (Croft et al., Reference Croft, Monnier, Radini, Little and Milner2016; Cnuts, Reference Cnuts2021). In order to assess the wider potential (including future analyses) of this type of archaeological source, it was considered essential to conduct a study on a representative assemblage of lithic artefacts, consisting of a wide array of tool types. We hoped that a detailed residue study would allow us to detect the range of residue types that survived on these stone tools and provide insights into the impact intensive manipulation and depositional environment had on residue preservation. Therefore, it was crucial to conduct a detailed taphonomic analysis prior to the functional analysis, to determine the concentration of residues derived from handling the artefacts (i.e. modern contamination residues) and their burial (i.e. environmental residues).
This article summarizes the findings of this trial. It presents the detailed analysis of residues conducted on sixty-one lithic artefacts from the site of Tomaszów II, Trench 2. The main objectives of the study, carried out at TraceoLab in Liège, were to document and identify the range of residues on these lithics and understand which processes were responsible for the deposition and diagenesis of stone tool residues.
The sixty-one lithics made of chocolate flint were chosen primarily on the basis of typology and selected to meet the criteria of our project's schedule of tasks. The assemblage submitted for analysis comprised five becs (robust, flake-based piercers), two borers, two burins, fourteen endscrapers, five microliths, five notched tools, four retouched blades, thirteen scrapers, six trapezes, and five truncated pieces. All the artefacts came from archival collections kept in the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw and thus had been cleaned, labelled, and intensively handled, which hampered the detection of reliable functional residues.
The lithics were first examined under a stereomicroscope (Zeiss V12 and V16) and an incident light microscope (Zeiss AxioImager) to detect, map, and visually record the residues present on the stone tools. Characteristics such as the degree of smearing, association with use-wear, and distribution pattern were used to identify the residue deposition processes according to the methodology developed at the TraceoLab (Cnuts & Rots, Reference Cnuts and Rots2018; Cnuts, Reference Cnuts2021). Non-distinctive residue types (Croft et al., Reference Croft, Monnier, Radini, Little and Milner2016; Cnuts, Reference Cnuts2021) were further examined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) (JEOLIT300) and characterized with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) according to the methodology developed by Hayes and colleagues (Hayes & Rots, Reference Hayes and Rots2019; Hayes et al., Reference Hayes, Cnuts and Rots2019). Interpretations were based on comparison with a residue library of the TRAIL reference collection, which contains around 500 residue samples, both experimental and archaeological (Rots, Reference Rots2021). These residues include a wide variety of organic and mineral materials.
Results
Residue analysis
Residues were observed on sixty-two per cent (n=38) of the lithic artefacts, comprising ten different residue types. Some residues could be linked to a possible deposition process from various tool lifecycle stages (Table 1). The detected residues included both non-distinctive and distinctive residue types. Relying solely on optical microscopy proved inadequate for precise identification, as certain residue types exhibited identical visual characteristics. While distinctive residue types were distinguishable through optical microscopy, the level of confidence remains relatively low when compared to diagnostic residue types, which can be identified with a high degree of certainty. Among the non-distinctive residue types are various black, white, and red residues, whose lack of distinctive feature poses an identification challenge. Furthermore, the microscopic analysis revealed that most artefacts were in a poor state of preservation, due to the presence of strongly developed alterations (Figure 5.1).
Table 1. Overview of observed deposition processes based on Schiffers’ (Reference Schiffer1972, Reference Schiffer1987) flow model (*).
Figure 5. Tomaszów II, Trench 2. Macroscopic photographs. 1: The surface of the majority of lithic artefacts was characterized by strong alteration (end scraper ventral distal right edge 100×, bright field). 2: Contamination residue: a large patch of transparent plasticine on the distal dorsal surface of a bec (×100, cross-polarized filter). 3: Environmental residues: a patch of hyphae in association with sediment on the ventral distal right edge of a bec. 4: Environmental residue: amorphous black and white residues on the ventral distal right edge of an endscraper.
Modern systemic context
The frequent presence and wide range of modern contamination residues (plasticine, ink, skin flakes, finger lipids, and varnish) indicate the intensive manipulation of these lithics, which undoubtedly had an impact on the survival of ancient residues and our ability to observe their presence. Modern handling residues (except for ink and varnish) were removed by rinsing the tool edges with ethanol (C2H5OH) to dislodge the often very strong bond between these contaminants and the mineral stone tool surface (Figure 5.2).
Archaeological context
The frequent observation of hyphae on these lithics (Figure 5.3) suggests that they were exposed to intense fungal activity after deposition. Although intense fungal activity has been considered a proxy for the presence of initial functional residues, there is too little evidence to suggest that this is also the case here. The high frequency of hyphae further suggests that initial functional residues may have disappeared, at least those residue types that are most vulnerable to fungal activity, in the first place soft animal tissue (i.e. collagen, muscle tissue, connective tissue). The high intensity of hyphae thus further confirms the low potential for the preservation of ancient functional residues.
Furthermore, amorphous black or white deposits have been observed on several lithics; lacking distinctive visual properties, they could not be accurately identified by optical microscopy (Figure 5.4). The black residues may include a wide range of residue types, such as authigenically formed manganese or charcoal from contact with anthropogenic sedimentation or decomposed organic matter from contact with a humic horizon. However, the high density and spread of these deposits suggest that residues have been transferred onto the lithics through contact with organic sediments, e.g. a hearth-related sediment or humic horizon.
Ancient systemic context
The detailed residue analysis of the sixty-one lithics from Tomaszów II allowed us to observe three possible functional residues (Table 2; Figures 6–8), where only one of the residues could be attributed with confidence to a functional deposition process. This functional residue was a plant tissue directly associated with the distal ventral edge of a scraper (Figure 8.4), which allowed us to interpret it as being use-related. Corresponding use-wear evidence and the presence of smearing/directionality would have further confirmed the use-related origin of this residue. Other potential functional residues included possible iron oxide located on the used edge of a scraper (Figure 8.1). These were therefore linked with possible tool use, but the low density and absence of smearing or directionality resulted in an uncertain interpretation. Two other residues were interpreted as possible hafting-related residue due to their location on the tools’ non-operational (passive) part. The first was a black deposit on the passive part of a truncated piece (Figure 8.2). Caution is needed when interpreting this deposit as a hafting residue since similar black residues have been interpreted as environmental residues; in this case, however, the exclusive location on the proximal part of the tool was considered as key evidence of a potential adhesive, unlike similar black residues that are spread all over the surface of a tool. Nonetheless, a more detailed molecular analysis, in particular gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS), is required to identify the exact nature of such an amorphous organic residue. Moreover, the presence of corresponding hafting wear and smearing would have led to a higher degree of certainty concerning the interpretation of this residue. The second hafting-related residue was a plant tissue associated with the bulb of a scraper (Figure 8.3), which could be linked with hafting due to its location on the passive part of the tool. Again, the absence of smearing and corresponding hafting wear did not allow us to interpret this residue with any certainty.
Figure 6. Tomaszów II, Trench 2. Macroscopic photographs. 1: Use-related residue: multiple plant tissue residues (indicated by red arrows) near the distal ventral edge of a scraper interpreted as possible plant processing residue (×200, cross-polarized light). 2: Use-related residue: detail of a plant tissue residue with macerated plant cell wall (indicated by red arrow) near the distal ventral edge of a scraper interpreted as possible plant processing residue (×500, cross-polarized light). 3: Use-related residue: red residue directly associated with the used edge of a scraper interpreted as tool-use residue (×100, cross-polarized light). 4: Hafting-related residue: black deposit on ventral proximal part of a truncated piece interpreted as possibly hafting glue (×100, cross-polarized light).
Figure 7. Tomaszów II, Trench 2. Macroscopic photograph. Hafting-related residue: plant tissue with visible cell wall structure associated with the bulb of a scraper interpreted as possible handle residue (×500, cross-polarized light).
Figure 8. Tomaszów II, Trench 2. 1: Location of use-related residue on a scraper. 2: Location of use-related residue on a truncated piece. 3: Location of haft-related residue on a scraper. 4: Location of use-related residue on a scraper.
Table 2. Observed functional residues.
Use-wear analysis
To allow us to determine the function of the Tomaszów II lithics through the traces of use on their edges and surfaces, both use-wear analysis and organic residue analysis were conducted. The sixty-one flints originally chosen for analysis were subject to residue analysis, which yielded evidence of plant processing. Since previous studies on other Mesolithic inventories from Europe suggested that plant processing at this time was primarily undertaken with blades, nine unworked blades also from the Tomaszów II inventory were subjected to use-wear analysis alongside the other sixty-one pieces (thus, in total, seventy lithics from Tomaszów II were analysed).
The examination of use-wear traces was carried out using an Olympus SZX9 stereomicroscope and an Olympus BX53M metallographic microscope. The results of the analysis, according to the method used (as discussed in Marreiros et al., Reference Marreiros, Gibaja Bao and Bicho2015), were interpreted based on the database resulting from the previously completed experiments.
It should be strongly emphasized that the analysed artefacts had very damaged surfaces resulting from post-depositional processes, which made it impossible or difficult to make observations. This also affected the interpretation of the observed modifications or alterations, which ultimately were described as unspecified.
Twenty-seven specimens showed signs of use (Table 3). They were used for scraping hides (becs, endscrapers, scraper) (Figure 9.1) or scraping inorganic raw material (bec), scraping (truncated piece), processing and cutting antler (blades), and bone scraping (scraper) (Figure 9.2). They were also used for scraping wood (scrapers) as well as for various activities associated with plant processing (scraper, notched tool, blade). A microlith had marks on its lateral edge that probably were the result of hafting and could thus have been an inset of a composite tool mounted in the shaft with this edge. The fracture recorded on the lateral edge of a trapeze, on the other hand, can be associated with its presumed use as an inset in a shaft.
Table 3. Overview of the functions of the analysed artefacts.
Figure 9. Tomaszów II, Trench 2. Microscopic images. 1: Scraper, for scraping hide. 2: Scraper, for scraping bone.
The four artefacts on which organic remains were found had very poorly preserved traces of use. The scraper with plant remains identified on the working edge of the tool was used for scraping plants (Figure 8.4); the other two scrapers (Figure 8.1, Figure 8.3) were used for unspecified activities. The truncated piece showed no identifiable modifications (Figure 8.2).
The traces of use-wear recorded in analysis allowed us to determine the function of the artefacts in question. The activities for which these tools were used fit into the range of activities of Mesolithic communities, although the study of this assemblage was limited by its state of preservation.
Plant use
The use-wear analysis confirmed that, in addition to the plant substances detected on the surfaces of the flints, there were also visible traces of microwear indicating the processing of plants with the tools examined. In addition, there were also other traces indicating the working of bone, antler, or hide on the surfaces of the analysed tools (Table 3). Such a wide range of activities is a common phenomenon in Mesolithic campsites (Healy et al., Reference Healy, Heaton, Lobb, Allen, Fenwick and Grace1992: 61; Crombé & Beugnier, Reference Crombé and Beugnier2013: 180; Guéret, Reference Guéret, Valentin, Souffi, Ducrocq, Fagnart, Séara and Verjux2013: 150, Reference Guéret2017; Vandendriessche et al., Reference Vandendriessche, Guéret, Aluwé, Messiaen, Cruz and Storme2019: 306).
Mesolithic communities intensively explored and exploited the environment for plant resources to consume (Zvelebil, Reference Zvelebil1994; Mithen et al., Reference Mithen, Finlay, Carruthers, Carter and Ashmore2001; Svoboda, Reference Svoboda, Bailey and Spikins2008: 230; Marchand et al., Reference Marchand, Dupont, Laforge, Le Bannier, Netter and Nukushina2018: 982). A wide variety of plant-based foods were consumed, as shown by the results from Mesolithic sites ranging from south-western Germany, north-eastern France, southern Belgium, Luxemburg and Switzerland to the Czech Republic (Divišová & Šída, Reference Divišová and Šída2015: 99–100; Jacomet & Vandorpe, Reference Jacomet and Vandorpe2022: 7) and ethnoarchaeological observations of contemporary hunter-gatherer communities. The consumption of plant foods is also evidenced by analyses of residues discovered on the surfaces of flints from northern Bohemia (Hardy, Reference Hardy1999: 277; Hardy & Svoboda, Reference Hardy, Svoboda, Haslam, Robertson, Crowther, Nugent and Kirkwood2009: 167).
Detailed studies of the vegetation cover in relation to the archaeological context show that Mesolithic communities located their settlements at the boundary of qualitatively different biotopes to maximize the benefits of monitoring raw material resources (Regnell et al., Reference Regnell, Galliard, Bartholin and Karsten1995: 89). Archaeobotanical studies (Kubiak-Martens & Tobolski, Reference Kubiak-Martens, Tobolski, Sulgostowska and Tomaszewski2008; Kubiak-Martens, Reference Kubiak-Martens and Kobusiewicz2019; Bishop et al., Reference Bishop, Kubiak-Martens, Warren and Church2023: 75) conducted on plant macro-remains obtained from northern European archaeological sites have shown that Mesolithic communities made considerable use of the abundance of roots, tubers, and fruits for consumption, also probably for hygiene and medicinal purposes.
People also manufactured items necessary for everyday life from material derived from plants, such as containers made of tree bark, baskets, ropes and mats, as illustrated, for instance, by the numerous finds from the Veret'e site 1 in Russia (Ošibkina, Reference Ošibkina2006: 19–21).
Intensive harvesting and processing of plants by Mesolithic communities is indicated by the recorded traces of use-wear on numerous flint assemblages from regions as widespread as Brittany, Flanders, Pomerania, and the Iberian Peninsula (Beugnier & Crombé, Reference Beugnier and Crombé2005: 537; Pyżewicz, Reference Pyżewicz2013: 177; Guéret et al., Reference Guéret, Gassin, Jacquier and Marchand2014: 7; Winiarska-Kabacińska, Reference Winiarska-Kabacińska, Kabaciński, Hartz, Raemaekkers and Terberger2015: 278–79; Mazzucco et al., Reference Mazzucco, Gibaja Bao, Perales Barrón, San Millán Lomas, Puchol and Rojo Guerra2016: 155; Osipowicz, Reference Osipowicz2017, Reference Osipowicz2018).
Discussion and Conclusions
The small-scale study of intensively manipulated lithics from Trench 2 at Tomaszów II presented here has shown that a small number of ancient residues may survive on flint artefacts despite a preservation potential assumed to be poor and subsequent processing. Most ancient residues could only be observed by first removing modern contaminants with ethanol to break the chemical bonding between these proteinaceous (e.g. skin flakes) or greasy (e.g. finger lipids) residues and the flint surface (Craig & Collins, Reference Craig and Collins2002; Cnuts & Rots, Reference Cnuts and Rots2018). In the case of the flints from Tomaszów II, the preserved ancient residues on the stone tools consisted exclusively of plant, fungal, and mineral residues; residues of animal origin seem not to have survived on these artefacts. The observed preservation bias is most likely caused by exposure to acidic conditions in combination with high microbial activity. Animal residues (including collagen, muscle tissue, blood and bone tissue) are more vulnerable to such environmental conditions than plant, mineral, or fungal residues (Cnuts & Rots, Reference Cnuts, Rots and Brugal2017; Cnuts, Reference Cnuts2021).
This study indicates that there is no potential for detecting animal residues on the lithics from the Tomaszów II site and that, therefore, animal-related activities (e.g. bone processing, butchering, or hunting) cannot be detected based on residues alone; in such cases, evidence from use-wear and macroscopic edge damage could provide more information. On the other hand, the preservation of plant residues allowed us to identify possible woodworking activities and provided new insights into the technological organization of the lithic technology (Nelson, Reference Nelson1991) employed at the site. There is potential evidence that at least some of the tools were hafted with wooden handles, possibly with a hafting glue, although more functional evidence is needed to confirm this hypothesis, preferably through the analysis of minimally manipulated lithic artefacts from the same site. In addition, use-wear analysis is crucial for obtaining more robust interpretations.
Considering the large numbers of important flint artefacts currently kept in museum collections and storage and the fact that in many cases it is not possible to re-examine archaeological sites investigated long ago, either because they were destroyed (by excavations or natural causes) or because a lack of funds for excavations, heritage protection policies, and/or an ostensibly ‘poor’ research potential prevent further investigations, analysing archival lithics is an exciting idea and a way forward. Modern science has equipped us with research methods and techniques that past generations of archaeologists could only dream about, and scientific research brings constant innovations. In our case, we are limited primarily by environmental factors (preservation in situ) and the way finds from historical excavations have been handled (processing, storage).
Potentially, analysing archival collections could greatly expand our knowledge and make it possible to re-evaluate past findings without the need to disturb important archaeological sites or where further excavations are no longer possible. Nonetheless, although residue analysis on stone tools yields very promising results in many cases, it is still under development and, being in statu nascendi, is prone to errors and misinterpretations (see e.g. Croft et al., Reference Croft, Chatzipanagis, Kröger and Milner2018; Bordes et al., Reference Bordes, Prinsloo, Fullagar and Roberts2020). For this reason, the potential of applying such analysis to archival lithics on a wider scale requires further studies to eliminate risks associated with the contamination of samples in post-excavation processing (cleaning, refitting, curation), gather more data on the preservation potential of residues on different types of archaeological sites, and investigate correlations between the types of residues discovered on flint artefacts and actions or events that led to their deposition. Moreover, as this kind of analysis is currently rather time-consuming and relatively expensive, it should be proven to be reasonably reliable and cost-effective before being implemented more widely in research projects. We hope that the analysis of the stone tools from Trench 2 at Tomaszów II will contribute significantly to such studies. Although these are only preliminary results conducted on a trial basis, they are encouraging, considering that initially the probability of discovering residues indicating human use on archival lithics was regarded as very low or even close to zero. We hope to conduct a new analysis of use-related micro-residues (possibly using additional techniques such as Raman microspectroscopy) on a collection of flint artefacts from another carefully selected Late Mesolithic site in the Świętokrzyskie region with natural conditions similar to the Tomaszów II site, and confront it with a detailed ‘traditional’ use-wear study of the same lithic assemblage. This would allow us to verify whether the results obtained can be repeated or not. So far, the analyses of residues on flints from Tomaszów described here are unique and pioneering. For this reason, there is currently no basis for comparison with other results from the territory of Poland, not only from more environmentally friendly soil conditions, but also from sites located in less favourable settings.
Acknowledgements
This article is dedicated to the memory of Professor Romuald Schild, precursor of post-war research into flint mining in Poland and outstanding specialist of chocolate flint deposits. This study was supported by the National Science Centre of Poland (project no. 2017/B/ HS3/01224).
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