The chipped stone industry from the Chalcolithic in Eastern Romania:A literature review. I. Raw material procurement and the blade technology

Abstract

This paper addresses the archaeological literature on the subject of the chipped stone industry of the Chalcolithic communities that inhabited the east of nowadays Romania, namely Precucuteni and Cucuteni (5th and 4th millennium BC).1 The first part of the study focuses on how the Romanian  archaeologists approached the first two stages of the chaîne opératoire: the raw material procurement and the technology of producing knapped stone tools (especially the elongated supports). These aspects were analysed through the literature published until now, regarding aspects as
petrographic determination of raw materials, available information on the morphology of the cores and on blade attributes, on the reduction sequences and procedures. Although rewarding in what considers the raw materials supply, the information proves scarce in what concerns the organisation of technology. The causes of this unbalance are sought in the specificity of the development of the study of Prehistory in Romania. Consequently, perspectives for the further  investigations and new directions of research are proposed.

Keywords: Romanian archaeology; Precucuteni and Cucuteni communities; chipped stone assemblages; raw material acquisition; lithic technology; blade industry.