Tárnoki Judit szerk.: Tisicum - A Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok Megyei Múzeumok Évkönyve 19. (2009)
Természettudomány és régészet - Alice M. Choyke - László Bartosiewicz - Telltale tools from a tell: Bone and antler manufacturing at Bronze Age Jászdózsa-Kápolnahalom, Hungary
Tisicum XIX. MBA 50mm 50 mm Figure 7. The hammer axe made from the burr and beam of red deer with decorative holes around the hole. Probably not used in ordinary activities (drawing by Choyke, after Choyke 2005,142). tools have been found elsewhere, especially in the eastern part of Hungary, for example at Füzesabony-Öregdomb. The complete surfaces are scraped and formed with chipped stone suggesting such intensively modified objects may have a more ritual purpose. The tines were separated from the beam, the rose shaped and the beam cut to the desired length using metal ax blades. Tine handles (H 4.7%; H-F 4.8%; K 4.6%; S 2.6%). These handles take advantage of the natural shape of the red deer antler tine, the point of which was sometimes retained (Plate IV, 8). The socket was always located in the wider end. Inserted objects were fixed in the socket with a peg through a hole in one side of the socket edge. 5 4 Finally, there was a single small handle without a fixing hole and with the tine point cut off that had an incised decoration around the edge of the socket (Plate IV, 1). 5 5 Such handles are more often found on sites in the eastern part of Hungary. Tine picks/hoes. (H 11.8%; H-F 8.4%; K 13.8; S -). These objects have a narrowing facet towards the naturally pointed end of the tine and either a hafting hole towards the wider end (Plate IV, h) or are more pointed and hand held with a small suspension hole near the broader end. These antler tools are not very carefully modified and in some categories come close to the definition for an ad hoc tool, probably derived from the supply of refuse tines. This may be why so few were found in the mixed fill of the fortification ditch. One notable exception is the decorated antler tine hoe/pick, stained almost black, with a completely worked surface which is decorated around its circumference with crosshatched designs, reminiscent perhaps of a field system (Figure 8). Similarly decorated hafted hoe/picks occur Figure 8. Antler pick made from beam that was polished and burned black. Decorated by discrete patches of cross-hatched lines. Probably not used in ordinary activities (drawing by Choyke, after Choyke 2005,142). especially in western Hungary, for example at the Vatya hill-fort near the Danube in Transdanubia, Igar-Vámpuszta (Figure 1). 5 6 Like the heavy-duty burr and beam adzes with completely scraped surfaces and a dotted design around the hafting whole it seems likely that these objects were used for symbolic display in ritual activities. Raw material selection In general, the choice of bones from particular species seems to mostly depend on availability with a number of interesting exceptions. Sheep/goat long bones, especially metapodials and tibiae are made respectively into the majority of those multi-functional awls and hide scraping tools. Horse bone, starts to be used only at the end of occupation in the form of awls and, most importantly, first phalanges with flattened sides or simple incised decorations. In general, there was a general increase in the use of short bones with flattened sides from cattle, red deer and sheep/ goat throughout the sequence. This change may relate to changes in the iconographie notions of horse within this community's belief system. Finally, as is evident from Figure 9, Table 2, particular skeletal elements from red deer were consistently and preferentially worked. A synthetic evaluation of these data is possible using the so-called "utilization factor" (Vetrwertungsfaktor) developed by Jörg Schibier. 5 7 According to this simple method, the ratio between the percentages of worked bone to that of the refuse bone of the same species is calculated by archaeological period. Although this means comparisons between two percentage values that have independent 54 CHOYKE, Alice M. 2005.138, Plate 1,16a-b. 55 CHOYKE, Alice M. 2005.153, Plate IV, 1. 56 CHOYKE, Alice M. 1984. 57 SCHIBLER, Jörg 1980.12. 366
