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Early Neolithic flint mining at Södra Sallerup, Scania, Sweden

Olausson, Deborah LU orcid ; Högberg, Anders LU ; Berggren, Åsa LU orcid and Rudebeck, Elisabeth LU (2016) In Archaeologia Polona 54(2016). p.167-180
Abstract
The area around the villages Kvarnby and Södra Sallerup in south-west Scania is the only known flint-mining site in Sweden. Radiocarbon dates show that the flint was mined mainly during the earliest phase of the Early Neolithic, between c. 4000 and 3600 BC, thus coinciding with the earliest evidence of the Funnel Beaker Culture in the region. The type of flint, the size of the flint nodules, production debris in the mining area and the concentration of point-butted axe distribution to south-west Scania all suggest that the mining was related to the extraction of flint for the production of point-butted axes. However, considering the abundance of easily available flint elsewhere in the region, it seems clear that the mining was not... (More)
The area around the villages Kvarnby and Södra Sallerup in south-west Scania is the only known flint-mining site in Sweden. Radiocarbon dates show that the flint was mined mainly during the earliest phase of the Early Neolithic, between c. 4000 and 3600 BC, thus coinciding with the earliest evidence of the Funnel Beaker Culture in the region. The type of flint, the size of the flint nodules, production debris in the mining area and the concentration of point-butted axe distribution to south-west Scania all suggest that the mining was related to the extraction of flint for the production of point-butted axes. However, considering the abundance of easily available flint elsewhere in the region, it seems clear that the mining was not motivated purely by economic reasons. We suggest that the very extraction of flint from pits and shafts in the chalk was socially and symbolically significant in itself. (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Early Neolithic period, point-butted axes, flint mining, southern Sweden
in
Archaeologia Polona
volume
54
issue
2016
pages
14 pages
publisher
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences
ISSN
0066-5924
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
4376ca86-93e0-4733-968f-d9648f2302c4
date added to LUP
2017-01-10 16:28:29
date last changed
2023-02-27 10:19:00
@article{4376ca86-93e0-4733-968f-d9648f2302c4,
  abstract     = {{The area around the villages Kvarnby and Södra Sallerup in south-west Scania is the only known flint-mining site in Sweden. Radiocarbon dates show that the flint was mined mainly during the earliest phase of the Early Neolithic, between c. 4000 and 3600 BC, thus coinciding with the earliest evidence of the Funnel Beaker Culture in the region. The type of flint, the size of the flint nodules, production debris in the mining area and the concentration of point-butted axe distribution to south-west Scania all suggest that the mining was related to the extraction of flint for the production of point-butted axes. However, considering the abundance of easily available flint elsewhere in the region, it seems clear that the mining was not motivated purely by economic reasons. We suggest that the very extraction of flint from pits and shafts in the chalk was socially and symbolically significant in itself.}},
  author       = {{Olausson, Deborah and Högberg, Anders and Berggren, Åsa and Rudebeck, Elisabeth}},
  issn         = {{0066-5924}},
  keywords     = {{Early Neolithic period; point-butted axes; flint mining; southern Sweden}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{12}},
  number       = {{2016}},
  pages        = {{167--180}},
  publisher    = {{Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences}},
  series       = {{Archaeologia Polona}},
  title        = {{Early Neolithic flint mining at Södra Sallerup, Scania, Sweden}},
  volume       = {{54}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}