Discriminating between flint outcrops in central north Bulgaria: archaeological implications
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.57573/be-ja.14.259-286Keywords:
Рrehistory, flint assemblages, field survey, raw material, flint procurement strategy, micropetrography, LA-ICP-MS, post-Chalcolithic discontinuityAbstract
This paper focuses on newly identified raw material outcrops in central north Bulgaria, in an area only partially surveyed in our previous fieldwork. A new series of 10 raw material and 15 archaeological samples were collected and subjected to an analytical procedure combining macro- and micropetrography with geochemical analysis using LA-ICP-MS. Cognitive insights complete our general research agenda vis-à-vis the supply and use of flint raw materials in pre- and protohistory in Bulgaria. One is to try to distinguish between raw materials from two partially overlapping Late Cretaceous formations – Mezdra and Rumyantsevo – containing macroscopically similar flint concretions. Another lies in the drastic shift in raw material preferences (ergo, procurement system) between large-scale newly excavated BA/EIA assemblages and their ‘Chalcolithic predecessors’ and thus raises the question of what the key factors in such a transformation were; the third relates to the opportunity to reliably discriminate between the outcrops and the artefacts/assemblages affiliated to them. The results of our archaeometric study shed light on the formulated query and highlight the potential of using our large corpus of data in future regional and supraregional scientific collaborations.
Downloads
References
Affolter, J. 1999. Caractérisation pétrographique et utilisation préhistorique de quelques matériaux siliceux alpins. In Della Casa, Ph. (ed.) Prehistoric alpine environment, society and economy: Papers of the international colloquium PAESE’97 in Zürich (Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorischen Archäologie 55). Zürich: Verlag Habelt, 253–256.
Affolter, J., Wehren, H., Emmenegger, L. 2022a. Determination method of silicites (siliceous raw materials): An explanation based on four selected raw materials. Quaternary International 615, 33–42, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2021.02.030.
Affolter, J., Emmenegger, L., Hafner, A., Heitz, C., Hinz, M., Stapher, R., Wehren, H. 2022b. From flint provenance to mobility studies: New raw material determination from Late Neolithic wetland sites at Lake Biel and Lake Constance. Quaternary International 615, 84–95, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2021.05.027
Andreeva, P., Stefanova, E., Gurova, M. 2014. Chert raw materials and artefacts from NE Bulgaria: A combined petrographic and LA–ICP–MS study. Journal of Lithic Studies 1.2, 25–45, http://journals.ed.ac.uk/lithicstudies/.
Cheshitev, G., Kanchev, I., Vulkov, V., Marinova, R., Shiljafova, J., Russeva, M., Illiev, K. 1989. Geological map of Bulgaria in scale 1:500000. Sofia: Committee of Geology (with Bulgarian and English legend).
Chernakov, D., Hristova, D., Gurova, M. (in press). Chalcolithic Bazovetz tell-settlement. Arhaeological discoveries and excavations in 2023. Sofia (in Bulgarian with English summary).
Chohadzhiev, A., Mitov, K., Yanakieva, A., Bacoup, P., Boyanov, R., Gurova, M. 2021. The Chalcolithic tell-site near Petko Karavelovo. Arhaeological discoveries and excavations in 2020, book 1. Sofia, 272-277 (in Bulgarian with English summary).
Chohadzhiev, A., Karastoyanova, N., Gurova, M., Yanakieva, A., Bacoup, P., Méphane, P. 2022. To pit the pig: The curious case of feature E63 at Tell Petko Karavelovo. Studia Praehistorica 16, 173–206, https://doi.org/10.53250/sprae16.173-206
Cholakov, I., Traykova, L., Valentinova, M., Аlexiev, A. (in press). Rescue archaeological excavations of a site nearby village of Chavdartsi, Lovech district. Arhaeological discoveries and excavations in 2022. Sofia (in Bulgarian with English summary).
Delvigne, V., Piboule, M., Fernandes, P., Lafarge, A., Aubry, T., Lach, X., Primault, J., Raynal, J.-P. 2018. Principales matières premières lithique disponibles au Paléolithique entre le Bassin parisien et l’Auvergne : partie 2 – Loir-et-Cher, Indre-et Loire. Le cas du Turonien inférieur et supérieur. In Préhistoire de la France Centrale : Actes du colloque inter-régional Montluçon, 19 novembre 2016, 27−48.
Guillong, M., Meier, D.L., Allan, M.M., Heinrich, C.A., Yardley, B.W.D., 2008. SILLS: A MATLAB-based program for the reduction of laser ablation ICP-MS data of homogeneous materials and inclusions. Vancouver: Mineralogical Association of Canada Short Course 40, 328−333.
Gurova, M. 2011a. Prehistoric Flint assemblages from Bulgaria: a raw material perspective. In Niagu, M. (ed.) East and West. Culture and Civilization at the Lower Danube. Călăraşi: Editura DAIM, 96–115.
Gurova, M. 2011b. Chalcolithic Flint Assemblages: Trajectory to the Regional Diversity/Similarity. In Boyadzhiev, Y., Terziiska-Ignatova, S. (eds) The Golden Fifth Millennium. Thrace and its Neighbour Areas in the Chalcolithic. Sofia: NIAM–BAS, 2011, 275–284.
Gurova, M., Ivanova, S., Andreeva, P., Pawlikowski, M. 2012a. Izdirvane na arheologicheski obekti v oblast Pleven. Arheologicheski otkritia i razkopki prez 2011 g. Sofia, 510–513 (in Bulgarian).
Gurova, M., Ivanova, S., Andreeva, P., Pawlikowski, M. 2012b. Izdirvane na arheologicheski obekti v oblast Vidin. Arheologicheski otkritia i razkopki prez 2011 g. Sofia, 513–515 (in Bulgarian).
Gurova, M., Ivanova, S., Andreeva, P., Pawlikowski, M. 2012c. Izdirvane na arheologicheski obekti v oblast Vratsa. Arheologicheski otkritia i razkopki prez 2011 g. Sofia, 515–517 (in Bulgarian).
Gurova, M., Ivanova, S., Andreeva, P., Kiselinov, H. 2013a. Izdirvane na arheologicheski obekti v oblast Russe (obshtini Dve Mogili, Byala, Ivanovo, Vetovo, Borovo i Russe). Arheologicheski otkritia i razkopki prez 2012 g. Sofia, 525–527 (in Bulgarian).
Gurova, M., Ivanova, S., Andreeva, P., Kiselinov, H., Mateva, B., Dilov, D. 2013b. Izdirvane na arheologicheski obekti v oblast Razgrad (obshtini Razgrad, Kubrat, Isperih i Tsar Kaloyan). Arheologicheski otkritia i razkopki prez 2012 g. Sofia, 527–530 (in Bulgarian).
Gurova, M., Bonsall, C. 2014. Lithic studies: an alternative approach to Neolithization. Bulgarian e-Journal of Archaeology (Be-JA) 4.2, 107–135, https://be-ja.org/index.php/journal/article/view/be-ja-4-2-2014-107-135.
Gurova, M., Andreeva, P., Stefanova, E., Stefanov, Y., Kočić, M., Borić, D. 2016. Flint raw material transfers in the prehistoric Lower Danube Basin: An integrated analytical approach. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 5, 422–441, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2015.12.014.
Gurova, M., Kecheva, N., Andreeva, P., Todorov, V., Sandeva, D. 2021a. Field survey of flint outcrops and archaeological sites in northwestern Bulgaria. Archaeological Discoveries and Excavations in 2020, book 1. Sofia, 1–5 (in Bulgarian with English abstract).
Gurova, M., Kecheva, N., Andreeva, P., Todorov, V., Sandeva, D. 2021b. Multidisciplinary research on flint raw materials and artefacts from northwestern Bulgaria. Bulgarian e-Journal of Archaeology (Be-JA) 11.2, 231–267; https://doi.org/10.57573/be-ja.11.231-267
Gurova, М., Andreeva, P., Stefanova, E., Aladzhov, A., Bonsall, C. 2022a. Petrographic and geochemical analyses of flint raw materials from Bulgaria: a reliable combination for provenance studies of archaeological flint. Quaternary International 615, 18–32; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2021.03.023.
Gurova, M., Stefanova, E., Andreeva, P., Kecheva, N., Bonsall, C. 2022b. Prehistoric flint raw materials and artefacts from Bulgaria: The next step in provenancing Balkan flint. Archaeologia Bulgarica XXVI. 3, 1–30.
Gurova, M., Ivanov, G., Cholakov, I., Traykova, L. 2023. Bronze Age and Early Iron Age sickles in the evolution of the prehistoric agricultural toolkit from Bulgaria. Bulgarian e-Journal of Archaeology (Be-JA) 13.2, 141–171, https://doi.org/10.57573/be-ja.13.141-171
Gurova, M., Ivanov, G. (in press). Agricultural implements from two intriguing chipped-stone assemblages of the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in NW Bulgaria. In Todorova, N., Petrova, V., Borissova, I. (eds) Studia Archaeologica Universitatis Serdicensis, Supplementum. Sofia.
Gurova, M., Andreeva, P., Valentinova, M., Chakarov, K. (in press). Field surveys of archaeological sites and flint outcrops (with subsequent laboratory analyses) in Lovech and Veliko Tarnovo districts. Arhaeological discoveries and excavations in 2023. Sofia (in Bulgarian with English summary).
Hristov, M., Ivanov, I., Kirov, I., Mutafchieva, Y., Dimitrova, V., Gurova, M., Kenderova, R., Hristova, H., Spasov, N. (in press). Archaeological surveys of a site of LBA in the land of the village of Dragovishtica, municipality of Kostinbrod on the route of IGC Bulgaria-Serbia, km 14+421 – 14+498. Archaeological discoveries and excavations in 2023. Sofia (in Bulgarian with English summary).
Ivanov, G., Markov, M., Vasileva, Zh., Zhivkov, V., Varbanov, V., Gurova, M. 2020. An Early Iron Age (12–10 c. BC), Early Roman (1 c. AD) and Revival Period (18–19 c.) site. Archaeological discoveries and excavations in 2019, book 1. Sofia, 904–909 (in Bulgarian with English summary)
Ivanov, G., Hristova, T., Tonkov, N., Gurova, M. (in press). A 19–17 and 15–12 c. BC site by the village of Oreshets. Archaeological discoveries and excavations in 2022. Sofia (in Bulgarian with English summary).
Ivanov, G., Zidarov, P. (in press). A Bronze Age site and a 4th–3rd c. BC necropolis near the village of Bohot. Archaeological discoveries and excavations in 2022. Sofia (in Bulgarian with English summary).
Kuča, M., Přichystal, A., Schenk, Z., Škrdla, P., Vokác, M. 2009. Lithic raw material procurement in the Moravian Neolithic: the search for extra-regional networks. Documenta Praehistorica XXXVI, 313–326, https://doi.org/10.4312/dp.36.20.
Manolakakis, L. 2011. A flint deposit, a tell and a shaft: a lithic production complex at Ravno3 – Kamenovo? (Early Chalcolithic, North-East Bulgaria). Studia Preahistorica 14, 225–244.
Manolakakis, L. 2017. So long blades ... Materiality and symbolism in the north-eastern Balkan Copper Age. In Manolakakis, L., Schlanger, N., Coudart, A. (eds) Europaean archaeology: identities & migrations. Hommages à Jean-Paul Demoule. Leiden: Sidestone Press, 265–284.
Nachev, C. 2009. Оsnovni tipove flint v Bulgaria kato surovini za naprava na artefakti. Interdistsiplinarni izsledvania XX–XXI, 7–21 (in Bulgarian).
Nikolov, T. 1969. Stratigraphy of Lower Cretaceous in part of northeastern Bulgaria. Bulletin of Geological Institute, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 18, 31–71 (in Bulgarian)
Sirakova, S. 1990. The leaf points of Muselievo. In Kozlowski, J. U. (ed.) Feuilles de pierre des industries à pointes foliacées du Paléolithiques supérieur Européen (Etude de recherches de l’Université à Liège, 42). Liège: ERAUL, 63–79.
Sirakova, S. 2006. Kasnopraistoricheska eksploatatsia na kremachni nahodishta po dolinite na rekite Osam i Vit, Severna Bulgaria. Sofia (in Bulgarian).
Sirakova, S. 2020. Middle Palaeolithic leaf points from Bulgaria and their analogous in Southeast and Central Europe. Sofia: Bulged Ltd.
Sirakova, S., Zlateva-Uzunova, R. 2020a. The late prehistoric stone assemblage of Tatul. Bulletin of the National Institute of Archaeology ХLVI, 321–342 (in Bulgarian with English summary).
Sirakova, S., Zlateva-Uzunova, R. 2020b. Stone prehistoric assemblages from Perperikon–Akropola, South Bulgaria. Annual of the National Archaeological Museum XIV, 1–26 (in Bulgarian with English summary).
Taneva, S., Sirakov, N., Nachev, Ch. 2020. Backed and denticilated blades from the Late Bronze Age settlement near Baley, Vidin region. Bulletin of the National Institute of Archaeology ХLVI, 343–354 (in Bulgarian with English summary).
Yolkichev, N.A. 1986. Lithostratigraphic units related to Upper Cretaceous in the West and Central Fore-Balkan. Review of Bulgarian Geological Society XLVII.3, 49–61 (in Bulgarian with English abstract).
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The authors retain full copyright on the articles or other publications.
All materials are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License, under which materials may be distributed or reproduced freely, provided the original is unchanged and is quoted correctly.
