Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 48 (1) 2020   DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2020.48.1.110-119

Annotation:  Early Upper Paleolithic Serpentine Ornaments from Ust-Karakol, Northwestern Altai Unshaped Bone Tools from Denisova Cave, Altai The Sartan Upper Paleolithic Assemblages of the Northwestern Altai Stages in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene Peopling of Lake Bolshoye Ushkovskoye Shore, Kamchatka Fishing in the Early Holocene Human Ecosystem of the Northern Angara Region: Findings from Stratifi Late Bronze Age Smelting and Processing Furnaces of the Eastern Variant of the Pakhomovskaya Culture Late Bronze Age Petroglyphs of Unyuk Mountain, in the Minusinsk Basin Tagar Artifacts at the Stavropol State Museum Reserve (G.N. Prozritelev’s Collection) An Early Pazyryk Kurgan at Khankarinsky Dol, Northwestern Altai: Chronology and Attribution of Artif The Triquetras from the Filippovka Kurgans, Southern Urals Early Iron Age Carpenter Tools from the Altai and Adjacent Territories A Comparative Analysis of Structural and Developmental Trends at Major Cheptsa Fortifi ed Sites in t Ancestors of the Oriental Horse in Eurasia: Origin and Distribution Regional Features of the Traditional Clothing of Ukrainians and Belarusians in the South of the Russ Collection Related to the Omaguaca Indians from the Pucara de Tilcara Fortress, Northwestern Argenti   

Early Iron Age Carpenter Tools
from the Altai and Adjacent Territories

V.P. Mylnikov

Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

This article deals with the functional attribution of Early Iron Age woodworking tools from the Altai and adjacent areas. Finds come from burials, settlements, and hoards; some are random. The attribution was based on the analysis of traces left by tools on the surfaces ofwooden items. The methods were both traditional and special (use-wear, typological, and experimental), enabling one to reconstruct the function of the tool, manufacturing technique, organization of the manufacturing process, technology, and, to some extent, skill. The totality of data suggests that tools were of several types: metal ones used for chopping (celts, axes, and adzes), wooden ones used for striking (hammers, mallets, and mauls), universal cutting and shaving tools (knives of various sizes and profiles), striking and cutting combined tools (chisels), cutting and boring tools (flat drills, reamers, and awls). Results of use-wear analysis in terms of operations (chopping, shaving, and cleavage) suggest that since the Early Bronze Age, three types of processing surfaces with chopping tools have been used: butting, cutting with the grain, and cutting across the grain. Factors affecting efficiency and accuracy of woodworking are discussed.

Keywords: Early Iron Age, Altai, woodworking tools, tool attribution