The Evolution Of The Multi-Tool

The team wanted to determine whether metal knives found in late Bronze Age deposits in Karmin in western Poland (ca. 900–800 BCE) could have been used as multi-tools in processing hard materials like red deer antler and animal bone. To get at this question, they applied an experimental method involving a five-piece collection of late Bronze Age knives from four deposits, and a contemporary replica of a late Bronze Age bronze knife tool. They subjected the replica to use-wear analysis—the first such study to focus on the knife instead of the material that was processed. The experiment included five movements engaging various sections of the knife blade and tip, and produced diversified traces depending on the type of technique and raw material worked. The results showed that an adequately cast knife, hardened by cold working, could have been applied in all stages of manufacturing antler and bone objects, from initial material division (cross-cutting), to over shaping (surface cutting, whittling), to finishing (scraping, drilling). Although the tool required frequent resharpening, it efficiently performed various movements. The traces on the replica, such as U-shaped notches, chips, blunting, bows, scratches, and serrated and wavy edges, correspond well with those observed on the knives from Karmin. Justyna also recently published a review of The Life and Journey of Neolithic Copper Objects: Transformations of the Neuenkirchen Hoard, North-East Germany (3800 BCE) by Henry Skorna (Leiden: Sidestone Press, 2022) in Journal of Anthropological Research.
April 5, 2024