Middle and Late Bronze Age Metal Tools from the Aegean, Eastern ...

punches, borers, undefined implements and styli (Fig. 3.24). A minute rotary drill was
necessary for seal engraving, yet such a tool is not recognized among the preserved
implements. This drill was probably not made of metal, for the stones that were cut were
harder than that of copper or bronze (e.g. more than Mohs 5). The tool may exist in the
archaeological record, but may be undetected or misidentified. Because of the ambiguity
of the implement types, the regional distribution of the small craft tools is not pursued in
depth, other than for awls. The significance of this implement category should not be
underestimated even though it is discussed in a limited manner here. With ethnographic
analogies and more detailed contexts, the comprehension of these tools and their
associated craft activities may be improved.
The characteristic small-craft tool is the awl, which was well disseminated among
the study regions (Figs. 3.24; 3.25a). Awls, like all tools in this functional category,
present challenges in their identification. For instance, awls with fine points were just as
likely to have been engravers. Because of this ambiguity, there are implements that
resemble engravers, small drills and punches, but are classified as awls in the database.
Therefore, the incidence of awls, as reported here, may be skewed by issues of object
identification. Awls were sporadically included in a carpenter’s tool kit, yet it is
impossible to ascertain whether awls were intended to be used on wood or other materials
like leather.
Although there was an increase in the percentage of small craft tools from the
MBA to LBA (Fig. 3.21b), the preference for awls (roughly 8.25% of all tools) remained
consistent in both periods (Fig. 3.25a). The steady existence of awls throughout the
second millennium, especially on Cyprus and Crete, revealed that the craft needs for
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