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

Anatolia 8.9 cm (n=245) ±5.74 cm; CV=0.64 0.83 cm (n=269) ±0.67 cm; CV=0.81
Syria-
Palestine
14 cm (n=19) ±5.4 cm; CV=0.39 1.4 cm (n=12) ±0.64; CV=0.46
Shipwrecks 13.55 cm (n=14) ±7.3 cm; CV=0.54 2.3 cm (n=16) ±1.1 cm; CV=0.48
Table 4.9: Chisel length and cutting edge width by region (also see Fig. 4.10)
The regionalism in chisel size is evident in a series of scatter plots (Fig. 4.10) and
Table 4.9, which gives the average, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation values
for chisel length and cutting edge width. The relative dearth of wide chisels (Sizes 4 and
5) from Anatolia and the eastern Mediterranean stands in stark contrast to their
abundance in the Aegean, and explains why there is a significant disparity in tool size
between the regions. The average Anatolian chisel length and cutting width are 8.9 and
0.83 cm, respectively. For comparison, the Cretan chisel average is considerably greater,
at 16.6 cm (length) and 2.2 cm (cutting edge width), while the mainland average falls at
10.1 cm (length) and 1.94 cm (cutting edge width). The extraordinarily narrow Anatolian
chisels were impractical for major wood/stone cutting tasks, and must have been
restricted to specialized, delicate wood work, such as cabinetry. At the opposite extreme,
the large, elongated Minoan chisels are ideal for wood and stone cutting. 388
To summarize the chisel types, the Anatolian bit-size chisel (Plate 4.18-19) is the
smallest type in the dataset, and it is difficult to imagine how they were utilized in craft
work. Larger yet still narrow-sized chisels certainly cut wood, as suggested by
comparable measurements with mortise chisels (Plates 4.20-4.21). These narrow
versions—the most common chisel type cross-regionally—were equally effective in
detailed masonry work. Wider chisels (as well as axes and adzes), however, would have
been more efficient in cutting thick timber and roughly fashioning a stone block (Plates
4.24-26). Markings from chisels are regularly preserved on masonry faces in Minoan,
388 Evely 1993, 14.
163