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

key factors in interpreting carpentry and masonry tools, and many incorporate tool kits in
their assemblage. Using hoard compositions as a guide, tool groups are understood as
better indicators of interregional craft links than are isolated items. The composition of a
tool kit may show resemblances either to local or foreign patterns of tool consumption.
The identification of tool kits in Chapter 5 represents one possible method for assessing
the mobility of craftspersons.
III. Organization of the database and its categories
All MBA and LBA metal tools found within the study area (at least those known
to me) were included in the database, even if they lacked specific contextual details. The
definition of a tool is addressed in the following chapter section, as are methods for
differentiating tools from weapons. The entry and classification of every tool into
FileMaker Pro enabled numerous consumption patterns to be revealed. The chief
categories for each entry included: chronological period, general area, general site size,
context, and tool functionality. These basic groupings provide a technique for evaluating
the general tool industries and, in particular, the carpentry/masonry implements. More
detailed database fields include: specific region, ceramic phase, object dimensions, and
other custom inquires (e.g. delicate or detail work?, part of a tool kit?, multi-functional
tool?, marked or decorated tool?). These details are considered for the carpentry/ masonry
tool data, providing a more nuanced investigation of those objects.
The range of database options for chronological period is broad: the transition of
the Early to Middle Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age, Early Iron Age?
(only a handful of examples), and Unknown. Objects that lack contextual details are
regularly published without precise dates, though they are understood as coming from the
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