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

Argolid and the central Anatolian plateau is distinguishable. What kinds of sites acquired
metal tools, and how are they scattered throughout a landscape? This question addresses
the issue of tool availability, which may be considered by comparing distributions found
at palatial and urban contexts against humbler settings. Sites are divided into four
classifications: large (palatial or major urban center), medium (secondary to palace/urban
center, i.e. towns and villages), minor (unimpressive rural setting), and those known from
stray finds alone. The creation of this database field helps demonstrate how tools are
consumed within a hierarchy of sites.
Tool classification according to context and functionality are key analytical
elements in this study. Seven different contexts are available for each tool entry: hoard,
burial, settlement, shipwreck, workshop, cultic site/sanctuary, and unstratified or
unknown (including unprovenienced). Tools are divided into six functional groupings:
agricultural, metallurgical, utilitarian, implements for small craft activities,
carpentry/masonry, and ritual/prestige items. Some objects, like knives, may fit into
several of these classes. While the possibility of multi-category implements exists, these
practical divisions are sufficiently differentiated to allow for accurate trends of tool
selection. Groupings are as inclusive as possible while still remaining distinctive to
uncover basic patterns of tool consumption.
Tools utilized in agricultural work include sickles, pruning knives or pruning
hooks, plowshares or hoes, shovels, picks, plow scrapers, and pick-adzes. The last two
objects are tenuous as agricultural implements. Only one plow scraper is known in the
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