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

comparably-shaped awls, punches, and other pointed shanks are probable tools for
crafting.
Function is important because it must be identified in order for an object to
qualify as a “tool,” the working definition of which is required before embarking on
further discussion of type and distribution. Since this study is primarily concerned with
the implications of craftsmanship, tools may be considered here as: a device for
performing a task of production. This is not to say that tools are inherently defined by
being associated with a craft. Pins and needles could serve as tools if they aided a task of
production, but there may be ambiguity if they were used for personal adornment or to
hold clothing together. Likewise, utilitarian objects such as knives are not inevitably
attached to specific crafts but are still obvious tools used in producing something. The
Merriam-Webster dictionary indicates that a tool is handheld, but some devices such as
the pendulum saw and tubular drill were not operated in one’s hands, and so they might
be best classified as machines. Despite these definitions, a certain degree of subjective
interpretation is unavoidable in classifying tools, especially small, indistinct objects. At
the other extreme, large implements may present classification quandaries when there are
similarities in form and design and if a tool resembles a weapon.
The terminology assigned to each object has wide ramifications, and Doumas
notes that, “the archaeologist’s responsibility in attaching names to artifacts is great, since
the danger of proceeding to misinterpretation as a consequence of misnomers is even
greater.” 45
45 Doumas 1998, 157.
This truth is pertinent when differentiating tools from weapons, since these
objects serve very different purposes. Despite the remarkable divide between the
connotations of the two types of objects, some examples could fit into either category. In
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