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

double adze from the Enkomi Gunnis hoard has a sign that resembles Hood’s “hockey
sticks,” a mason’s mark that occurs at least five times on Knossian architecture. 91 Despite
the large corpus of inscribed signs on Minoan buildings and an equally impressive
collection of literature on the subject, the purpose of a mason’s mark remains unknown. 92
To complicate matters, markings are found in other media as well, for instance on
ceramics and copper oxhide ingots. 93
Signs on tools have not been studied with the same
enthusiasm as those on masonry, pottery or ingots. Any similarities between these
inscrutable symbols are difficult to explain because their meaning may change with the
medium on which they appear. Yet signs (discrete marks, short series of characters, or
full inscriptions with complete words) convey specific information that extends beyond
decoration.
Symbols individualize objects while enhancing their meaning, though the exact
semiotics are often difficult to determine. Regardless of their meaning, incisions on
implements denote a sense of pride and ownership and serve as a marker for
identification. In personalizing an object, symbols and simple geometric patterns
establish a strong bond between the tool and its owner/user. The phenomenon of
decorating implements has persisted through the present day, emphasizing the human
tendency to brand and personalize one’s possessions, even mundane functional items.
Early American tools were often decorated, if only by the date of production and the
manufacturer’s or owner’s mark.
94
A connection between user and tool seems universal,
and this point is emphasized by Sloane with regard to Early American implements: “The
91
Hood 1987, 207.
92
Begg 2004a; Begg 2004b.
93
Pot marks: Hirschfeld 2002; Oxhide ingot marks: Bass 1967, 72-76; Yalçin, Pulak, and Slotta 2005, 561,
569-571 entries 3, 33, 37-39, 45-46.
94
Sloane 2002, 3-6.
52