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

contract. 108 Tools are mentioned in other legal documents from this period, as in an
example of an apprentice who received a tool set as a gift upon completing his service
and training. 109
These ethnographic examples provide clues for understanding prehistoric
craftspersons, their tools and their trade.
A good indication of the value of metal tools in the Bronze Age is offered by the
evidence at Akrotiri, as noted by Palyvou: “Bronze tools were, of course, quite common
[at the site], but it seems that they were too precious to leave behind when the residents
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abandoned the town.” The rarity of metal implements on Thera is contrasted by the
abundance of stone tools left by the residents. 111
Bronze tools were expensive to produce
and acquire, so they were retained whenever possible. It was more economical to adapt,
repair and maintain them (e.g. sharpen and harden cutting edges) than to re-melt or
recast.
Tools were regularly adapted to fit the individual needs of owners. Some tools
from hoard contexts were altered to the point that their functions were changed, a point
discussed in Chapter 5. Tool forms may be manipulated to serve different or enhanced
purposes, though they could also be melted and recast. Evidence for morphological and
functional manipulation underscores the high value—not necessarily based on metallic
worth—and diversification of prehistoric implements.
108 This dowry was given to Anna Vrokolaka, and it is worthwhile to quote the relevant sections of the
document, as translated in Polyzoi 2009, 93: “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
Amen and all the saints, my wife Kali Pavlou and I, Nikolas George Vrokolakas, hereby conclude this
dowry contract for my daughter, Anna, giving her first with God’s mercy, our blessing and our parents’
blessings. We give her a house in Castro near Mali’s property…and one ploughshare, one pickaxe, two
grubbing hoes and two axes…”
109 The apprenticeship agreement involved four years of work to the miller, and upon completion the
apprentice received some money and a set of tools. The contract was made on Syros at a public notary by
S. Maximos in 1827. See Polyzoi 2009, 159.
110 Palyvou 2005, 114.
111 For a brief description of the stone and metal tools, see Doumas 1983, 114-115, plates 68-71, 74.
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