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

working industry. 115 MBA and LBA bone tools are also reported from the lower city at
Boğazköy. 116 Bone tools at Kition, originally interpreted as styli, are now recognized by
Smith as textile implements, specifically “weaving tools for beating in the weft,
particularly when creating a solid field of color, as in tapestry weaving.” 117 In addition to
bone, Evely notes that “antler, horn, shell and even ivory” were fashioned into
serviceable Minoan implements. 118 Moreover, a few terracotta implements have been
found, yet their function was likely more ceremonial than practical. For instance, two
terracotta double axes from the Eilethyia cave on Crete served as votive offerings. From
Mochlos, there are LM terracotta tongs, but it is unclear whether this object was truly
operative in metalworking. 119
While the precise relationship between lithic and metal tools is not fully
understood, the role of these objects within craft industries remains a significant inquiry
for future research. There are three types of lithics (out of Runnels’ thirteen categories)
that have parallels with metal types, and these groups are listed below:
(1) Flaked tools of flint, obsidian, and other materials (includes cutting tools and a wide
variety of other tools…).
(2) Axes, adzes, battle-axes, chisels and other cutting tools shaped by pecking, grinding,
polishing, and perforating hard rocks.
(3) Handstones used for abrading and percussion. 120
Perhaps the most challenging question is how to understand the relation of the cutting
tools made of metal and stone. Many stone tools performed cutting tasks almost as
effectively as metallic versions; the primary advantage of metal types was their
115
Ruscillo 2006, 799-800; Blitzer 1995, 497-500.
116
Boehmer 1979, 49-52, plates XXIX-XXXI.
117
Smith 2009, 35.
118
Evely 1993, 106.
119
Soles 2005, Soles 2007, Soles 2008, 148-151; Andreadaki-Vlazaki et al. 2008.
120
Runnels 1994, 168-169, Table 8.1. For a detailed report outlining the different categories for ground
stone and chipped stone implements, see Blitzer 1995, 425-496, plates 8.1-8.74, 8.89-8.101.
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