Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

En mønstret pragtøkse fra ældre Ertebølletid

1998; Volume: 41; Issue: 41 Linguagem: Inglês

2446-3280

Søren H. Andersen, Annette Lerche Trolle,

Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies

A magnificent ornamented axe from the Early Ertebolle Period Even in Denmark, Mesolithic antler axes with geometric patterns covering the whole surface are a rarity. The ornamented tools from the Early Ertebolle Period in Western Denmark have been published previously (S. H. Andersen 1981), and this article should be considered a supplement to this past work. The axe shown in fig. 1 was excavated from a sub-marine Culture layer at Skaerbaek in Eastern Jutland, fig. 7. Consequently, it is a settlement find. The raw material is red deer antler. The axe had been scraped completely smooth and then given a geometric ornamentation covering the whole surface. The main part of the ornamentation had been scratched in a fine and thin line, but a small part had been carried out as a wider and coarser line. The coarser ornamentation is secondary, as it covers the fine line. Ornamentation carried out in two phases has been recorded previously on several other antler axes from Jutland from the Ertebolle Period. The dominant motif is a regular chess­board pattern, which is repeated in different variations, fig. 1. Analysis of the ornamentation shows -as is the case for several other Danish antler axes- that it was not carried out at the same time but over a considerable period. On the axe from Skaerbaek at least 15 different episodes can be identified, which partly overlap and therefore must represent a quite long making fig. 2. This theory is supported by the fact that the axe is very polished with use and tremendous grinding. The net motif is a characteristic ornament of the Early Ertebolle Period, but it is usually carried out in a rhomboid The regular chessboard ornament on the Skaerbaek axe is rare. The other motifs are known from other Jutland antler axes. According to type, ornamentation and find circumstances, the Skaerbaek axe can be dated to the Early Ertebolle Period, c. 5400- 4700 BC. This date matches other finds of ornamented Ertebolle axes in Western Denmark (S. H. Andersen 1981). Ornamented antler axes are known from several sires in East Jutland, fig. 7, but the surface-covering ornamentation and its regularity makes the Skaerbaek axe unusual. This axe belongs to a small exclusive group of a few Danish, ornamented antler axes from the Late Mesolithic Ertebolle period. They are characterised partly by their surface-covering ornamentation, made in several phases over a long period, using different techniques and compositions, fig.3. A few similar axes are known from Zealand, but none from Northern Germany. These axes are thought of as ritual objects, but the wear and grinding shows that they were also used in the everyday life. In spite of the huge difference in space and time, the procedure of successively adding to or covering motifs on the surface of these axes is a clear analogue to the ornamentation of Southwest European caves from the late Ice Age, in which a similar procedure may be observed. The Danish Late Mesolithic antler axes and the cave art presumably reflect a similar ritual backdrop and function. The vast majority of the West Danish finds of ornamented antler axes are from Eastern Jutland, fig. 7, which probably mirrors a regional character of the cultural conditions of this region during the early Ertebolle Period. An important parallel to the Skaerbaek axe is a recently found, ornamented antler axe from an Ertebolle grave at Fannerup on Djursland, fig. 4. Here, too, we are dealing with a completely worn axe with surface ornamentation, the motifs of which are similar to both the Skaerbaek axe and the previously published axe from Bogo (S. H. Andersen 1981). The Fannerup axe is important as it shows that ornamented antler axes do not just occur as single finds or in settlement sites but are also part of a ritual context connected to the grave cult. Another recently found ornamented antler axe comes from the kitchen midden Nederst, fig. 5. It is ornamented with finely scratched rhom­boids -a motif known from other, earlier finds of ornamented antler axes from the Early Ertebolle culture and which provides a link with the other East Jutland finds with this motif, fig. 7. Finally, an axe from the Ertebolle site Nor (Southwest Zealand) has been published. This axe also has a scratched pattern. This is an important find, as it is the first time this pattern occurs in a settlement East of Storebaelt, which has hitherto been the border of the distribution area of this motif, fig. 7. The axe from Korsor may be interpreted in two ways: either the sheaf motif had a larger distribution in Denmark during the Early Ertebolle Period than that which has hither­to been assumed, or it represents an example of contact (exchange) between Ertebolle groups west and east of the Storebaelt respectively. Finally, a revised dating of the flint-edge dagger from Flynderhage is given, fig. 9. This knife has previously been dated to the late Kongemose Culture. However, in the light of the latest published curves of the coast line displacements during the Early Stone Age and several recent finds, for instance from the kitchen midden of Solager and grave 4 from Bogebakken, fig. 10 and 11, it must be re-dated to the Early Ertebolle Culture. Soren H. Andersen