More than 25 bone artifacts were recovered during the excavations of 2009 at Güvercinkayası and most of them show virtually all characteristics considered typical of the bone industries of this site, in particular those corresponding to the habitation zones excavated between 1996 and 2000. The 2009 collection includes awls made from long bone splinters, quartered metapodials of medium-bodied cervids or small ruminants of large size, and distal tibiae of hare; edged tools and an awl made from distal tibiae of small ruminants; a bone ring; a needle; sleeves from deer antler sections; and two stamp seals made from compact bone.

Field examination of the material included recording of morphometric data and of the type, extent, and location of the manufacturing and use marks observed using a stereoscope at magnifications of 5-60×. Natural alterations were also studied. The order of modifications of the bone during artifact manufacture was described for each artifact in order to document chaînes opératoires as accurately as possible. Observations on the manufacture of the characteristic tools found in 2009 are presented here and discussed in light of previous research on the bone tool assemblages of the site.

Splinter awls. Although often neglected as simple and uncharacteristic, splinter awls constitute a major source of information about the choice and treatment of the raw materials of the prehistoric bone tools. At Güvercinkayası, elongated fragments tapering toward a pointed end, probably produced by hammerstone percussion from diaphyses of tibiae, metapodials, and probably other long bones, were mostly selected. Various sizes of splinters were utilized depending on the dimensions of awls wanted. The specimen shown in figure 1.1, ca. 54 mm in length, with a maximum width of 7.8 mm and a thickness of ca. 3.5 mm, comes from the shaft of a medium mammal long bone and is typical of the small-sized tools made from splinters at Güvercinkayası. Like most of the bone tools of this site, it was shaped by grinding the bone fragment obliquely and perpendicularly to its long axis. The edges of the splinter were first smoothed, and then the pointed end was put into shape by grinding elongated facets. The point is blunt by manufacture. Blunt points are not abundant but occur throughout the sequence excavated at this site.

Awls made from quartered metapodials. Narrow symmetrical awls, straight in profile and with a solid cross-section over approximately the distal two thirds of their length were shaped from metapodials of medium-sized cervids (cf. fallow deer) or large-sized small ruminants (i.e., males or wild), which had been quartered using longitudinal grooving or a combination of grooving and percussion. As with the specimen shown in figure 1.2, in several cases thorough tool shaping does not permit a clear-cut identification of the debitage process and of the location of the blank on the metapodial. In almost all of the cases examined to date, the quarter retained the split proximal epiphysis. The entire shaft of the awl shown in figure 1.2 was longitudinally scraped down to the butt. The object is also very smoothed and polished through use wear. It is 63.9 mm long, but it was probably longer at the time it was made, since the metapodials mentioned above permit the manufacture of awls measuring more than 120 mm in length. As a rule, these tools were resharpened. The specimen in figure 1.2 shows two cycles of resharpening, the first by grinding thin and elongated intersecting facets which extend over ca. 26 mm from the distal tip, and the second by scraping approximately the same length from both the split and external sides of the tool in order to maintain the sharpness of the point. At Güvercinkayası, awls, including highly curated specimens, indicate various modes and degrees of resharpening. This variability may be related to the conditions of abandonment of the tools as well as their specific uses. Functional data must be examined in combination with the spatial distribution of the tools in order to estimate the frequency and intensity of resharpening at this site.

Tools roughly similar in size and shape to the awls obtained by quartering metapodials could be produced by grooving or fracturing long bones. The tool shown in figure 1.3 also shows partial flattening of the split surface prior to the narrowing of the ends. Complete or partial flattening of the longitudinally split surface of the awls prior to the sharpening of the pointed end is observed in various geographical and cultural contexts (Christidou 1999, 2001 a). It is described as process A.

Awls made from tibiae of hare. These awls constitute one of the most characteristic tool classes of Güvercinkayası. Tibiae of hare are strong, long, straight-shafted bones, which are suitable for making sharp points. The specimen shown in figure 2.1 is a distal fragment of tibia broken across the shaft which was flattened by grinding below the fracture surface. This shaping was intensive and the cancellous interior of the distal epiphysis was exposed. The epiphysis was also ground and its upper relief was rounded. After the shaft and the butt of the tool were worked, the fracture surface was ground in a bevel, and then the blank was further thinned from the broken side and the lateral edges, using the same technique, in order to form a sharp point.

The intensity of shaping during the flattening of the shaft of the tibia and the thinning of the fracture surface varied. The degree of attrition of the bone fragment shown in figure 2.2 was less intense and the fracture surface was simply beveled and not further thinned before the point was sharpened.

The process described here and used to thin gradually long bones broken across the shaft was first recognized at Güvercinkayası from edged tools made from tibiae of small ruminants (Figure 3; see also below). It has been described as process B. This process was sometimes also employed to work longitudinally split tibiae of hare, usually of large individuals, which often retained the split proximal epiphysis as butt (Figure 4).

Awls and edged tools made from distal tibiae of small ruminants. Tibiae of ovicaprids and perhaps roe deer, often derived from large-sized individuals, were worked into awls and edged tools, after breakage across the shaft at or near the midpoint. The tool blanks retained the distal epiphysis of the tibia. Various specimens indicate use of the process B or variants of this process. The external side of the tibia below the fracture plane was first flattened by grinding with/on an abrasive stone or, occasionally, by scraping, and then the natural prominences of the distal articular end were smoothed or even completely removed by grinding (Figure 3). In this latter case, a smooth convex butt was formed. Flattening of the shaft of the tool could be skipped or be superficial. The rest of the shaft of the tool was also sometimes slightly ground or scraped. The active part of the tool was put on the fracture surface which was thinned prior to the sharpening of the end in order to form a beveled cutting-edged tool (see above Figure 3) or prior to the narrowing of the sides in order to form a sharp point. The object shown in figure 5 indicates that the shaft was not flattened, whereas the attrition of the butt, clearly rounded, was very pronounced. The fracture surface was thoroughly ground and thinned before the point was put into shape. This part of the tool was worked all around the circumference. It is very worn by use and does not permit identification of resharpening. It must be noted, however, that the tools worked this way were curated at Güvercinkayası.

Tools shaped according to process B from distal tibiae of small ruminants have also been recognized in the Neolithic site of Musular (Özbaşaran et al. 2003). They are well-represented at Güvercinkayası and their morphology and manufacture can be used as a guide to describe similar occurrences in other sites, even outside Anatolia, in the Aegean (Christidou in press).

Rings. Various thicknesses of rings, ranging from ca. 2 to 9 mm, were cut out the shaft of femurs of small ruminants using a sharp edge of obsidian tool in a sawing motion in order to wear down the compact bone prior to breaking out the ring. The medullary cavity of the long bone provided the hole needed and the rounded cross-section of the central part of the femur determined the circular shape of the rings. Waste found in previous years at Güvercinkayası indicates that more than one ring was produced from a single femur. The specimen, broken, shown in figure 6.1, is 2 mm thick. The thickness of the compact bone, now ca. 1.2 mm, was reduced during finishing by scraping and light grinding. The degree of modification of the rings by shaping varied considerably at Güvercinkayası, and some rings were simply cut and used without further modification.

Needle. The group of perforated points of Güvercinkayası encompasses considerable morphological, dimensional, and technological variability, from slim longitudinal long bone or antler fragments straight in profile and shaped into needles to large whole antler tines of deer, naturally curved. The specimen shown in figure 6.2, with a maximum width of about 3.5 mm, is a needle. It was carefully finished by scraping after the opening of the hole, which is an eye shaped by longitudinal grooving. This way of perforation was used for making needles. The specimen in figure 6.2 shows that the split surface of the blank, probably derived from a long bone, was grooved in order to thin the bone, and then the hole was punched and lightly scraped. The proximal part of the needle, widened with convex sides, ends to a point. Root etching has damaged most of the surface of this object.

Sleeves. Hafting equipment produced from sections of deer antler is a common occurrence at Güvercinkayası (see also Christidou 2001 b). There is a great variety of sizes of sleeves, determined by the dimensions of the antler sections chosen as blanks. The sides of the object shown in figure 6.3 taper toward the proximal end. Deterioration of the cancellous bone of the antler, as a result of weathering, does not permit identification of the dimensions of the hole. The distal end of the tool was smoothed, whereas the proximal end preserved only debitage marks indicating use of percussion with a cutting-edged stone tool and an oblique cut angles.

The main types of sleeves found at Güvercinkayası have a circular or ellipsoid cross-section and bear a single hole for hafting the tool (Figure 7.1), and also, sometimes, a proximal one (Figure 7.2) used to fix the haft which was probably made from wood. The type with sides tapering toward the proximal end (Figure 7.3) presents a single, distal, hole.

Stamp seals made from compact bone. As with the seal discovered in the first years of the excavations at Güvercinkayası, compact bone, possibly from the diaphysis of long bones of large ruminants, was cut into rectangular plaquettes, ca. 30 mm in length and 25 mm in width. Thick bone flakes of suitable size could also be selected, but since flakes tend to become thinner toward one end, cutting plaquettes in size would perhaps be more convenient for the manufacture of seals. These objects are thoroughly worked by scraping and grinding and debitage marks cannot be recognized. One of the large sides of the plaquette, most probably the split side of the bone, was flattened (Figure 8) prior to the carving of symbols by use of a pointed end of stone tool as burin. The opposite side is convex in cross-section and corresponds to the external convex side of the bone, which was only slightly scraped. The lateral edges of the seal were rounded by scraping and the distal and proximal ends flattened by grinding. Its corners were rounded by rubbing with an abrader. Each seal bears in the center a longitudinal circular hole. This hole was probably opened prior to the shaping of the blanks. Because the removal of crusts formed inside the hole of the specimen shown in figure 8.1 would break it, imprints of working and use marks for microscopic analysis could not be taken. Based on the observations made on the broken specimen, shown in figure 8.2, the following process of perforation can be hypothesized: a stone piercing tool was used to shape a shallow depression on one end of the bone fragment and then the opening was made using sand, water, and a solid wooden stick or similar object kept between the two hands and used in a semi rotary motion to wear the bone down. The work was continued from the opposite side until the bottoms of the holes met. Partial crusting and heavy use polish on the specimen shown in figure 8.2 do not permit a positive identification of the perforating tools. Radiography of the whole seal can permit to observe at least the shape of the hole. When the lips of the holes are observed from the rear, convex, face of the seals, they show tiny shallow notches with an edge blunt by use. These notches were probably formed by the strip from which the stamp was strung. As a rule, use polish is well-developed on all sides of the objects.

The first stamp seal of Güvercinkayası and the fragmentary specimen shown in figure 8.2 depict animal figures. The whole object shows human figures confronting each other, each bust formed by a triangle shaped slightly asymmetrical in order to give a perspective representation of the scene. The legs and the heads are shown in profile. Perspective representation of the animal in figure 8.2 was given by showing the front part of the body in a slightly larger scale and by carving the feet turning in opposite directions. This object was reused after breakage.

The bone artifact assemblages of Güvercinkayası present a varied picture of technical processes and behaviors. More than 300 pieces of worked bone, mainly tools and tool fragments, have been recorded and show a highly diversified production based on the exploitation of skeletal bone and teeth from animals butchered at or near the site, and of antlers of red and possibly fallow deer (Christidou in preparation). Use of shed antlers has been recognized in the previous years and therefore organized procurement of this raw material through gathering outside the site can be proposed for at least part of the production (Christidou 2001 b). As has already been emphasized by the excavators of the site (Sevil Gülçur and P. Çaylı, pers. comm., August 2009; see also Çaylı 2009), typological and technological diversity distinguishes habitation from dump zones and both these contexts from storage areas excavated at Güvercinkayası. At the same time, there is a striking degree of continuity in manufacturing techniques, technical behaviors, and tool forms throughout the sequences excavated to date. Stratigraphic breakdown of the data will help to refine this picture.

References
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CHRISTIDOU, R., in press. A preliminary study of the bone industries of Limenaria. In: D. Malamidou, S. Papadopoulos, eds. Proïstorikos oikismos Limenarion Thasou. Thessaloniki: Altintzis.

CHRISTIDOU, R., in preparation. The bone industries of the Chalcolithic site of Güvercinkayası, central Anatolia. First presentation.

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Captions to figures