The Lithic Assemblage of Varemeni Goulon (Kozani District, Northern Greece): Raw Material Exploitation, Tool Production, and Microwear Analysis

Abstract

The present study: a) provides a comprehensive account of the assemblage of the Varemeni Goulon Neolithic site regarding raw material exploitation and tool production strategies, b) explores the tools’ functions through a detailed microwear analysis. Employing the chaîne opératoire approach allows us to determine the sequence of operations from raw material procurement to tool production, use, and discard. Traceology provides answers about the functions of the tools and the materials they were used on, highlighting otherwise undetectable aspects of their complex biographies. Microwear analysis at Varemeni Goulon demonstrates a range of stone tool functions, including cereal harvesting, reed and vegetal matter processing, bone and hide working, and the application of ochre in hide processing. This offers the opportunity to test the conventional lithic typology against the functional tool categories. No provenance analysis of the raw materials has been conducted. Nevertheless, the macroscopic identification of supra-regional raw materials in the assemblage denotes the external contacts of the prehistoric community and the social networks with which local people engaged.