Flint sickles from graves of the Strzyżów culture in the light of use-wear analysis

Abstract

The presented article aims to interpret the function of the selected flint sickles from the Early Bronze Age. For this purpose, we made a use-wear analysis of 13 sickles coming from the cemeteries of the Strzyżów culture in south-east Poland: Rogalin site 15, Hrubieszów-Podgórze site 1, Hrebenne sites 10 and 31, and Świerszczów site 5 (Hrubieszów district, Lublin province). All analyzed sickles were made of Volhynian flint and represent the sub-triangular type. As a result, we can conclude thatanalyzed tools were used mostly for harvesting cereals or other siliceous plants. They were placed in hafts made of hard organic materials, and hide or plants. Conducted studies also revealed that these objects, suitably altered (sickle tips were destroyed right before being deposited in a grave) became important grave goods.