Spatulas and abraded astragalus: Two types of tools used to process ceramics? Examples from the Romanian prehistory

In most of the Neolithic and Chalcolitic assemblages, north of the Danube, constantly appear two types of artifacts: spatulas made on longitudinal bipartitioned rib and abraded astragalus. Some specialists considered them tools used in different stages during the chaîne opératoire of ceramics production. Starting from this functional hypothesis, we developed an experimental program in order to establish its reality. Thus, the first task included the processing of tools, using both the types of raw materials (rib of Bos taurus and astragalus of Ovis aries/Capra hircus), and the technical transformation sequences identified in the case of archaeological artifacts. After the tools were processed, the spatulas were used in the action of modeling the ceramics' form, in order to eliminate the excess of raw material and to homogenize the surface. The astragalus, abraded prior to their utilization, were used for ceramic finishing, in order to mechanically polish the surface. In a third stage, the wear traces, developed on experimental samples, were compared with those present on archaeological pieces, illustrating a high degree of similarity. Our experimental program demonstrated the importance of experimental archaeology in the reconstruction the collective savoir-faire of Prehistoric communities.