A recent study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports by researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) reveals the symbolic significance of grinding tools used by early Neolithic societies in Europe, particularly emphasizing their importance in the lives of women. The research focuses on the analysis of three deposits discovered in Germany, including two located in Goseck, one of the oldest ritual sites in Europe, and one in Sömmerda, Thuringia.
The study included fourteen sets of grinding tools belonging to the Linear Pottery culture, which existed at the beginning of the Neolithic period and reached its peak between 4900 and 4650 BCE in Central Europe. These tools were buried in ritual deposits, reflecting their symbolic value and connection to the cycles of time, human life, nature, and the evolution of settlements.
“The intention behind the deposits reflects the multifaceted perception of time, which is not only related to the harvests but also to the lives of the women who used the mills daily,” said Roberto Risch, coordinator of the study. “Each of these tools is the result of the uninterrupted adaptation of the woman's body and stone over the course of years or decades,” he explained.
The research indicates that the grinding stones were essential to the daily tasks of women in the Linear Pottery culture. The use and maintenance of these stones in the domestic context represent the activities carried out by women. The selection of new, used, and almost worn-out tools symbolizes the transition from generation to generation, reflecting the social value of these objects.
“Each mill reflects a cycle of production, use, and burial and is directly connected to the lives of women, who were their main users,” said Erik Zamzow, a doctoral researcher at the Department of Prehistory of UAB and the first author of the study. “The biography of these tools is inextricably linked to the perception of time.”
The artifacts were placed in pairs, with the working surfaces in contact and oriented from east to west. The deliberate arrangement was examined to further understand their symbolic meaning. The levels of wear on the tools, ranging from new to worn out, are associated with human life cycles, serving as an allegory of birth, life, and death.
“The condition of the tools indicates cycles of creation, use, and obsolescence, reflecting symbols such as fertility, life cycles, and the daily and annual rhythms of agricultural life,” the study notes. Some of the mills were essentially new, others were in the middle of their useful life, and some were worn out. The selection reflects the symbolic representation of the various stages of life: birth, growth, and death.
One revealing aspect of the study was the way the hand mills were removed from households. Until now, the grinding tools were interpreted from a functional perspective. “Our study enriches an additional level of symbolic meaning, which we hope to continue exploring,” said Marina Eguíluz, one of the authors of the study and a PhD candidate in Prehistory.
The researchers emphasize that the intention of the deposits, the selection of objects, and their placement appear as issues in the economy and ideology of the Early Neolithic. The tools and their ritual deposits may reflect the lives of Neolithic populations who changed their locations every few years, possibly every generation or two.
To date, at least 20 deposits have been identified, containing a total of 89 tools traced to 13 settlements or ritual enclosures. With some differences, similar artifacts have also been found in several Central European regions, including France and Belgium.
“A great deal of time was spent producing and curating the grinding slabs and grinders,” the study points out. The materials used for the construction of the tools came from distant areas, indicating considerable effort in both their production and preservation. This suggests an analogy with the cycles of life of people and settlements, which were periodically abandoned and reoccupied.
The UAB team proposes a broader and more multidimensional interpretation of time, emphasizing the complex perception of time held by these communities. Risch emphasizes the continuity of the practice in today's self-sufficient agricultural societies, where hand mills remain essential tools.
“The techno-functional evidences of the tools have almost not been taken into account to explore the symbolic meaning of these types of deposits,” said Eguíluz. “Future studies incorporating the methodology we have applied here could serve to contrast our hypothesis.”
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.