EXOTIC FLINT AND FLINT SUBSTITUTES MATERIAL IN STONE AGE AND BRONZE AGE SETTLEMENTS IN LITHUANIA

Valentinas Baltrunas, Bronislovas Karmaza, Dainius Kulbickas, Tomas Ostrauskas

Summary

This article gives the results of researches carried out by a group of scientists from the Lithuanian Institute of History, the Institute of Geology and Geography and the Pedagogical University according to the project "Siliceous rocks as a raw material for prehistoric ware" supported by the Lithuanian State Science and Studies Foundation. The goal of the project was to explore the sources of various siliceous rock raw materials and their use in Stone and Bronze ages in the territory of Lithuania. Concerning the characteristics and geochemical structure of ancient Lithuanian settlements ware and their siliceous raw material, a special article is made ready for press by the authors of this publication (Baltrunas et al. 2006).

In Lithuania, flint concretions can be found in comparatively deeply lying deposits of the Cretaceous system (period) (Fig. 1). Flint concretions are common in the southwest of the country in chalk and chalk marl from Turon to the cretaceous rocks' ridge of Maestricht. Deposit type flints are especially often in Santon - Campan cretaceous rocks. They vary much in shapes and sizes and can reach even 0,5 m in diameter. Quaternary glaciers have destroyed part of upper-lying Cretaceous carbonaceous rocks, covered them with morainic deposits and scattered flint pieces about south of the line Klaipeda-Raseiniai-Kaunas-Vilnius (Fig. 1). Beyond the spread line, flint is abundant among Quaternary deposits. Chalk blocks or their washout residuals can be found most often in the areas of Varena region: Matuizos, Mielupiai, Akmuo settlements, in the zone on both sides of the Merkys between Pamerkiai and Valkininkai settlements, in Salcininkai region near Jasiunai and elsewhere.

Gaize that is often met with among silicites represents usually a grey and porous rock with prevailing silicon dioxide. In Lithuania, gaize appears in the Upper Cretaceous Santon - Campan layers and the Paleogene Alkas formation deposits (Katinas, 1994). Because of glacier exaration during the Quaternary period, these rocks can be found now in the very Quaternary deposits too. The source of gaize raw material in the Zemaiciai upland (the West of Lithuania) should relate to the Upper Quaternary Campan rock "island" (chalk and marl with gaize nests and layers) that is lying 10-15 km kilometers north of the Birzulis Lake, between towns ofZarenai and Luoke. Pieces of silicites can be met also in the carbonaceous deposits (dolomites and dolomite powder) of Upper Devonian ^stras formation (Fig. 1). Their samples have been noticed in North Lithuania rock exposures ofNemunelis and Apascia (Fig. 2). These silicites consist of quartz, chalcedony and less often of lutecite minerals. In the Nemunelis and Apascia rivers exposures of the cluster nearNemunelio Radviliskis 1-30 cm big silicite concretions (Fig. 3,4) had been detected in one approximately 35 cm thick layer of dolomite powder underneath a few dolomite layers separated by clay strips, some 3-5 m below the top of exposures (Vodzinskas, 1966). It has been defined that silicites can be detected in a narrow 15 kilometres long tract. We can make a supposition that silicites from this cluster and larger nearby Latvian clusters (of Daugava and Gauja basins) must have been exarated by glaciers and fanned out over the Lithuanian territory in southwest, south and southeast directions. Maybe these or still undiscovered clusters in dolomite beds should be the ones to relate to the thin plate shape samples of flint raw material found in Jara settlements 1 and 2 and so unusual for southern Lithuania flint raw materials.

Scientists of the Institute of Geology and Geography have carried out a geochemical analysis of 143 samples of flint, silicites and silicified gaize raw materials from ancient settlements, clusters and various sites of discovery (Baltrunas et al. 2006). A clustered survey of geochemical data for all samples has been carried out by Ward method. In three clusters that are more massive an easily explainable grouping of samples has been obtained. One cluster has been formed by the samples ofNemunelio Radviliskis Devonian silicites, Sukainiai and Jonikaiciai gaize and its silicified varieties; the other one consisted of silicified gaize from Kalniskiai, Dreniai and Kretuonas and flint ware from Birzulis and Dreniai. The samples of Margioniai, Kalniskiai, Oznugariai, Kretuonas flint ware only and samples of separate Grodno, Margioniai and Sviliai concretions made the third cluster. Good quality, rich and available flint raw material of the Nemunas basin (southern Lithuania) is the reason why exotic samples of imported flint found in ancient settle-j merits are not abundant. The place of the Jurassic choco-| late flint origin in Swietokrzyskie Mountains of Central Poland (Fig. 6) is about 650-700 km away from the dis-| covery site in Kasetos village (Varena region). The dis-' covery of this kind should tell us about the relations be-1 tween the natives of the late Palaeolithic Svidrai culture | (late 9th millennium B.C.) and the local group of the same I culture in Central Poland. Three articles of pink flint in [ the collection of the 2nd Jara settlement (Anyksciai region) are speaking most probably about the relations of • the Neolithic people with the regions ofValdaj heights, of ; the upper Volga river (?) (Fig. 6). Some yellowish and reddish flint findings from K-retuonas 1 st C settlement (Svencionys region) dated to the early Bronze Age perhaps could be linked with the upper Volga and Oka clusters of flint raw materials. The late Neolithic should be the right dating for the Jurassic striped flint findings:

Seimyniskeliai (Anyksciai region) tetrahedral axe and similar axe splinter from the 6th Karaviskes settlement (Varena region) (Brazaitis, Piliciauskas 2005, Fig. 16:1, 3). This kind of raw material can be also met only in Krzemionki Opatowskie locality of Central Poland (Fig. 6). Igliskeliai (Marijampole region) flint axe (Brazaitis, Piliciauskas 2005, Fig. 16:2) has been made of raw material which is characteristic ofVolyn flint clusters. It has traveled about 650-750 km away from its raw material places. The Kasetai village findings' assortment - part ofVandalinas Sukevicius collection - has revealed a grey, white-spotted flint splinter that was considered to have derived from the Swietochowo locality near the Middle Vistula; that makes approximately 650 km (Fig. 6). According to the technological characteristics, it should date to the Late Neolith -Bronze Age. Exotic findings of imported flint in Lithuania can be hardly explained by the economic necessity. Possibly, they have come here by means of exchange as less common prestigious things. An idea that the flint piece or article could be brought from distant countries by ancient wanderers should not be rejected either. In this case, a piece of exotic flint was important rather like a symbol of somebody's bonds with his native clan (society) and the lands subject to it.

After having carried out the statistical analysis (Table 1) of flint stock from ancient settlements in northern Lithuania, good quality imported flint raw material in the majority of ancient settlements was determined to make 96,5-100% of the whole stock according to the number of discovered processed stone fragments. Only the collections of Gaigaline 2 (the Birzulis lakeside, Telsiai region)

(71%) and Dumblyne (the Sartai Lake island, Rokiskis region) (76,7%) are standing out. Because of worse raw material characteristics. North Lithuanian rocks of silicites and silicified gaize have been used mostly for the production of scratcher - scraper type articles. It would be all right to say that raw materials alternative to flint have been used quite often in northern Lithuania though to modest extent. One of more convincing explanations for this is that temporary shortages in good quality imported raw material used to be compensated this way. During all periods of Stone and Bronze ages people of northern Lithuania and partly of some micro regions of neighbouring Latvia had been using good quality flint raw material from southern zone of Lithuania. Judging by the collections from ancient settlements, the distance of 100 - 200 km to flint beds has not been any greater obstacle for Stone Age people to provide themselves with necessary raw stuff. This point of view opens a truly impressive picture of the Early Mesolithic Kunda culture with its net of flint raw material distribution (Ostrauskas 2002) (Fig. 6) which covered the areal of Kunda culture completely or almost completely and made possible for the societies 600-700 km away from raw material sources to provide them with good quality flint. This is why some social instrument that could have been used for this purpose should be considered - maybe special mining expeditions or mining expeditions coordinated with the net of long-range exchange between related societies. Of course, the researches carried out are limited in their scope and should rather be considered to be just the beginning of new direction researches. Though the statistical survey has indicated silicites (alternative to flint) raw materials to be of little significance in ancient population economies, the possibility of existing societies much interested in this kind of substitute cannot be rejected.