| Entry: | What the heck is going on in Building 102?
This entry is based on the heavy residue backlog from 2013 that I have been processing over the last several weeks (better late than never right?)
Everybody has heard me going on and on about prismatic blades, and how they come to dominate the obsidian assemblage after ~Level VI. This suggests a shift from importing a few of these blades from elsewhere to on site production of this technically advanced blade industry. This got me to wondering if there is any evidence for where on the site this might have first occurred. I don't know if I have found it yet, but there is certainly something weird going on in Space 17 of Building 102 (Scrape.?G, lumped in unofficially as 4040.G and 4040.?H as there are two separate building sequences, so likely somewhere around Level VI - V). Here's what I have discovered so far:
F.7101 - U.20613 - A heavily used large section of prismatic blade from Nenezi Dag was found embedded into the 2nd makeup coursing of an oven. Only a few other tiny chips were found with it.
F.7101 - U.20642 - Another heavily used large section of prismatic blade from Nenezi Dag was found in the 4th makeup coursing of the same oven, with only a few other tiny chips.
F.7306 - U.20904 - Heavily used large section from Nenezi Dag found in the clay base of a bin, with only a few other tiny chips.
F.3688 - U.20906 - Heavily used large section from Gollu Dag stuck in plaster wall, it was the ONLY piece of chipped stone found in this 15L sample.
F.3699 - U.20981 - Heavily used large section from Nenezi Dag found in the levelling layer of a basin, alongside a projectile fragment.
Needless to say, this is quite strange, and something I haven't seen before. These pieces are clearly selected and placed into these contexts intentionally, so the question now is, why? Do they represent an intense curiosity into the nature of these 'exotic' blades, and so were included in the building fabric of features in B.102? Conversely, is B.102 the residence of the first master blademaker who moved to Catal as part of the westward expansion of this technology and intensified agricultural practices? Or maybe it was the home of the first Catal resident who learned this art of prismatic pressure blade making from outsiders? Unfortunately, it is possible that these questions may never be answered by this project, as B.102 will not be excavated further this season. I will certainly take a look at the other chipped stone from this building from this perspective, and with these new questions in mind, and I will let you all know what I find out! |
