Techniques et societes neolithiques

The use of sawing has often been considered as a characteristic of the manufacturing of polished stone axes in the Circum-Alpine region during the Neolithic. This technique has however only been noted at certain periods and in a few areas. The technique of sawing was used to produce very long polished blades made of rare rocks, as well as more common tools, as attested by the thousands of objects found in the wetland sites of the Swiss Plateau. The analysis of this exceptional material allows us to seek answers to questions relating to the various technical choices and how the production was organized, as well as being able to ask questions about the social organizations that underpin these phenomena.