Truncated blade

Several researchers accumulated the collection of artefacts from site no. 1 in Morzyczyn on Lake Miedwie, Stargard County, from the late nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. Currently, it comprises artefacts dating to different periods of the Stone Age. One of these finds is a microlith made on a small blade, which suggests that it can be linked to the middle period of the Maglemose culture (c. 7800-7000 BC), even though its size compares quite large to other Middle Maglemose artefacts. Interestingly, the blade from which the object was made came from the core preparation phase, as there was a cortex from the flint nodule on the top side, and the blade was struck with a soft stone instead of applying the pressure technique typical in this period. Offering this kind of opportunistic approach to the raw material was typical of the communities living in Western Pomerania during the early and middle periods of the Maglemose culture. Points, also called microliths, are small flint tools used as an insert for a more prominent tool or weapon made from small retouched blades. In the Mesolithic era, they were commonly used to arm arrows, serving as points and barbs, but also as parts of knife and dagger blades. Typically, they took the form of simple truncations (such as the object described), backed blades, or triangles. The function largely determined the structure, shape, and size of the blades they were made from. In the older literature, it was generally accepted that the body of microliths was culturally determined. Therefore a great deal of importance was attached to the typology of this artefact category. The relationship between the shape of the objects and the culture they represent is now believed to be not always as clear-cut as formerly assumed. Michał Adamczyk