Another facet of man – Red deer relationship in prehistory: Antler exploitation at the Eneolithic settlement at Hârșova-tell (Constanţa County, Romania)

Abstract

The significant quantity of antlers identified in the Gumelniţa A2 level in different stages of processing, from finished objects to consumed debitage waste, motivated us to try to reconstruct the management of the modalities of this raw material, of the processing techniques used and activities developed with the help of antler tools. In other words, the series of antler-made tools presents an important evidence of the activity of the Hârsova-tell community. The mentioned series reunites all the conditions for achieving such a study: the numerical importance of the remains, the good conservation stage – which allows for the identification of technological and functional traces – the variety of types of pieces etc.