Chipped stone from the site of Lerna, Greece


Lerna Lithics
My dissertation advisor and I wrote the final report on the Early and Middle Helladic chipped stone from the site of Lerna in Greece. The article contains analysis of the economics, social structure, and organization of lithic production and complements the typological and technological descriptions of the preliminary report (Runnels 1985; see below). The report was published in Hesperia, the official publication of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA).	the House of Tiles at Lerna
Abstract A study of nearly 12,000 lithic artifacts from Lerna was undertaken to determine if the lithics were produced by craft specialists. Analysis indicates that the production of lithics was controlled by part-time craft specialists based in individual households and not controlled by an elite central authority. The evidence of continuity in Bronze Age flintknapping does not support a hypothesis of discontinuity or cultural replacement at Lerna. Any interruptions had little effect on flintknapping technology or formal tool types. A decline in the supply of imported Melian obsidian at the end of Early Helladic III (Lerna IV) suggests an interruption of trade. Hartenberger, Britt and Curtis Runnels. 2001. The Organization of Flaked Stone Production at Bronze Age Lerna, Hesperia 70:255-83. Preliminary report Runnels, Curtis. 1985. The Bronze-Age Flaked-Stone Industries from Lerna: A Preliminary Report, Hesperia 54:357-391.
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