SAIR 17:Re-examination of the quartz artefacts from Scord of Brouster: a lithic assemblage from Shetland and its Neolithic context

by Torben Bjarke Ballin

Lithic Research, Banknock Cottage, Denny, Stirlingshire FK6 5NA

ISBN 0-903903-86-5

Published in September 2005 by The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, in association with The Council for British Archaeology and Historic Scotland, in Adobe Acrobat format. Available free of charge (see Terms & Conditions of Use).

Report Summary

In the late 1970s, a substantial quartz assemblage was recovered from the Neolithic settlement at Scord of Brouster, Shetland. At the time, bipolar technique (which is responsible for a substantial proportion of the assemblage), as well as quartz technology in general, were poorly understood, and it was not possible to fully make use of the assemblage in the interpretation of the site, the region, or the period. With our expanded understanding of bipolar approaches and quartz technology, this is now possible, and, in the present paper, the assemblage is re-examined, re-classified and re-interpreted. The quartz assemblage is used to gain a deeper insight into the site itself, and its lithic component and a first sketch of the territorial structure of Neolithic Scotland is presented.

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Report content

	Title Page
	Table of content
	List of Illustrations
	List of Tables
1	Summary
2	Introduction
3	The Assemblage
4	Discussion
	4.1 Quartz distribution and activities at Scord of Brouster
	4.1.1 House 2 (Whittle 1986, figs 68–9)
	4..1.2 House 1 (Whittle 1986, figs 70–4)
	4.1.3 House 3 (Whittle 1986, figs 75–6)
	4.1.4 Lithic artefacts and activities
	4.2 Dating
	4.3 The quartz assemblage from Scord of Brouster compared with other Neolithic assemblages from Scotland – the regional context
	4.3.1 Assemblage size
	4.3.2 Raw materials
	4.3.3 General artefact size
	4.3.4 Technology
	4.3.5 Typology
5	Conclusion and Future Perspectives
6	Acknowledgements
7	References