Shaft-hole axes from caput adriae made from amphibole-rich metabasites: Evidence of connections between northeastern Italy and central Europe during the fifth millennium BC

Abstract

Here we show the results of a study concerning a small group of shaft-hole axes found in northeastern Italy, made from amphibole-rich metabasites, fine-grained and free of phenoblasts. The main mineral phases are amphibole, ranging from actinolite to hornblende, and plagioclase (An 10-15 and An 70-77). The amphiboles generally show a needle shape and are often radially arranged. Quartz is present in thin veinlets, while ilmenite is widespread in small patches. The petrographic and geochemical features suggest that the axes originate from the southern thermal aureole of Tanvald granite in northern Bohemia. In accordance with this provenance, the typology of the tools shows similarities with the perforated shoe-last axes spread across Central Europe during the fifth millennium bc and made from similar raw material. For the first time, these axes give evidence of long-distance (about 800 km) contacts between northeastern Italy and Central Europe during the Neolithic. © 2011 University of Oxford.