Production Sites on the Beach Ridge of Järavallen: Aspects on Tool Preforms, Action, Technology, Ritual and the Continuity of Place

Abstract

Järavallen is the name of a beach ridge along the south and south-west coasts of Scania in the southern part of Sweden. Large amounts of flinttool preforms, particularly for square-sectioned Neolithic axes, have been found on three sites along this beach ridge. The several thousand preforms represent tool types from the Early Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age. The three sites have not been given much attention in recent archaeological research. With a basis in a discussion of action, technology, ritual and the continuity of place, these three sites are analysed and interpreted as representing traditions involving repeated actions over a long period of time. The production and deposition of the preforms are seen as an investment for the future.