Flint and Groundstone Axes in the Scanian Neolithic. An evaluation of raw materials based on experiment

One of the most common Neolithic tool types in Scandinavia which is available to us for study today is the axe. Judging by the thousands of such axes found in museum collections, this tool was an important part of Neolithic man's toolkit. While most of the axes which are considered primarily work axes (as opposed to the more ceremonial so-called battle axes) are made of flint, other, non-flint materials were also employed in the manufacture of axes types morphologically identical to those of flint. The purpose of this study is to explore the possible reasons for this difference in choice of raw mtaerials.