A shoe-last celt (German: ''Schuhleistenkeil'') is a long thin polished stone tool for felling trees and woodworking, characteristic of the early

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

Linearbandkeramik The Linear Pottery culture (LBK) is a major archaeological horizon of the European Neolithic period, flourishing . Derived from the German ''Linearbandkeramik'', it is also known as the Linear Band Ware, Linear Ware, Linear Ceramics or Incis ...

and

Hinkelstein culture The Hinkelstein culture is a Neolithic archaeological culture situated in Rhine-Main and Rhenish Hesse, Germany. It is a Megalithic culture, part of the wider Linear Pottery horizon, dating to approximately the 50th to 49th century BC. The cu ...

s, also called Danubian I in the older literature.

Appearance

The tools are square in profile with a rounded top, which is why they are compared with shoe makers'

last A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts come in many styles and sizes, depending on the exact job they are designed for. Common variations ...

s. The preferred material is

amphibolite Amphibolite () is a metamorphic rock that contains amphibole, especially hornblende and actinolite, as well as plagioclase feldspar, but with little or no quartz. It is typically dark-colored and dense, with a weakly foliated or schistose ...

; basalt is also used.

Typology

In regards to the typology of Neolithic adzes, initially two types were distinguished,

When width exceeds thickness they were named flat adzes (''Flachhacke''), when thickness exceeds width shoe-last adzes (''Schuhleistenkeile''), or ''high adzes''. Within the latter group a distinction is sometimes made between intermediate ''Flomborn'' adzes and the higher ''Hinkelstein'' adzes (Buttler 1938; Bakels 1987; Merkel 1999). Later, subdivisions were made on the basis of metric characteristics into two groups (Schietzel 1965), six groups (Modderman 1970, 184) and finally two groups again (Dohrn-Ihmig 1983). All typologies were based on the width-height ratio, while Modderman added the absolute dimension. The wide variation, from small to large and from flat to high adzes, certainly reflects a functional differentiation, but the various types do not appear to be of chronological significance.

Use

The polished stone axe or adze introduced a new way of life to Central Europe in mid-sixth millennium BC. It was a tool that was necessary for the clearing of the land to create fields and to build houses. These adzes were also used for the manufacture of agricultural tools, and any other wooden objects. Shape and wear show that the celts were used as

adze An adze () or adz is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes have been used since the Stone Age. They are used for smoothing or carving wood in ha ...

s to fell trees and to work wood. Some blades have traces of hafting as well. The finds from the

well A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

s of

Kückhoven Erkelenz (, ) is a town in the Rhineland in western Germany that lies southwest of Mönchengladbach on the northern edge of the Cologne Lowland, halfway between the Lower Rhine region and the Lower Meuse (river), Meuse. It is a medium-sized tow ...

and Eythra in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

demonstrate a high standard of carpentry. Shoe-last celts have also been used as weapons, as attested by smashed skulls from Schletz (Austria) and

Talheim, Neckar Talheim () is a municipality in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to ...

(Germany). An older theory suggests their use as hoes, but there are no wear traces to support this. Towards the end of the Linear Pottery Culture, around 5000 BC, the first perforated tools appear.R. Elburg, W. Hein, A. Probst and P. Walter,
Field Trials in Neolithic Woodworking – (Re)Learning to Use Early Neolithic Stone Adzes.
Experimental Archaeology, Issue 2015/2

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shoe-Last Celt Archaeological artefact types Neolithic Europe ru:Кельт (археология)

Appearance

Typology

Use

See also

Notes