Stone Mining implements From Sakdrisi Gold Mining Complex - Typology and Functional Analysis
ReForm Scholar
As a pilot project for representing ReForm within the community, I have selected to focus on the typological integration of the Stone Mining Implements from the Sakdrisi Gold Mining Complex. I am presently engaged in a project regarding prehistoric ground tools from the Sakdrisi-Dzedzwebi Mining Complex in Georgia, Caucasus, associated with the Kura-Araxes culture. The primary objective of my research is the collection of stone tools from the mining site and the miners’ settlement (basic processing area).
The primary focus of my research is on functional analyses and their significance in the context of the Prehistoric tool industry. A substantial portion of the work for my PhD thesis has already been completed, focusing on the mining and ore processing implements from prehistoric mining camps. The following phases of my project involve the publication of my PhD research, the refinement and reworking of the typology of implements—essential for future publications regarding the Sakdrisi Excavation results—and the investigation of ore processing tools (grinders, millers, anvils, pestles, etc.) from the Dzedzwebi settlement, recognised as the residence and metallurgical workshop site for ore processing.
Utilising the experience acquired during my PhD thesis research, I intend to investigate ore processing tools and several metallurgical workshops at the Dzedzwebi Plateau. The methodology will remain consistent with that employed during the PhD thesis examination—a functional approach. Functional analyses will provide an opportunity to examine the tool’s life history, including selection, manufacture, primary and secondary usage, and discard (both ritual and practical). This analysis, in conjunction with contextual situational data and ethnographical and experimental references, will elucidate the social and economic behaviours and practices of the mining communities within the Kura-Araxes Culture.
Furthermore, tools from the settlement will be compared to samples from the mining site. Several interdisciplinary studies will be utilised during the research.
