News 

10.10.2024. Project exhibition "Skilled Hands of the Stone Age" on display at Lapmežciems Parish Museum 19.08.2024. Travelling exhibition "Skilled Hands of the Stone Age" opens at the Lubāna Wetlands Information Centre. The exhibition, created by the project participants under the direction of Mārcis Kalniņš, presents the results of research in the project on processing technologies for various materials in the Stone Age. The opening event includes presentations by Mārcis Kalniņš, Vanda Haferberga and Agnese Čakare on the techniques and technologies of working stone, clay and amber in the Stone Age and the methods of researching them. The exhibition will also be shown at Lapmežciems Museum and other museums. 27.-28.06.2024. Experiments and creation of a reference collection for studying animal bone impressions in pottery With the participation of pottery and pottery researcher Baiba Dumpe, at her studio Brīvnieki-Kolbergi in Mētriena Parish, practical activities were undertaken relating to the research theme of pottery decoration utilizing the ends of animal bones. The main task was to create a reference collection of impressions of the epiphyses of bones from various animals in clay tablets. The participants included Aija Macāne, Vanda Haferberga and Valdis Bērziņš as well as Finnish archaeologist Kerkko Nordqvist.  23.02.2023. Session of the 82nd University of Latvia International Scientific Confernce "Skills, Environment, Society: Technology in Traditional Communities" held within the frame of the project https://conferences.lu.lv/event/417/ Programme and abstracts: https://dspace.lu.lv/dspace/handle/7/65430 21.02.2023. Project workshop with student participation Workshop topic: "Drilling, carving and cutting: materials processing in the Neolithic." Introductory lectures by A.Macāne and A.Čakare. Practical exercise in perforation of animal tooth pendants. 01.11.2023 Project workshop with student participation Workshop with participation of students from the University of Latvia Faculty of History and Philosophy and the Latvian Academy of Art on the subject of "Decoration of Neolithic pottery with animal bone impressions: research and experiments" (led by V.Bērziņš, A.Macāne and V.Haferberga). An introductory lecture was given by V.Bērziņš and A.Macāne, followed by a practical exercise where the participantes took part in an archaeological experiment, impressing animal bones in clay tablets, to be compared against impressions on Neolithic pottery with the aim of identifying which skeletal parts and from which animals were used to decorate Neolithic pottery. There was also a demonstration of the equipment and software used for microscopic examination of impressions in pottery. The workshop was attended by 16 people, in addition to the project participants. 27.03.2023 Project workshop Literatūre on natural and intentional impurities in pottery fabric, their role and significance (led by: V.Visocka). 23.02.2023 Project practical workshop Introduction to retouching flint (led by:M.Kalniņš). 13.01.2023 Project workshop Literature on animal and human co-existence, the use of natural and animal resources and their interaction (led by: A.Macāne). 17.10. 2022 Project practical workshop Making cord from nettle fibres and lime bast, cutting and drilling perforations in animal teeth. 06.10.2022. Project workshop 1. Brief reports on experiments with the working of osseous materials (Aija Macāne) and amber (Agnese Čakare) 2. Finds from the fieldwork at Kreiči and Lake Burtnieks (Mārcis Kalniņš, Aija Macāne). Workshop attended by students of the Faculty of History and Philosophy. Project group meeting. 12.-16.09.2022 Excavation of Kreiči neolithic settlement at Lake Lielais Ludzas (directed by M.Kalniņš) Photo: M.Kalniņš 11.08.2022. Project workshop Theoretical basis of the project and relevant literature (V.Bērziņš). Project group meeting. 27.05.2022. Project workshop Application of photogrammetry, reflective transformation imaging and confocal imaging in the documenting of archaeological artefacts (M.Kalniņš, V.Visocka, V.Bērziņš) Photo: V.Visocka 03.01.2022 Project implementation begins.

Project summary

• Work package 1: Osseous materials
• Work package 2: Lithics
• Work package 3: Amber
• Work package 4: Pottery
• Work package 5: Intersecting technologies
• Work package 6: Technologies in the landscape
• Work package 7: Technologies in social context
• Work package 8: Public outreach

Essential data

• Project no. lzp-2021/1-0119, Skills in synergy, crafts in context: an integrated study of eastern Baltic Stone Age technologies

• Funded by the Latvian Council of Science

• Implementation period: 3 January 2022 - 30 December 2024. Extended until 30 December 2025.

• Implemented by: University of Latvia
  (at the university's Institute of Latvian History)

• Project total costs:  € 299 999.70
  
  
  

Research team

Publications and other outputs