Titnagas ir jo reikšmė akmens amžiaus bendruomenių ūkyje

LT2015 m. titnagas išrinktas nacionaliniu Lietuvos akmeniu. Šiame straipsnyje, remiantis archeologijos šaltiniais, pagrindžiamas šis Lietuvos geologų bendruomenės ir aktyviosios visuomenës sprendimas. Rytų Baltijos regione titnagas buvo vienas pagrindinių objektų, suteikęs akmens amžiaus bendruomenėms galimybę išgyventi ir užmegzti kontaktus su kitais žmonėmis. Titnago gavyba ir vykdyti mainai leido to meto bendruomenėms kurti naujas technologijas, paspartinusias neolito pradžią šiaurës Europoje. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Titnagas; Priešistorės technologijos; Akmens amžius; Flint; Prehistoric technologies; Stone Age; Subsistence economy.

ENSince 2015 flint is recognized as a national stone of Lithuania. Why? This is best illustrated by archaeological sources, which shows that in the longest period of the history of mankind, in the Stone Age, this stone played a vital role in helping communities to survive. There are a few species and locations of natural flint deposits in Lithuania. Light and dark gray flint is most commonly found in southern Lithuania. Brown flint is characteristic of the Lithuanian coastal zone, but here also small amounts of dark gray raw materials can be found as well. In archeology it is noted that the raw material of good quality flint in the Stone Age from South Lithuania was transported to other non-flint areas. The exchanges were mostly carried out from flint that were mined. At least some of these mines have been found and excavated in southern Lithuania. Currently, flint is usually studied in archeology in several ways: typological, use-wear and experimental. With these methods, archaeologists can extract much more information about the flint and the people who used it in their own works. One must state that, if not the flint, the humanity’s desire to remain in harsh and dangerous conditions of the Stone Age would be much more complicated. During over 3 million years of human history flint played a major role in the communities surviving, as a stone making it a clear advantage over other stones and minerals. [From the publication]