HOES TO AXES, AXES TO HOES: THE REUSE OF IRON HOES AND AXES Cover Image

IŠ KAPLIŲ Į KIRVIUS, IŠ KIRVIŲ Į KAPLIUS - APIE ANTRINĮ GELEŽINIŲ KAPLIŲ IR KIRVIŲ PANAUDOJIMĄ
HOES TO AXES, AXES TO HOES: THE REUSE OF IRON HOES AND AXES

Author(s): Agnė Čivilytė, Arvydas Malonaitis
Subject(s): Archaeology, Cultural history, Ancient World
Published by: Lietuvos istorijos institutas
Keywords: Iron Age; axes; hoes; reuse; transformation; cross-dressing;

Summary/Abstract: The article aims to discuss the reuse of objects, something that has so far not been investigated in greater detail in Lithuania. Iron Age single-bladed axes and hoes, which were deformed and remade, thereby changing their function, were selected as an example. Despite the corrosion, it appears that both the axes and the hoes were used prior to the blade being rotated 90°. Axe and hoe production technologies are similar and it is not difficult to rotate their blades. But it is hardly possible to explain the occurrence of this action for only practical reasons. The article attempts to ascertain possible reasons for this transformation. It examines axes and hoes with rotated blades as examples of human behaviour, revealing not only functional, but also social, communicative, and psychological aspects of the object’s reuse.

  • Issue Year: 2019
  • Issue No: 45
  • Page Range: 201-217
  • Page Count: 17
  • Language: Lithuanian