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 At the dawn of human history roughly polished stone-chippings or highly polished flints provided materials which combined with wood in a whole range of tools. Although the Ledro settlement reached its apogee in the Bronze Age, there is a comparative wealth of evidence to show that stone was still used for a wide variety of tasks. Flint implements are in the majority, small in size and, because of the fissile nature of the stone, confined to cutting tools. Laurel-leaf arrowheads are uncommon, lance-heads scarce and scrapers in the majority. Axes are usually small in size with the longer side curved and the shorter straight. An unique find was an unfinished axe of the 'stirrup' type, with a hole for the handle. Sandstone was used for burnishers and from the fragments found was also hollowed into moulds for bronze clubs. A neighbouring glacier moraine provided crystal for beads. Volcanic stone, generally granite, was comparatively widely used for hand-mills, clubs and hammers. The amber which regularly recurs on the site was clearly used for personal ornaments. Its provenance is unknown, but taken with other items of evidence would seem to point to a barter-trade with Central European lake-settlements. |
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