A recent study conducted by researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) has revealed the profound symbolic significance of grinding tools used by the first Neolithic societies of Europe. These tools, buried in ritual deposits, were closely linked to time and the cycles of human life, nature, and the evolution of settlements.
The study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, focused on the analysis of three deposits found in Germany, where fourteen sets of stone mills used by the Linear Pottery culture were discovered. This society thrived between 4900 and 4650 B.C. in Central Europe. The deposits, located in Goseck (Saxony-Anhalt) and Sömmerda (Thuringia), were meticulously studied to determine their technical, functional, and symbolic characteristics.
One of the most revealing aspects of the study is the way these hand mills were removed from their domestic environments. While some of them were practically new, others showed signs of intermediate use or were completely worn out. This selection suggests a symbolic representation of the different stages of life: birth, growth, and death.
Furthermore, the artifacts were carefully placed in the deposits with their working surfaces in contact and aligned in an east-west orientation. It was also found that the materials used to manufacture these tools came from distant regions, indicating a significant effort both in their production and maintenance. This finding underscores the social value these objects held within their communities.
According to Erik Zamzow, doctoral researcher in the UAB’s Department of Prehistory and lead author of the study, the biography of these tools is intrinsically linked to the notion of time. Each mill reflects a cycle of production, use, and burial that is directly related to the lives of women, who were their primary users, explains Zamzow.
In the domestic context, the use and maintenance of mills were part of the daily tasks of the women of the Linear Pottery culture. Their progressive wear would symbolize the transmission of knowledge from generation to generation, establishing an analogy with the life cycles of people and the settlements themselves, which were periodically abandoned and relocated.
Until now, ritual deposits of grinding tools had been interpreted in relation to annual agricultural rhythms. However, the UAB team proposes a broader, multidimensional perspective on time. The intention behind these deposits reflects a multifaceted conception of time, related not only to harvests but also to the lives of the women who used the mills day after day, states Roberto Risch, coordinator of the study.
The researcher also highlights the continuity of this practice in present-day self-sufficient agrarian societies, where hand mills remain essential tools. Each of these implements becomes the result of a constant adjustment between the woman’s body and the stone, over years or even decades.
The deposits studied in Germany are comparable to others found in France and Belgium, as well as to various similar structures in regions of Central Europe. To date, at least 20 deposits have been identified, containing a total of 89 tools attributed to 13 settlements or ritual enclosures.
Grinding tools have so far been interpreted from a purely functional perspective. Our study adds an additional layer of symbolic meaning, which we hope to continue exploring in future research, concludes Marina Eguíluz, co-author of the study and doctoral candidate in Prehistory.
SOURCES
Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona
Erik Zamzow, Marina Eguíluz Valentini, et al., Grinding Stone Deposits of the Linear Pottery Culture in Central Germany. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Volume 62, April 2025, 104998. doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.104998
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