Knowledge, know-how and raw material - The production of Late Neolithic Flint daggers in Scandinavia

In this paper, the craftsmanship of the Late Neolithic flint daggers in Scandianvia is investigated. The purpose of the investigation is to map the degree of skill invested in each production stage of the daggers and then relate the degree of craftsmanship to social factors. This is achieved by applying an operational-chain approach to the dagger production system, and by comparison with anthropologically and historically documented crafts in traditional societies. It is concluded that the daggers required knowledge of complicated recipes of action as well as a well-developed muscle memory that can only be acquired through practice. Thus, the craft is interpreted as demanding some form of an institutionalised apprenticeship system that could guarantee that it could be reproduced for at least 24 generations. It is further suggested that the flint dagger technology was consciously organised to keep the recipes of action of the technology exclusive to certain segments of the society.