Local Supply for Chipped Stone Tools from the Site of Rug Bair
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a comparison of the raw materials from Dikili Tash within the Rhodopes zone yielded a result similar to that obtained at the archaeological site of Rug Bair. A similar repertoire of raw materials occurs at two other sites from the same period located in the Drama region, Dimitra and Sitagri. Summary results of the analysis of the raw materials used in northern Greece during the Neolithic period show that the largest percentage in the chipped stone assemblages belongs to chalcedony, followed by the use of quartz and its varieties, jasper, a variety of chert categories including Balkan flint, and sometimes obsidian. With the exception of Balkan flint and obsidian, all materials may be of local origin, and it is important to emphasize that chalcedony and quartz were the main raw materials used by Palaeolithic people inhabiting the sites located within the same geographic area42. Indications for the existence of primary and secondary deposits of raw material for stone tools in eastern Macedonia, in particular quarries for non-metallic materials43, set before us the possibility that the inhabitants of the Neolithic settlement of Rug Bair made their tools from local, rather than imported stone, as has already been proven for some raw materials from Amzabegovo44. The Geological Map of the Republic of Macedonia combined with field prospecting and the existence of primary and secondary deposits of raw materials, will allow us to test and subsequently confirm or disprove their local origin, following future surveys in the field45.
Conclusion Rug Bair is located in the vicinity of the Kratovo-Zletovo palaeovolcanic area46, which overlaps with the territory of the Amzabegovo-Vršnik culture. This area has been known since prehistory as a region abundant in KOURTESSI-PHILIPPAKIS 2009. DIMITROVSKA 2012, 356, Fig. 5. 44 SMOOR J. B. 1976, 178. Ground stone tools made of nephrite are found at Amzabegovo, but the deposits of this raw material in the Balkans are not yet confirmed. For more information, consult the chapter on ground/polished stone tools in M. Gimbutas’s book, as well as Kostov 2005, 91-94. 45 JOVANOVSKI G. еt al. 2004, 111–141; MAKRESKI P. еt al. 2004, 171–184. 46 SERAFIMOVSKI 1993, 328; ARSOVSKI 1997, 306; BOEV & YANEV 2001, 57-71; MILEVSKI 2005, 47-67; MILEVSKI 2010, 475-482. 42 43