On the manufacture and use of stone pestles from Bronze Age settlements and chance finds in the Zhetysu region (South-East Kazakhstan)

Stone tools are considered an integral part of the economic and production complex of the Bronze Age settlements in the Zhetysu region. The systematization of the previously investigated pestles from stratified landmarks and the trace investigations of chance finds in the region have made it possible to combine these objects into a single set of tools. On this basis, the raw material base to produce stone pestles was identified and their main parameters and shapes, production techniques and application methods were presented. According to the results of the study, these tools are multifunctional implements that were used in mining, metalworking, various types of domestic crafts and everyday life. Some of the tools from chance finds continued to be used later in the Early Iron Age.