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András Marton has recently come into the possession of a small, chipped stone assemblage from the legacy of a German amateur mineral collector from Hamburg. Unfortunately, very little is known about the deceased and his collection. A part of the finds, including tools, was donated to the Institute of Archaeology of the Eötvös Loránd University. The lithic assemblage contains a total of 27 chipped stone artefacts made exclusively of Baltic flint. Concerning the raw material used, these flint varieties with the banded structure are rather unusual in Schleswig-Holstein. They are much more likely to originate from Lower Saxony or perhaps Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Apart from the general technological description of the assemblage, some pieces from these non-formal tools have been selected for a detailed description. The application of the “direct percussion with a hard hammer” technique and the presence of the thick artefacts contradict the Palaeolithic or Mesolithic origin of the assemblage, except for the flint axe (“Kernbeil”), which has a possible Mesolithic association. Alternatively, if the edges of the artefacts are not worn out or rolled, then along the edges of all artefacts traces of some kind of “cryoturbation retouch” are observable. In this case, the Palaeolithic dating of the finds is more plausible.

During the field research initiated by the Paria Archaeological Project (PAP) in 2004 in the area of the Paria Basin (Oruro Dept., Bolivia), and then during the excavation in the municipality of Paria, several agricultural stone tools were discovered. Their raw material is partly volcanic rock and partly sandstone. The stone tools have not yet been described in more detail. In the present article, from the whole set of artefacts 22 stone tools classified into different archaeological periods will be presented. As the area of the Paria Basin itself is less researched and there are relatively few publications on the topic, the amount of information gathered during the processing of the finds will also be outlined. The review also includes a brief discussion of the potential geological sources of raw materials for stone tools.

Tanulmányunkban 12 őskori lelőhely területéről, felszínen gyűjtött 23 csiszolt kőeszköz lelet (balta és szalukapa) anyagvizsgálati eredményeit ismertetjük. A Cserhát-Cserhátalja-Gödöllői-dombság-Mátraalja vidékéről származó balták részletes vizsgálata roncsolásmentes (makroszkópos kőzettani megfigyelés, mágneses szuszceptibilitás mérés, PGAA, eredeti felszínen végzett SEM-EDS) és alárendelten roncsolásos (OM, SEMEDS) vizsgálatával meghatároztuk a nyersanyagukat, illetve azok lehető legpontosabb származási helyét. Adatainkkal bővítettük ismereteinket a régió őskori nyersanyaghasználatáról, illetve távolsági kapcsolatairól. A kőeszközök változatos nyersanyagokból készültek. A jól ismert, forráshoz kötött nyersanyag típusok (ÉszakCseh masszívumi kontakt metabázit, Cseres-hegységi bazalt, Darnó-hegyi metadolerit, kelet-bükki metaszubvulkanit, domoszlói andezit) mellett több, csak bizonytalanul behatárolható kőzettípus (tercierandezitek csoportja, egyéb (nem Železný Brod típusú) kontakt metabázitok csoportja) is előfordult. Emellett néhány olyan nyersanyagot is azonosítottunk, amelyek eredete tisztázatlan (szerpentinit, kvarcfillit, kontakt metaaleurolit). A vizsgált észak-magyarországi leletanyagokban a helyi és regionális nyersanyagok hasonló arányban fordulnak elő, mint a kizárólag észak-északnyugati kapcsolatrendszerre utaló távolsági és az ismeretlen eredetű nyersanyagok.

Attila Péntek recently acquired a large amount of chipped stone artefacts from the legacy of his departed friend Peter Nierling († 2017), archaeologist and field researcher in Hamburg. The aim of bequeathing the finds was to support the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic research in Hungary. The beneficiary catalogued the finds according to the sites and together with the necessary documentation handed them over to the Institute of Archeology of the Eötvös Loránd University.

With the following short review, we would like to remember our departed German friend and archaeologist Peter Nierling. He conducted several field trips in North Africa, Algeria, Lybia, and Tunisia, and on two occasions, in 1997 and 1998, one of us (A. P.) accompanied him. During these travels, field surveys were carried out mainly in the region of Gafsa. In the wider vicinity of the classical Paleolithic/Mesolithic sites of El Mekta (de Gafsa) and Lalla (de Gafsa), several unknown archaeological sites and find spots were localized. After these trips, one of the authors (A. P.) received a relatively great assemblage of various content from Peter Nierling to enrich the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic collections of the Hungarian stone tool research. Although the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic of North Africa is not our specialization, below we give a brief review of the assemblages.

The Amy Lake PGE zone is a “low-sulfide-type” Cu-(Ni-)PGE mineralization in the East Range footwall of the 1.85 Ga Sudbury Igneous Complex occurring in a 100-m-wide Sudbury Breccia belt that coincides with an impact-related major fracture zone (Bay Fault zone). Detailed hydrothermal alteration mapping, fluid inclusion, trace element, and stable isotope studies revealed a complex alteration and mineralization history in a multi-source, multi-stage Sudbury-related hydrothermal system. The two major stages of syn-Sudbury hydrothermal activity are characterized by similarly high-salinity, high-temperature fluids that are (1) locally derived from footwall granophyre bodies, and typified with high Ni/Cu and PGE/S ratios and high REE contents (magmatic–hydrothermal stage), and (2) a more voluminous Cu–Ni–PGE-rich fluid flux probably originated from the Sudbury Igneous Complex/footwall contact (hydrothermal stage). The second hydrothermal flux was introduced by brittle fractures in the area and resulted in a complex zonation of alteration assemblages and mineralization governed by local footwall composition. The Sudbury-related hydrothermal event was overprinted by shear-related epidote veining and calcite–chlorite replacement, both regionally present in the Sudbury structure. Based on analogies, the most important factors involved in the formation of hydrothermal low-sulfide mineralization are proposed to be (1) accumulation of PGE-enriched fluids, (2) large-scale brittle structures as conduits to these fluids, and (3) adequate host rock composition as a chemical trap resulting in sulfide and PGM precipitation. In environments meeting these criteria, hydrothermal PGE mineralization is known to have formed not only in the Sudbury footwall but also from mafic–ultramafic intrusions associated with primary magmatic PGE from several locations around the world.

We present new results and review existing data highlighting different aspects of the genetic relationship between partial melting and hydrothermal mineralizing processes in the contact aureole of the Sudbury Igneous Complex. At the basal contact of the igneous complex, in the footwall breccia, crystallized partial melt pods and veins, referred to as footwall granophyres are abundant and intrude all rock types including the breccia matrix, as well as massive Ni-Cu sulfide ore. The final crystallization of these melts was accompanied by the segregation of high salinity fluids dominantly in the temperature range of 450° to 550°C, as revealed by Ti-inquartz thermometry and studies on primary fluid inclusions. In mineralized parts of the footwall breccia there is clear evidence that interaction of partial melts, exsolved fluids, and preexisting magmatic sulfides occurred. In the deeper footwall of the Sudbury Igneous Complex, similar footwall granophyres occur as networks of veins intruding impact brecciated (Sudbury breccia) country rocks and have an intimate spatial association with hydrothermal, low sulfide assemblages highly enriched in Pt, Pd, and Au (with a unique assemblage of PGM, including malyshevite and lisiguangite). It is suggested that partial melting processes were widespread in the contact and proximal footwall environment of the igneous complex and they were important in providing high salinity magmatic fluids to a hydrothermal system responsible for redistribution of base and precious metals. We describe observations which may evidence the migration of partial melts from the contact into the deeper footwall. Furthermore, we suggest a cogenetic model for the precipitation of sulfide-hydrous silicate assemblages in close spatial association to footwall granophyres. We emphasize that the use of footwall granophyres in mineral exploration for Cu-Ni-PGE ores in the footwall of the Sudbury Igneous Complex is clearly justified. Mapping of footwall granophyre vein networks highlights areas that were proximal to the contact environment and point out structural pathways that may have been used by syn- or postgenetic mineralizing fluids in a given area. Widespread partial melting appears to have occurred in the footwall of other large mafic-ultramafic complexes (such as Bushveld and Duluth) and similar genetic relationships of partial melting and ore-forming hydrothermal processes may have possibly existed also in these systems.

We performed detailed field and drill core mapping of partial melting features and felsic rocks (footwall granophyres, FWGRs) representing segregated and crystallized partial melts within the contact aureole of the Sudbury Igneous Complex (SIC) in the 1.85 Ga Sudbury impact structure. Our results, derived from mapping within the North (Windy Lake, Foy, Wisner areas) and East Ranges (Skynner, Frost areas) of the structure, reveal that partial melting was widespread in both felsic and mafic footwall units up to distances of 500 m from the basal contact of the SIC. Texturally and mineralogically, significant differences exist between rocks formed by partial melting within and between localities. In general, however, melt bodies are dominated by different quartz-feldspar intergrowths (e.g. granophyric, graphic) and miarolitic cavities up to 5 cm in diameter. Major and trace element compositions of Wisner and Frost FWGRs imply that they crystallized from melts dominantly derived from partial melting of felsic ...

Footwall-type Cu-Ni-PGE (Platinum-group element) deposits are a major focus of recent exploration in the Sudbury mining camp, owing to their higher Cu and precious metal contents compared to orebodies situated along the lower contact of the Sudbury Igneous Complex. The most important footwall-type orebodies occur in the Onaping-Levack area of the North Range, but economic deposits are found along the East Range of the structure as well. Recently, promising occurrences were also discovered in Wisner Township of the North Range. In this paper we report results from two main footwall-type Cu-Ni-PGE occurrences (the Broken Hammer zone and the South zone) of Wisner Township. Both discoveries are situated in intensely brecciated zones of the footwall (Sudbury Breccia), 1,300 and 500 m, respectively, north of the present Sudbury Igneous Complex-footwall contact. The mineralization consists of (1) massive sulfide veins, (2) disseminated/replacement sulfides, and (3) silicate-quartz–dominated veins. Although massive sulfide veins account for the major part of the resource, sulfide-poor disseminations may have similarly high precious metal contents. Ore assemblages are dominated by chalcopyrite, millerite, magnetite, and/or pyrite, quartz, and hydrous silicates. These are accompanied by platinum-group minerals (PGM) and other trace minerals, which commonly occur as composite grains within sulfides and hydrous silicates. These include minerals typical of footwall-type deposits (e.g., merenskyite, michenerite, hessite), but also minerals found only in a few Sudbury deposits (e.g., clausthalite, sopcheite, naumannite, bohdanowiczite). An unnamed CuPdBiS 3 mineral is one of the most abundant PGM at Broken Hammer and might be a Pd-equivalent of muckeite (CuNiBiS 3 ). Statistical investigation of metal distribution patterns using grab sample and drilling data sets from both localities indicate important differences between the two occurrences and the various mineralization styles (e.g., increasing Cu/(Cu+Ni) and decreasing Pt/(Pt+Pd) ratio with increasing sulfide content; metal concentrations recalculated to 100% sulfides decrease by up to two orders of magnitude for all metals from the disseminated to the massive sulfides). Fluid inclusion studies revealed three fluid generations which are very similar to those described from well known footwall-type deposits of the Onaping-Levack area. Primary polyphase fluid inclusions in Cu-Ni-PGE–bearing assemblages represent a highly saline (30–40 wt % NaCl equiv) magmatic-hydrothermal system with a high temperature (min 450°–500°C) and a lower temperature (min 300°–350°C) stage. A later low-temperature Ca-rich fluid (min 100°–200°C) is most probably part of a post-Sudbury Igneous Complex regional fluid flow in which temperature was controlled by the geothermal gradient and not related to ore-forming processes. The fluid inclusion data indicate that mobilization of highly saline and relatively high temperature (400°–500°C) Sudbury Igneous Complex-related magmatic-hydrothermal fluids similar to those described from the Onaping-Levack embayment also occurred in the Wisner footwall. Although our studies do not rule out the possibility of an initial magmatic sulfide melt emplacement, they prove that magmatic-hydrothermal fluids played a significant role in the transport and deposition of metals.