Production, use, reuse and recycling

The reconstruction of the processes of production, use and reuse (e.g. Adams Reference Adams2002; Baysal & Wright Reference Baysal, Wright and Hodder2005; Dubreuil Reference Dubreuil2002), enables us to reconstruct the complex biographies of these objects. Reuse or recycling is one of the aspects that has been considered most carefully, given the funerary context in which these tools were deposited. The recycling of functional elements in the archaeological record has been defined as the repurposing of the tool for a new use (Schiffer & Skibo Reference Schiffer and Skibo1987), or what other authors have called ‘redesigned tools’ (Adams Reference Adams2002). In this way, we understand that recycling implies a change in the type of use for which a tool was originally made. The biographies of the macrolithic elements that we have reconstructed in our study have been divided into two groups: grinding and sharpening/polishing tools, and tools related to cutting or percussion.

Grindstones, sharpener/polisher and grinders:

The technology used to make grindstones and sharpeners/polishers can be identified on the bases of the pieces and on the outer edges, although it is rarely possible to reconstruct the complete production sequence, since we are dealing with completely finished and used tools. In the best-preserved element from hypogeum 7016, a number of extractions can be identified on the underside, in order to achieve the convex shape (Fig. 3:12B and 3:12D). The evidence of flaking is indicative of a violent direct percussion technique with the purpose of rounding the sharp areas of the natural support and shaping the underside of the grindstone. The shaping technique has been replicated experimentally and there is a technical concordance between both procedures (Aranda Jiménez et al. Reference Aranda Jiménez, Cámalich Massieu and Martín Socas2012, 56; Martínez-Sevilla et al. Reference Martínez-Sevilla, García Sanjuán and Lozano Rodríguez2020). The reverse side of the tools is barely worked, maintaining the original natural appearance or displaying the extractions resulting from rough knapping. The next step in the manufacturing process is the configuration of the active work surfaces by pecking (Martínez-Sevilla et al. Reference Martínez-Sevilla, García Sanjuán and Lozano Rodríguez2020). This technique is documented residually in the external areas of the active surfaces of some elements of the analysed assemblage, and is differentiated by a regular sinuous surface with numerous pits of different depths (Fig. 3:12C). In the case of the sharpener/polisher, the natural surface does not display pecking, and their polished appearance is the result of the work carried out (Fig. 2:4). Based on the macroscopic evidence of the grinding and polishing tools, the chaîne opératoire of production is similar to that documented in other contexts of the late prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula. The selection of natural supports and their transformation by external knapping and pecking of the working surfaces is similar in assemblages from the Late Neolithic (Aranda Jiménez et al. Reference Aranda Jiménez, Cámalich Massieu and Martín Socas2012, 60), the Copper Age (Martínez-Sevilla et al. Reference Martínez-Sevilla, García Sanjuán and Lozano Rodríguez2020; Risch Reference Risch2008) and even the Bronze Age (Delgado-Raack Reference Delgado-Raack2008; Delgado-Raack & Risch Reference Delgado-Raack and Risch2016; Risch Reference Risch1995).

The grinding and polishing tools display use-wear that is indicative of their use in different activities. In the case of the sharpener/polisher, the active surfaces with abrasions and polishing, as well as the grooves resulting from these activities, indicate the polishing and/or sharpening of cutting tools (Fig. 2:4). In the case of the grindstones, the study of their work surfaces, as well as the direction of the use-wear, enables us to define two types of kinematics: on flat (Fig. 2:3 & 2:5) and concave (Fig. 2:2 and Fig. 3:12) surfaces. In both cases, the wear patterns are typical of mechanical friction between two stone elements. Likewise, all active surfaces show pits or pecking. These irregularities created in the surface are essential for processing cereals. Moreover, the grain wear patterns correlate with the active areas of the documented grinders and grinders (Fig. 3:9 & 3:10). These display regular flat topographies with the levelling of the grains and pits produced by pecking. These features are linked to the processing of cereals, as is supported by the comparison of these traces with those obtained from experimental work (Bofill et al. Reference Bofill, Procopiou, Vargiolu, Zahouani, Anderson, Cheval and Durand2013; Delgado-Raack Reference Delgado-Raack2008; Dubreuil Reference Dubreuil2002; Hamon Reference Hamon2008; Hamon & Plisson Reference Hamon, Plisson, Longo and Skakun2009; Menasanch et al. Reference Menasanch, Risch, Soldevilla, Treuil and Procopiou2002; Risch Reference Risch2002; Verbaas & van Gjin Reference Verbaas, van Gijn and Van de Velde2008; Zurro et al. Reference Zurro, Risch, Clemente-Conte and Terradas2005). These data confirm that the subsistence of the community of La Orden-Seminario was mainly based on two resources: a) the consumption of cereals; b) shellfish gathering, with a very high presence of malacological remains in the domestic structures (Vera Rodríguez et al. Reference Vera Rodríguez, Linares Catela, Armenteros, González, Cacho, Maicas, Galán and Martos2010).

The grindstones and sharpener/polisher had all reached the end of their use-life and/or have been recycled for other purposes. Breaks caused by the continued use of the active surfaces have been documented on grindstones (Fig. 2:2 & 2:3) and, possibly, in the case of one of the sharpeners/polishers (Fig. 2:4). Similarly, two cases of recycling have been documented: the intentional fracturing of a large grindstone (Fig. 3:12) and the reshaping of a sharpener/polisher by knapping and pecking it into an element in the shape of a stele (Fig. 8). In the case of the grindstone, the raised fractures in the section of the active surface are indicative of intentional breakage (Fig. 3:12C). Breakage, in grindstones with prolonged use, generally occurs in the central part due to the surface being pecked by percussion, and not on one of the sides of the proximal area. The sharpener/polisher, for its part, was transformed into a new element by means of direct percussion along the edges (Fig. 8:B) and pecking in order to smooth the outer areas and the grooves created from its original use (Fig. 8:C & 8:D).

Figure 8 (opposite).

Technological and use-wear evidence on the sharpener/polisher-stele (290) from hypogeum 7016: (A) abrasion grooves from the polishing of sharp-edged tools; (B) traces of direct percussion impacts to shape the stele; (C) pecked surface to smooth the stele;(D) violent and irregular impacts between the abrasion grooves to flatten the surface.

Percussion tools, axes, hammers and grinders:

The techniques used in the production of axes are mainly knapping and pecking, followed by the final polishing (Morgado et al. Reference Morgado, Martínez-Sevilla, Lozano Rodríguez, Palomo, Piqué and Terradas2013). The shaping of the preform is carried out by pecking the surface, until the final appearance of the tool is almost achieved (Morgado & Martínez-Sevilla Reference Morgado, Martínez-Sevilla, Palomo, Piqué and Terradas2013). Evidence of knapping has been identified on the sides of one of the elements shaped from a natural support (Fig. 9:1). Pecking is recurrently present in all the pieces, on all or part of the surfaces (Fig. 9). Polishing is the technique applied to finish the active surfaces of the tool and increases their uniformity and resistance to impacts. The polished elements may appear fully polished or this treatment may be restricted to the working edge only. In ethnographic studies, total or partial polishing is linked both to the type of function of the tool and to the cultural traditions in different groups (Pétrequin & Pétrequin Reference Pétrequin and Pétrequin1993). In our assemblage, there are elements with polishing of all of the surfaces (Fig. 3:1, 3:3, 3:5 & 3:6) or marginal and restricted to the edge (Fig. 3:2, 3:4, 3:7 & 3:8).

Figure 9 (opposite).

Technological and use-wear evidence on the polished stone axes from hypogeum 7016: 1 (397); 2 (395); 3 (396); 4 (438); 5 (177). (A), (B), (C) intentional direct percussion impacts on the cutting edges of the tools; (D), (E) pecking on the polished surface typical of repurposing; (F) trace of transversal polishing from the shaft of the axe fragment used as a hammer.

As regards their function, polished stone tools are used as elements shafted to a handle, mainly for cutting and chopping. This type of tool is intended for working wood in its broadest sense. In the case of larger pieces such as axes, these may have had a polyfunctional use, as is shown by ethnoarchaeological (Pétrequin & Pétrequin Reference Pétrequin and Pétrequin1993) and traceological (Masclans et al. Reference Masclans, Hamon, Jeunesse and Bickle2021; Masclans Latorre et al. Reference Masclans Latorre, Palomo Pérez and Gibaja Bao2017a,Reference Masclans Latorre, Palomo Pérez, Gibaja Bao, Remolins Zamora and Gómez-Grasb) studies. Their main function would have been woodworking, but they may additionally have been used for other purposes such as cutting meat or vegetable fibres or even tanning skins. Cutting activities have created use wear on the active surfaces of all of the elements of the assemblage, leading to blunting and rounding of the edges (Fig. 9) and to accidental chipping from impacts (Fig. 9:2). Damage from impacts during use may eventually disable the cutting edge of the tool and require resharpening by polishing and reshaping the cutting edge. These maintenance activities have been observed on one of the elements, in which a chip has been polished over on the cutting edge (Fig. 9:2).

Once the cutting function was lost, these tools may be reused as percussion elements, thus obliterating the cutting edges. Among the studied elements, a fragment of polished stone has been reused on both sides as a hammer for pounding hard minerals (Fig. 9:5). Likewise, the other hammer and handstone were used for the same type of activity. This function can be inferred from the traces on the active surfaces created by repetitive impacts (Fig. 4:2B), accidental chipping (Fig. 4:2D) and even hairline fractures (Fig. 4:2C). The repurposing of tools is observed, in addition to the case of the aforementioned hammer, in two axes, probably due to fractures in the proximal areas (Fig. 9:3 & 9:4). This interpretation is based on the morphology of the elements and the superimposition of the pecking over the polishing that would have previously covered the entire surface of these elements (Fig. 9:4D & 9:4E). One of the most outstanding behaviours associated with the group of polished axes is the deliberate disabling of the active cutting edges. This action has been identified in a group of three axes placed in the passage of tomb 7016 (Fig. 9:1, 9:2 & 9:3). Although the cutting edges of these pieces show signs of proper use, the blades have been rendered useless by direct percussion, creating two or three large removals (Fig. 9:A, 9:B & 9:C). The evidence of damaging percussion (Fig. 9:A & 9:B) and chipping are linked to the same pattern of intentional breakage and rendering the tool useless. Considering the orientation, angle and depth of the removals, it would be very difficult to recuperate the cutting edge, as opposed to the more superficial and enveloping accidental damage.

The work processes described, from the types of raw materials, the production, use and recycling of these tools, enable us to speak of non-specialized activities with a low cost in terms of time investment. The term non-specialized refers to the fact that these activities were domestic, without the need for the participation of craftspeople with special skills. As for the low labour investment, it refers to the choice of the most efficient process to obtain a given tool with a specific function.

In summary, the ‘life-cycles’ of the analysed objects show techniques of production, use and reuse that are typical of domestic activities linked to the production of food in the daily life of an agricultural community. These activities are the processing of materials of plant origin, especially the grinding of cereals, and the macrolithic assemblage also includes the tools used in the production and maintenance of the elements needed for these activities. As for the processes of recycling and repurposing of tools, in some cases they are typical of domestic contexts, but others can be related to their use in the funerary context with which we are dealing. This is the case of the disabled axes or the repurposing of grindstones and sharpeners/polishers for their inclusion in the funerary structures.

Patterns of deposition and ritual practices in the tombs

The materials that we have analysed were placed inside the tombs to fulfil specific functions. Why, how, where, in what form and in what state these tools were deposited can be linked to the ritual practices and deposition patterns of objects in the collective and individual tombs. Taking into account the function of the elements and their place of deposition, we can divide them into two types of materials: on the one hand, tools used or incorporated into the structures of the tombs themselves as building materials, for the pavements and enclosing devices, such as grindstones or sharpeners/polishers, or mark the entrance, such the sharpener/polisher-stele; on the other hand, grave goods and offerings, understood as tools deposited in the burial chambers, passages and ritual and transitional spaces, as in the case of the polished stone axes, the hammer and wrist-guard.

However, each tomb presents specific deposition patterns, probably due to the particular funerary biography and the different roles of macrolithic tools in the sphere of death and the development of ritual practices.

In tomb 1336 two fragmented grindstones and a sharpener/polisher were arranged as elements of the stepped pavement of the access atrium to the tomb. These materials show signs of use-wear and fractures typical of discarded elements. They are therefore elements that had reached the end of their useful life. The purple slate triangular slab was found in the transition space between the passage and the chamber, probably associated with individual 8 as part of his grave goods. The fine triangular slab is a fragmented natural stone, with no traces of manufacture, treatment or use.

In hypogeum 7016, different patterns are observed depending on the funerary activity, phase of use and type of material. In this burial, there are both completely disabled tools, such as the grinders, and others that were in use or could still have been used or been repurposed, either fractured in the case of the grindstone, modified in the case of the sharpener/polisher, turned into a stele, or disabled in the case of some axes.

Associated with the second funerary level of the hypogeum and possibly prior to and/or in connection with the intentional closure, a set of macrolithic tools was deposited and rearranged at the same time with different functions and meanings, forming structured groups with distinct ritual roles.

The stele was placed at the entrance and an axe was hidden behind it. At the base of the wall enclosing the entrance, a large fragmented grindstone was integrated into it, on top of which another axe was placed. Inside, behind the jamb, a hammer was placed. Contextual and formal analysis of the artefacts suggests that this assemblage of materials may have been placed and deposited simultaneously during the architectural remodelling of the entrance, which involved the laying of a pavement in the passage, sealing and closure of the burial.

The sharpener/polisher-stele and the grindstone were modified and placed in order to close and mark the entrance to the tomb. The contextual association of these two elements with the hammer reveals that that this percussion instrument may have been employed for the repurposing of the grindstone and the knapping of the sharpener/polisher and that these works were carried out in the same context in which the deposition took place. Likewise, the violence of the extractions and the lack of finesse with which the stele was worked may indicate that these processes of transformation were carried out in parallel, quickly and probably in situ. Afterwards, the hammer was deposited inside the tomb.

The axes were tools used over a long period of time, as indicated by the edges, with evidence of maintenance and resharpening, similar to the polished tools with cutting edges recovered from most settlements and some funerary contexts, such as the ‘lime-kiln’ tombs (Orozco & Rojo Reference Orozco, Rojo, Martínez Fernández, Morgado Rodríguez and Afonso Marrero2006). Therefore, they are not objects made expressly for death, but have been reused as funerary deposits, unlike other sites of different regions and chronologies, as in the case of the burial caves at Algar do Bom Santo, Cova da Moura and Lugar do Canto, where intact axes and adzes were deposited as funerary offerings (Cardoso Reference Cardoso and Carvalho2014; Cardoso & Carvalho Reference Cardoso, Carvalho and Cardoso2008; Lillios Reference Lillios2000). In this sense, the long biographies of axes at La Orden-Seminario, their placement in the entrance, passage and the access to the chamber, together with their non-association with buried individuals, might suggest that they were offerings made to the deceased, either collectively or to specific individuals. These materials show the existence of different patterns and ritual practices specific to polished objects. One pattern is represented by the two axes deposited at the entrance related to different spaces and events of the closure. The axe behind the support denotes an interesting functional and symbolic association with the sharpener/polisher-stele, as it could be related to the first use as a sharpener/polisher, where the axe (and others) was possibly sharpened, and at the same time as a material offering that accompanied the stele, being one of the attributes recurrently represented in this element. It is plausible that the axe on the grindstone was deposited as the last offering in the act of closing the tomb, being placed at the point marking the axis of symmetry of the tomb. The other pattern is that of the three disabled axes placed in a group in the passage. The action of ‘sacrifice’ by breaking the axe edges may have taken place at the same time. In this case, the intentional ‘condemnation’ would have been intended to prevent the reuse of these objects in the future, thus linking the offering to the burial site. Likewise, the intentional breakage of grindstones for their inclusion in burials has been documented ethnographically (Adams Reference Adams, Rowan and Smith2008). The other two axes, complete, are located at the threshold of access to the chamber.

The incorporation of these tools in the funerary structures at La Orden-Seminario can be interpreted in two complementary ways. On the one hand, from a functional point of view, in a context with scarce lithic resources in the surroundings, elements that have already come to the end of their use-life are repurposed, as indicated by their long biographies. On the other hand, from a ritual and symbolic perspective, tools that have been used in domestic life are incorporated into the funerary context as ‘offerings’, either in commemoration or tribute to the group of people buried in these tombs or as belongings linked to specific individuals. Thus, with the exception of two objects that are in connection with the skeletal remains of the individuals in the burial spaces, most of the macrolithic tools are located in the entrances and transition spaces, and must have functioned as offerings. However, we do not rule out the possibility that some of these materials, such as the axes of tomb 7016, may have been grave goods that accompanied the dead buried in the chambers at a previous stage, changing their position towards the passage and entrance at a specific stage of the funerary biography of tomb.

In tholos 7055, the only macrolithic tool preserved is a hammer with evidence of intensive use in percussion work with rocks. This element may also correspond to the tasks of opening the trench and breaking the slate slabs that formed the underground chamber of the mound-covered tomb built in the Early Bronze Age. The wrist-guard is part of the grave goods of a child buried in the subterranean cave. It was made by polishing the surfaces and drilling two holes in the ends, being the most common typology in the Iberian peninsula (Muñoz Reference Muñoz2017). At one end, near the rim, there is a small, millimetre-sized concavity that may be due to a fault at the beginning of the perforation or to a recess for the inlay of a metal drop as an ornament. This object was also not manufactured for death, as it shows traces of having been used in archery activities, probably carried out by an adult individual. The surface shows striations with depression at an oblique angle to the piece, probably caused by the bowstring hitting the support, as has been documented on other Iberian bracers (Barroso Bermejo et al. Reference Barroso Bermejo, Martínez-Sevilla, Rodríguez Barbero, Cambra-Moo, Bueno-Ramírez and Rojas Rodríguez-Malo2022). The presence of some parallel striations probably represented traces of the final polishing of the wrist-guard surface by stone abrader (Kaňáková & Peška Reference Kaňáková and Peška2023). There are no traces of sharpening of metallic elements, as has been identified in some of the Iberian bracers (Delgado-Raack & Risch Reference Delgado-Raack, Risch, Longo and Skakun2008; Muñoz Reference Muñoz2017).

Social practices and relationship between objects and individuals

The material types and depositional patterns in the tombs of La Orden-Seminario raise a number of questions and considerations about the role of these macrolithic tools in the sphere of the dead and their significance in the social dynamics of the community, especially the meaning of the domestic objects incorporated in the mortuary spaces.

In this sense, and assuming the limitations of the archaeological record, we will try to answer several questions in key hypotheses: is the fragmentation and recycle of objects a functional issue or a socially sanctioned ritual practice? To whom did the tools deposited in the internal spaces or placed in the entrance of the tombs belong? Were they tools belonging to the people buried there or to living relatives? Were the offerings made individually or collectively? Was grave looting to recuperate tools a common practice, hence the need to render them useless?

Most of the macrolithic tools of La Orden-Seminario are present in a fragmentary state, as are other elements of the collective grave goods (pottery, knapped blades, a copper axe, etc.) and even the skeletal remains, as is often the case in the Late Neolithic and Copper Age societies of the southwest of the Iberian peninsula (Valera Reference Valera2019). Intentional fragmentation has been interpreted as a social practice intended to regulate social conflicts or tensions between individuals caused by the accumulation and possession of certain prestige objects (Chapman Reference Chapman2000; Chapman & Gaydarska Reference Chapman and Gaydarska2007). This ritual behaviour was intended to share particular objects, promoting more balanced relationships between individuals in terms of ownership, possession and identity.

In the case of La Orden-Seminario, the intentional or accidental fragmentation of domestic objects incorporated in the tombs may respond to diverse social practices: 1) discard after their fragmentations and/or last use, such grinders and hammers incorporated in infills and covering mounds; 2) functional and symbolic recycling of disabled elements as construction materials after their disuse in domestic contexts, in the case of the grindstones, grinders and sharpener/polisher; 3) recycling and recharacterization as an element of special symbolic and ritual meaning, in the case of the sharpener/polisher-stele, placed at the entrance of hypogeum 7016 as a landmark and perhaps as an apotropaic element; 4) condemnation and disablement in the case of the three axes grouped together, by breaking the cutting edges, to prevent the use of these personal objects by other individuals, in the domain both of the living and the dead.

Finding a link between the objects deposited in the tombs and the individuals buried is a very complicated matter. In the case of La Orden-Seminario, we also face the limitations of commingled deposits, the low MMI, the limited number of macrolithic objects and unequal representation in the three collective tombs. However, we can explore hypothetically whether there is any correspondence between these domestic objects and the individuals buried in the tombs, given that it is plausible that the macrolithic tools (as well as the rest of the grave goods) represent people and the activities they carried out in their daily lives. Likewise, it is likely that these tombs were reserved for members of the same family units according to the funerary deposits, anthropological data and the short duration of the funerary cycles (Linares-Catela & Vera Rodríguez Reference Linares-Catela and Vera-Rodríguez2021). These are characteristic patterns of the tribal societies of southern Iberia in the third millennium bc, organized in lineages with hierarchical social relations and communities with a structured sexual division of activities.

It is likely that the presence of macrolithic objects is not only due to functional and ritual reasons, but also to symbolic meanings. Some are re-used materials and others are belongings of the deceased arranged as grave goods or burial offerings, which may represent the different ‘life-cycles’ of the objects themselves and the activities carried out by the individuals in their daily lives. In this sense, the arrangement of these materials and the rest of the grave goods seems to create a symbolic staging of the social role and activities carried out by these people. Likewise, their presence and visualization in the sphere of the dead must have contributed to the maintenance of the memory of these ancestors.

In tomb 1336, the nine adults (six males, two females and one of undetermined sex) are associated with recurrent and uniform grave goods, with most of the individuals possessing two ceramic vessels (one open and one closed shape) and one or two rhyolite and/or flint blades, regardless of the sex and treatment of the bodies. The two grindstones and the sharpener/polisher were integrated into the access pavement to the tomb, being the space that allows them to be seen and recognized from the outside. Therefore, the presence of these unused elements is probably not only due to a functional or opportunistic reason as construction materials, but also to an intentional metaphorical representation (Lidström Holmberg Reference Lidström Holmberg1998) of the domestic activities and gender of the buried individuals. In this sense, the numerical correspondence between the two querns and the two buried females is striking, the sex traditionally associated with cereal-milling activities, which has been widely verified ethnographically in agrarian communities (Haaland Reference Haaland1997).

In hypogeum 7016, in the two funerary levels of the hypogeum, the remains of seven adults (four males and three females) were documented. The various fragmented ceramic objects, an arrowhead, a deer antler and several macrolithic objects could correspond to them as collective or individual funerary offerings. The grindstone could correspond to the females, symbolically representing the domestic sphere in the hypogeum. The rest of the elements are technologically and functionally related with the knapping and percussion (hammer), polishing and sharpening (sharpener/polisher) of the axes.

The axes contain a prominent gender role as ethnographic studies support the idea that these tools are individually owned by men and that several axes may be owned during a person's lifetime (Pétrequin & Pétrequin Reference Pétrequin and Pétrequin1993). It is therefore likely that these objects belonged to the four buried male individuals who used these objects during their lifetime. Perhaps this is the main reason why axes only appear in this tomb, being an equally scarce material in domestic contexts in view of the unavailability of hard rocks nearby. We can even venture two types of offerings. The first group consists of the tools (stele-sharpener/polisher, the two axes placed at the entrance and the hammer behind the jamb) that could represent the collective. Of these elements, we highlight the stele-sharpener/polisher for its multiple significance: a) it represents the work of manufacturing and maintaining the axes; b) it identifies the individuals buried, who would have carried out various daily activities of felling wood and cutting other materials; c) it protects and dissuades possible attempts of violation as it is a symbolic element placed for the custody of the tomb. The second type, made up of axes deposited in the passage, could be associated with the four male buried in the chamber, who could have a relevant social status by possessing these objects. These offerings could correspond to one for each individual, if we consider the group of three disabled axes as a single package, or they could have a different distribution. It is impossible to answer these questions because there is no physical connection between the axes and the individuals.

In the mixed hypogeum, at least two individuals were buried, one male and one female, accompanied by three ceramic bowls, an arrowhead and a grinder fragment. Again, it would be possible to associate the macrolithic object with the female, evoking the gender and domestic activity carried out by her.

In the subterranean cave of tholos 7055, the wrist-guard is associated with a ‘child warrior’, forming part of prestigious grave goods in keeping with an individual of high social rank, acquired from birth (Linares-Catela Reference Linares-Catela2020), as has been found in other Iberian sites (Barroso Bermejo et al. Reference Barroso Bermejo, Martínez-Sevilla, Rodríguez Barbero, Cambra-Moo, Bueno-Ramírez and Rojas Rodríguez-Malo2022; Herrero Corral et al. Reference Herrero-Corral, Garrido Pena and Flores Fernández2019). The hammer was intentionally discarded in the covering mound after fracturing.