Identifying the stone toolkit of Copper Age and Bronze Age metallurgists: A new contribution from use-wear and XRF analysis carried out on experimental tests

•Experiments have been conducted to produce copper and bronze objects.•Ore crushing, metal objects shaping by hammering and finishing by abrading were tested.•Use-wear analysis were combined to XRF analysis.•A use-wear reference collection is provided on metallurgists stone tools.•It allows identification of metallurgists’ stone tools from the Early Bronze in north-west Europe. Use-wear analysis of stone tools involved in metallurgical processes is a recent field of research within functional analysis. In order to consolidate the methodological framework of such research, experiments were carried out on the production of copper and bronze objects. Several production steps were tested, on the basis of archaeological questions relating to sites dated from the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BC in north-west Europe. The crushing of copper ore was tested in order to compare use-wear traces created by three different actions: breaking block, fragmenting into small pieces and grinding into powder. In addition, various parts of a test group of copper and tin bronze axeheads and daggers were shaped by hammering: this hammering involved deburring and regularization of the sides of the axeheads and daggers, as well as thinning out the cutting edges immediately after casting or at a later stage. Finally, the sides and edges of the copper and bronze axeheads were abraded and polished. The combination of use-wear and XRF analysis of the tools involved in this series of experiments consolidates the methodological background of the functional analysis of stone tools. They allow better differentiation of wear traces resulting from the processing of ores within the broader spectrum of hard mineral materials. They also raise questions about the preservation of metal residues on the surface of stone tools depending on the different activities carried out. Finally, the distinction between copper and bronze objects is also discussed. Examples of the analysis of various metallurgists’ stone tools from the Early Bronze in north-west Europe support the demonstration.