Use-Wear Analysis of Flaked Stone Tools.

Man ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Hayden ◽  
Patrick C. Vaughan
Keyword(s):  
Stone Tools ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Use Wear

Percussive-Abrasive Stone Tools from Chagyrskaya Cave: Results of Functional Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-31
Author(s):  
M. V. Seletsky ◽  
A. Y. Fedorchenko ◽  
P. V. Chistyakov ◽  
S. V. Markin ◽  
K. A. Kolobova
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Experimental Use ◽  
Abrasive Stone ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
Reference Samples ◽  
Comprehensive Study

This article presents a comprehensive study of percussive-abrasive active stone tools from Chagyrskaya Cave, using experimental use-wear and statistical methods, supplemented by 3D-modeling. Experiments combined with use- wear analysis allowed us to determine the functions of these tools by comparing the working surfaces and use-wear traces in the Chagyrskaya samples with those in the reference samples. As a result, we identified 19 retouchers, four hammerstones for processing mineral raw materials, and one hammer for splitting bone, which indicates the dominance of secondary processing over primary knapping in the Chagyrskaya lithic assemblage. Using statistical analysis, we traced the differences in the dimensions of the manuports and lithics under study. These artifacts are a promising and underestimated source of information for identifying working operations associated with stone- and bone-processing; moreover, they can provide new data on the functional attribution of sites and the mobility of early hominins.

scholarly journals A sexual division of labour at the start of agriculture? A multi-proxy comparison through grave good stone tool technological and use-wear analysis

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0249130
Author(s):  
Alba Masclans ◽  
Caroline Hamon ◽  
Christian Jeunesse ◽  
Penny Bickle
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Violence ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Stone Tool ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Sexual Division ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Grave Good ◽  
East West

This work demonstrates the importance of integrating sexual division of labour into the research of the transition to the Neolithic and its social implications. During the spread of the Neolithic in Europe, when migration led to the dispersal of domesticated plants and animals, novel tasks and tools, appear in the archaeological record. By examining the use-wear traces from over 400 stone tools from funerary contexts of the earliest Neolithic in central Europe we provide insights into what tasks could have been carried out by women and men. The results of this analysis are then examined for statistically significant correlations with the osteological, isotopic and other grave good data, informing on sexed-based differences in diet, mobility and symbolism. Our data demonstrate males were buried with stone tools used for woodwork, and butchery, hunting or interpersonal violence, while women with those for the working of animal skins, expanding the range of tasks known to have been carried out. The results also show variation along an east-west cline from Slovakia to eastern France, suggesting that the sexual division of labour (or at least its representation in death) changed as farming spread westwards.

Use-wear analysis of flaked stone tools

1985 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. xviii-xx
Author(s):  
Mark Newcomer
Keyword(s):  
Stone Tools ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Use Wear

scholarly journals Function and behaviour: use-wear evidence from Upper Paleolithic tools in southern Shanxi Province, North China

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 499-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Chen ◽  
Yiren Wang ◽  
Chun Chen
Keyword(s):  
Low Power ◽  
North China ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
Upper Paleolithic ◽  
Shanxi Province ◽  
Lower Percentage ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Lithic Tools

Lithic use-wear analysis has become a principal approach for interpreting the function of stone tools and inferring human behaviour. This study presents the results of use-wear analysis on lithic tools excavated from the Upper Paleolithic sites of Xiachuan and Chaisi in the southern part of Shanxi Province, North China. In this study, microblades and so-called core-like tools from these two sites were selected for examination by low-power techniques to identify their use patterns. The results suggest that approx. 30% of microblades might have been used mainly to process animal substances, and a lower percentage for vegetal substances. Based on the use-wear evidence, items classified as core-like tools should be regarded as microblade-cores, since they exhibit few traces of utilisation.

scholarly journals Prehistoric exploitation of minerals resources. Experimentation and use-wear analysis of grooved stone tools from Grotta della Monaca (Calabria, Italy)

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabella Caricola ◽  
Francesco Breglia ◽  
Felice Larocca ◽  
Caroline Hamon ◽  
Cristina Lemorini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Italy ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
Experimental Protocol ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Economic Choices ◽  
Archaeological Objects

Abstract The Calabria region of Southern Italy is rich in mineralisation. Unfortunately, no consistent data are available about mineral exploitation in the later prehistoric periods. The Grotta della Monaca mine in Calabria is a prehistoric site that is characterised by the mineralisation of iron ores (such as goethite) and copper carbonates (malachite and azurite). For this reason, the site provides an exceptional opportunity to study a prehistoric mine in which several minerals were exploited during the late Neolithic and early Chalcolithic. In this study, we present the results of an experimental protocol and use-wear analysis conducted using macro-lithic tool replicas to extract mineral resources. The experimental test aimed at reconstructing the function of grooved stone tools found at Grotta della Monaca. Use-wear observation, through a combined low- and high-power approach on experimental and archaeological objects, allowed us to define different extraction techniques and methods of mineral treatments. These data enhance our understanding and reconstruction of the chaîne opératoires, economic choices, and cultural aspects that characterised prehistoric miners in Southern Italy.

scholarly journals The effect of worked material hardness on stone tool wear

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Rodriguez ◽  
Venkata Sai Siva Kaushik Yanamandra ◽  
Zhong Wang ◽  
Rakesh Kumar Behera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Beech Wood ◽  
Indentation Test ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
Stone Tool ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
The Past ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Material Hardness ◽  
Optical Profilometer

The identification of ancient worked materials is one of the fundamental goals of lithic use wear analysis and one of the most important parts of understanding how stone tools were used in the past. Given the documented overlaps in wear patterns generated by different materials, it is imperative to understand how individual materials' mechanical properties might influence wear formation. Because isolating physical parameters and measuring their change is necessary for such an endeavor, controlled (rather than replicative) experiments combined with objective measurements of surface topography are necessary to better grasp how polish formed on stone tools. Therefore, we used a tribometer to wear natural flint surfaces against five materials (bone, antler, beech wood, spruce wood, and ivory) under the same force, and speed, over one, three, and five hours. The study aimed to test if there is a correlation between polish formation and the hardness of the worked material. We measured each raw material's hardness using nano-indentation test, and we compared the surface texture of the polished flint bits using a 3D optical profilometer. The interfacial detritus powder was analyzed with a scanning electron microscope to look for abraded flint particles. We demonstrate that, contrary to expectation, softer materials, such as wood, create smoother polishes than hard ones, such as ivory.

scholarly journals Quantitative use-wear analysis of stone tools: Measuring how the intensity of use affects the identification of the worked material

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0257266
Author(s):  
Juan José Ibáñez ◽  
Niccolò Mazzucco
Keyword(s):  
Confocal Microscopy ◽  
Texture Analysis ◽  
Dynamic Models ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
Dynamic Nature ◽  
Relevant Evidence ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Texture Modification ◽  
Advanced Stages

The identification of the use of stone tools through use-wear analysis was one the major methodological advances in Prehistoric Archaeology during the second half of the 20th century. Studies of use-wear analysis have decisively contributed to a better understanding of the cognitive capacities and the socio-economic organization of Prehistoric societies. Among use-wear traces, microwear polish is the most relevant evidence, as it allows the identification of the worked materials (i.e. wood, antler, hide, bone, stone…). This identification is currently carried out through the qualitative and visual comparison of experimental and archaeological tools. During the last decade, confocal microscopy is allowing the quantitative identification of the worked material through the texture analysis of microwear polish. Previous tests have accounted for the variability of use-wear traces as caused by different types of worked material. However, how the intensity of use, which is widely recognized as an important factor conditioning microwear polish characteristics, affects our capacity to identify the worked materials is poorly understood. This research addresses the dynamic nature of microwear polish through confocal microscopy and texture analysis. This research shows that use-wear polishing is a dynamic process and surface texture evolves continuously during the working time. The evolution fits a logarithmic function, so most texture modification takes place during the first phases of work. The way in which polish texture evolves through time differs from one contact material to the other. We demonstrate that, despite the dynamic nature of use-wear polish, different worked materials can be discriminated. However, some overlapping between used and unused surfaces and between worked materials occurs in the first stages of use. Moreover, polishes of similar characteristics (i.e. bone and antler) can show similar texture at advanced stages of use. These problems in identification can be in good measure overcome by creating dynamic models of polish texture in which not only the worked material but also the time of use is considered.

Economic Implications of Mano and Metate Use at Cerro Maya, Belize

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa G. Duffy
Keyword(s):  
Stone Tools ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Ground Stone ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Primary Function ◽  
Use Wear

This chapter examines use wear on the Cerro Maya collection of manos and metates to investigate what materials were processed on them. Maize processing is generally presumed to be the primary function of ancient Maya manos and metates; however, analysis suggests that these implements were also used to prepare a variety of other products. Use wear analysis documents that a reciprocal, back-and-forth grinding motion is the most efficient way to process maize. However, nonreciprocal rotary movements are also associated with some types of ground stone tools used for nonmaize products. Results of the analysis indicate that a broader range of foods were processed in the Late Preclassic era while maize grinding was the use for manos and metates in Terminal Classic and Postclassic times.

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