Wear Traces and the Interpretation of Stone Tools

Abstract

Hafting traces integrated within a larger functional analysis can be used to improve our understanding of the dynamic life cycle of a stone tool. Based on the analysis of hide scrapers from the Magdalenian site of Verberie, France, the potential of research that considers macroscopic and microscopic traces from different causes (e.g., production, use, manual grasping, and hafting) is demonstrated. Hafting traces can throw light on a tool’s use and hafting mode, but also on its morphology and reasons for discard, among other things. Most importantly, the principles necessary to analyze experimental hafting traces are shown to be useful for interpreting archaeological hafting modes.     

Recent developments in the analysis of lithic artifacts

A review of recent research on lithic technology and functional analysis is presented. Our perception of the state of the art is based on a review of the literature published during the past three years and on the topics that were covered at conferences and workshops on lithic analysis. While the goals have essentially remained the same since the turn of the century, concerns with chronology and the classification of lithic artifacts have given way to studies that treat stone implements as products of a dynamic system of human behavior. In order to understand stone artifacts and the people that made and used them, archaeologists must understand theprocesses involved in the acquisition, production, exchange, and consumption of lithic artifacts. In the past ten years, experimental studies involving the manufacturing and use of stone tools have been integrated with studies of refitted or conjoined lithic artifacts and microwear analysis. The result is a much more dynamic view of the variability in assemblages of lithic artifacts. In this review, we focus on replication and technological analysis of chipped stone artifacts and microwear analysis, and consider the implications of this research.     

On stone-boiling technology in the Upper Paleolithic: behavioral implications from an Early Magdalenian hearth in El Mirón Cave,Cantabria, Spain

Stone boiling is one of the principal cooking methods used by hunter-gatherer societies. The present paper proposes behavioral and organizational inferences as to how stone boiling was incorporated into hunter-gatherer subsistence practices through an examination of a shallow-basin hearth in an Early Magdalenian level (c. 15,500 ¹⁴C B.P.) of El Mirón Cave, Cantabria (northern Spain). Exploratory analysis of spatial patterns of archaeological remains (bones, lithic artifacts, and fire-cracked rocks) and use-life analysis of fire-cracked rocks demonstrate that the hearth was used and maintained during visits of humans who preyed mainly on ibex and red deer near the site. The relative accessibility of these ungulates and cost-induced technology of stone boiling suggest the implication that stone boiling was employed to maximize the energy and nutrition obtained from carcasses of these game taxa under the circumstance of resource intensification.     

Dental microwear study of pigs from the classical site of Sagalassos (SW Turkey) as an aid for the reconstruction of husbandry practices in ancient times

Abstract

Microwear analysis of pig teeth from the classical site of Sagalassos (SW Turkey) is undertaken to obtain insight into pig management strategies in this region from the 1st to 7th centuries AD. Earlier research on modern pigs revealed significant differences in microwear patterns between stall-fed and free-ranging, rooting individuals. A comparison of the microwear data of the Sagalassos pig with those from archaeological and modern pigs with a known or presumed type of management shows that the microwear of the Sagalassos pigs is very different. It is suggested that the Sagalassos pigs had a very soft, non-abrasive diet, that in the first instance cannot be attributed to either management type. Therefore, the nature of the substrate on which the animals were foraging and its impact on microwear are considered and the microwear data are compared with the results of previous archaeozoological research carried out at the site. Further, diachronic changes in microwear patterns are investigated.     

Laser scanning confocal microscopy: a potential technique for the study of lithic microwear

The key problem restricting lithic microwear analysis is the lack of quantitative analysis to support qualitative assessments of different wear traces. This paper presents the reflective laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM) as a new technique for the study of lithic microwear that has the potential to resolve this problem. Firstly, an example is presented that shows how the LSCM compares with conventional reflected light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. This shows that images, rivalling that of the SEM, can be produced in similar timescales to conventional photomicrography and with no need for casting or sample preparation. The LSCM is also used to measure surface roughness of use-wear produced from working hide (dry, fresh and greasy), woodworking and antler working. This analysis demonstrates clear differences between the different wear polishes and the potential of the LSCM as a quantitative approach in lithic microwear research.     

Two sides of the same coin—rocks, bones and site function of Picareiro Cave, central Portugal

The issue of site function rarely has been a main focus in the study of Portuguese Upper Paleolithic. This fact may be related to a lack of interest in this research area. More likely, however, it is due to the fact that there are relatively few Paleolithic sites with data that allow a serious study of site function. At Picareiro Cave, central Portugal, there are various data sets from level F/G dated to the latter Magdalenian that are adequate for this type of research. These are habitat structures, lithic artifacts, macro- and mesofauna, as well as 3D location of all artifacts and fauna larger than 1 cm. Based on the interpretation of the analytical results of each data set, it is possible to reconstruct site function of this particular level of Picareiro Cave. The morphology of one of the hearths, being very large in size, with the base prepared and a pavement surrounding it, as well as the condition and diversity of fauna, indicates that it was used for processing the meat of rabbits, red deer, and wild boar, probably through smoking and grilling. All of the evidence from the different types of data (lithic artifacts, habitat structures, use of space, and fauna) indicate that Layers F/G of Picareiro Cave are the result of a specific task, that of processing animal carcasses of rabbits, red deer, and wild boar.     

Experimentation in the Formation of Edge Damage: A New Approach to Lithic Analysis

Abstract

The paper describes a series of experiments recently carried out to test the formation of edge-damage on flaked stone tools which results from their being used in various tasks. Variables that were systematically tested include action, worked material, angle of the edge, and grip. The main criterion in distinguishing different patterns of damage was microflaking rather than abrasion in the form of striations and polish.

The results of these experiments may be applied to the identification of patterns of damage to the edges of prehistoric stone tools. The information gained from such microwear analysis may be used not only to provide details on the activities and settlement organization of prehistoric societies, but also to provide an important new dimension to lithic analysis in general. In lithic analysis, the main criteria of change have been the macromorphological features of the tools. It is our contention, however, that the additional information on the function of the tools, which is provided by microwear analysis, can contribute to the greater understanding of the processes of change in lithic assemblages and culture change as a whole.

The experimental program was designed to test the formation of edge-damage on implements manufactured in European chalk flint. It was to aid in the identification of wear patterns on lithic assemblages from the neolithic period in Central and Eastern Europe, a project in which the authors were involved. Its relevance, however, includes directly those assemblages of the post-Pleistocene period in temperate and Mediterranean Europe. The results of the experiments may also be useful, it is hoped, for lithic analysis in general, both in the Old and New World.     

Microwear analysis of experimental flint tools: a test case

Recent attempts to infer the functions of prehistoric stone tools have centred on the study of microscopic traces of wear on the surfaces of these tools. One method of “microwear analysis” involving high magnification and an incident light microscope is tested in this paper. Modern flint tools made and used in ways thought relevant to prehistory were produced by a lithic technologist and after cleaning given to the microwear specialist who attempted to infer their use. A high degree of agreement between inferred and actual uses was achieved and this encouraging result has important implications for the study of microwear on prehistoric tools where no such independent check is available.     

Use-wear analysis of obsidian artifacts from Later Stone Age shell midden sites on the Red Sea Coast of Eritrea,with experimental results

This paper presents results of use-wear study on lithic artifacts from two Later Stone Age sites (Gelalo and Misse) on the Red Sea Coast of Eritrea. The sites produced large quantities of lithic artifacts in association with mollusk shells and ostrich eggshell beads, but it is unclear if all the stone tools were required for bead and mollusk shell processing. The study involved recording of microfracture damage traces in order to infer the use-material and the manner in which the artifacts were used. A large percentage of the analyzed samples from Gelalo and Misse preserve wear patterns suggestive of human use. The diagnostic wear types include: (1) dense step, snap (crushing) and hinge fractures typically confined on the working edges, and (2) feather scars organized in a scalar manner visible on the ventral and dorsal surfaces of the active parts. The observed damage patterns suggest cutting and engraving medium to hard materials. The evidence is incomplete for more generalization about the specific activities carried out at the sites. A brief experimental study involving ostrich eggshell drilling, oak twig sawing and bark scraping, meat slicing, and mollusk shell sawing and drilling was carried out to aid interpretation of wear features observed on the archaeological specimens. Wear traces produced by sawing mollusk shell and oak wood showed close affinity to those observed on the archaeological specimens. The study contributes important information about early Holocene site use on the Red Sea Coast of Eritrea. The close association of used lithic artifacts, symbolic objects (beads) and broken shell remains indicates that the sites were habitation areas.     

Hard core and cutting edge: experimental manufacture and use of Magdalenian composite projectile tips

The technology of the European Upper Palaeolithic yielded abundant evidence of the use of composite projectile heads, in the form of osseous points on the side of which one or several (micro)lithic elements are attached. Yet, little experimental work has been devoted to testing and assessing the parameters of use of this type of composite tips. In this paper we present a pilot experiment with replicas of Magdalenian composite spear tips, made of an antler point with one or two rows of flint backed bladelets. Two series of replicas were manufactured after the lithic and osseous record of, respectively, the Lower Magdalenian from southwest France (c. 20–18 Ky cal BP) and the Upper Magdalenian of Pincevent in the Paris Basin (c. 15–14 Ky cal BP). The 34 experimental composite heads were hafted to spears that were then shot with a spearthrower at the carcasses of two young deer. The results provide some insight into the performance characteristics of the osseous and lithic components, both in efficiency and durability. Finally, possible improvements of the experimental protocol are discussed, as well as the implications of our results for the understanding of projectile point variability in the Upper Palaeolithic.     

Terminal Pleistocene–Early Holocene lithic technological organization around Lake Mojave,California

Abstract

The surface lithic scatters at two areas around Soda Lake were intensively surveyed and 3133 artifacts were analyzed in the field using four main variables to infer how Terminal Pleistocene–Early Holocene foragers organized lithic technology around pluvial Lake Mojave, California. Results indicate that early stage bifaces and flake tool blanks were created at a fine-grained volcanic (felsite) quarry/workshop complex in the Soda Mountains survey area and transported elsewhere. In addition, fine-grained volcanic bifaces were reduced and bifaces and flake tools of cryptocrystalline silicates and obsidian were finished, used, and/or discarded at a habitation area on the ancient shorelines near Little Cowhole Mountain. Comparisons with nearby sites of similar ages (at Ft. Irwin and China Lake) reveal many similarities in lithic technological organization. Lake Mojave—an important locus of prior research—can now be integrated into recent Mojave Desert and Great Basin technological organization studies.     

Taphonomy at Hermies,France: A Mousterian Knapping Site in a Loessic Context

Abstract

The recent excavation of Hermies, a Mousterian (Middle Palaeolithic) flintknapping site in northern France, sheds light on natural alteration of a lithic assemblage in a loessic sediment. An extensive, well preserved stratigraphic zone grades into a more disturbed area. During excavation we recorded taphonomic indicators such as the dip and strike of in situ pieces, the scattering of artifacts and refitting of broken specimens, and microscopic alteration, principally natural, of flakes. While the composition of the lithic assemblage is less sensitive to erosion than we would expect, the vertical and horizontal dispersion of finds at Hermies is related to natural processes active in the lower and wetter parts of the site. Of particular note is that the dispersion can be associated with polish produced by the natural growth of roots rather than by human use. Some “tools”conventionally identified as denticulaters and notches display no use-wear, and we suggest they were created accidentally by processes such as shock, trampling, and crushing within dense clusters of debitage. This correlation of debitage clusters with increased presence of notches and denticulates is reported from many open-air Mousterian sites; since these two tool forms define the Denticulate Mousterian facies, some reevaluation of those facies is necessary.     

Use wear and post-depositional surface modification: A word of caution

This is a preliminary report on experiments designed to study the effect of stratigraphically invisible minor movement of artifacts in the sediment on flint surfaces. The hypothesis was that such prolonged movement could be responsible for postdepositional surface modifications which sometimes mimick use-wear traces and at other times obliterate them. The study was prompted by observation of the high incidence of these phenomena on a wide variety of sites. The results constitute a cautionary tale to those embarking on the microwear analysis of assemblages where these surface alterations are present.     

AN INTERIM REPORT OF THE STAR CARR MICROWEAR STUDY

Summary. This paper presents some preliminary observations based on the microwear analysis of 173 artefacts from the mesolithic site of Star Carr, near Scarborough, Yorkshire. One hundred discrete and utilized edges were identified by the presence of various microwear traces on 79 of the artefacts belonging to the following general types: scrapers, edge-damaged or marginally retouched blades and flakes, bilaterally backed blades (awls), burins, backed blades, axe resharpening flakes, denticulated or truncated blades and flakes, microliths, and cores. The microwear traces identified on the tools indicates that they were used in a variety of ways in the processing of hide, bone, wood, antler and meat. A comparison of wear-traces and tool shape has shown that there are morphological differences between scrapers used on hide and those used on bone, and also, that edge-damaged or marginally retouched blades were selected for use on the basis of their cross-sectional configuration.     

Systematic Reworking of Lithics from Earlier Cultures in the Early Holocene of Dakhleh Oasis,Egypt

Abstract

A raw material form scarcely mentioned in the literature on lithic production—chipped stone artifacts manufactured by members of still earlier cultures—is used for a substantial portion of the toolkits in certain industries of Dakhleh Oasis, south-central Egypt. In one group of early Holocene (Masara) sites, the majority of double patinated tools are chunky burins, systematically manufactured from Levallois flakes and similar thick-sectioned older artifacts. Since fresh chert and other workable stone is available in the area, it appears that old, recycled lithics constitute the preferred raw material for these tool classes. The sites in question seem to be field camps where the burins were both made and used.     

Molluscan Shell Knives and Experimental Cut-Marks on Bones

Abstract

Experimentation demonstrates that the retouched edges of molluscan shells can be used effectively as butchery knives in the absence of lithic raw materials and leave striations on bone surfaces that may be indistinguishable from cut-marks made by stone knives. The potential of such non-lithic cutting tools suggests one new possible category of early artifact, and may explain the presence of cut-marks on fossil bones in paleoenvironments where stone artifacts were absent or rare.     

Evaluating morphological variability in lithic assemblages using 3D models of stone artifacts

Technological and morphological variability in lithic artifacts is commonly used to identify taxonomic entities in Paleolithic research contexts. Assemblages are mainly studied using either linear distance measurements or qualitative assessments of morphologies. Here, we present a method to quantify morphological variability in lithic artifacts using 3D models of stone artifacts. Our study on the sequence of the Upper Paleolithic layers V–I from the site Yabroud II in western Syria, demonstrates that utilizing 3D models provides a new insight into the variability of lithic technologies. We use quantitative data on convexities, twist and scar patterns on cores and blades, attributes previously not readily quantifiable, to trace technological change through the archaeological sequence. We are able to identify differences and translate these findings into a grouping of the layers. While layers VI–II are characterized by technological continuity and were grouped together, layers V and I can be separated from this group and represent technologically different groups chronologically before and after. Our results demonstrate the potential of 3D models for studying morphological variability in lithic assemblages.     

A Late Pleistocene Occupation on the Southern Coast of Oregon

Abstract

Geoarchaeological research on the southern coast of Oregon brought to light archaeological evidence of early human occupation in the late Pleistocene. Indian Sands (35CU67) lies on a highly eroded deflated headland on the Oregon coast where previous surveys had found and dated surficial cultural materials as early as 8250 b.p. (uncalibrated radiocarbon years). Prior to excavation of Indian Sands, sediment and stratigraphic analysis, along with radiocarbon and thermoluminescence dates, established the existence of late Pleistocene deposits. The excavations confirmed the presence of buried cultural deposits containing lithic artifacts, charcoal, and fire-cracked rock. Dispersed charcoal from the floor of an artifactbearing level was dated to 10,430 b.p., more than 2000 ^l4C years older than any other Oregon coastal site.     

Archaeological Publications

Abstract

A number of lithic studies over the past several years have indicated that average flake weight (size) appears to be a direct reflection of the ease of lithic procurement, with the greater the distance to the lithic source, the smaller the respective general flake size. Similar high-quality lithic materials from Pot Creek Pueblo and the Cerrita pithouse site of the Taos area of the northern Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico provide an excellent basis for the study of the effects of source distance on the metrical attributes of lithic material due to the wide array of local and nonlocal lithic resources available at varying distances from the two settlements and utilized within them. The analysis indicates that flake thickness and volume (flake length × width × thickness) provide statistically significant linear trends and patterns in relation to respective source material distance. The general flake dimensional-decremental trend with increasing source distance probably reflects smaller lithic parent material sizes with increasing material source distance as well as a lithic technology oriented toward greater material conservation and less technological variability as the distance to the respective lithic material source increases.