ARCHAEOMETRY AT SLOWPOKE‐TORONTO

This paper describes the archaeometric research conducted at the SLOWPOKE Reactor Facility of the University of Toronto (SLOWPOKE‐Toronto) during its existence from 1971 to 1998. The contributions to student teaching and research are described, and the total contribution of the facility to studies of an eclectic assortment of ancient and historic materials is addressed.     

ARCHAEOLOGICAL PETROLOGY AND THE ARCHAEOMETRY OF LITHIC MATERIALS*

For 50 years, archaeologists and physical scientists have been dating, determining the composition of and measuring stone tools, and reporting them in Archaeometry and many other journals. In Archaeometry specifically, the number of papers devoted to the analysis of lithic material has increased at least 30 times since 1958 and volume 1. This is a reflection not only of an increase in the number of scholars devoting their time to the archaeometry of stone, but also of increases in the quality and quantity of instrumental technology available to researchers in the field.     

TL DATING OF BURNT LITHICS FROM BLOMBOS CAVE (SOUTH AFRICA): FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR THE ANTIQUITY OF MODERN HUMAN BEHAVIOUR*

This paper presents the first TL dates for burnt quartzites and silcretes from the Still Bay layers of Blombos Cave (South Africa). These layers contained engraved ochres and marine shell beads that could be an early manifestation of symbolic and thus ‘modern’ behaviour by the Middle Stone Age humans. The procedure devised to calculate the ages is presented in detail, particularly with regard to internal microdosimetry, because the problems faced in estimating the dose rates require an approach different from the one usually used on flints and sediments. A mean age of 74 ± 5 ka was obtained for five burnt lithics unearthed in the BBC M1 member of the Still Bay layers. This result is in good agreement with both ESR dates on teeth and OSL dates on sediment, and demonstrates the great antiquity of the archaeological remains discovered at Blombos Cave.     

DNA AND PROTEIN RECOVERY FROM WASHED EXPERIMENTAL STONE TOOLS*

Traces of protein and DNA are preserved on stone tools used to process animals. Previous research documents the identification of protein residues from tools sonicated in 5% ammonium hydroxide, but it remains untested whether the same treatment yields useable DNA. In this study we report both DNA and protein recovery using 5% ammonium hydroxide from residues on stone tools. We extracted 13‐year‐old residues from experimentally manufactured stone tools used to butcher a single animal. We also show that surface washing procedures typically used to curate stone tools remove only a small fraction of the DNA and protein deposited during animal butchery.     

The Formation of Flakes: The Role of Platform Thickness and Exterior Platform Angle in the Production of Flake Initiations and Terminations

This paper presents the results of several controlled experiments which examined Cotterell & Kamminga's (1987,American Antiquity52, 675–708) model of flake initiations and terminations in relation to platform thickness and exterior platform angle. The results contribute to their model by demonstrating that for a given exterior platform angle, as platform thickness was increased, predictable changes occurred in the type of initiation and terminations produced. In addition, low exterior platform angles were found to produce changes similar to those usually attributed to different indentor types. These experimental results suggest that the differences between bending and conchoidal flakes must be re-evaluated.     

IDENTIFYING AND CLASSIFYING VEIN QUARTZ ARTEFACTS: AN EXPERIMENT CONDUCTED AT THE WORLD ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONGRESS, 2008

Worldwide, vein quartz was used as a raw material for stone tools, and in many regions quartz was the dominant raw material, if not the only raw material. While using quartz was not necessarily problematic for the communities in question, and was often preferred over other materials, the ‘problem’ with quartz is for archaeologists attempting to analyse the material, especially with coarse‐grained quartz. This paper presents the results of a quartz recognition experiment conducted on volunteer participants at the 2008 World Archaeological Congress (WAC) conference held in Dublin, Ireland. The results have shown that the identification and classification of vein quartz artefacts is particularly challenging, even for analysts with substantial experience in quartz artefact analysis.