Abstract
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.
Highlights
More than 60 years after the English translation of the pioneering study of the function of prehistoric tools through use-wear analysis by S
This paper aims to show how microwear polish evolves over time and how polish development affects our capacity of identification of worked materials using texture analysis and confocal microscopy
40% to 50% of the samples are classified in one group and 20% to 30% of the samples are grouped in a second one
Summary
More than 60 years after the English translation of the pioneering study of the function of prehistoric tools through use-wear analysis by S. The method is based on the comparison of the use-wear traces generated on experimental tools and those observed on archaeological instruments. To explain it in a schematic way, micro-scarring offers information on the motion of the tool and the relative hardness of the worked material, edge rounding on the position of the tool and the abrasiveness of the worked material, striations on the tool motion, and microwear polish distribution and texture on the type of worked material Experimental and archaeological microwear polishes are matched through visual comparison
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