Use-wear Analysis Research Articles

Des civilisations du végétal préhistoriques sous les tropiques ?

Did a toolkit made of plants exist in tropical forests during prehistory? If so, what was its impact on lithic technology? In Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea, the “simplicity” of lithic industries has been interpreted as the reflection of a technical investment in another material: bamboo. The material clues, including traces of wear and residues on lithic artefacts, show that if a perishable material culture did exist, in the Philippines and in New Guinea, the Bamboo Hypothesis must be nuanced and extended to the plant world in the broad sense. Various plants have been exploited, including palm, to carry out activities that go beyond the manufacture of bamboo knives and arrows: splitting of rigid plants, fibre processing, manufacturing of ropes or baskets. If the relationship with the forest is developed on all continents and combines botanical knowledge, anthropogenization of the landscape and hunting of arboreal animals, its impact on lithics toolkits varies. In South America, stone tools become rarer in forest environment and the operating sequences become simpler. On the contrary, lithic industries of Africa and Sri Lanka show great technical know-how and are characterized by great standardization. Living in the rainforest does not necessarily imply abandoning the mineral to focus on plants and the part of cultural choices was large. A prehistoric plant technology is increasingly attested in Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea thanks to use-wear analyses but remains to be demonstrated in other tropical regions of the world.

Stylistic Study of the Late Mesolithic Industries in Western France: Combined Principal Coordinate Analysis and Use-Wear Analysis

Abstract The notion of style has been the subject of much research and theoretical development in prehistoric archaeology. This vast concept touches several fields, including the morphology of artefacts, technical gestures and their function. The lithic typology of arrowhead armatures was widely developed in the twentieth century for the study of the French Mesolithic and includes some of these aspects. The functional, technical, or aesthetic nature of the morphological characteristics of these artefacts has received little attention, while the mapping of types has been overvalued This article presents a new approach combining statistical analysis with the use-wear analysis of arrowhead from several Breton sites, dated to the Late Mesolithic.

The Kushevat Site and the Paleogeographic Context of the Initial Peopling of Northern Urals

On the basis of new materials excavated in 2019–2021 from the Upper Paleolithic site of Kushevat, this study addresses the problem of initial human occupation of the Subpolar Urals. Geological and geomorphological fi ndings are presented along with new chronological and paleogeographical data. Archaeological and faunal materials are described, and result s of the traceological analysis of reindeer antlers with cut and chop marks are presented. The fi ndings suggest that Kushevat was a pioneer settlement of the northern Ob region. The obtained luminescence and radiocarbon ages suggest that the peopling of the Lower Ob region occurred prior to 30 ka BP. Climatic conditions during the fi rst half of the Upper Paleolithic (55–25 ka BP) were favorable for humans in the subpolar zone. Geological and geomorphological situation at the Upper Paleolithic sites of northwestern Urals (the Pechora and Kama basins) can be used as a paleogeographic analogue of the conditions in the Lower Ob region during the Pleistocene. The principal Upper Paleolithic sites in the region are associated with accumulations of megafaunal remains in the mouths of ancient gullies. Archaeological sites apparently consisted of two areas differing in location, economic specialization, and toolkit. Areas of the fi rst type include residential zones on leveled areas of the second river terraces adjacent to the ravines. Those of the second type are estuarine zones of modern valleys of streams and rivers, where huge accumulations of megafaunal remains are preserved at the bottoms of ancient ravines.

Evidence of artefacts made of giant sloth bones in central Brazil around the last glacial maximum.

The peopling of the Americas and human interaction with the Pleistocene megafauna in South America remain hotly debated. The Santa Elina rock shelter in Central Brazil shows evidence of successive human settlements from around the last glacial maximum (LGM) to the Early Holocene. Two Pleistocene archaeological layers include rich lithic industry associated with remains of the extinct giant ground sloth Glossotherium phoenesis. The remains include thousands of osteoderms (i.e. dermal bones), three of which were human-modified. In this study, we perform a traceological analysis of these artefacts by optical microscopy, non-destructive scanning electron microscopy, UV/visible photoluminescence and synchrotron-based microtomography. We also describe the spatial association between the giant sloth bone remains and stone tools and provide a Bayesian age model that confirms the timing of this association in two time horizons of the Pleistocene in Santa Elina. The conclusion from our traceological study is that the three giant sloth osteoderms were intentionally modified into artefacts before fossilization of the bones. This provides additional evidence for the contemporaneity of humans and megafauna, and for the human manufacturing of personal artefacts on bone remains of ground sloths, around the LGM in Central Brazil.

An inverted perspective: Identification of stone tools used in the production of bone and antler artefacts in the North European Mesolithic - the case of the Dąbki site, Poland

The overwhelming majority of Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites recorded on the North European Plains are composed exclusively of lithic assemblages. Numerous macro- and microscopic surface trace studies have been conducted with the aim of the identification of micro-wear traces visible on flint tools and the classification of these traces. The main trace categories are related to the main groups of materials processed on the site, like wood, hide, bone, antler or plants. However, it is problematic to take the next step forward and interpret what exactly the flint tool may have been used for.This difficulty can be partially overcome by research of peatbog sites located next to biogenic deposits filling river valleys and lake basins that preserve artefacts made of organic materials. One such site is Dąbki, in northern Poland, on the southern Baltic coastal zone. The paleogeographic context of the site appears to be an island within an ancient lake. Over twenty years of archeological research has led to the recovery of tens of thousands of animal bones, including a rich collection of bone and antler tools. This fortunate circumstance allows us to conduct a microwear study from a reverse perspective: instead of starting with a flint tool and finishing with some general conclusions about what materials were processed, we begun with the analysis of bone and antler tools, describing first the primary activities, techniques and morphology of tools necessary to make a final product. Only later we moved to use-wear analysis describing the traces of bone and antler working observable on flint tools. Together with morphological features distinguished in the course of technological analysis of antler and bone tools it was the foundation for initial selection of flint and stone materials later detailly analyzed microscopically. Basing on this approach, we distinguished specific sets of flint tools used for manufacturing certain categories of bone and antler tools.

Conducting use-wear analysis and experimental research in South Brazil: Legal challenges and possibilities

Environment concerns have been high on the agenda worldwide and recently archaeology has been establishing itself as a powerful discipline to explore people-environment relationships. Despite countless positive outcomes, a series of environment-related challenges faced by archaeologists remain unaddressed.This paper approaches such challenges through the lens of experimental archaeology: how can use-wear analysis and experimental research be carried out while adhering to environmental legislation? A case study of use-wear analysis research - aiming to better understand the uses of different lithic raw materials by Southern Jê people in southern Brazil during pre-colonial times - is presented to stimulate discussion. For this research, eight different plant species native to the Atlantic Forest – a critically endangered biome that is closely related to the Southern Jê – were used in 32 historically informed and actualistic experiments.The legal challenges faced in light of the state of the Atlantic Forest and its legal protection, which affected the acquisition of contact materials, are discussed, as are the methods that were used to tackle these challenges. It is demonstrated that collaborating with responsible institutions is an effective way of overcoming the acquisition challenge while also aligning with environmental preservation interests and encouraging the use of native contact materials for experimental use-wear research. Based on the experiences gained during this research, a best practice recommendation is made, proposing that experimental archaeology adopt an environment-led approach, in which contact materials are an equally important component of the experimental design. This study serves as a reference for future research in Brazil and elsewhere where similar challenges may occur.

Погребение «жрицы» из Филипповки: опыт комплексного исследования

The paper addresses chronological issues with burial 2 from kurgan 1 from Filippovka 1 burial ground, a semantic analysis of some uncovered objects of art, as well as the anthropological type/genetic status of the buried woman. Using complex research methods (molecular-genetic, mineralogical, X-ray, technological, traceological analyses, methods of age-sex diagnostics, craniology, multidimensional analysis of principal components and search for archaeological analogies) ensured the authenticity of determining manufacturing techniques and anthropological studies as well as modern ideas about the cultural and chronological interpretation of the presented archaeological materials. A study of horse harness items abd typological attribution of arrowheads and beads made it possible to date the burial within the middle — third quarter of the 4th century BC. The context of items in the burial, the stylistics of their forms and structure convincingly showed that certain items were not used in everyday/social life, but rather served as some sacred attributes used in religious ceremonies and ritual practices only. A search for analogies to the iconography and images from these relics made it possible to clarify the compositional semantics and suggested their purpose in sacred scenarios. The anthropological type distinctive features and genetic structures, as well as the presence of traces of deliberate artificial deformation of the skull, confirm the local, South Ural, origin of the woman.

Use-wear analysis applied in a dissected palimpsest at the Middle Palaeolithic site of El Salt (eastern Iberia): working with lithic tools in a narrow timescale

Use-wear analyses are very useful to increase knowledge about the economic and subsistence dynamics carried out by Neanderthals. In general terms, functional results traditionally came from the analysis of tools belonging to stratigraphic units whose timescale refers to geological time. This is due to the fact that many Neanderthal sites are palimpsests of reiterated occupations over time, which must be dissected to approach us to human timescale. In the stratigraphic unit xa of El Salt (Alcoi, eastern Iberia), high temporal resolution archaeostratigraphic studies have been carried out. Diachronic material assemblages have been identified, allowing us to analyse more precisely the variability of Neanderthal behaviour over time. Amongst these assemblages, three have been selected (i.e. 5.3.1, 5.3.2 and 5.3.3) in order to analyse the lithic material functionality. The results obtained bring out the performance of different tasks within each analytical framework: woodworking in 5.3.1, woodworking and animal processing in 5.3.2, and butchering activity in 5.3.3. These results reflect the existence of a series of diachronic tasks carried out in overlapping activity areas. In this way, this work evidences flint use variability in a specific area of the site across time that could have been recognised only by means of high temporal resolution analytical frameworks.

Disentangling carcass processing activities and the state of worked hide from use-wear patterns on expedient bone tools: A preliminary experiment

Understanding the role of expedient osseous tools in past technological systems remains a central question in research on the cultural evolution of our lineage. Often, these tools are interpreted as objects used in hide processing activities based on use-wear patterns documented on their surface. However, traditional use-wear analyses are essentially qualitative and fail to capture the diversity of hide processing techniques and processes documented in the ethnographic literature. In addition, use-wear patterns produced while flaying skin and cutting meat can sometime be confounded with those that develop while processing hide. Here, we report an experimental study that aims to overcome these limitations. We use unretouched expedient bone tools in one flaying, five fleshing and two meat cutting activities. The use-wear patterns are studied qualitatively under SEM at 100x, 200x, 500x and 800x lens magnifications, and with confocal microscopy at 50x lens magnification. We also perform flexible discriminant analyses (FDA) to infer the function of the bone tool from surface textural parameters. Our results suggest that FDA and morphometric data on the striations may be combined to infer the function of expedient bone tools with high accuracy.

Social information inherent in backed artefacts from the Illawarra, western, and southwestern Sydney, NSW

Backed artefacts are multifunctional tools used by many Australian Aboriginal groups. Most were retouched in order to shape them rather than to create or modify a working edge, which suggests that they may have been made to certain shapes or sizes according to local traditions. This possibility is feasible as backed artefacts were not used for any unique functions. Hiscock (2014) found that variation in backed artefact shape (symmetry) across Australia was underlain by social arrangements and was potentially historically situated. But McDonald et al. (2018) found that backed artefacts from the Western Desert did not conform to the continental trend. We suggest that an important factor missing from these studies is a consideration of the potential for variation at different spatial scales. To investigate this possibility, we conducted morphometric and use-wear analyses on backed artefacts from four environmentally and socially different Aboriginal groups in New South Wales. The backed artefacts were not used for any distinct tasks and none in our study was hafted, but some variations exist in the morphometrics at the intra-regional scale. We infer that backed artefact production included group-specific traditions that potentially embody social information relating to local land-using or descent groups.

Use-wear analysis reveals the first direct evidence for the use of Neolithic polished stone axes in Britain

Polished stone axes have long been recognised as one of the most important forms of material culture in the Neolithic. Research over the last 40 years has done much to understand their origins, patterns of exchange across Europe, deposition, and social importance. Despite this long-recognised importance, little work in Britain has focused on the actual use of these objects. This article presents the first use-wear analysis of 20 Early Neolithic polished stone axes from Britain. This research shows that whilst many were used for woodworking, no doubt associated with forest clearance as agriculture spread, this masks the detailed and variable roles polished stone axes played in the emergence of Neolithic worlds in Britain, which use-wear has the capacity to reveal.

Man’s slate polished knives in the Old Bering Sea culture and their manufacturing technology (based on the materials of the Ekven burial ground and ethnographic data)

Ethnoarchaeological research, which gained great popularity in the second half of the 20th century, has become a new full-fledged source for a variety of socio-economic reconstructions in archaeology, including when characterizing the features of industrial complexes. Developments that combine experimental traceological analysis of tools and ethnographic data play an important role in modeling ancient technologies, especially when ethnographic artifacts are a direct continuation of archaeological traditions, both in terms of their manufacturing method and specific purpose. In this regard, the study of stone knives from the Ekven burial ground of the 1st millennium AD is of great interest, discovered in Chukotka. These products have retained their specific form from antiquity to the present day. The presence in the archaeological and ethnographic collections of these items in varying degrees of processing and use (from blanks to tools with a completely recycled or redesigned working blade) made it possible not only to describe the chain of basic technological operations of their manufacture from the primary processing of raw materials, shaping, processing of the working and edge parts, mounts in the handle, but also to install the tools involved in this production process. The data obtained were verified using experimental work, which confirmed the invariability of the technology for processing slate raw materials and manufacturing archaeological and ethnographic man’s knives from it.

Teeth as lithic raw material: Experiments and use-wear analysis

This paper explores the archaeological and ethnographic evidence for use of rodent teeth as instruments, without direct modification (without manufacturing), in replacement of lithic raw materials. There are ethnographic records that describe the use of teeth, extracted from the jaw by direct manual grip or use of handles, and also used inside the jaw, which functions as a handle. Most of the teeth that appear in archaeological contexts have been studied within the framework of zooarchaeological analysis, however, there is the possibility that the dental pieces have been used as instruments, although this has rarely been considered.
 The objective of this work is to present the results of a comparative study of experimental work, which we carried out with beaver (Castor canadensis) and capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), and to discuss their similarities and differences with the traces of use of lithic material. Through macro- and microscopic analysis (Stereomicroscope and metallographic microscope), we were able to characterize and explain the natural use signs of the teeth and differentiate them from the anthropic use signs produced when they are used as instruments. These traces on a macro- and microscopic scale, have different characteristics depending on the material worked and the kinematics used, and at the same time show similarities with the traces that occur on certain lithic materials. Consequently, we believe that it is possible to develop functional analyses on teeth of different animal species, and that these analyses will contribute to our knowledge about the life forms of past societies.

Muchkas-1 — a new reference complex of the Chuzh’yael’ Culture on the Mezen’ River

The results of the studies of the Muchkas settlement in 2020 are reported. The site is located on the right bank of the Mezen’ River in Udorsky District of the Komi Republic (northeast of the East European Plain). The exploitation of an unpaved motor road endangered the preservation of dwelling No. 1, which necessitated extensive excavation of an area of 82.5 m2. On the basis of the analysis of the complex of traces and remains, it has been determined that the studied structure is of a rectangular shape in plane, measuring 3.8m×5.5m with the area of 20 m2. Within the building, two hearths were used sequentially or concurrently. Related to them are two external horizontal heating-and-ventilating chimneys. Some information is preserved about the underground part of the structure. This was a frame strengthened at corners by bundles of thinner trunks of trees, possibly, pointed and stuck into the ground. Pine and to a lesser extent spruce, juniper, and birch were used to build the dwelling. The collection of Muchkas-1 con-tains 3819 objects, including 30 identifiable flint implements, a flint pendant, 21 implements made from non-siliceous rocks, fragments of three ceramic vessels, and debris of calcinated bones. Scrapers predominate in the flint toolset, while knives, awls, and arrowheads are represented to a lesser extent. As the result of the traceological analysis, it has been determined that the arrowhead and the pendant bear traces of long-term carrying in a container, or wea-ring on the clothing or on the body. Tools made of non-isotropic rock include mostly grinding stones. A hammer stone and an adze are represented by single specimens. Among the faunal remains, bones of reindeer, beaver, marten, wolverine, squirrel, black grouse, goose, and pike have been identified. This attests to the dominant role of hunting in the appropriating economy of the inhabitants of Muchkas-1 settlement. The specifics of the building struc-ture and technical-and-typological parameters of the pottery and stone tools allow attributing Muchkas-1 complex to the Chuzh’yael’ Culture of the final Neolithic period — the Chalcolithic. By virtue of 10 radiocarbon dates, the time of its construction is determined by the end of the 4th — first half of the 3rd mil. BC. The published data advance our understanding of the traditions of housebuilding, stone-working, and pottery-making of the prehistoric population of North-Eastern Europe and permit considering Muchkas-1 complex as a source of reference for the study of the Chuzh’yael’ Culture of the 4th — first half of the 3rd mil. BC.

Testing the efficiency of Bronze Age axes: An interdisciplinary experiment

This paper discusses an interdisciplinary research project testing the efficiency of European Bronze Age axes through experiments with replica tools and the usewear analysis of prehistoric axe-heads from the collections of the Great North Museum, Newcastle upon Tyne (UK). The project explores whether changes in axe-head design and hafting arrangement from early to late Bronze Age might have been motivated by a desire to improve tool efficiency. The team, comprising researchers with backgrounds in archaeology, engineering, and statistical data modelling, carried out several field and laboratory tests to address the research problem. They subsequently validated the test results through the microscopic analysis of original Bronze Age axe-heads. The data suggest that hafting technology, and especially the resilience of the haft-blade assembly, is more important than axe-head design per se in determining the efficiency and working performance of Bronze Age axes. The research provides a fresh answer to a question rooted in 19th century archaeology and charts an innovative multidisciplinary pathway for studying human technology through the ages.

Two faces of warrior elite. Stone wrist-guards and wrist-guard-like artefacts

Wrist-guard users of the Late Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age frequently are presented as members of masculine warrior elite. The function and operation mode of the so-called wrist-guard stay to be unclear, oscillating between practical archery use and narrative body decoration. Differences of wrist-guard shape would be seen as reflection of the change in function, although comparative analytical data are missing. A total of 35 wrist-guards of Bell Beaker and Nitra culture from eastern part of the central Europe were analysed by high power use-wear analysis, p-XRF and SEM measurements of metal chemicals and by 3D analysis (RTI). Our results allow to clarify the wearing position and the origin of metal streaks, and reveal trend of gradual chronological change on the turn of Late Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age in studied territory.

A Functional Analysis of Stone Tools from Bronze Age Burials in the Baraba Forest-Steppe, Based on Findings from Sopka-2

Lithics from chronologically diverse burials at Sopka-2, the Baraba forest-steppe, Western Siberia, were subjected to experimental use-wear analysis. We selected relatively well preserved specimens, suitable for microscopic examination and representing cultures such as Ust-Tartas, Odino, Krotovo, etc. Wear traces indicate the functions of tools and their places among the industries of the region. It was found that the tools had not been specially destined to be funerary items-they all display some wear and are well-suited for efficient use. Comparative characteristics of degree of wear are proposed. At the early stages, stone tools had been placed only in female burials, but at later stages they were distributed among Ьurials of females, children, and males. The findings provide a Ьasis for a functional and morphological typology of lithics used during that period.

Pointing to the Ahmarian. Lithic Technology and the El-Wad Points of Al-Ansab 1

The Ahmarian is the earliest fully fledged Upper Palaeolithic Levantine industry, and its hallmark is the el-Wad point, assumed to be a projectile implement. The Ahmarian is a blade-bladelet volumetric industry; however, bladelet production has frequently been portrayed as undifferentiated or secondary to blade production. El-Wad points are blades or bladelets with a fine to steep lateral retouch, often further shaping the tip. The role of bladelets and blades, both in the retouched and unretouched assemblages, is highly debated in order to refine Early Upper Palaeolithic (EUP) taxonomical and technological issues. Here, we use data coming from our excavations at the southern Ahmarian site of Al-Ansab 1 to reconsider the role of bladelets and el-Wad points in the assemblage. We show that bladelet production was key, and blades were mostly used to shape the convexities to produce convergent bladelets. El-Wad point blanks mostly stemmed from an early stage of the reduction sequence, being conventionally classified as small blades or big bladelets. Modification of these blanks likely improved their suboptimal shape, while smaller bladelets were not modified. Our detailed review of the existing literature produced corresponding evidence regarding lithic technology, while the exact function of el-Wad points is still pending on complementary use-wear analyses. With our new data, we expect to provoke a reconsideration of the Ahmarian technological system. As bladelets attract more and more attention in EUP research, we propose that the southern Ahmarian had already fully completed the technological and cultural shift to the preferred use of small projectile inserts.

Idiophones or Palettes? An Analysis of Flat Bone and Shale Implements from Matjes River Site, Southern Cape of South Africa

ABSTRACT Flat bones and shale implements have been recovered from archaeological contexts dated to the Later Stone Age from the site of Matjes River in the southern Cape of South Africa. However, their use has remained speculative. One of the interpretations that have been considered is that these flat bones were used as “palettes” for the grinding of ochre, possibly for the preparation of paint. However, in this research it is proposed that these “palettes” could have been used as clappers for music or sound production. The analysis included morphological analysis, an experimental approach and microscopic use-wear analysis of both the archaeological pieces and the experimental pieces. Microscopic use-wear analysis was conducted on the archaeological pieces to look for any ochre residues and any other use-wear signatures. This was done to test the earlier hypothesis that the palettes could have been used for ochre processing. The assumption is that if the palettes were used for pigment preparation the probability of finding ochre/paint residues on them is high. Some shale palettes have ochre residues, but none was found on the bone palettes. Experimental bone clappers were made from an eland rib, then analysed microscopically to compare the experimental use-wear results with the use-wear patterning on the archaeological pieces. Results indicated that the replicas developed minimal shiny polish and the archaeological bone clappers also have minimal polish, but it is difficult to tell whether the bone palettes were used as clappers since they have other taphonomic features like pitting, cracks and manganese stains that are superimposing the polish.

Ceramic vessels as cooking pots : Use-wear analysis with experimental archaeological methods

Surpassing mere typological description, pottery analyses have recently been increasingly engaged in evaluating the functional roles of vessels and reconstructing the nuanced ways they could have been used in the past. Therefore, it has become necessary to apply scientific methods and examine, specify, and sometimes re-interpret the current typological framework rooted in traditional denominations and morphological associations. This paper investigates the generic roles of cooking pots, taking, besides morphological characteristics, use-wear traces into account. The article presents a detailed description of the general methodology applied in a series of cooking experiments in 2022 and one of the open-air cooking methods. The goal of the experiments was to reconstruct and document the transformation pottery vessels undergo during cooking, including the characteristic traces of cooking-related changes induced by high temperatures and contact with fire.