Microwear (use-wear) analysis is a powerful method for identifying tool use that archaeologists a... more Microwear (use-wear) analysis is a powerful method for identifying tool use that archaeologists and anthropologists employ to determine the activities undertaken by both humans and their hominin ancestors. Knowledge of tool use allows for more accurate and detailed reconstructions of past behavior, particularly in relation to subsistence practices, economic activities, conflict and ritual. It can also be used to document changes in these activities over time, in different locations, and by different members of society, in terms of gender and status, for example. Both stone and bone tools have been analyzed using a variety of techniques that focus on the observation, documentation and interpretation of wear traces. Traditionally, microwear analysis relied on the qualitative assessment of wear features using microscopes and often included comparisons between replicated tools used experimentally and the recovered artifacts, as well as functional analogies dependent upon modern implements and those used by indigenous peoples from various places around the world. Determination of tool use has also relied on the recovery and analysis of both organic and inorganic residues of past worked materials that survived in and on artifact surfaces. To determine tool use and better understand the mechanics of wear formation, particularly on stone and bone, archaeologists and anthropologists have increasingly turned to surface metrology and tribology to assist them in their research. This paper provides a history of the development of traditional microwear analysis in archaeology and anthropology and also explores the introduction and adoption of more modern methods and technologies for documenting and identifying wear on stone and bone tools, specifically those developed for the engineering sciences to study surface structures on micro- and nanoscales. The current state of microwear analysis is discussed as are the future directions in the study of microwear on stone and bone tools.
ABSTRACT Technological, metric, and microscopic use-wear analyses of the chipped chert and obsidi... more ABSTRACT Technological, metric, and microscopic use-wear analyses of the chipped chert and obsidian artifacts from the Chaa Creek chultun present a complex use-history in this underground space. Most, if not all, of the lithics are secondary refuse deposited at this location from other areas of initial production and use. The lithic sub-assemblages within the chultun represent at least two discrete deposition events of expediently produced flakes of local chert used for various domestic/household tasks. The lithics from the construction core of the platform on the surface appear to be secondary refuse that is the product of different formation processes. The number of large whole chert flakes with use wear resulting from contact with wood and stone from the platform construction core suggests an origin from a location or locations in which crafting occurred. By focusing on the stone tools from discrete stratigraphic deposits, it is possible to provide more detailed reconstructions of the various episodes of chultun use.
Archaeological investigations by the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project at Cahal... more Archaeological investigations by the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project at Cahal Pech uncovered several Terminal Classic (a.d. 750–900) peri-abandonment deposits and activity areas at this Belize River Valley center. The deposits contained a diverse assemblage of cultural remains located above and between collapsed architecture, associated with evidence for burning activities. In the past, archaeologists have generally interpreted similar assemblages as “problematic deposits”—“de facto” refuse (garbage)—as associated with building termination and desecration, or as evidence for rapid abandonment during the violent destruction of these ancient cities. It is argued here that the microstratigraphic excavation and contextual analysis of these features provide limited support for these explanations. Alternatively, we suggest that the deposits are more likely associated with peri-abandonment rituals that were conducted by a reduced remnant population at Cahal Pech, or by small groups who continued to reside in the site's periphery during the last stages of the Terminal Classic period.
Microwear (use-wear) analysis is a powerful method for identifying tool use that archaeologists a... more Microwear (use-wear) analysis is a powerful method for identifying tool use that archaeologists and anthropologists employ to determine the activities undertaken by both humans and their hominin ancestors. Knowledge of tool use allows for more accurate and detailed reconstructions of past behavior, particularly in relation to subsistence practices, economic activities, conflict and ritual. It can also be used to document changes in these activities over time, in different locations, and by different members of society, in terms of gender and status, for example. Both stone and bone tools have been analyzed using a variety of techniques that focus on the observation, documentation and interpretation of wear traces. Traditionally, microwear analysis relied on the qualitative assessment of wear features using microscopes and often included comparisons between replicated tools used experimentally and the recovered artifacts, as well as functional analogies dependent upon modern implements and those used by indigenous peoples from various places around the world. Determination of tool use has also relied on the recovery and analysis of both organic and inorganic residues of past worked materials that survived in and on artifact surfaces. To determine tool use and better understand the mechanics of wear formation, particularly on stone and bone, archaeologists and anthropologists have increasingly turned to surface metrology and tribology to assist them in their research. This paper provides a history of the development of traditional microwear analysis in archaeology and anthropology and also explores the introduction and adoption of more modern methods and technologies for documenting and identifying wear on stone and bone tools, specifically those developed for the engineering sciences to study surface structures on micro- and nanoscales. The current state of microwear analysis is discussed as are the future directions in the study of microwear on stone and bone tools.
ABSTRACT Technological, metric, and microscopic use-wear analyses of the chipped chert and obsidi... more ABSTRACT Technological, metric, and microscopic use-wear analyses of the chipped chert and obsidian artifacts from the Chaa Creek chultun present a complex use-history in this underground space. Most, if not all, of the lithics are secondary refuse deposited at this location from other areas of initial production and use. The lithic sub-assemblages within the chultun represent at least two discrete deposition events of expediently produced flakes of local chert used for various domestic/household tasks. The lithics from the construction core of the platform on the surface appear to be secondary refuse that is the product of different formation processes. The number of large whole chert flakes with use wear resulting from contact with wood and stone from the platform construction core suggests an origin from a location or locations in which crafting occurred. By focusing on the stone tools from discrete stratigraphic deposits, it is possible to provide more detailed reconstructions of the various episodes of chultun use.
Archaeological investigations by the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project at Cahal... more Archaeological investigations by the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project at Cahal Pech uncovered several Terminal Classic (a.d. 750–900) peri-abandonment deposits and activity areas at this Belize River Valley center. The deposits contained a diverse assemblage of cultural remains located above and between collapsed architecture, associated with evidence for burning activities. In the past, archaeologists have generally interpreted similar assemblages as “problematic deposits”—“de facto” refuse (garbage)—as associated with building termination and desecration, or as evidence for rapid abandonment during the violent destruction of these ancient cities. It is argued here that the microstratigraphic excavation and contextual analysis of these features provide limited support for these explanations. Alternatively, we suggest that the deposits are more likely associated with peri-abandonment rituals that were conducted by a reduced remnant population at Cahal Pech, or by small groups who continued to reside in the site's periphery during the last stages of the Terminal Classic period.
Excavations at Crawford Bank in Crooked Tree, Belize, exposed a lithic deposit with no associated... more Excavations at Crawford Bank in Crooked Tree, Belize, exposed a lithic deposit with no associated ceramics. The deposit primarily consists of chipped chert and chalcedony tools and debitage, as well as a small number of worked slate fragments. Most of the chert likely sources to the Northern Belize Chert-bearing Zone (NBCZ). The recovery of two Archaic period formal tools – a Lowe point and a constricted uniface/trimmed macroblade – suggests a pre-Maya occupation. Use-wear analysis of both tools and debitage demonstrates a wide range of uses with a focus on wood and hard contact materials. The use-wear patterns demonstrate a heavy reliance on ad hoc/expedient technology for the completion of different tasks involving wood by preceramic peoples. The Crawford Bank site likely represents one or more short-term, task-orientated
preceramic occupation(s) for the extraction and use of the available resources of the local wetland environment, most notably logwood.
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preceramic occupation(s) for the extraction and use of the available resources of the local wetland environment, most notably logwood.