Tool Marks

À Saint-Père-sous-Vézelay (Yonne), de véritables puits de captage ont été aménagés entre environ 2309/2299 et 2223 av. J.-C ; datations 14C AMS et datations dendrochronologiques sont ici en très bonne concordance. Les datations dendro- chronologiques et l'étude typologique des 16 chênes évidés pour capter les eaux salées au griffon donnent des résultats complémentaires et tout à fait nouveaux pour la période. Certains chênes ont été abattus collectivement avec des haches en cuivre ou en bronze, et différents segments d'un même tronc ont été utilisés par au moins deux groupes différents d'exploitants, caractérisés par des habitudes techniques dissemblables. De plus, la sélection de ces gros et vieux chênes si rares implique peut-être leur mise en réserve sur plusieurs générations. En l’absence totale de sédi- ments charbonneux autour ou dans ces puits néolithiques, il y a peu de chance que la saumure ait été utilisée pour produire du sel ignigène en quantité ou bien des cen- dres salées. Après l’Âge du Bronze ancien, le site des Fontaines Salées a été aban- donné et les puits se sont rapidement trouvés comblés par les alluvions déposées par les crues de la Cure. À l'Âge du Bronze final IIa, certains des cuvelages ont été réuti- lisés, probablement pour donner à boire au bétail. La production de sel ignigène n’est finalement démontrée que pour le début de l’Âge du Fer. Les cuvelages des Fontai- nes Salées constituent, à ce jour, un ensemble exceptionnel, en raison de l’excellente conservation des captages. La fonction de ces captages d’une saumure faiblement salée doit maintenant faire appel à d’autres hypothèses que la seule fabrication d’un « sel » qui devait contenir autant de potasse issue de la combustion du bois de chauffe que de véritable chlorure de sodium.

This paper shows the need for cataloguing and comparing tool marks left on the quarries’ front in order for the chronological sequence of the different phases of limestone exposed in underground quarries at Agiades, Chora Samos, to be assessed. Up to now, an archaic and a roman phase of exploitation is inferred by surface pottery, tools, tool marks, the monuments themselves, and parallels from underground quarries on the island of Crete. The proximity of the quarries to a temenos of Apollo and the Nymphs is comparable to other cases from the Greek world. In an attempt to understand the social status of the quarrymen and their level of literacy, data from the graffiti observed in Eupalinos’ tunnel were correlated with the lack of patronym and ethnonym observed in quarries in the Aegean, and related to the characterization of the Samians as «πολυγράμματοι». A control of Hera’s sanctuary over the quarries at Agiades is implied by the frequent appearance of the letters HP on slabs used ...

This lecture/laboratory based course will provide students with an overview of the principles and concepts on which pattern evidence analysis is based.  Methods of analysis for various types of forensic pattern evidence including fingerprints, footwear impressions, tire marks, tool marks, blood spatter analysis and fired bullets and cartridges will be discussed.  Students will use mechanical, chemical, and visual techniques to develop and analyze these types of pattern evidence.     
The aims of the course are:
1. To familiarize students with each of the pattern evidence fields;
2. To familiarize students with methods of pattern analysis;
3. To demonstrate the limits of pattern evidence;
4. To discuss the future of pattern analysis.

Historic furniture has a great ethnographic and historical value, as styles and designs responded to specific uses, fashion trends and the social status of the buyer or the commissioner. Placing it in an exact chronological and geographical production context increases our knowledge about preferences for materials, designs, and woodworking practices for household commodities. Here we present the results of dendrochronological research carried out on an English chest from a private collection. The chest is of a hybrid construction, with boarded sides and back, and a joined front with four carved linenfold panels. It had been described as made of Baltic oak and dating to the mid-16th century, a crucial transition period for which only a few early chests have been analysed. Our results demonstrate, however, that the wood from the lid, side boards and back originates from the south of England. Heartwood/sapwood border in the left side board has allowed an estimated felling date for the tree of between 1520 and 1552. Terminus post quem dates of the rest of the elements pre-dating this interval indicate that the chest was likely made in the second quarter of the 16th century, as initially described. Three linenfold panels show typical features of Baltic wood, whereas the fourth one has different characteristics and could have been made with English oak, but the lack of access to the tree-ring patterns hampers verifying this hypothesis. Mixture of provenances suggests a production workshop in London, although other town in the south with a major timber market cannot be discarded. The construction features are described, and two distinct marks found in the chest are discussed in the regional context of its production. To allow the compilation and inventory of such marks, the 'Marks on Wood' community has been created in Zenodo and is presented here.