scholarly journals Use-wear experimental studies for differentiating flint tools processing bamboo from wood

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 326-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiying Liu ◽  
Hong Chen ◽  
Yiming Shen
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Significant Feature ◽  
Wood Processing ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Digital Microscope ◽  
Organic Resources ◽  
Potential Use ◽  
Experimental Reference ◽  
Organic Remains

Bamboo is widespread in south China and is one of the major organic resources in daily use through history due to its similar potential use value as wood. Due to the unfavourable preservation conditions and taphonomic alteration, the rare discovery of well-preserved organic remains from Palaeolithic sites means there is a lack of direct studies on the technology and behaviour of early prehistoric humans. Use-wear analysis has been proved as a reliable method to detect evidence left by working wood and bamboo on stone artefacts. This study aims to provide an experimental reference of use-wear features and patterns to identify and interpret the exploration of bamboo and wood resources in prehistory. In this experiment, 12 flint flakes were selected for processing bamboo stems and pine branches with working motions of whittling, sawing, and chopping. The results show that the use-wear features, including edge scarring, edge rounding, and polish, of bamboo-working and wood-working are distinctive. Edge scarring is closely related to the working motion, and moderate bright to very bright polish is a significant feature associated with bamboo-working. It is possible to distinguish wear traces caused by bamboo-working from those by wood-processing througha combination of low-power and high-power techniques under a 3D digital microscope.

scholarly journals Use-wear experimental studies for differentiating flint tools processing bamboo from wood

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 326-338
Author(s):  
Jiying Liu ◽  
Hong Chen ◽  
Yiming Shen
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Significant Feature ◽  
Wood Processing ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Digital Microscope ◽  
Organic Resources ◽  
Potential Use ◽  
Experimental Reference ◽  
Organic Remains

Bamboo is widespread in south China and is one of the major organic resources in daily use through history due to its similar potential use value as wood. Due to the unfavourable preservation conditions and taphonomic alteration, the rare discovery of well-preserved organic remains from Palaeolithic sites means there is a lack of direct studies on the technology and behaviour of early prehistoric humans. Use-wear analysis has been proved as a reliable method to detect evidence left by working wood and bamboo on stone artefacts. This study aims to provide an experimental reference of use-wear features and patterns to identify and interpret the exploration of bamboo and wood resources in prehistory. In this experiment, 12 flint flakes were selected for processing bamboo stems and pine branches with working motions of whittling, sawing, and chopping. The results show that the use-wear features, including edge scarring, edge rounding, and polish, of bamboo-working and wood-working are distinctive. Edge scarring is closely related to the working motion, and moderate bright to very bright polish is a significant feature associated with bamboo-working. It is possible to distinguish wear traces caused by bamboo-working from those by wood-processing througha combination of low-power and high-power techniques under a 3D digital microscope.

scholarly journals Combined organic biomarker and use-wear analyses of stone artefacts from Liang Bua, Flores, Indonesia

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Luong ◽  
Matthew W. Tocheri ◽  
Elspeth Hayes ◽  
Thomas Sutikna ◽  
Richard Fullagar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Animal Origin ◽  
The Past ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Inclusive Approach ◽  
Functional Classes ◽  
Potential Use ◽  
Stone Artefact

AbstractOrganic biomarker and lithic use-wear analyses of archaeological implements manufactured and/or used by hominins in the past offers a means of assessing how prehistoric peoples utilised natural resources. Currently, most studies focus on one of these techniques, rather than using both in sequence. This study aims to assess the potential of combining both methods to analyse stone artefacts, using a set of 69 stones excavated from the cave site of Liang Bua (Flores, Indonesia). Prior to chemical analysis, an initial inspection of the artefacts revealed potential use-wear traces but no visible residues. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, including the targeting of 86 lipids, terpenes, terpenoids, alkanes and their analogues, found compounds with plant or animal origin on 27 of the 69 stones. The artefacts were subsequently cleaned, and use-wear analysis identified traces of use on 43 artefacts. Use-wear analysis confirmed traces of use on 23 of the 27 artefacts with potential use-residues that were determined by GC-MS. The GC-MS results were broadly consistent with the functional classes identified in the later use-wear analysis. This inclusive approach for stone artefact analysis strengthens the identifications made through multiple lines of enquiry. There remain conflicts and uncertainties in specific cases, suggesting the need for further refinement and analyses of the relationships between use-wear and residues.

scholarly journals How do you like your cereal? A qualitative and quantitative use-wear analysis on archaeological grinding tools from prehistoric Greek sites

Wear ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 203636
Author(s):  
Danai Chondrou ◽  
Maria Bofill ◽  
Haris Procopiou ◽  
Roberto Vargiolu ◽  
Hassan Zahouani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Use Wear

Inferring human activities from the Late Pleistocene to Holocene in Topogaro 2, Central Sulawesi through use-wear analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 102905
Author(s):  
Riczar Fuentes ◽  
Rintaro Ono ◽  
Nasrullah Aziz ◽  
Sriwigati ◽  
Nico Alamsyah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Late Pleistocene To Holocene ◽  
Central Sulawesi

From Texts and Iconography to Use-Wear Analysis of Ceramic Vessels

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-210
Author(s):  
Bartłomiej Lis ◽  
Trevor Van Damme
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Wear Analysis ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Ceramic Vessels ◽  
Repeated Use ◽  
Funerary Rites

While handwashing is attested in the Bronze Age cultures of the eastern Mediterranean and appears in both Linear B records and Homeric epics, the custom has not been discussed with regard to the material culture of Mycenaean Greece. On analogy with Egyptian handwashing equipment, we explore the possibility that a conical bowl made of bronze and copied in clay was introduced in Greece early in the Late Bronze Age for this specific use. We integrate epigraphic, iconographic and formal analyses to support this claim, but in order to interrogate the quotidian function of ceramic lekanes, we present the results of use-wear analysis performed on 130 examples. As use-wear develops from repeated use over a long time, it is a good indicator of normative behaviour, particularly when large datasets are amassed and contrasted with other shapes. While not conclusive, our results allow us to rule out a function as tableware for food consumption, and in combination with all other analyses support the interpretation of lekanes as handwashing basins. We then trace the development of this custom from its initial adoption by elite groups to its spread among new social classes and venues after the collapse of the palace system: at home, as part of communal feasting and sacrifice or as an element of funerary rites. The widespread distribution of handwashing equipment after 1200 bc closely mirrors the situation in our earliest surviving Greek Iron Age texts and joins a growing body of evidence pointing to strong continuity in social practices between the Postpalatial period and the early Iron Age in Greece.

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