This study combines experiments and ethnographic studies to investigate how stone had-oc tools were selected and used in specific techniques applied to the production of plastic mineral matter. We use confocal microscopy to identify and quantify the traces of use left during these processes and later compare with those found on archaeological artefacts from the Late Natufian in the Levant.
The ability of humans to mediate environmental variation through tool use is likely the key to our success. However, our current knowledge of early cultural evolution derives almost exclusively from studies of stone tools and fossil bones found in …
In this paper we presente a new method, semi-automated, to measure and calculate the variability of the edge of stone tools' edges. 3D-EdgeAngle calculates the edge angle at any point in a high resolution and scale of analysis, and helps to evaluate how tool use and retouch affect the desing of stone tools found in the archaeological record.
This paper focuses on presenting the results of several excavations at the open-air site of Românești-Dumbrăvița, Romania. In the paper we report data on the archaeological assemblages, including stone tool technology and use-wear analysis, site formation and dating. This is a very important Aurignacian site from East-Central Europe.
This article is dedicated to the Paleolithic open-air site of Feldberg “Steinacker”, located between the Rhine and the Black Forest near Freiburg/Breisgau in South-West Germany. The site was discovered by W. Mähling in 1969 and is primarily known for …
In this study, in present the study of the assemblage of ground stone tools from the Middle Palaeolithic of Nesher. In this amazingly preserved site, several types of gst have been reported, showing different morphologies and types of damage. We explore, via experimental replication and multi-scale use-wear analysis, the origins of such damage. Our results show that different types of tools were intentionally used for different activities at site.
This paper explores the functionality of Ground Stone tool on Limestone and the formation of use-wear traces. Driven by the tool-type variability observed in the Middle Paleolithic of the Levant, we combine experimental and use-wear analysis through a multi-scale and high-resolution approach. A new experimental setup for percussion and grinding replication is also presented and discussed. These data is a fundamental library for the interpretation of the archaeological record.
The main goal of this study was to test the influence of different cleaning procedures applied on micro surface texture of stone tools. With this paper, we also aimed to stress-out the need of adopting cleaning methods that do not affect the microscopi analysis of artifacts surface.