AbstractArchaeologists traditionally have relied upon the examination of stone tool edge angles as an efficient method for defining and attributing use categories to the tools. However, this approach has not been adequately tested by researchers. In the present study the results of a low-magnification microwear analysis of 67 morphologically defined end scrapers are presented. Six categories of scraper wear were observed, and the mean edge angle values for each group were compared. Based upon an analysis of variance test, it was found that there are no statistically significant differences between the different functionally defined scraper groups in terms of edge angles. It was concluded that edge angle might be a useful variable to monitor in narrowing down gross categories of tool use (i.e., longitudinally vs. transversely oriented motion). However, to derive more specific functional assignations, one needs to conduct an intensive use-wear analysis of all tools.
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