Identification of Woodworking on Stone Tools through Residue and Use-Wear Analyses: Experimental Results

Microscopic analysis of stone tools has traditionally relied upon the analysis of wear patterns to provide clues for tool function. However, actual residues of the material on which a tool was used may also survive to provide identification of the use-material. A series of replication experiments were conducted to observe the patterns and types of residues produced in processing wood with stone tools. Fragments of wood preserving diagnostic features of microscopic anatomy were observed and allowed identification of the residue to species in some cases. Distribution patterns of residues, together with use-wear patterns, allow the identification of the use-action. The methods described here will aid in recognition of woodworking tools in the archaeological record, thereby expanding the types of ecological and cultural data available which have been traditionally overlooked.

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