Quantitative use-wear analysis of stone tools: Measuring how the intensity of use affects the identification of the worked material.

The identification of the use of stone tools through use-wear analysis was one the major methodological advances in Prehistoric Archaeology during the second half of the 20th century. Studies of use-wear analysis have decisively contributed to a better understanding of the cognitive capacities and t...

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Autores principales:	Juan José Ibáñez, Niccolò Mazzucco
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/c74579f75777429e855734bbd94dd91f
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:c74579f75777429e855734bbd94dd91f2021-12-02T20:06:12ZQuantitative use-wear analysis of stone tools: Measuring how the intensity of use affects the identification of the worked material.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0257266https://doaj.org/article/c74579f75777429e855734bbd94dd91f2021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257266https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203The identification of the use of stone tools through use-wear analysis was one the major methodological advances in Prehistoric Archaeology during the second half of the 20th century. Studies of use-wear analysis have decisively contributed to a better understanding of the cognitive capacities and the socio-economic organization of Prehistoric societies. Among use-wear traces, microwear polish is the most relevant evidence, as it allows the identification of the worked materials (i.e. wood, antler, hide, bone, stone…). This identification is currently carried out through the qualitative and visual comparison of experimental and archaeological tools. During the last decade, confocal microscopy is allowing the quantitative identification of the worked material through the texture analysis of microwear polish. Previous tests have accounted for the variability of use-wear traces as caused by different types of worked material. However, how the intensity of use, which is widely recognized as an important factor conditioning microwear polish characteristics, affects our capacity to identify the worked materials is poorly understood. This research addresses the dynamic nature of microwear polish through confocal microscopy and texture analysis. This research shows that use-wear polishing is a dynamic process and surface texture evolves continuously during the working time. The evolution fits a logarithmic function, so most texture modification takes place during the first phases of work. The way in which polish texture evolves through time differs from one contact material to the other. We demonstrate that, despite the dynamic nature of use-wear polish, different worked materials can be discriminated. However, some overlapping between used and unused surfaces and between worked materials occurs in the first stages of use. Moreover, polishes of similar characteristics (i.e. bone and antler) can show similar texture at advanced stages of use. These problems in identification can be in good measure overcome by creating dynamic models of polish texture in which not only the worked material but also the time of use is considered.Juan José IbáñezNiccolò MazzuccoPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 16, Iss 9, p e0257266 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Juan José Ibáñez Niccolò Mazzucco Quantitative use-wear analysis of stone tools: Measuring how the intensity of use affects the identification of the worked material.
description	The identification of the use of stone tools through use-wear analysis was one the major methodological advances in Prehistoric Archaeology during the second half of the 20th century. Studies of use-wear analysis have decisively contributed to a better understanding of the cognitive capacities and the socio-economic organization of Prehistoric societies. Among use-wear traces, microwear polish is the most relevant evidence, as it allows the identification of the worked materials (i.e. wood, antler, hide, bone, stone…). This identification is currently carried out through the qualitative and visual comparison of experimental and archaeological tools. During the last decade, confocal microscopy is allowing the quantitative identification of the worked material through the texture analysis of microwear polish. Previous tests have accounted for the variability of use-wear traces as caused by different types of worked material. However, how the intensity of use, which is widely recognized as an important factor conditioning microwear polish characteristics, affects our capacity to identify the worked materials is poorly understood. This research addresses the dynamic nature of microwear polish through confocal microscopy and texture analysis. This research shows that use-wear polishing is a dynamic process and surface texture evolves continuously during the working time. The evolution fits a logarithmic function, so most texture modification takes place during the first phases of work. The way in which polish texture evolves through time differs from one contact material to the other. We demonstrate that, despite the dynamic nature of use-wear polish, different worked materials can be discriminated. However, some overlapping between used and unused surfaces and between worked materials occurs in the first stages of use. Moreover, polishes of similar characteristics (i.e. bone and antler) can show similar texture at advanced stages of use. These problems in identification can be in good measure overcome by creating dynamic models of polish texture in which not only the worked material but also the time of use is considered.
format	article
author	Juan José Ibáñez Niccolò Mazzucco
author_facet	Juan José Ibáñez Niccolò Mazzucco
author_sort	Juan José Ibáñez
title	Quantitative use-wear analysis of stone tools: Measuring how the intensity of use affects the identification of the worked material.
title_short	Quantitative use-wear analysis of stone tools: Measuring how the intensity of use affects the identification of the worked material.
title_full	Quantitative use-wear analysis of stone tools: Measuring how the intensity of use affects the identification of the worked material.
title_fullStr	Quantitative use-wear analysis of stone tools: Measuring how the intensity of use affects the identification of the worked material.
title_full_unstemmed	Quantitative use-wear analysis of stone tools: Measuring how the intensity of use affects the identification of the worked material.
title_sort	quantitative use-wear analysis of stone tools: measuring how the intensity of use affects the identification of the worked material.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/c74579f75777429e855734bbd94dd91f
work_keys_str_mv	AT juanjoseibanez quantitativeusewearanalysisofstonetoolsmeasuringhowtheintensityofuseaffectstheidentificationoftheworkedmaterial AT niccolomazzucco quantitativeusewearanalysisofstonetoolsmeasuringhowtheintensityofuseaffectstheidentificationoftheworkedmaterial
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Quantitative use-wear analysis of stone tools: Measuring how the intensity of use affects the identification of the worked material.

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