The morphological identification of micro-residues on stone tools using light microscopy: progress and difficulties based on blind tests

Lombard, Marlize; Wadley, Lyn

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2006.04.008

Cited by 98 publications

(84 citation statements)

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“…Wear traces on soft shales and siltstones and even harder sandstone-based specimens may vanish completely, leaving only a smooth undulating surface with slight indications of wear traces that were formerly prominent. In order to clarify the use of ground ochres as crayons, it is essential to perform residue analyses on archaeological specimens (e.g., Loy and Hardy, 1992;Lombard, 2005;Lombard and Wadley, 2007).…”

Section: Archaeological Contextsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Processing ochre in the Middle Stone Age: Testing the inference of prehistoric behaviours from actualistically derived experimental data

Rifkin

2012

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

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Section: Archaeological Contextsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Processing ochre in the Middle Stone Age: Testing the inference of prehistoric behaviours from actualistically derived experimental data

Rifkin

2012

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

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“…The application of this methodological approach has resulted in the production of firm evidence for a variety of aspects of the MSA that in the past would have been beyond our reach. These include hunting and tool production procedures (Lombard 2004(Lombard , 2005(Lombard , 2006a(Lombard , b, c, 2007Lombard et al 2004;Lombard and Wadley 2007;Soriano et al 2009;Wadley 2005;, site use and management (Wadley 2006b;Wadley and Jacobs 2004;Wadley and Whitelaw 2006), and style (Wurz 1999(Wurz , 2000(Wurz , 2005. However, it is also possible to use the chaîne opératoire to provide evidence of a more fundamental nature.…”

Section: Methodology-the Chaîne Opératoirementioning

confidence: 99%

Untitled

2011

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Rhino Cave, located at the World Heritage site of Tsodilo Hills, is one of the three main Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites in Botswana. Initial investigations during the mid-1990s left unanswered a number of key questions regarding the early use of the cave. This prompted the current investigations, which have unearthed a wealth of MSA artifacts from a lag deposit. Results of a selectively employed chaîne opératoire analysis have revealed a very special set of behavioral patterns. It will be argued that the best-fit interpretation of the results from this investigation lies within the realm of ritualized behavior. The assemblage is characterized by an unexpectedly large number of MSA points, which are for the most part produced in non-locally acquired raw materials. These points are colorful, carefully and often elaborately made, and, once complete, never left the cave. They were either deliberately burned to the point where they could no longer be used, abandoned, or intentionally smashed. These artifacts were found together with tabular grinding slabs and pieces of the locally available pigment, specularite. This assemblage was recovered directly beneath a massive, virtually free-standing rock face that has been carved with hundreds of cupules of varying sizes and shapes. A section of the carved rock face was recovered from well within the MSA deposits in association with handheld grinding stones. INTRODUCTIONI t has been proposed that "collective ritual -with its formal characteristic of amplified, stereotypical, redundant display -might be expected to leave a loud archaeological signature" (Watts 2009: 62). According to a number of researchers (e.g., Knight 2009;Knight 2010;Power 1999Power , 2009Power and Aiello 1997;Watts 1999Watts , 2002Watts , 2009) the archaeological record of ochre use, dating from the late Middle Pleistocene, provides such a signature. Symbolism, a crucial feature of ritual behavior, has been central to the debate on behavioral modernity. . However, one area of investigation that could potentially reveal patterns of ritual behavior has received minimal attention within African MSA studies. This is the application of the chaîne opératoire. Results from this method identify sequences of conscious choices made by the original artifact makers. The combined results of these individual sequences can provide insight into behavior patterns which are indicative of broader culturally determined traits and norms. By applying this methodological approach to a site that contains unusual or atypical MSA features, it can identify other 'loud archaeological signatures'.As noted by McBrearty (2003: 514) "one of the most difficult tasks for the prehistorian is to identify the emergence of novel behaviors." The authors suggest that a set of novel behavioral patterns is a most apt description for the results that have emerged from a recent test excavation at Rhino Cave, located within the World Heritage site of Tsodilo Hills, Botswana. This site was initially excavated in the mid-1990s (Robbins et al...

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“…Typical plant residues are cellulose (amorphous, tissues and fibres), sap, resin, starch grains, raphides and druses, each with specific characteristics that generally allow their microscopic identification (for identification characteristics see Franceschi and Horner 1980:381;Fullagar 1986:176;Gunning and Steer 1975:117;Horner and Wagner 1995:56;Langenheim 2003:46;Robertson 2005:54-85). Among the animal residues identified on stone artefacts are blood (including proteinaceous films and red blood cells), bone, animal tissue and fibres (including collagen and muscle), lipids, feathers and hair Cooper 2003;David 1993;Francis 2000Francis , 2002Fullagar 1986;Fullagar and Jones 2004;Lombard and Wadley 2005;Loy , 1985Robertson , 2006Tomlinson 2001;Wadley et al 2004a;Williamson 2000). Microscopic identification to a specific taxonomic level is only possible with a limited number of these residue types, namely, hair and feather, and then only if the residue is relatively undamaged and there is access to a reference collection of local specimens (Loy 1985Loy and Nelson 1986;.…”

Section: Residue Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

TA 30 - Archaeological Science Under a Microscope : Studies in Residue and Ancient DNA Analysis in Honour of Thomas H. Loy

Haslam¹,

Kirkwood²,

Robertson³

et al. 2009

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terra australis 30Terra Australis reports the results of archaeological and related research within the south and east of Asia, though mainly Australia, New Guinea and island Melanesia -lands that remained terra australis incognita to generations of prehistorians. Its subject is the settlement of the diverse environments in this isolated quarter of the globe by peoples who have maintained their discrete and traditional ways of life into the recent recorded or remembered past and at times into the observable present.Since the beginning of the series, the basic colour on the spine and cover has distinguished the regional distribution of topics as follows: ochre for Australia, green for New Guinea, red for South-East Asia and blue for the Pacific Islands. From 2001, issues with a gold spine will include conference proceedings, edited papers and monographs which in topic or desired format do not fit easily within the original arrangements. All volumes are numbered within the same series. List of volumes in Terra AustralisVolume 1: Burrill Lake and Currarong: Coastal Sites in Southern New South Wales. R.J. Lampert (1971) Volume 2: Ol Tumbuna: Archaeological Excavations in the Eastern Central Highlands, Papua New Guinea. J.P. White (1972) Volume 3 The genesis of this collection was a symposium held to honour Tom's memory on 19 August 2006 at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, where he was Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Science. Papers delivered at that event have been augmented with invited contributions from colleagues not able to be present on the day. The symposium was memorable for the breadth of research presented (from residues on the tools of Homo floresiensis to the DNA of Henry VIII's warship) as well as for a stone knapping demonstration and discussion by Colin Saltmere of the Dugalunji Aboriginal Corporation, with whom Tom had established a strong friendship through his final field project near Camooweal in northwest Queensland. Following Tom's lead, many of the presentations recognised the responsibilities we as archaeologists bear towards both the past and present people that we deal with, a responsibility that requires vigilance in getting our stories straight. That recognition continues in the pages that follow. The central theme of this volume lies in using the detailed information recovered from microscopic and molecular archaeology to tell the most accurate stories we can about the human past, and doing so in a manner that encourages never-ending inquiry about the further avenues we may follow.Beginning with a reproduction of the keynote address given by Richard Fullagar at the symposium, the volume is divided into two main sections. The first is titled 'Principles: synthesis, classification and experiment' and includes overviews and experimental or collection-based studies that aim to strengthen the fields of microscopic residue and ancient DNA analysis by examining the underlying principles on which these disciplines operate. In soliciting papers, the editors aimed to present ...

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The morphological identification of micro-residues on stone tools using light microscopy: progress and difficulties based on blind tests

Cited by 98 publications

References 19 publications

Processing ochre in the Middle Stone Age: Testing the inference of prehistoric behaviours from actualistically derived experimental data

Processing ochre in the Middle Stone Age: Testing the inference of prehistoric behaviours from actualistically derived experimental data

Untitled

TA 30 - Archaeological Science Under a Microscope : Studies in Residue and Ancient DNA Analysis in Honour of Thomas H. Loy

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