Rethinking use-wear analysis and experimentation as applied to the study of past hominin tool use

In prehistoric human populations, technologies played a fundamental role in the acquisition of different resources and are represented in the main daily living activities, such as with bone, wooden, and stone-tipped spears for hunting, and chipped-stone tools for butchering. Considering that paleoanthropologists and archeologists are focused on the study of different processes involved in the evolution of human behavior, investigating how hominins acted in the past through the study of evidence on archeological artifacts is crucial. Thus, investigat ing tool use is of major importance for a comprehensive understanding of all processes that characterize human choices of raw materials, techniques, and tool types. Many functional assumptions of tool use have been based on tool design and morphology according to archeologists’ interpretations and ethnographic observations. Such assumptions are used as baselines when inferring human behavior and have driven an improvement in the methods and techniques employed in functional studies over the past few decades. Here, while arguing that use-wear analysis is a key discipline to assess past hominin tool use and to interpret the organization and variability of artifact types in the archeological record, we aim to review and discuss the current state-of-the-art methods, protocols, and their limitations. In doing so, our discussion focuses on three main topics: (1) the need for fundamental improvements by adopting established methods and techniques from similar research fields, (2) the need to implement and combine different levels of experimentation, and (3) the crucial need to establish standards and protocols in order to improve data quality, standard ization, repeatability, and reproducibility. By adopting this perspective, we believe that studies will increase the reliability and applicability of use-wear methods on tool function. The need for a holistic approach that combines not only use-wear traces but also tool technology, design, curation, durability, and efficiency is also debated and revised. Such a revision is a crucial step if archeologists want to build major inferences on human decision making behavior and biocultural evolution processes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A method for the taphonomic assessment of bone tools using 3D surface texture analysis of bone microtopography

Increasingly researchers have employed confocal microscopy and 3D surface texture analysis to assess bone surface modifications in an effort to understand ancient behavior. However, quantitative comparisons between the surfaces of purported archaeological bone tools and experimentally manufactured and used bones are complicated by taphonomic processes affecting ancient bone. Nonetheless, it may be reasonable to assume that bones within the same deposits are altered similarly and thus these alterations are quantifiable. Here we show how unworked bones can be used to quantify the taphonomic effect on bone surfaces and how this effect can then be controlled for and incorporated into an analysis for evaluating the modified surfaces of purported bone tools. To assess the baseline taphonomy of Middle Paleolithic archaeological deposits associated with typologically identified bone artifacts, specifically lissoirs, we directly compare the surface textures of ancient and modern unworked ribs. We then compare the ancient unworked ribs and lissoirs to assess their differences and predict the ancient artifacts’ original surface state using a multilevel multivariate Bayesian model. Our findings demonstrate that three of five tested surface texture parameters (Sa, Spc, and IsT) are useful for distinguishing surface type. Our model predictions show that lissoirs tend to be less rough, have more rounded surface peaks, and exhibit more directionally oriented surfaces. These characteristics are likely due to anthropogenic modifications and would have been more pronounced at deposition. Quantifying taphonomic alterations moves us one step closer to accurately assessing how bone artifacts were made and used in the ancient past

Time wears on: Assessing how bone wears using 3D surface texture analysis

International audience"Use-wear analysis provides a means of studying traces produced on animal bone during manufacture and use in an effort to reconstruct these processes. Often, these analyses are qualitative and based on experience and expertise. Previous studies have focused on interpreting final traces, but little is known about how these traces develop and change over time. We propose the use of an innovative quantitative method for studying bone surface traces that aims to reduce any unreliable or non-replicable results that can confound more traditional qualitative analyses. We seek to understand the basics of use-wear formation over Time by taking incremental molds of bone specimens subjected to a controlled, mechanical experiment. This study assesses how bone wears during extended use on three Material types (fresh skin, processed leather, or dry bark), from three initial Manufacturing states (unworked, ground with sandstone, or scraped with flint). With data obtained from a confocal disc-scanning microscope, we then apply 3D surface texture analysis using ISO 25178 parameters: surface roughness [Sa], autocorrelation length [Sal], peak curvature [Spc], and upper material ratio [Smr1]. We employ a multilevel multivariate Bayesian model to explain parameter variation under experimental conditions. Our findings show how duration of use strongly affects the transformation of the bone’s surface. Unworked bone is completely distinguishable from bone used for long time intervals and those modified by scraping. Interestingly, material wear does not often produce type-specific traces, but does affect the rate of bone alteration and how it is transformed. Specifically, fresh skin transforms bone at a faster rate than other materials. This novel quantitative and experimental approach enhances our understanding of the use of bone as a raw material for making and using tools and provides a foundation for future exploration of archaeological materials and questions." (source éditeur

Time wears on: Assessing how bone wears using 3D surface texture analysis.

Use-wear analysis provides a means of studying traces produced on animal bone during manufacture and use in an effort to reconstruct these processes. Often, these analyses are qualitative and based on experience and expertise. Previous studies have focused on interpreting final traces, but little is known about how these traces develop and change over time. We propose the use of an innovative quantitative method for studying bone surface traces that aims to reduce any unreliable or non-replicable results that can confound more traditional qualitative analyses. We seek to understand the basics of use-wear formation over Time by taking incremental molds of bone specimens subjected to a controlled, mechanical experiment. This study assesses how bone wears during extended use on three Material types (fresh skin, processed leather, or dry bark), from three initial Manufacturing states (unworked, ground with sandstone, or scraped with flint). With data obtained from a confocal disc-scanning microscope, we then apply 3D surface texture analysis using ISO 25178 parameters: surface roughness [Sa], autocorrelation length [Sal], peak curvature [Spc], and upper material ratio [Smr1]. We employ a multilevel multivariate Bayesian model to explain parameter variation under experimental conditions. Our findings show how duration of use strongly affects the transformation of the bone's surface. Unworked bone is completely distinguishable from bone used for long time intervals and those modified by scraping. Interestingly, material wear does not often produce type-specific traces, but does affect the rate of bone alteration and how it is transformed. Specifically, fresh skin transforms bone at a faster rate than other materials. This novel quantitative and experimental approach enhances our understanding of the use of bone as a raw material for making and using tools and provides a foundation for future exploration of archaeological materials and questions

Time wears on: assessing how bone wears using 3D surface texture analysis (dataset)

An experiment was undertaken with the intention of understanding the basics of use-wear formation over time by taking incremental impressions of bone specimens subjected to a controlled, mechanical experiment. This study assessed how bone wears during extended use on three materials (processed leather, fresh skin, or dry bark), from three initial surface modification states (unmodified, scraped with flint, or ground with sandstone). Data obtained from a confocal disc-scanning microscope was then applied to 3D surface texture analysis using ISO 25178 parameters: surface roughness [Sa], peak curvature [Spc], autocorrelation length [Sal], and upper material ratio [Smr1]. Additional 3D surface texture parameters from the experimental specimens are also recorded here. Other data is recorded here including specimen ID, amount of time used, location of scan, sample type, whether the sample is the terminus of the experiment and if a surface mold was taken at the end of the experiment, whether the sample was rescanned after one year, material type used, manufacturing type at start of experiment, which lot of the bone specimens were acquired in, state of bone, and sampling method.<div><br></div><div>The dataset is attached here. </div

Non-destructive ZooMS identification reveals strategic bone tool raw material selection by Neandertals

Five nearly identical fragments of specialized bone tools, interpreted as lissoirs (French for “smoothers”), have been found at two Middle Paleolithic sites in southwest France. The finds span three separate archaeological deposits, suggesting continuity in the behavior of late Neandertals. Using standard morphological assessments, we determined that the lissoirs were produced on ribs of medium-sized ungulates. However, since these bones are highly fragmented and anthropogenically modified, species determinations were challenging. Also, conservative curation policy recommends minimizing destructive sampling of rare, fragile, or small artifacts for molecular identification methods. To better understand raw material selection for these five lissoirs, we reassess their taxonomy using a non-destructive ZooMS methodology based on triboelectric capture of collagen. We sampled four storage containers and obtained identifiable MALDI-TOF MS collagen fingerprints, all indicative of the same taxonomic clade, which includes aurochs and bison (Bos sp. and Bison sp.). The fifth specimen, which was stored in a plastic bag, provided no useful MALDI-TOF MS spectra. We show that the choice of large bovid ribs in an archaeological layer dominated by reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) demonstrates strategic selection by these Neandertals. Furthermore, our results highlight the value of a promising technique for the non-destructive analysis of bone artifacts

Non-destructive ZooMS identification reveals strategic bone tool raw material selection by Neandertals.

Five nearly identical fragments of specialized bone tools, interpreted as lissoirs (French for "smoothers"), have been found at two Middle Paleolithic sites in southwest France. The finds span three separate archaeological deposits, suggesting continuity in the behavior of late Neandertals. Using standard morphological assessments, we determined that the lissoirs were produced on ribs of medium-sized ungulates. However, since these bones are highly fragmented and anthropogenically modified, species determinations were challenging. Also, conservative curation policy recommends minimizing destructive sampling of rare, fragile, or small artifacts for molecular identification methods. To better understand raw material selection for these five lissoirs, we reassess their taxonomy using a non-destructive ZooMS methodology based on triboelectric capture of collagen. We sampled four storage containers and obtained identifiable MALDI-TOF MS collagen fingerprints, all indicative of the same taxonomic clade, which includes aurochs and bison (Bos sp. and Bison sp.). The fifth specimen, which was stored in a plastic bag, provided no useful MALDI-TOF&nbsp;MS spectra. We show that the choice of large bovid ribs in an archaeological layer dominated by reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) demonstrates strategic selection by these Neandertals. Furthermore, our results highlight the value of a promising technique for the non-destructive analysis of bone artifacts

New data on the context of the Middle Paleolithic bone tools from Abri Peyrony and Pech-de-l’Azé I (France)

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