Session: #197

Theme & Session Format

Theme:
6. A Decade after the ‘Third Science Revolution in Archaeology’
Session format:
Regular session

Title & Content

Title:
Standardization in Qualitative and Quantitative Use-wear Analysis of Prehistoric Stone Tools: Discussing Issues and Solutions [PaM]
Content:
Use-wear analysis applied to prehistory aims to characterize the surface alterations of artifacts to determine tool functions and describe past human behaviors. For decades, use-wear have been described mainly qualitatively but recent improvements in microscopy allowed quantitative data to be added to these observations. The number of studies using surface texture measurements to examine and successfully determine surface alterations increases. Indeed, metrological parameters can differentiate traces resulting from different use activities and worked materials. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches are complementary and are essential to provide comprehensive documentation and interpretation of the different types of use-wear. However, the discipline still faces limitations regarding the comparability between different analytical techniques and approaches. It also faces difficulties in terms of repeatability of experimental results and interpretation of the archaeological material. So far, no standard procedure or protocol has been clearly set up for qualitative and quantitative studies and for the integration of both. One of the main reasons is that the needs and possibilities in terms of analytical protocols vary depending on the raw material analyzed. However, with the consolidation of the quantitative approach in the field, the multiplicity of procedures increases once again and time has come to homogenize methods (i.e. screening, cleaning, data acquisition, etc.) in order to improve straightforward comparisons between archaeological series and/or sites.
In this session, we would like to address the difficulties we face in standardizing procedures and to reflect upon possible solutions. Ideally, the session would lead to the proposition of a few recommendations for the discipline. We are thus calling for papers from both qualitative and quantitative perspectives that demonstrate problems caused by the lack of commonly shared standards. The session will focus mainly on stone tools but papers concerning other materials will be also considered.
Session supported by the project K132857, NRDI_Fund, Hungary.
Keywords:
use-wear analysis, traceology, stone tools, standards
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
PaM

Organisers

Main organiser:
Antony Borel (France) 1,2
Co-organisers:
Andreu Ollé (Spain) 3,4
João Marreiros (Germany) 5,6,7
Veerle Rots (Belgium) 8,9
Juan José Ibáñez (Spain) 10
Affiliations:
1. Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique (HNHP), Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, CNRS, UPVD, 1 Rue René Panhard, 75013 Paris, France
2. Institute of Archeological Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Múzeum krt. 4/B, 1088 Budapest, Hungary.
3. Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007 Tarragona, Spain
4. Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Av. Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain
5. Laboratory for Traceology and Controlled Experiments (TraCEr), MONREPOS – Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution, RGZM, Germany
6. ICArEHB – Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour, Universidade do Algarve, Portugal
7. Institute for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archeology, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
8. FNRS, TraceoLab, University of Liège, Place du 20-août 7 (Bât. A4), 4000 Liège, Belgium
9. Institute of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Germany
10. Archaeology of Social Dynamics (ASD), Institución Milá y Fontanals (IMF), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain