title: New method development in prehistoric stone tool research: evaluating use duration and data analysis protocols.
abstract: Lithic microwear is a research field of prehistoric stone tool (lithic) analysis that has been developed with the aim to identify how stone tools were used. It has been shown that laser scanning confocal microscopy has the potential to be a useful quantitative tool in the study of prehistoric stone tool function. In this paper, two important lines of inquiry are investigated: (1) whether the texture of worn surfaces is constant under varying durations of tool use, and (2) the development of rapid objective data analysis protocols. This study reports on the attempt to further develop these areas of study and results in a better understanding of the complexities underlying the development of flexible analytical algorithms for surface analysis. The results show that when sampling is optimised, surface texture may be linked to contact material type, independent of use duration. Further research is needed to validate this finding and test an expanded range of contact materials. The use of automated analytical protocols has shown promise but is only reliable if sampling location and scale are defined. Results suggest that the sampling protocol reports on the degree of worn surface invasiveness, complicating the ability to investigate duration related textural characterisation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Archaeological Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Bradford, United Kingdom. Electronic address: a.a.evans@bradford.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Adrian A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.affiliation: CEPAM, CNRS, Université Nice Sophia Antipolis, 24 avenue des Diables Bleus, Nice 06357, France.
authors.forename: Danielle A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Macdonald
authors.affiliation: Engineering Measurement Division, National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 0LW, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Claudiu L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Giusca
authors.affiliation: Engineering Measurement Division, National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 0LW, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Richard K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Leach
mesh_terms: D001106:Archaeology / Q000379:methods*; D005580:Fossils; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000379:methods*; D013223:Statistics as Topic / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Laser scanning confocal microscopy; Microwear quantification; Stone tools