Experiments in bone technology: a methodological approach to functional analysis on bone tools.

ALVAREZ M.; MANSUR M. E.; PAL N

Florianopolis

Congreso; XVI International Congress - International Union for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences. UISPP. XVI Congresso da SAB.; 2011

SAB

The study of bone tools represents a key-element for the investigation of many hunther-gatherer-fisher societies. In the case of those that inhabited the extreme south of America, bone technology had a particular importance concerning both the frequency and the diversity of tools design. Consequently, the identification of the uses to which bone artifacts were devoted constitutes a fundamental problem in order to understand their socio-economical dynamics. For this reason, some years ago we started a research project oriented towards functional analysis of bone instruments. we developed an experimental program aiming to characterize and distinguish the microscopic traces produced by three different processes: manufacturing of various types of bone artifacts, their utilization, and the alterations resulting from taphonomical processes. With these objectives in mind, different experimental bone tools were manufactured, and then used to work different materials. Afterwards, microwear analysis was carried out, by means of different optical devices and magnifications (stereomicroscope, reflected light microscope and scanning electron microscope). In this communication we present the methodology and results obtained up to now and discuss their implications for microwear analysis of bone tools.