An investigation of the fractal properties of flint microwear images

Rees, D.; Wilkinson, G.G.; Grace, Roger V.; Orton, Clive

doi:10.1016/0305-4403(91)90026-l

Cited by 29 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…() and Rees et al . (), the objective measurement of surface microstructure on stone tools really began to develop in archaeology in the mid‐1990s to early 2000s, with the work of microwear analysts such as Larry Kimball (Kimball et al . , ), Patricia Anderson (Anderson et al .…”

Section: Quantification Of Surface Roughness On Stone Toolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing Area‐Scale Fractal Complexity (Asfc) and Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy (LSCM) to Document and Discriminate Microwear on Experimental Quartzite Scrapers

2017

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Few microwear studies have been conducted on tools made from quartzite. Most rely on visual observation of microwear features using optical light microscopes and scanning electron microscopes. Quantification of microwear on quartzite tools is extremely rare, even though numerous methods to mathematically document surface roughness have been applied to other silicate tools. In this paper, laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) was used to document surface roughness on four experimental scrapers made from two different subtypes of Mistassini quartzite that were used on either fresh or dry deer hide. Surface roughness data were analysed using area‐scale fractal complexity (Asfc). The results of this test case indicate that Asfc can effectively discriminate between the unused and used regions on the quartzite tools based on surface roughness, and that it can also discriminate between surface roughness produced by working dry versus fresh hides. Differences in the subtypes of Mistassini quartzite did affect surface roughness, but not significantly enough to prevent discrimination of the dry and fresh hide‐working tools. Although the use of the Asfc parameter for lithic microwear analysis requires further testing, these first results suggest it could be a reliable technique to mathematically document and discriminate wear patterns on archaeological quartzite tools.

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Section: Quantification Of Surface Roughness On Stone Toolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing Area‐Scale Fractal Complexity (Asfc) and Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy (LSCM) to Document and Discriminate Microwear on Experimental Quartzite Scrapers

2017

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“…Scale‐sensitive fractal analysis has been successfully used to document worn surfaces on various types of materials (Mecholsky and Mackin, ; Brown and Savary, ; Rees et al , ; Brown et al , ; Zang et al , ; Ungar et al , ; Scott et al , ; Jordan and Brown, ; Cantor and Brown ; Brown and Brown, ). There are a number of analysis programs available; however, we have chosen to use the area‐scale fractal analysis algorithm RelA for surface characterization.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying Microwear on Experimental Mistassini Quartzite Scrapers: Preliminary Results of Exploratory Research Using LSCM and Scale‐Sensitive Fractal Analysis

2012

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Although previous use-wear studies involving quartz and quartzite have been undertaken by archaeologists, these are comparatively few in number. Moreover, there has been relatively little effort to quantify use-wear on stone tools made from quartzite. The purpose of this article is to determine the effectiveness of a measurement system, laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM), to document the surface roughness or texture of experimental Mistassini quartzite scrapers used on two different contact materials (fresh and dry deer hide). As in previous studies using LSCM on chert, flint, and obsidian, this exploratory study incorporates a mathematical algorithm that permits the discrimination of surface roughness based on comparisons at multiple scales. Specifically, we employ measures of relative area (RelA) coupled with the F-test to discriminate used from unused stone tool surfaces, as well as surfaces of quartzite scrapers used on dry and fresh deer hide. Our results further demonstrate the effect of raw material variation on use-wear formation and its documentation using LSCM and RelA.

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“…Some scholars, dismayed by what they see as a deplorable lack of rigor and replicability in microwear studies [Newcomer et al (1986); but see a solid rejoinder by Bamforth (1988)], have sought to create quantitative descriptions of microwear polishes, in particular using interferometry (Grace et al, 1985) and fractals (Rees et al, 1991). These approaches have had very limited success, leading latter authors to make the strong claim "that there was no possibility of identifying worked materials from microwear polishes alone" (Rees et al, 1991, p. 639).…”

Section: Lithic Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%