Dog molars as personal ornaments in a Kura-Araxes child burial (Kalavan-1, Armenia)

Poulmarc'H, Modwene; Christidou, Rozalia; Bălășescu, Adrian; Alarashi, Hala; Mort, Françoise Le; Gasparyan, Boris; Chataigner, Christine

doi:10.15184/aqy.2016.132

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 23 publications

(26 reference statements)

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“…MQB inventory numbers: 71.1900.47.9 (a-c) and 71.1900.47.7 (d-h). ©Musée du quai Branly -Jacques Chirac, photos by C. Guzzo Falci, 2017 Osseous Materials Ornaments made of bones and teeth have also been the focus of considerable use-wear research (e.g., Cristiani and Borić 2012;d'Errico 1993a;Mărgărit et al 2016;Poulmarc'h et al 2016;Radovčić et al 2015;Rigaud et al 2014;Vanhaeren and d'Errico 2003;Winnicka 2016;Wright et al 2016). Both raw materials are relatively soft and develop diagnostic microtraces fairly quickly (Van Gijn 2005); this also means that postdepositional and curation traces may form quite easily, in particular those related to handling, storage, and cleaning (d 'Errico 1993a;Graziano 2015).…”

Section: Gastropodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Insights into Use-Wear Development in Bodily Ornaments Through the Study of Ethnographic Collections

Falci

Cuisin

Delpuech

et al. 2018

J Archaeol Method Theory

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The use of microwear analysis has made substantial contributions to the study of archaeological bodily ornaments. However, limitations persist with regard to the interpretation of use and the reconstruction of systems of attachment, hampering a holistic understanding of the diversity of past bodily adornment. This is because the complexities of ornament biographies and the resulting wear traces cannot be grasped exclusively from the study of experimental reference collections. In this paper, we propose to bridge this gap in interpretation by systematically researching ethnographic collections. We conducted a microscopic study of 38 composite ornaments from lowland South America housed at the Musée du quai Branly (Paris). These objects involve organic, biomineral, and inorganic components, attached through different string configurations. The combined use of optical and 3D digital microscopy at different magnification ranges provided a thorough understanding of wear trace formation, distribution, and characterization. We demonstrate how individual beads develop characteristic use-wear in relation to one another and to the strings. We further challenge common assumptions made in the analysis of archaeological ornaments. In sum, this research addresses methodological and interpretative issues in the study of bodily adornment at large, by providing insight into the biographies of objects that were actually worn in a lived context. In the future, our results can be applied as reference for a more effective understanding of the use of ornaments worldwide.

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