The first residue analysis blind tests: results and lessons learnt

Wadley, Lyn; Lombard, Marlize; Williamson, Bonny

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2004.03.010

Cited by 75 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Wadley et al, 2004), the artefacts were collected by staff wearing powder-free antiseptic gloves. The staff was instructed to collect flakes and blades, complete as well as fragments, with a cutting edge larger then 2 cm.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Plant residues such as phytoliths, starches, pollen grains, cell walls and fibres, as well as animal and human residues including blood, protein, ancient DNA, hair, feathers and muscle tissue, have been analysed (Custer et al, 1988;Gurfinkel and Frankling, 1988;Kooyman et al, 1992;Loy and Hardy, 1992;Smith and Wilson, 1992;Cattaneo et al, 1993;Loy, 1993;Manning, 1994;Downs and Lowenstein, 1995;Fiedel, 1996;Petraglia et al, 1996;Tuross et al, 1996;Jahren et al, 1997;Newman et al, 1997;Hardy and Garufi, 1998;Fullagar, 1998;Loy and Dixon, 1998;Shanks et al, 1999Shanks et al, , 2001Craig and Collins, 2002;Wadley et al, 2004;Shanks et al, 2005;Lombard and Wadley, 2007;Seeman et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Integration of use-wear with protein residue analysis – a study of tool use and function in the south Scandinavian Early Neolithic

Högberg¹,

Puseman²,

Yost³

2009

Journal of Archaeological Science

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integration of use-wear with protein residue analysis – a study of tool use and function in the south Scandinavian Early Neolithic

Högberg¹,

Puseman²,

Yost³

2009

Journal of Archaeological Science

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“…This analogical approach emphasizes the size of the experimental assemblage, the experience and training of the analyst to generate archaeological data of tool function (Rots and Plisson, 2014). Although the results of blind-tests have cast some doubt on aspects of functional interpretations (Newcomer et al, 1986;Wadley et al, 2004), some analysts have achieved high scores on blind-tests (Odell and Odell-Vereecken, 1980;Rots et al, 2006). The impact of post-depositional processes is not often explicitly addressed -flakes that appear weathered or rolled are excluded from analysis, as are flakes from "disturbed" contexts, but the assemblage patterning is rarely described and the criteria for establishing contextual integrity are rarely made explicit (Shea, 2011b).…”

Section: Inferring Tool Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape variability in tool-use and edge damage formation in South African Middle Stone Age lithic assemblages

Schoville

2016

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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This study explores how early modern humans used stone tool technology to adapt to changing climates and coastlines in the Middle Stone Age of South Africa. The MSA is associated with the earliest fossil evidence for modern humans and complex cultural behaviors during a time period of dramatic climate change. Human culture allows for the creation, use, and transmission of technological knowledge that can evolve with changing environmental conditions. Understanding the interactions between technology and the environment is essential to illuminating the role of culture during the origin of our species. This study is focused on understanding ancient tool use from the study of lithic edge damage patterns at archaeological assemblages in southern Africa by using image-based quantitative methods for analyzing stone tools. An extensive experimental program using replicated stone tools provides the comparative linkages between the archaeological artifacts and the tasks for which they were used. MSA foragers structured their tool use and discard behaviors on the landscape in several ways -by using and discarding hunting tools more frequently in the field rather than in caves/rockshelters, but similarly in coastal and interior contexts. This study provides evidence that during a significant microlithic technological shift seen in southern Africa at ~75,000 years ago, new technologies were developed alongside rather than replacing existing technologies. These results are compared with aspects of the European archaeological record at this time to identify features of early human technological behavior that may be unique to the evolutionary history of our species.ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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“…Typical plant residues are cellulose (amorphous, tissues and fibres), sap, resin, starch grains, raphides and druses, each with specific characteristics that generally allow their microscopic identification (for identification characteristics see Franceschi and Horner 1980:381;Fullagar 1986:176;Gunning and Steer 1975:117;Horner and Wagner 1995:56;Langenheim 2003:46;Robertson 2005:54-85). Among the animal residues identified on stone artefacts are blood (including proteinaceous films and red blood cells), bone, animal tissue and fibres (including collagen and muscle), lipids, feathers and hair Cooper 2003;David 1993;Francis 2000Francis , 2002Fullagar 1986;Fullagar and Jones 2004;Lombard and Wadley 2005;Loy , 1985Robertson , 2006Tomlinson 2001;Wadley et al 2004a;Williamson 2000). Microscopic identification to a specific taxonomic level is only possible with a limited number of these residue types, namely, hair and feather, and then only if the residue is relatively undamaged and there is access to a reference collection of local specimens (Loy 1985Loy and Nelson 1986;.…”

Section: Residue Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

TA 30 - Archaeological Science Under a Microscope : Studies in Residue and Ancient DNA Analysis in Honour of Thomas H. Loy

Haslam¹,

Kirkwood²,

Robertson³

et al. 2009

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terra australis 30Terra Australis reports the results of archaeological and related research within the south and east of Asia, though mainly Australia, New Guinea and island Melanesia -lands that remained terra australis incognita to generations of prehistorians. Its subject is the settlement of the diverse environments in this isolated quarter of the globe by peoples who have maintained their discrete and traditional ways of life into the recent recorded or remembered past and at times into the observable present.Since the beginning of the series, the basic colour on the spine and cover has distinguished the regional distribution of topics as follows: ochre for Australia, green for New Guinea, red for South-East Asia and blue for the Pacific Islands. From 2001, issues with a gold spine will include conference proceedings, edited papers and monographs which in topic or desired format do not fit easily within the original arrangements. All volumes are numbered within the same series. List of volumes in Terra AustralisVolume 1: Burrill Lake and Currarong: Coastal Sites in Southern New South Wales. R.J. Lampert (1971) Volume 2: Ol Tumbuna: Archaeological Excavations in the Eastern Central Highlands, Papua New Guinea. J.P. White (1972) Volume 3 The genesis of this collection was a symposium held to honour Tom's memory on 19 August 2006 at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, where he was Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Science. Papers delivered at that event have been augmented with invited contributions from colleagues not able to be present on the day. The symposium was memorable for the breadth of research presented (from residues on the tools of Homo floresiensis to the DNA of Henry VIII's warship) as well as for a stone knapping demonstration and discussion by Colin Saltmere of the Dugalunji Aboriginal Corporation, with whom Tom had established a strong friendship through his final field project near Camooweal in northwest Queensland. Following Tom's lead, many of the presentations recognised the responsibilities we as archaeologists bear towards both the past and present people that we deal with, a responsibility that requires vigilance in getting our stories straight. That recognition continues in the pages that follow. The central theme of this volume lies in using the detailed information recovered from microscopic and molecular archaeology to tell the most accurate stories we can about the human past, and doing so in a manner that encourages never-ending inquiry about the further avenues we may follow.Beginning with a reproduction of the keynote address given by Richard Fullagar at the symposium, the volume is divided into two main sections. The first is titled 'Principles: synthesis, classification and experiment' and includes overviews and experimental or collection-based studies that aim to strengthen the fields of microscopic residue and ancient DNA analysis by examining the underlying principles on which these disciplines operate. In soliciting papers, the editors aimed to present ...

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The first residue analysis blind tests: results and lessons learnt

Cited by 75 publications

References 18 publications

Integration of use-wear with protein residue analysis – a study of tool use and function in the south Scandinavian Early Neolithic

Integration of use-wear with protein residue analysis – a study of tool use and function in the south Scandinavian Early Neolithic

Landscape variability in tool-use and edge damage formation in South African Middle Stone Age lithic assemblages

TA 30 - Archaeological Science Under a Microscope : Studies in Residue and Ancient DNA Analysis in Honour of Thomas H. Loy

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