New Tools and Old Stones: The Use of 3D Microscopy on Stone Tools to Understand Prehistoric Behaviour and Social Change

新工具和旧石头：使用 3D 显微镜研究石器来了解史前行为和社会变迁

• 批准号: AH/J007935/1
• 负责人: Adrian Evans
• 金额: $ 8.07万
• 依托单位: University of Bradford
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2012 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FJ007935%2F1
• 关键词: New; Tools; Old; Stones; Use

Common questions asked by the public of stone tools are 'what were they used for?' or, of the people, 'what were they doing there?' The primary aim of this project is to develop and demonstrate a technique that allows these questions to be reliably answered and illustrated.This project presents the analysis of an archaeological assemblage as a case study, designed to introduce new methods of high resolution three dimensional laser scanning microscopes to study archaeological stone tools. This presents the integration of methods from engineering into the study of heritage to improve the quality of archaeological research by digital transformation of current approaches.Lithic microwear analysis is a technique that has been developed to study stone tool use. It involves the use of microscopes to study edges of stone tools to find areas that have been worn through use. This method has allowed archaeologists to gain insight into prehistoric activities but there are known flaws which experts aim to improve. The main problem is the method relies on visual discrimination of surface wear. Testing of the method shows that this qualitative assessment of tool function is highly inaccurate and inconsistent.Stone tools are the primary artefact left by our ancestors as they have evolved over the last 4.5 million years. An understanding of stone tools is therefore fundamental to understanding evolution and social change. An important aspect of stone tool analysis is understanding how they were used. This level of understanding can help up learn about social development, environmental adaptation through climate change, and technological specialisation.The assemblage studied is an Upper Palaeolithic set of stone tools from the site of Wey Manor Farm, a well preserved site from surrey. It represents one of only a few discovered in the UK that show a good degree of preservation and was meticulously excavated, presenting a unique opportunity to match data from the location of tools at the site and activities carried out by their prehistoric users. The good preservation of the assemblage makes it highly suitable for the project as the ability to gather useful data from the tools and high quality graphics illustrating a variety of different tool uses will serve to highlight the capabilities of the approach used.The new technology introduced by this project aims to transform the approaches used through the addition of quantitative analysis wear and computed interpretation. The method changes the way that archaeological data is visualised and allows a shift of focus from method to interpretation.The visualisation of data in this new way reduces the complexity of the interpretative problem. Experts will no longer needs to visually discern complex and often subtle textural information. The task of textural characterisation is taken up by the computing system as is the interpretation of what this implies for tool use. This reduces error in identification, improves consistency, and strengthens the reputation of the method as a whole. This allows the expert to shift focus to the interpretation of results and the implications of these in the broader context of the archaeological question at hand.The reduction in need for the expert to be familiar with the visual system of remembering and cataloguing worn surface types for the purpose of future analysis also dramatically reduces the requirement for the associated extensive training (4-8 years is currently considered normal). Training requirements to use this new system will be on the scale of months; closer in line to other analytical systems in use across the applied sciences. This will make the technique more accessible across the discipline; a compound effect being the production of larger datasets pertaining to site function and subsequently a greater base for interpretation of heritage.

公众对石器的常见问题是“它们是用来做什么的？”对那些人说，他们在那里做什么？该项目的主要目的是开发和演示一种技术，使这些问题能够得到可靠的回答和说明。本项目以考古组合分析为例，旨在介绍高分辨率三维激光扫描显微镜研究考古石器的新方法。这展示了将工程方法整合到遗产研究中，通过对当前方法的数字化转换来提高考古研究的质量。岩屑微磨损分析是一种用于研究石器使用的技术。它包括使用显微镜来研究石器工具的边缘，以找到在使用过程中磨损的区域。这种方法使考古学家能够深入了解史前的活动，但也存在已知的缺陷，专家们希望加以改进。主要问题是该方法依赖于表面磨损的视觉识别。对该方法的测试表明，这种对刀具功能的定性评价是高度不准确和不一致的。石器是我们祖先在过去450万年的进化过程中留下的主要人工制品。因此，对石器工具的理解是理解进化和社会变革的基础。石器分析的一个重要方面是了解它们是如何被使用的。这种程度的理解可以帮助我们了解社会发展、通过气候变化适应环境以及技术专业化。研究的组合是一套旧石器时代晚期的石器，来自韦马诺农场遗址，一个保存完好的遗址。它是英国发现的少数几件保存完好的文物之一，经过精心挖掘，提供了一个独特的机会，可以将现场工具的位置和史前用户的活动进行数据匹配。组合的良好保存使得它非常适合项目，因为从工具中收集有用数据的能力和说明各种不同工具使用的高质量图形将有助于突出所使用方法的能力。该项目引入的新技术旨在通过增加定量分析磨损和计算解释来改变使用的方法。该方法改变了考古数据可视化的方式，并允许将重点从方法转移到解释。以这种新方式对数据进行可视化，降低了解释问题的复杂性。专家将不再需要从视觉上辨别复杂且往往微妙的纹理信息。计算系统承担了纹理特征的任务，并解释了这对工具使用意味着什么。这减少了识别中的错误，提高了一致性，并加强了整个方法的声誉。这使专家能够将重点转移到对结果的解释以及这些结果在更广泛的考古问题背景下的含义上。专家不需要熟悉记忆和分类磨损表面类型的视觉系统，以便将来进行分析，这也大大减少了对相关广泛培训的要求（目前认为4-8年是正常的）。使用这个新系统所需的培训将以月为单位；与应用科学中使用的其他分析系统更接近。这将使该技术在整个学科中更容易获得；一个复合效应是产生与遗址功能有关的更大的数据集，随后为解释遗产提供了更大的基础。

项目成果

Evaluating Surface Cleaning Techniques of Stone Tools Using Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy

使用激光扫描共焦显微镜评估石材工具的表面清洁技术

• DOI: 10.1017/s1551929514000364
• 发表时间: 2014
• 期刊: Microscopy Today
• 作者: Macdonald D

On the importance of blind testing in archaeological science: the example from lithic functional studies

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2013.10.026
• 发表时间: 2014-08-01
• 期刊: JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE
• 影响因子: 2.8
• 作者: Evans, Adrian Anthony

Exposing the past: surface topography and texture of paleontological and archeological remains

揭露过去：古生物和考古遗迹的表面地形和纹理

• DOI: 10.1088/2051-672x/4/4/040302
• 发表时间: 2016
• 期刊: Metrology and Properties
• 作者: Ungar P

Technological Analysis of the World's Earliest Shamanic Costume: A Multi-Scalar, Experimental Study of a Red Deer Headdress from the Early Holocene Site of Star Carr, North Yorkshire, UK.

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152136
• 发表时间: 2016
• 期刊: PloS one
• 影响因子: 3.7
• 作者: Little A;Elliott B;Conneller C;Pomstra D;Evans AA;Fitton LC;Holland A;Davis R;Kershaw R;O'Connor S;O'Connor T;Sparrow T;Wilson AS;Jordan P;Collins MJ;Colonese AC;Craig OE;Knight R;Lucquin AJ;Taylor B;Milner N
• 通讯作者: Milner N

Reaping the rewards: the potential of well designed methodology, a comment on Vardi et al. (Journal of Archaeological Science 37 (2010) 1716-1724) and Goodale et al. (Journal of Archaeological Science 37 (2010) 1192-1201)

收获回报：精心设计的方法的潜力，对 Vardi 等人的评论。

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2011.04.015
• 发表时间: 2012
• 期刊: Journal of Archaeological Science
• 影响因子: 2.8
• 作者: Stemp W