Dataset Information

Optimization of use-wear detection and characterization on stone tool surfaces.

ABSTRACT: Debates and doubt around the interpretation of use-wear on stone tools called for the development of quantitative analysis of surfaces to complement the qualitative description of traces. Recently, a growing number of studies showed that prehistoric activities can be discriminated thanks to quantitative characterization of stone tools surface alteration due to use. However, stone tool surfaces are microscopically very heterogeneous and the calculated parameters may highly vary depending on the areas selected for measurement. Indeed, it may be impacted by the effects from the raw material topography and not from the altered zones only, if non-altered part of the surface is included in the measurement. We propose here to discuss this issue and present a workflow involving the use of masks to separate worn and unworn parts of the surface. Our results show that this step of extraction, together with suitable filtering, could have a high impact on the optimization of the detection and thus characterization of use traces. This represents the basis for future automatic routines allowing the detection, extraction and characterization of wear on stone tools.

SUBMITTER: Borel A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8683413 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Optimization of use-wear detection and characterization on stone tool surfaces.

Borel Antony A Deltombe Raphaël R Moreau Philippe P Ingicco Thomas T Bigerelle Maxence M Marteau Julie J

Scientific reports 20211217 1

Debates and doubt around the interpretation of use-wear on stone tools called for the development of quantitative analysis of surfaces to complement the qualitative description of traces. Recently, a growing number of studies showed that prehistoric activities can be discriminated thanks to quantitative characterization of stone tools surface alteration due to use. However, stone tool surfaces are microscopically very heterogeneous and the calculated parameters may highly vary depending on the a ...[more]

PMID: 34921210

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Project description:ObjectivesA hallmark of hominin evolution is the advent and diversification of stone tool use, and biological anthropologists have a particular interest in characterizing tool use behaviors in different hominin species. Robust capuchins, the genus Sapajus, are an excellent convergent model system for understanding tool use evolution, principally in the context of foraging, in terms of how they use stones to process hard fruits. However, most published studies of capuchin tool use in the wild focus on the species Sapajus libidinosus. In order to strengthen comparative analyses, it is important to do research across robust capuchin species to understand tool use capacities and variation across the genus. The first indirect evidence that reported tool use in wild S. xanthosternos was in 2009, but since that time no additional publications have described this behavior for this species. In this study we provide the first complete characterization of tool use in wild S. xanthosternos for two areas within Montes Claros, Minas Gerais state, Brazil: Santa Rosa de Lima district, and Lapa Grande State Park. We compare our findings to the stone tool use characteristics reported in wild Sapajus libidinosus and other capuchin monkey species.Materials and methodsIn monthly surveys from January to September 2018, we walked trails through the two study areas and categorized tool use site characteristics, including anvil area, height, and perimeter; hammer stone weight; and species of fruit utilized. Additionally, we utilized camera traps at high-use sites.ResultsWe describe the tools used by S. xanthosternos at 169 sites clustered in seven Nutcracking Areas, for processing three different species of encased fruit: Macaúba (Acrocomia aculeata), Cansaçao (Cnidoscolus pubescens), and Guariroba (Syagrus oleracea). With camera traps, we directly observed tool use behavior for the first time in this species.DiscussionSapajus xanthosternos displayed tool use patterns very similar to those of S. libidinosus. The main difference was in regards to physical force; in our study, the mean weight of stones used by S. xanthosternos was higher than the mean reported for S. libidinosus at most field sites; however, there was no difference in hammer weight between S. libidinosus and S. xanthosternos when hammering Macaúba. We also registered the heaviest hammer stone for tool use (7.675 kg) known for the robust capuchin genus. It is clear from our study that tool use capacity and characteristics are conserved across the radiation of extant Sapajus, suggesting a possible stone tool use cognitive capacity spanning up to 3.3 million years of diversification within this genus. Unlike stone tool use occurring throughout the year for S. libidinosus, at our study sites S. xanthosternos used nutcracking tools only during the dry season.

Project description:The identification of the use of stone tools through use-wear analysis was one the major methodological advances in Prehistoric Archaeology during the second half of the 20th century. Studies of use-wear analysis have decisively contributed to a better understanding of the cognitive capacities and the socio-economic organization of Prehistoric societies. Among use-wear traces, microwear polish is the most relevant evidence, as it allows the identification of the worked materials (i.e. wood, antler, hide, bone, stone…). This identification is currently carried out through the qualitative and visual comparison of experimental and archaeological tools. During the last decade, confocal microscopy is allowing the quantitative identification of the worked material through the texture analysis of microwear polish. Previous tests have accounted for the variability of use-wear traces as caused by different types of worked material. However, how the intensity of use, which is widely recognized as an important factor conditioning microwear polish characteristics, affects our capacity to identify the worked materials is poorly understood. This research addresses the dynamic nature of microwear polish through confocal microscopy and texture analysis. This research shows that use-wear polishing is a dynamic process and surface texture evolves continuously during the working time. The evolution fits a logarithmic function, so most texture modification takes place during the first phases of work. The way in which polish texture evolves through time differs from one contact material to the other. We demonstrate that, despite the dynamic nature of use-wear polish, different worked materials can be discriminated. However, some overlapping between used and unused surfaces and between worked materials occurs in the first stages of use. Moreover, polishes of similar characteristics (i.e. bone and antler) can show similar texture at advanced stages of use. These problems in identification can be in good measure overcome by creating dynamic models of polish texture in which not only the worked material but also the time of use is considered.

Dataset Information

Optimization of use-wear detection and characterization on stone tool surfaces.

Publications

Optimization of use-wear detection and characterization on stone tool surfaces.

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