There are three main areas where experimentation has been used
in relation to lithic analysis
1: Knapping experiments
2: Functional experiments
3: Taphonomic studies
1: Knapping experiments are
divided into two categories. First is the replication of knapping
techniques in order to understand the process of the technology
involved in producing particular types of tools e.g. replication
of the process of producing microliths which led to the discovery
that 'micro-burins'
where not tools but bi-products of microlith manufacture.
Numerous experiments have been going on since the study of stone
tools began replicating such tools as handaxes, or techniques
such as the Levallois technique
The second major aspect of replication experiments is the study
of the resulting debris (debitage).
This is achieved through recording the spatial distribution of
the resulting debitage. These spatial distributions can then be
matched against archaeological distributions and inferences made
concerning knapping sequences and even in some cases the position
of the knapper (e.g. sitting down, or standing up according to
the pattern and distance of the distribution of the debitage).
2: Functional experiments: Replicas
of tools are used in various ways with two main aims. One is to
test a particular hypothesis concerning tool use and the other
is to provide reference material for use-wear analysis. Experimental
tools are often made and used in conjunction with blind
tests.
Use wear experiments are comprised of two types. Mechanical
experiments, where it is attempted to control such variables as
direction of use, pressure and contact angle, with the duration
of use often determined by a set numbers of strokes. Secondly,
simulation experiments which attempt to simulate activities assumed
to have been carried out in prehistory by using suitable tools
in the most efficient manner, rather than mechanical experiments
where certain conditions are controlled and which become investigations
into fracture mechanics.
3: Taphonomic studies
Taphonomic studies have been carried out by creating sites.
Stone tool replicas and debitage are buried along with bone fragments
to simulate a site. The position of each lithic and bone fragment
is carefully recorded. These simulated sites are often created
so that they are trampled on and undergo various post depositional
effects. One example was a square metre which was created to simulate
a portion of the site of Klithi in northern Greece. The simulated
site was positioned along the path leading to the site so that
it was regularly walked upon by diggers going to and from the
site. It was also 'trampled' by the regular passing of goat herds
along the valley.
After a period of time the simulated site was excavated and the
position of the artifacts recorded. Comparisons can then be made
between the original position of the artifacts and where they
may have moved to giving information about taphonomic changes
that may take place on a site.
also see Barton, R. and Bergman, C. 1982.
Other taphonomic studies have involve placing stone tools in rivers
to investigate how they might be transported by fluvial action.
A note of caution on such experiments. A number of used flakes
that were place in a small stream in order to investigate post
depositional effects on flint surfaces in connection with use-wear
studies. disappeared after only a few months. Either having been
washed away or buried in the silt of the stream bed. To alleviate
this problem some experimenters have painted the lithics a bight
colour in order to facilitate the recover of the lithics. of course
this not feasible with experiments concerned with use-wear analysis
where the intent is to carry out microscopic analysis on the recovered
lithics.
Experiments involving the burial of flints have been carried out
to investigate the potential survival of organic residues on stone
tools.
In the paper by Cattaneo et al 1993,
experiments were carried out by putting blood on lithics and burying
them. Of 10 scrapers and 10 flakes only 1 scraper tested positive
for albumin content after a year and some tested negative after
burial for only one month. The investigators suggest that very
specific conditions are required for residues to survive on stone
tools,"... a combination of behavioural and taphonomic factors
will be necessary for preservation. We suggest that amongst these
may be: intensive blood letting, meat-cutting or bone/skin scraping
at the use-sites; artifacts with numerous flake scars to catch
and preserve fragmentary residues; good preservation of residues
before the tool was lost or discarded, for instance under handle,
in leather bags, or within bone where the knife or arrowhead has
jammed; a suitable soil matrix; and reasonable protection from
the elements." (Cattaneo et al 1993,
41).
Further experiments have been carried out with even less optimistic
results. The authors concluded that, "...it is apparent that
immunologically meaningful residues did not survive on stone tools
tested from archaeological sites or from simulated archaeological
contexts. Even under conditions of unusual dryness blood showed
degradation in less than a year." (Eisele
et al 1995,44). Following their conclusions they state that,
"The claims of Loy and co-workers (Loy
et al. 1990, Loy and Hardy 1992)
to have detected human immunoglobin in 20,000-year-old and 90,000-year-old
samples by use of gold conjugated Protein A are extremely unlikely
in view of the fact that Cattaneo et al
1993 and the present study have found immune-globulin does
not survive even a few months." (Eisele
et al 1995,45).
see online publication
:- Hiscock P, 1985. The need for a taphonomic perspective in stone
artefact analysis.
Barton, R. and Bergman, C. 1982.
Hunters at Hengisbury; some evidence from experimental archaeology.
World Archaeology 14(2);237-48.
Cattaneo, C., Gelsthorpe, K., Phillips,
P., and Hedges, R., 1993, Blood residues on stone tools: indoor
and outdoor experiments, World Archaeology, 25, 1, 29-43.
Eisele, J.A., Fowler, D.D., Haynes,
G., and Lewis, R.A, 1995, Survival and detection of blood residues
on stone tools, Antiquity, 69, 36-46.
Loy, T.H., and Hardy, B.L., 1992, Blood
residue analysis of 90,000-year-old stone tools from Tabun Cave,
Israel, Antiquity, 66, 24-35.
Loy, T.H., Rhys Jones, D.E., Nelson,
B.M., Vogel, J., Southon, J., and Cosgrove, R. 1990, Accelerator
radiocarbon dating of human blood proteins in pigments from Late
Pleistocene art sites in Australia, Antiquity, 64, 24-35.