Digitizing the Past: Studying Ancient Ground Stone Toolkits Using Modern Technology

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Digitizing the Past: Studying Ancient Ground Stone Toolkits Using Modern Technology" at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Ground stone tools (GST) provide unique insight into cultural behaviors, activities, and changes in technological traditions through time. GST research has the added potential to highlight behaviors spanning from individual manufacturers to regional insights into tool use. Our research highlights the importance of GST in everyday toolkits of the earliest North Americans from the Hell Gap National Historical Landmark, Guernsey, Wyoming, through the use of close-range photogrammetry (CRP), 3D modeling, and microscopy techniques. Utilizing these methods, our research results in the development of digital archaeological data that can be shared with others and contribute to long-term conservation and preservation in the archaeological record.This digital archaeological data can be used in the future to facilitate the interpretation and reconstruction of past lifeways and human interactions with stone tools.

Other Keywords
Material Culture and Technology • Digital Archaeology: 3D Modeling • Digital Archaeology: Photogrammetry • North America: Great Plains

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-9 of 9)

  • Documents (9)
Documents
  • Abraders, Palettes, and the Unknown: Assessing Tool Use through Low-power Microscopy and 3D Modeling (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Elizabeth Lynch.

    This is an abstract from the "Digitizing the Past: Studying Ancient Ground Stone Toolkits Using Modern Technology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Nine ground stone tool (GST) artifacts were recovered during the 1960s and 1990s excavations at the Hell Gap National Historic Landmark. They were found in units dating to ~10,800 - 10,000 years ago. These GST artifacts are on loan to Eastern New Mexico University digital archaeology lab from the...

  • Analyzing Ancient Ground Stone Tool with a Modern Toolkit: A Summer Lab Project (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Kelly Cresci-Fulmer.

    This is an abstract from the "Digitizing the Past: Studying Ancient Ground Stone Toolkits Using Modern Technology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The discovery and archaeological excavation of the Hell Gap National Historic Landmark, north of Guernsey, Wyoming provided archaeologists with a breadth of knowledge of North American cultures, ranging from Folsom to Archaic. One set of artifacts recovered from the site is an ancient ground stone tool...

  • Digital Archaeology: The Hell Gap National Historic Landmark and The Ergonomic Use of Manos (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Yubitzy Truong.

    This is an abstract from the "Digitizing the Past: Studying Ancient Ground Stone Toolkits Using Modern Technology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This study discusses the ergonomic use of ground stone tools, specifically manos. A mano is a handheld tool used for processing foods and other materials. Through analysis of wear patterns, size and shape of artifact HG UWI 2158, this and other similar artifacts can reveal why they were chosen for...

  • Does it measure up? An Experimental Study of Hell Gap Ground Stone (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Scott Jones.

    This is an abstract from the "Digitizing the Past: Studying Ancient Ground Stone Toolkits Using Modern Technology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Hell Gap National Historic Landmark (NHL) has yielded many ground stone artifacts that have yet to be analyzed. Ground stone artifacts can expand our understanding of Folsom lithic technologies. Ground stone tool collections are cumbersome and difficult to access. Many researchers are solving this...

  • Grooves of the Past: Photogrammetric Study and Digital Analysis of a Folsom Period Stone Tool (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Tara Larson.

    This is an abstract from the "Digitizing the Past: Studying Ancient Ground Stone Toolkits Using Modern Technology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Ground stone tools (GST) were an integral component of early North American toolkits, however there are few archaeological studies that analyze GST. The Hell Gap National Historic Landmark has yielded GST in context with stone tool reduction, ochre, and other campsite activities. Our research focuses on...

  • Maco-Micro Use-wear on Hell Gap Ground Stone Tools by Characterizing Wear-traces (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only JoAnna Schultz.

    This is an abstract from the "Digitizing the Past: Studying Ancient Ground Stone Toolkits Using Modern Technology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. 3D modeling within ground stone tools creates a closer look into specifics of how they were utilized. This model specifically is intended to better recognize utilizations of ground stone as well as multi-purpose usage of these toolkits. The project focus is the enhance description of this artifacts...

  • The Role of Groundstone Artifacts in Ancient North American Cultural Adaptation: Insights from the Hell Gap Site (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Jaimie Adams.

    This is an abstract from the "Digitizing the Past: Studying Ancient Ground Stone Toolkits Using Modern Technology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Hell Gap site, primarily known for its extensive chipped stone tool assemblages, also produces a significant yet understudied collection of ground stone artifacts. This analysis focuses on the technological attributes, material selection, and use-wear patterns of a Hell Gap ground stone artifact,...

  • Successes and Setbacks in 3D Modeling: Developing lab protocols for Modeling Ground Stone Artifacts (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Collin Charette.

    This is an abstract from the "Digitizing the Past: Studying Ancient Ground Stone Toolkits Using Modern Technology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Ground stone artifacts are generally an ignored part of university and archaeological collections. The Hell Gap National Historic Landmark collections include ground stone from the Folsom and Agate Basin levels (~10,800 – 10,600 YA). These artifacts have yet to be fully analyzed. My research will show...

  • Wear and Tear: Preliminary Use-Wear Analysis of a Hematite Core from Hell Gap National Historic Landmark. (2025)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Caitlyn Streseman.

    This is an abstract from the "Digitizing the Past: Studying Ancient Ground Stone Toolkits Using Modern Technology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Hematite, often referred to as ochre, is a common occurrence at early American sites in the Plains and Rocky Mountain regions of North America. The mineral appears in the archaeological record as multifunctional, possibly used for ritualistic and domestic activities. This research examines a hematite...