TAKEN TO TASK AT STAR CARR: INTEGRATING SCIENTIFIC APPROACHES TO ARTEFACTS AND THEIR ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXTS

Summary

New research on micowear and micro-residue traces on flint and organic artefacts from Star Carr is currently underway. Extensive 3D recording of thousands of artefacts spanning several excavation seasons using GIS has provided an excellent high-resolution spatial record. As well as low/high power approaches to microwear analysis, microresidues are being analysed using the contextual approach. Flint tools displaying residues of particular interest are being flagged for more detailed imaging by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and BIOchemical characterisation. Results from these analyses are being integrated with technology and refitting studies, experimental archaeological research, geochemical survey, and a study of the micromorphology of the sediments. Integrating these datasets is enabling discrete episodes of human activity at Star Carr to be distinguished. Concentrations of tools in association with features, including structures, are revealing microscopic evidence for subsistence and craft-related activities. Some tasks were conducted in the wet, others were conducted on dry land. This presentation will outline the methods applied, before offering an interpretation of the social significance of these findings.

SAA 2015 abstracts made available in tDAR courtesy of the Society for American Archaeology and Center for Digital Antiquity Collaborative Program to improve digital data in archaeology. If you are the author of this presentation you may upload your paper, poster, presentation, or associated data (up to 3 files/30MB) for free. Please visit http://www.tdar.org/SAA2015 for instructions and more information.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Innovative Interpretive Approaches in Microwear and Residue Analyses

Keywords

Spatial Coverage