Toward standardization of lithic use-wear identification in conjunction with technological organization and raw material variability

Summary

The paper examines theoretical problems concerning characteristics of lithic micro-wear traces in the Paleolithic. Use-wear studies already experienced 40 years of research since the discovery of micro-polish varieties which reflect worked materials with wide applications to site structure analysis. However, global standardization of identification criteria still needs comparative efforts, especially on raw material variability and behavioral diversity among regional settlement and subsistence systems, hence experimental replication programs. The present research investigates comparative framework of use-wear classification and interpretation for both "low-power" (microflaking) and "high-power" (micro-polish) methods, with special reference to the "technological organization" concept by Binford. Use-wear data is evaluated in terms of complex human mobility patterns over the landscape and technological dichotomy between "curated" and "expedient" components with raw material availability and distributions. Case studies are selected from the Upper Paleolithic of Northeastern Japan. The Mogami River project in Yamagata Prefecture by Tohoku University (1984 to 2016) including the Kamino A site, the Marumori 1 site, the Takakurayama site, the Hakusan E site, and the Hakusan B site, provides concrete data bases for discussion. Experimental framework by the Tohoku University team since 1976 is utilized for wear pattern standardization.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15777