Exploring the Ineffable Aspects of Stone Tools

Summary

Use-wear analysis provides precise functional attributes for materials and provides yet another source of data for archaeologists to use in classifying objects. People who used objects in the past knew them in other ways including what they did, when and how they were used, and by whom. In my presentation I propose that by combining use-wear, technological, and spatial evidence it is possible to approach more closely the complex correspondences that exist between materials and people. Insights gained in doing so raise questions as to the ineffable nature of materials, the archaeological practice of classifying things, and the complex relations that exist between people and things like sickle blades for harvesting plants, drills for making beads, and points for tipping arrows and lances.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Integrating Functional Analysis: Contributions from Use-Wear Analysis within the Broader Context of Human Behavior in Prehistoric North America

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 17021