Lithic Residue Analysis in 2018: Prospects and Challenges

Summary

Lithic residue analyses have produced exciting results in recent years: microscopic bits of plant and animal tissue adhering to stone tools tens of thousands of years old; the remains of hafting materials such as bitumen and birch-bark pitch; and fiber technology from the Paleolithic, to mention but a few. Yet, for many archaeologists these results seem ‘too good to be true’. How can biological materials be preserved for thousands of years in temperate environments? How can they appear, under the microscope, almost intact after all of this time? And, how can we be sure that residues are ancient, and not modern contaminants? These questions are at the heart of recent research in the field of lithic residue analysis. In addition to blind tests and anti-contamination protocols, important advances have been made in the development of new analytical techniques designed to improve the characterization of residues. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) provides high-resolution images with chemical compositional information. Fourier Transform Infrared Microspectroscopy (µFTIR) is such a sensitive technique that it can document degraded proteins. This paper will discuss the role that the development of such techniques will play in helping tackle the problems of identification, contamination, and preservation mentioned above.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20601