Surface analysis of stone and bone tools

WJ Stemp, AS Watson, AA Evans - … Topography: Metrology and …, 2015 - iopscience.iop.org
Microwear (use-wear) analysis is a powerful method for identifying tool use that
archaeologists and anthropologists employ to determine the activities undertaken by both …

Scanning electron and optical light microscopy: two complementary approaches for the understanding and interpretation of usewear and residues on stone tools

A Borel, A Ollé, JM Vergés, R Sala - Journal of Archaeological Science, 2014 - Elsevier
Usewear analysis is now well established as a powerful means by which to identify the
function of stone tools excavated from archaeological sites. However, one of the main issues …

Testing imaging confocal microscopy, laser scanning confocal microscopy, and focus variation microscopy for microscale measurement of edge cross-sections and …

WJ Stemp, DA Macdonald, MA Gleason - Journal of Archaeological …, 2019 - Elsevier
The application of micro-and nanotechnology, adopted from engineering and materials
sciences, is proving valuable in studying stone tool surfaces. Measurement systems for …

Quantifying microwear on experimental Mistassini quartzite scrapers: preliminary results of exploratory research using LSCM and scale‐sensitive fractal analysis

WJ Stemp, HJ Lerner, EH Kristant - Scanning: The Journal of …, 2013 - Wiley Online Library
Although previous use‐wear studies involving quartz and quartzite have been undertaken
by archaeologists, these are comparatively few in number. Moreover, there has been …

Quantifying lithic microwear with load variation on experimental basalt flakes using LSCM and area-scale fractal complexity (Asfc)

WJ Stemp, M Morozov, AJM Key - … Topography: Metrology and …, 2015 - iopscience.iop.org
Working load is one factor that affects wear on stone tools. Despite the recognition of the
importance of the relationship between working load and the development of microwear on …

Testing area‐scale fractal complexity (A sfc) and laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) to document and discriminate microwear on experimental quartzite …

WJ Stemp, HJ Lerner, EH Kristant - Archaeometry, 2018 - Wiley Online Library
Few microwear studies have been conducted on tools made from quartzite. Most rely on
visual observation of microwear features using optical light microscopes and scanning …

Is loading a significantly influential factor in the development of lithic microwear? An experimental test using LSCM on basalt from Olduvai Gorge

AJM Key, WJ Stemp, M Morozov, T Proffitt… - … Method and Theory, 2015 - Springer
Lithic microwear develops as a result of abrasive friction between a stone tool's working
edge and the surface of a worked material. Variation in the loading (ie force) applied to a …

Experiments in ancient Maya bloodletting: quantification of surface wear on obsidian blades

WJ Stemp, MD Andruskiewicz, MA Gleason… - Archaeological and …, 2015 - Springer
It is widely accepted that the ancient Maya practiced sacrificial bloodletting to communicate
with their dead ancestors and the gods. Implements to draw blood included a variety of tools …

Quantification of microwear on experimental shell tools: First results using focus variation microscopy, surface roughness, and multiscale geometric analyses

DA Macdonald, NL Martisius, WJ Stemp… - Journal of …, 2025 - Elsevier
Archaeologists have increasingly adopted approaches from engineering and materials
sciences to quantify the surfaces of artifacts and ecofacts. Different microscope systems and …

Intra-raw material variability and use-wear formation: an experimental examination of a Fossiliferous chert (SJF) and a Silicified Wood (YSW) from NW New Mexico …

HJ Lerner - Journal of archaeological science, 2014 - Elsevier
This study is part of an ongoing research initiative designed to further standardize the
collection and evaluation of use-wear data through the use of a combination of digital image …