Use-Wear Experiments with Obsidian

Abstract

Although archaeologists often study use-wear patterns to interpret the function of stone tools, scientists have conducted little research that compares the wear patterns and functionality between two different types of obsidian. In this study, I use data from an experiment designed to examine how functionality and use-wear patterns vary on tools made from two types of obsidian. In some instances, the obsidians differed in effectiveness when processing the same material. In addition, the wear patterns observed on the experimental sets of tools differed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results of this research suggest that variation in the physicochemical characteristics of the obsidian may have influenced people when selecting a lithic material for tool production, and without controlling for lithic provenance in use-wear studies, the function of the tool may be misinterpreted.