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Use-Wear Analysis/Evidence
Method evidence record

Use-Wear Analysis

Use-wear analysis (also called microwear or tool-use analysis) is a method that infers the function of stone tools from microscopic wear patterns on their cutting edges and surfaces. Pioneered by Lawrence Keeley in the 1970s-1980s, this technique examines damage patterns, polishes, and edge rounding produced as tools contact different materials during use. By analyzing these wear patterns, archaeologists can determine whether a tool was used to cut plant material, meat, bone, hide, or wood—revealing detailed information about task specialization and subsistence practices in prehistoric societies.

Sources recorded, not reviewed

Source record

Citations copied verbatim from the method’s source record. No claim-level verification is inferred from them.

Use-Wear Analysis (Microwear of Stone Tools)
Taxonomic method record · process-pipeline / archaeology
  • Keeley, L. H. (1980). Experimental Determination of Stone Tool Uses. University of Chicago Press. · URL
  • Grace, R. (1997). The chronology of microwear polish formation. Journal of Archaeological Science, 24(11), 983-998. · URL
  • Williamson, B. S. (2003). Lithic microwear analysis. Journal of World Prehistory, 17(3), 277-330. · URL
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Curated claims

Claims persisted in the evidence ledger, each with its own assessment.

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Related methods

Generated from the method graph and shown as machine-suggested relations — no evidence claim is inferred.

Same method familyCeramic Petrographymachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.Same method familyDental Microwear Texture Analysismachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.Same method familyGeometric Morphometricsmachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.Same method familyInstrumental Neutron Activation Analysismachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.

Evidence status

Sources recorded, not reviewed

Bibliographic sources are present. Claim-level evidence review has not been performed.

Sources

3 recorded citations, copied from the method source record.

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