Ground stones: a synthesis of the use-wear approach

The use-wear approach is crucial to an understanding of the life-history of ground stone tools. This chapter outlines the current methodological framework for use-wear analysis, with an emphasis on the importance of multiple scales of magnification, beginning with the un-aided eye. Tribological theory offers a framework for understanding the development of wear patterns, and highlights the importance of a careful description of the raw material as a baseline for understanding the changes produced by subsequent use episodes. Use-wear analysis relies on an analytical framework created through the experimental reconstruction of a variety of processing tasks using replica ground stone tools. Actualistic experiments of this nature are presented in a growing body of literature, a summary of which is provided here. The experimental approach has made it clear that use-wear characteristics vary according to the materials and mechanics involved in a processing task. This has allowed for the creation of an analytical framework for low magnification studies. At high magnification, a growing number of studies has allowed for a better understanding of micropolish formation and variability on ground stone. It is underlined that use-wear characteristics other than micropolish can also been observed at this scale as well.