| Author |
Message |
    
Sidescraper_gal
hunter
Username: Sidescraper_gal
Post Number: 372
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 4:44 am: |     |
All:
I think you might all be interested in this item I just saw today on the "Beeb".
The url:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5098748. stm
There is a nice picture, too.
Anne G |
Annie
storyteller
Username: Annie
Post Number: 1815
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 7:15 am: | |
Thanks, Anne. 
That handaxe looks shiny - is this the fire-treated tool look Auel describes, or is it just highly polished as a finishing touch or by use?
Chess is the purest form of debate, unadulterated by a topic. |
Sidescraper_gal
hunter
Username: Sidescraper_gal
Post Number: 373
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 12:23 am: | |
Annie:
To be quite honest, I didn't pay a whole lot of attention as to whether it was shiny or not. I was pretty impressed by its length, though. I thought it probably was used as some kind of digging tool. Maybe to get at roots of some kind?
Anne G |
Cavebear
cave painter
Username: Cavebear
Post Number: 2681
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 1:17 am: | |
From what I've read, "polished" is usually from usage, and the type and degree of polishing is usually from the kind of usage. Much can be inferred from comparing older (original) tools to the way that modern ones are used in deliberate tests of varying usage. Microscopic analysis of newly made tools can suggest a lot about whether such older tools were used for digging roots, cutting small plants, of hacking at trees, for example. And I'm sure much more detailed conclusions can be made that I am not aware of.
Machiavelli was pretty devious. For a guy... |
Scott
flint knapper
Username: Scott
Post Number: 1385
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 4:03 am: | |
I think it is a quality of the stone Annie. Also, the sand that it was found in would have helped to polish it possibly. Cavebear is right, 'wear' polishes the cutting surface but not the whole tool. Indeed, often a patina will built up on a tool making it quite opaque. flint/chert often has quite a sheen.
I was very impressed with the size and the dating. Size matters!
I think it was used for digging something too Anne.
Thanks for the link Anne G. I missed that little gem!
Scott
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Ces gens, Jondalar, ils sourient. Ils me sourient. - Ayla |
Sidescraper_gal
hunter
Username: Sidescraper_gal
Post Number: 375
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 10:16 pm: | |
Scott:
I could be wrong about this, but I also think patina or "shine" sometimes comes from just plain usage. But of course, as you pointed out, it can also come from the "polishing" of sand or other material. And I'm always looking for material I can send to this list as well as others. Comes from my running a paleoanthropology e-list, I guess.
Anne G |
Cavebear
cave painter
Username: Cavebear
Post Number: 2689
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, June 24, 2006 - 3:50 am: | |
SSG - When you emphasize "usage", are you referring to just the cutting surface, human handling of tools along the gripping surface, or do you mean the action of sediment on the buried items? Or something else? Or all?
I just need a little clarification...
Machiavelli was pretty devious. For a guy... |
Sidescraper_gal
hunter
Username: Sidescraper_gal
Post Number: 378
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, June 25, 2006 - 9:17 pm: | |
Cavebear:
I was thinking of usage by humans, not "natural" usage.
Anne G |
Cavebear
cave painter
Username: Cavebear
Post Number: 2706
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Monday, June 26, 2006 - 7:44 pm: | |
SSG, makes sense to me. But sometimes terms mean something other than what standard (non-professional) usage means (no pun) and I wanted to make sure.
Machiavelli was pretty devious. For a guy... |
Sidescraper_gal
hunter
Username: Sidescraper_gal
Post Number: 379
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Monday, June 26, 2006 - 8:46 pm: | |
Cavebear and all:
Just to letcha all know, if a term is used differently by "professionals" than it is by lowly types like you and me, I will define the "professional" use as best I can. I guess in this case I should have said "human" usage, just to make myself clear, but I didn't think about this at the time.
Anne G |
Cavebear
cave painter
Username: Cavebear
Post Number: 2716
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 28, 2006 - 11:31 pm: | |
Human usage it is, then. Thanks for the clarification.
Machiavelli was pretty devious. For a guy... |
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