A microwear and experimental analysis on obsidian tools processing bones

This article mainly combines the methods of experimental archeology with microwear analysis to study the stone tool traces made of obsidian used for bone processing. Animal bones are important materials that ancient humans often came into contact with their survival (Tongli et al., 2008). Whether they intentionally used stone tools to process various types of bone and antler tools, or passive processing marks were produced when dismembering bones and flesh, there is a large amount of evidence of human behavior left on the stone tools. Therefore, this article aims to explore the utilization of bones by ancient humans, using obsidian stone tools as an entry point, through replication experiments to make flakes and various tools, using these stone tools to cut, scrape, and drill specific types of animal bones. Scientific microwear analysis methods were used to observe and analyze tools under different processing methods. By observing and recording the micro-wear and their production patterns under different processing actions, and comparing them with the traces observed in archaeological materials, we can summarize the bone conditions of obsidian tool processing and gain a certain understanding of the tool usage and feeding conditions of ancient humans in the Northeast region of China.