ABSTRACT
Microscopic analysis of residues on prehistoric stone tools can be used to infer the use and task association of artefacts. Tool use residues, mainly animal in origin, have been identified on a wide variety of tool types drawn from a range of site environments and spanning at least the past 200,000 years (Loy 1983, 1987, 1990a, 1990b, 1992, 1993, Loy & Nelson 1986, Loy & Wood 1989, Loy & Hardy 1992). Using a combination of microscopy and biochemical methods, it is possible to assign species of origin for blood residues, infer tool movement and details of hafting and radiocarbon date proteinaceous residues (Nelson, Loy, Vogel & Southon 1986). In part, the emphasis upon analysis of animal residues reflects the fact that the initial discovery of residues (Loy 1983) was made during work with collections that originated in the boreal forest of northwestern Canada, a region in which mammal hunting predominates over the gathering and processing of plant materials. Nevertheless, in his pioneering study of stone artefacts from a dry cave in the American Southwest, Bruier (1976) was able to identify some of the plant tissue still remaining on tool surfaces using microscopy and biological stains.
