ABSTRACT
Although there is an endless diversity of tools and their marks, there are only three primary ways toolmarks are formed by tools: (1) impressing (leaving a mark or imprint on a softer surface by applying pressure), (2) puncturing (piercing an object, leaving a hole or the outlined trace of a hole or opening), and (3) scratching (marring the surface of an object by rubbing or sliding an instrument laterally or up and down in an even or erratic manner upon an object’s surface). In real life, toolmarks are typically formed by a combination of any two or all three of these processes.
