| Debate over hominid agency in producing cut marks on faunal remains found at Pliocene-Pleistocene archaeological sites led to much research, especially in the 1980s, on both cut marks and cut mark mimicry. However, few attempts were made to discover the stone types used in producing those cut marks. Hence, in this thesis, stone flakes of eight different lithologies (quartz, quartzite, volcanic porphyry, obsidian, basalt, jade, slate, and chert) were used to inflict cut marks on fresh bone, ten archaeofaunal remains with cut marks were replicated, and all were examined with the use of scanning electron microscopy and image analysis. Results show that distinctive morphological traits are left by different lithic types, and that a best possible fit to those types can be made; volcanic porphyry accounting for four ancient cut marks, basalt for one, and chert for one. |
