Microwear analysis is well established in archaeological scientific research and has been applied to a range of prehistoric stone artefacts. In comparison, chemical and molecular analyses of ground stone tools are far less established, with doubts regarding the preservation of organic molecules. This project will focus on ground stone artefacts, which offer the best potential for residue preservation due to their porosity. During prehistory, ground stone tools probably fulfilled a wide range of functions, for example, processing organic (bone, seeds, plant fibres, wood) and inorganic materials (minerals, pigments) but overall little is known despite their ubiquity on later prehistoric sites, particularly during the Neolithic.
PhD starting October 2021 and recruiting now.
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