ANDEAN PAST - Latin American Studies Program - Cornell University

15..Dillehay & Rossen: Nanchoc Uthic TraditionTable 4 (continued): Summary of the microscopic use..wear analysisSiteNo. t UthicNo. Materialc,pe Tool Obsenxuionsc,peCA09-52- 16 tuffCA09-52- 26 quartz crystal - Slight grain loss; no use evident.Rounded tip on faceted quarts crystal: long deep rounded scalarCA09-52- 80 basalt 13fractures; hard boring.Slight grain loss;non-descript polish: burned and unburned plant,CA09-52- 249 diorite 13fibers;slicingsoft plants.Long, shallow, scalar and step fractures: semi-bright, flattened,CA09-52- 250 basalt 14nondescript polish; black residue: very soft material.Abrasion tracks within flattened, pitted polish: slicing/cuttingCA09-52- 322 sUex-coffee 14hard-med material; non-plant.Deep scalar fractures; dull, pitted polish with irregular bright spots;CA09-52- 334 tuff 26soft-to-medium; hide scraper.Step fractures; heavy, bright, domed, smooth, homogeneous,CA09-52- 395 basalt 16unpitted polish on dorsal side; plant fibers; slicingsoft plants.2 use-edges; 1: long scalar and step fractures: nondescript polish;soft material: plants? 2: long, narrow, square-comer, scalar fractures;semi-bright, pitted, even polish: cutting fresh, greasymeat.CA09-52- 420 tuff 15 Edge rounded, nicked; sporadic grain loss; nondescript polish;indeterminate..CA09-S2- 426 tuff 14 Scraped, crushed, flattened high spots; trampled; no use evident.CA09-52- 439 basalt 15 Few half-moon and step fractures; indeterminate.CA09-S2- 555 silex-black 15 2 use-edges; 1: sporadic grain loss: semi-bright. clean polish;slicingsoft plants; 2: deep scalar fractures; some polish: heavy sawing:softCA09-52- 608 quartzite . 14plants. .Sharp, jagged edges; edge crushing; too much reflection offedge toread;indeterminate.CA09-S2- 727 tuff 12 Elongated scalar fractures: longitudinal striae sub-parallel to edge:CA09-52- 748 tuff 14semi-bright, pitted, even polish: slicingmedium-to-hard material.Unable to read due to bright water sheen and heavy oxidation;indeterminate.CA09-52- 1075 basalt 9 2 use-edges: 1: bright, flattened, homogeneous polish: hide/meat;2: shon striae: even polish: hafting.In considering Table 4, it is important toremember that it merely depicts a partial sum..mary of fractures, polish, residue, etc. observedon each specimen edge. As such, the table isuseful to illustrate (1) the variety of use..wearattribute combinations present in the collection,and (2) the complexity of determining or leav..ing undetermined estimated material use andaction. According to Dillehayand others suchas Vaughn (1985), there are no shortcuts in thistype of time..consuminganalysisand it is hopedthat Table 4 adequately illustrates this point.Figures4 to 9 depict examplesof edge damage,polish, and residues, photographed at relativelylow magnifications of 30 to 4Ox.These photosare only meant to illustrate a few cases of theattributes that were microscopicallyexamined,because diagnosis of polish and edge damageoften involve their examination under muchhigher magnifications (from 400Xto 2000X).For the purposesof this discussion,the summaryattributes of estimated material use and actionwill be discussed in conjunction with tool type,raw material type, and residues.The small sample represents only 3.2% of alltools and utilized flakes from the three eXCava..tion sites. Specimens for analysiswere selectedunsystematicallyduring the process of typologicalanalysis. An effort was made to proportion..ally represent the three sites and most of theformal tool types in the sample. Because thehighest frequency of formal edge..trimmedtoolswasrecovered from site CA09..27,45.1% of theexamined specimen edges were from that site.Similarly, fewer edges (20.9%) were examinedfrom site CA09..52because that site wasdomi..nated by Type 14unmodified utilizedflakes. In