Justin Bradfield
Bone Tool Use-Wear Analysis
Nationality:
South African
Qualifications
D.Litt et Phil - University of Johannesburg
M.Sc. - University of Witwatersrand
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Affiliations
Associate Professor at the Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg
Vice Chairperson of the South African Archaeological Society (ArcSoc)
1. Describe your specialisation and what a typical "day in the field/lab" looks like for you?
I specialise in the traceological analysis of bone tools. This includes looking for evidence of how the tools were made, on what materials, and for what purposes they were used. Unfortunately, a typical day entails hours of email correspondence, administrative work for faculty, and providing feedback on students' work. But on the rare occasion that I am able to spend a day doing my own research I would be in the lab behind a microscope, looking at various bone tools. Use-wear analysis is quite a time intensive process, taking up to an hour to look at a single artefact, depending on its complexity. I have to analyse the whole surface of a piece, typically under 100x magnification and then compare what I see against extensive reference collections and published literature to try to figure out what that tool may have been used for in the past.
2. What technical, analytical, or digital skills are important for this field?
Traceology relies heavily on microscopy. There is a wide range of microscopes that are used and the ability to operate these and their accompanying analytical software is crucial. Pattern recognition is another essential skill required for this type of work, as is the ability to conceive and design appropriate experimental projects to test various hypotheses engendered by microwear observations.​​
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Figure 1: Doing use-wear analysis behind a microscope
​3. What qualifications, internships, or specialised training helped you break into this field?
My master’s degree focused on macro-fracture analysis and while I was busy with that, I noticed polishes on some of the bones that I was looking at. I then read up on microwear analysis and became interested in that aspect so decided to focus on that as part of my PhD. I had no specialised training, just hours and hours of doing experiments and looking at the resultant wear that developed. Comparing my observations with those of others who had published their results further helped train me in use-wear identification.
4. How does your work change or enhance our understanding of the past in a way that 'general archaeology' might miss?
A close analysis of artefacts can reveal things previously unknown and even unthought of. Use-wear analysis has revealed evidence of technologies for which no other evidence preserves and the existence of which we were previously unaware. Particularly technologies involving perishable materials, of which no direct evidence survives. Things like musical instruments, pestles, tattooing, and even basket making are examples of technologies that have been revealed through use-wear studies.
Figure 2: An example of what a polished bone surface looks like. This example shows polished caused by perforating skin
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​5. What are some unique challenges and rewards of this field?
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The challenge with use-wear studies is trying to figure out what you are looking at. Often it feels a bit like divining tea leaves. The polished surfaces on archaeological artefacts almost never look exactly like our experimental referents because so much has happened to them over the intervening years. However, when you do see something recognisable or are able to figure out what caused a particular mark on a tool's surface, and can consequently say something about it, that is immensely rewarding.
6. What is one resource or habit a student should adopt if they want to step into this field?
Curiosity is the primary requirement for any archaeologist, followed by a desire to tell a story. The intriguing thing, for me, about archaeology is that we are able to tell stories from scratch. We are often the first people to behold an object that was last seen thousands of years ago, and from that object we are able to learn something about the past, whether it be what people did, what they ate or how they lived.