Abstract
White light confocal microscopy creates detailed 3D representations of microsurfaces that can be qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed. The study describes its application to the analysis of cut marks on bone, particularly when discerning cuts made by steel tools from those made by stone. The process described comes from a study where cuts were manually made on a cow rib with seven cutting tools, four stone (an unmodified chert flake, a chert biface, a bifacially ground slate fragment, and an unsharpened piece of slate), and three steel (a Swiss Army Knife, a serrate steak knife, and a serrate saw). Kerfs were magnified ×20 and 3D data clouds were generated using a Sensofar® White Light Confocal Profiler (WLCP). Kerf profiles and surface areas, volumes, mean depths, and maximum depths were calculated with proprietary software (SensoScan® and SolarMap®). For the most part, the stone tools make shallower and wider cuts. Kerf floors can be studied at higher magnifications; they were viewed at ×100. When comparing the kerf floors of the unsharpened slate and the serrate steak knife it was found that the slate floor was more uneven, but the serrate steak knife generated more overall relief. Although preliminary, the approach described here successfully distinguishes stone and steel tools; the authors conclude that the WLCP is a promising technology for cut mark analysis because of the very detailed 3D representations it creates and the numerous avenues of analysis it provides.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Blumenschine RJ, Marean CW, Capaldo SD (1996) Blind tests on inter-analyst correspondence and accuracy in the identification of cut marks, percussion marks, and carnivore tooth marks on bone surfaces. J Archaeol Sci 23:493–507
Lewis JE (2008) Identifying sword marks on bone: criteria for distinguishing between cut marks made by different classes of bladed weapons. J Archaeol Sci 35:2001–2008
D’Errico F, Backwell F (2009) Assessing the function of early hominin bone tools. J Archaeol Sci 36:1764–1773
Greenfield HJ (1999) The origins of metallurgy: distinguishing stone from metal cut-marks on bones from archaeological sites. J Archaeol Sci 26:797–808
Potts R, Shipman P (1981) Cut marks made by stone tools on bones from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Nature 291:577–580
Sansoni G, Cattaneo C, Trebeschi M, Gibelli D, Porta D, Picozzi M (2009) Feasibility of contactless 3D optical measurement for the analysis of bone and soft tissue lesions: new technologies and perspectives in forensic sciences. J Forensic Sci 54:540–545
Seetah K (2008) Modern analogy, cultural theory and experimental replication: a merging point at the cutting edge of archaeology. World Archaeol 40:135–150
Shipman P, Rose JJ (1983) Evidence of butchery and hominid activities at Torralba and Ambrona: an evaluation using microscopic techniques. J Archaeol Sci 10:465–474
Shipman P, Rose JJ (1988) Surface modification on bone: trampling versus butchery. J Archaeol Sci 15:535–553
Symes SA, Williams JA, Murray EA, Michael Hoffman J, Holland TD, Saul JM, Saul FP, Pope EJ (2002) Taphonomic context of sharp-force trauma in suspected cases of human mutilation and dismemberment. In: Haglund WD, Song MH (eds) Advances in forensic taphonomy: method, theory and archaeological persp ectives. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL, pp 403–433
Thali MJ, Taubenreuther U, Karolczak M, Braun M, Brueschweiler W, Kalender WA, Dirnhofer R (2003) Forensic microradiology: micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT) and analysis of patterned injuries inside of bone. J Forensic Sci 48:1336–1342
Walker PL, Long JC (1977) An experimental study of the morphological characteristics of tool marks. Am Antiq 42:605–616
White TD (1992) Prehistoric cannibalism at Mancos 5MTUMR-2346. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Molly Hill Schmidt for editorial comments and to Lynne Bell for her patience and support for this chapter. Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation (to CWS), BCS-0922930.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Schmidt, C.W., Moore, C.R., Leifheit, R. (2012). A Preliminary Assessment of Using a White Light Confocal Imaging Profiler for Cut Mark Analysis. In: Bell, L. (eds) Forensic Microscopy for Skeletal Tissues. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 915. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-977-8_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-977-8_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ
Print ISBN: 978-1-61779-976-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-61779-977-8
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols