Use Wear Analysis on Bone and Antler Tools of the Mackenzie Inuit

Description

This monograph describes a three-part research project carried out between 1985 and 1991. The first stage was to develop criteria for identifying microscopic traces of manufacture and use on bone and antler tools through replicative experiments, using tools from late prehistoric Inuvialuit sites in the Mackenzie Delta (Northwest Territories, Canada) as models. The second stage of the project involved applying the results of the experimental programme to a sample of archaeological tools from the Mackenzie Delta. The third stage used the information derived from the analysis to reconstruct the design system for the manufacture and use of bone and antler tools among prehistoric Inuvialuit craftspeople. At Gupuk in particular, rates of identification for wear patterns were comparable to those achieved in lithic use wear analyses. The general trends observed suggest that all the sites are part of a single design system, indicating intensive interaction between Mackenzie Inuit groups.