LA VIE SOCIALE DE L'ART MOBILIER PALÉOLITHIQUE. MANIPULATION, TRANSPORT, SUSPENSION DES OBJETS ON OS, BOIS DE CERVIDÉS, IVOIRE

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Abstract
Summary: It has been suggested that some Palaeolithic objects show traces of long‐term handling, suspension or transport. However, no criteria have been established for identifying such traces and differentiating them from other traces of natural or human origin. Handling, suspension, polishing with skin and transport of bone, antler and ivory objects have been reproduced experimentally and observed by optical microscopy and SEM. the width of striations seems to be the only criterion for differentiating handling, suspension and polishing. the transport of a single bone object in a leather bag produces striations of different dimensions to those produced by handling. the differentiation between traces of transport and those due to polishing with skin are more problematic. the transport of several bone objects in the same bag results in traces that differ according to the morphology and the hardness of the objects accompanying them. In particular, the pits generated by knocking against each other enable one to identify the nature of the other objects. Finally, analyses of bone objects known to have been subjected to long‐term handling and archaeological objects dating from the Solutrean and Magdalenian cultures were compared with the experimental results.