Abstract Bone artefacts have been widely studied because they can be difficult to identify in ancient chronologies. Taphonomical and zooarchaeological studies have demonstrated problems of equifinality of biotic and/or abiotic agents that create pseudo-tools: marrow fracturing of green bone by hominins and carnivores, trampling, etc. In particular, minimally elaborated bone tools are especially subject to the problems of identification of bone artefacts, as the criteria for characterizing their patterns of elaboration are not clearly defined. The aim of this study is to experimentally reconstruct the manufacture and use of minimally elaborated bone artefacts in order to evaluate their potential as tools involved in different activities, and to study the resulting use-wear traces. To achieve this goal, bovid long bones were experimentally broken via direct percussion on an anvil to extract the marrow and obtain blanks. Unmodified fragments were used in different tasks: scraping hide and wood, sawing wood, and cutting flesh. Another set of bone blanks were retouched to shape bone tools, which were then used in the same activities. This latter process was sequentially performed and recorded. Thus, using techniques supported by experimentation and microscopy, this study presents the use-wear analysis on minimally elaborated bone tools. The operative chain of used bones and knapped bone tools and their effects on the formation of different traces is explored. Further technological and taphonomical studies will complete our understanding about these processes, proving new clues for the study of hominin subsistence strategies.

中文翻译：

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用作工具的骨头：不同活动的实验方法

摘要 骨制品已被广泛研究，因为它们在古代年表中难以识别。埋藏学和动物考古学研究已经证明了创造假工具的生物和/或非生物因素的等价性问题：古人类和食肉动物对绿色骨骼的骨髓破裂、践踏等。特别是，最低限度制作的骨骼工具特别容易受到以下问题的影响骨制品的鉴定，因为表征其加工模式的标准没有明确定义。本研究的目的是通过实验重建最低限度制作的骨制品的制造和使用，以评估它们作为参与不同活动的工具的潜力，并研究由此产生的使用磨损痕迹。为了实现这一目标，通过在砧上直接敲击以提取骨髓并获得空白，实验性地折断了牛的长骨。未修改的碎片用于不同的任务：刮皮和木头、锯木头和切肉。另一组骨坯经过修饰以塑造骨工具，然后将其用于相同的活动。后一过程依次执行和记录。因此，本研究使用由实验和显微镜支持的技术，对制作最少的骨骼工具进行了使用磨损分析。探讨了使用过的骨头和折骨工具的操作链及其对不同痕迹形成的影响。进一步的技术和基因学研究将完成我们对这些过程的理解，为研究人类生存策略提供新的线索。