Day three of the @theprofessorisout instachallenge = #factfriday Did you know that not all of archaeology involves digging? Fact! I for example specialise in microwear analysis, which is the use low and high power microscopy to look at microscopic traces left on an archaeological object. 🔬This can be manufacturing traces (eg grinding traces, drilling traces etc) or use traces. I've been particularly focused on the latter recently because it's a new technique for me. You can see so many things!! For example, if you look at a bone needle at 100-1000x magnification you can see traces that not only tell you how the needle was used (eg in a straight pulling motion our a twisting motion) but also where it was held and for how long it was handled, and more interestingly what kind of material it was used to sew. At the moment, I'm looking into whether it possible to identify needles used to sew sealskin vs Caribou skin, based on the traces these two materials leave on the needles. This involves some experimental archaeology, which is the replication of past actions and objects in order to create a reference collection against which to compare the archaeological material. Swipe right to see some examples of experiments I'm doing (soapstone carving with different materials, and bone needle manufacture). Also included are some pictures of the microscopes I use in action. Watch this space for some results in the future! #theleveragedphd #microwear #experimentalarchaeology #usewear #phd #phdlife https://www.instagram.com/p/BxA04SBl3SP/?igshid=qrzx56gsna1z
