Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/58205

JaLCDOI : 10.14943/jgsl.10.13

This study examined the functions of chipped and ground stone tools from the coast of Karaga Bay in Northeastern Kamchatka, Russia. The specimens analyzed include 27 stone tools restored after the excavations at the Karaga 6 (11th to 13th centuries) as well as the Karaga 10 and 13 (15th to 17th centuries) sites in 2012. The high-power approach of the lithic use-wear analysis was applied. Because of microscopic observations, six specimens displayed distinct use-wear polish. Polish morphology indicated that two utilized flakes and a retouched flake were used for hide working, while a side scraper exhibited a use-wear polish that was mainly generated by plant working. Two end scrapers also showed traces of plant working,whereas evidence of dry hide tanning was found on one specimen. The findings show that utilized or retouched flakes, not end scrapers, were the main tools for hide working from the 11th to 17th centuries C.E. in Northeastern Kamchatka. This result is extremely suggestive for the explanation concerning the diffusion process of the Paleo-Asiatic type scrapers that have been used by the indigenous peoples in Kamchatka. Finally, ethnographic implications regarding the long-term history of stone scrapers are discussed.