Danielle Macdonald
I am an anthropological archaeologist who specializes in the prehistory of the Levant and lithic analysis. My PhD was completed at the University of Toronto in 2013 and focused on the integration of lithic technological and functional analysis to understand cultural groups in the Middle Epipalaeolithic of Jordan.
My research interests include microwear analysis, the Epipalaeolithic, material culture studies, surface metrology, and the chaîne opératoire. I am the co-director of the Kharaneh IV excavation project in the Azraq Basin, Jordan (co-directed with Lisa Maher). Kharaneh IV is part of the larger Epipalaeolithic Foragers in Azraq Project (EFAP).
Archaeological Project Collaborations:
Kharaneh IV Project (www.kharaneh.wordpress.com)
Fragmented Heritage, University of Bradford (www.fragmentedheritage.com)
Epipalaeolithic Foragers in Azraq Project (EFAP) (www.epipalaeolithicforgaers.wordpress.com)
Wadi Ziqlab Project, University of Toronto
Address: Department of Anthropology
The University of Tulsa
Harwell Hall
800 S Tucker Drive
Tulsa, OK
74104
My research interests include microwear analysis, the Epipalaeolithic, material culture studies, surface metrology, and the chaîne opératoire. I am the co-director of the Kharaneh IV excavation project in the Azraq Basin, Jordan (co-directed with Lisa Maher). Kharaneh IV is part of the larger Epipalaeolithic Foragers in Azraq Project (EFAP).
Archaeological Project Collaborations:
Kharaneh IV Project (www.kharaneh.wordpress.com)
Fragmented Heritage, University of Bradford (www.fragmentedheritage.com)
Epipalaeolithic Foragers in Azraq Project (EFAP) (www.epipalaeolithicforgaers.wordpress.com)
Wadi Ziqlab Project, University of Toronto
Address: Department of Anthropology
The University of Tulsa
Harwell Hall
800 S Tucker Drive
Tulsa, OK
74104
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Papers by Danielle Macdonald
Ground stone tools encompass a wide array of implements important in the economic organization of many prehistoric and early historic societies; however, functional analysis of ground stone artefacts has been relatively limited in comparison to chipped stone tools. The appearance of microwear on ground stone artefacts is normally
more complex and complicated than on chipped stone artefacts, as the mineral and textural components of the raw materials chosen for ground stone artefacts often are more heterogeneous. Currently, the baseline principles for analyzing microwear on ground stone artefacts are primarily based on the studies of non-cutting tools such as
grinding and abrading implements.
Our research uses experimental ground stone shovels and hoes crafted from oolitic dolomite to understand the
raw material's effect on microwear development and to distinguish the microwear patterns associated with
varying sediment conditions in the Neolithic and Early Bronze archaeological sites in the Middle Yellow River
and Lower Yangzi River in China. The research combines detailed petrographic analysis of the raw material,
measurement of the worked material's physical properties, and careful examination of microwear using both
high-power and low-power approaches. The results not only advance the methods for microwear analysis on
heterogeneous raw materials, but also enrich the microwear dataset for understanding earth-working activities
associated with ground stone tools. Applying our results to analysis of archaeological counterparts will add
additional lines of evidence to evaluate the importance of farming and construction activities in Neolithic and
Bronze Age subsistence systems.
Quantitative microscopy characterizing the surface texture of wear traces has helped develop a more standardized chipped stone tool microwear practice. However, to date, these surface metrology methods have not been used to characterize ground stone tool surfaces. To expand the range of raw materials and tool types tested with these methods, we explore the application of imaging confocal microscopy for the quantification of an assemblage of experimental hoes, modelled after Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age artifacts from China. Surface texture properties of sediment wear are compared to wear from wooden hafts to identify whether confocal microscopy can distinguish between different wear types. The results show that there is a significant difference between sediment and hafting wear and suggests further research is needed to identify how experimental conditions affect polish measurements within wear types. This preliminary study indicates that imaging confocal microscopy has excellent potential for the quantification of microwear traces on ground stone tools and may contribute to our understanding of earth working tools in prehistory.
resources has not received great attention from archaeologists. One could argue that the main problem lies in the difficulties of demonstrating meat storage archaeologically due to the lack of direct evidence. This paper represents an attempt to refine zooarchaeological methods for the recognition of meat preservation and storage at prehistoric sites. Drawing on the faunal assemblage from Kharaneh IV, an Early/Middle Epipalaeolithic aggregation site in eastern Jordan, this study demonstrates that a combination of taphonomic and contextual analyses alongside ethnographic information may indeed lead archaeologists to insights not directly available from the archaeological record. The empirical evidence presented here contributes to the archaeological visibility of meat preservation and storage, providing a clearer concept of the nature of these practices in preagricultural societies.
Ground stone tools encompass a wide array of implements important in the economic organization of many prehistoric and early historic societies; however, functional analysis of ground stone artefacts has been relatively limited in comparison to chipped stone tools. The appearance of microwear on ground stone artefacts is normally
more complex and complicated than on chipped stone artefacts, as the mineral and textural components of the raw materials chosen for ground stone artefacts often are more heterogeneous. Currently, the baseline principles for analyzing microwear on ground stone artefacts are primarily based on the studies of non-cutting tools such as
grinding and abrading implements.
Our research uses experimental ground stone shovels and hoes crafted from oolitic dolomite to understand the
raw material's effect on microwear development and to distinguish the microwear patterns associated with
varying sediment conditions in the Neolithic and Early Bronze archaeological sites in the Middle Yellow River
and Lower Yangzi River in China. The research combines detailed petrographic analysis of the raw material,
measurement of the worked material's physical properties, and careful examination of microwear using both
high-power and low-power approaches. The results not only advance the methods for microwear analysis on
heterogeneous raw materials, but also enrich the microwear dataset for understanding earth-working activities
associated with ground stone tools. Applying our results to analysis of archaeological counterparts will add
additional lines of evidence to evaluate the importance of farming and construction activities in Neolithic and
Bronze Age subsistence systems.
Quantitative microscopy characterizing the surface texture of wear traces has helped develop a more standardized chipped stone tool microwear practice. However, to date, these surface metrology methods have not been used to characterize ground stone tool surfaces. To expand the range of raw materials and tool types tested with these methods, we explore the application of imaging confocal microscopy for the quantification of an assemblage of experimental hoes, modelled after Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age artifacts from China. Surface texture properties of sediment wear are compared to wear from wooden hafts to identify whether confocal microscopy can distinguish between different wear types. The results show that there is a significant difference between sediment and hafting wear and suggests further research is needed to identify how experimental conditions affect polish measurements within wear types. This preliminary study indicates that imaging confocal microscopy has excellent potential for the quantification of microwear traces on ground stone tools and may contribute to our understanding of earth working tools in prehistory.
resources has not received great attention from archaeologists. One could argue that the main problem lies in the difficulties of demonstrating meat storage archaeologically due to the lack of direct evidence. This paper represents an attempt to refine zooarchaeological methods for the recognition of meat preservation and storage at prehistoric sites. Drawing on the faunal assemblage from Kharaneh IV, an Early/Middle Epipalaeolithic aggregation site in eastern Jordan, this study demonstrates that a combination of taphonomic and contextual analyses alongside ethnographic information may indeed lead archaeologists to insights not directly available from the archaeological record. The empirical evidence presented here contributes to the archaeological visibility of meat preservation and storage, providing a clearer concept of the nature of these practices in preagricultural societies.
This dissertation sets out to test several hypotheses in regards to the microlith assemblages: 1) microliths will have overlapping functions, indicating that function does not drive form; and 2) microliths will show differences in technological style. These hypotheses relate back to current debates in Epipalaeolithic research about the nature of microlith variability. Is variation in microlith morphology the product of different technological sequences of production or microlith function? Or is variability the result of different cultural practices? This material culture variability is explored through the lens of the chaîne opératoire, where I advocate for the inclusion of functional analysis into our study of lithic assemblages. Through the integration of multiple methods, I suggest there is not a direct correlation between microlith form and function. Instead, the variability we witness in microliths during the Middle Epipalaeolithic is the result of local expressions within different communities.