Estudio de la manufactura y/o uso de instrumentos de trabajo y elementos de adorno de concha desde la metodología del análisis funcional

Abstract

Since its inception, traceology or functional analysis (Semenov, 1957) has been shown as a discipline within Archeology to effectively examine tool manufacture and use of various archaeological material elements. This methodology is based on the macroscopic and microscopic analyses of traces generated on the surface of an object during its manufacture and/or use. These analyses, as well as inference, are used through analytical experiments to empirically and systematically reconstruct how the objects were made and/or used. The application of functional analysis on non-lithic materials (mainly bone or shell) has been quite rare. This is because these objects have usually only been analyzed from a morpho-typological perspective. Thus, traceology analysis has been underutilized in the functional study of materials with physical, chemical and preservation characteristics that are more heterogeneous than stone artifacts. However, it is a methodology with great potential for extracting information about the manufacture and use of shell objects. It will also help to focus the interest not on morphology, but on the manufacturing process and use of shell tools and/or ornaments as a means of studying past societies.